Hidden APRS Igate in your Yaesu mobile radio!

Let's turn your Yaesu mobile rig (FTM400, 100, 300, 500) into an APRS igate! Everything you need is already in your box, plug your radio (SCU-20 USB cable) into your PC or Raspberry Pi and install Ygate.
On your Yaesu:
APRS - APRS Modem: ON
Config - DATA - Com port settings - Output: PACKET
Config - DATA - Com port settings - WP Format: NMEA 9
Get Ygate: github.com/craigerl/ygate
See your station: aprs.fi/
Special thanks: John Belstner. Thanks for adding the socket-reconnect code, ygate is much more robust now.

[@ghostmandka5498]

Best bumper music on KZbin!

[@db3mi]

doing a youth programme in the summer this is exactly what i was looking for. Keep on rockin' and 73 de db3mi, bemi

[@DonzLockz]

Very cool, Craig. Now, all I need is the FTM400!😅👍

[@KN4VA]

Excellent. Just recently picked up a FTM-400DR, and it did indeed have the SCU-20 cable. This will be a good use for the radio. Not many iGates in the area. 73's, KN4VA

[@KM6LYW]

So it sounds like the SCU-20 cable doesn't come with all the Yaesu mobile rigs? I can only vouch for the FTM100 and the FTM400. The cable is/was in the box.

[@motorcityman8982]

This is just great stuff!

[@user-oj1gi4ok1l]

The SCU-20 doesn’t get used to update firmware, there’s a usb mini to USB A port at the front of the radio behind the face for firmware updates. And with the SCU-20 you can indeed send digital voice audio over wires X. This cable will allow you to get onto Wires X using an FTM-100, 200, 300. 400 all you need is to set up a wires x account, and a pc connected to broadband, you can only use the digital only rooms if you have the SCU-20 but you can upgrade to an SCU-40 which gives you an analog tail connected to the SCU-20 and then you can use any room in the wires x software with no HRI node needed. You run your Base radio (FTM-100-400) as a node using the SDU-20 connected from the DIN pin socket in the back of the radio plugged into the USB of your PC, you switch your radio on in PDN (personal digital node) mode run the wires x software and you’re in. You can even turn your node radio that’s connected to the PC as an access point for your FT-70 or FT-2D so you don’t have to be stuck to the PC, there’s a few ways of setting this up if you want to get on wires x but don’t want to spend $300 on an HRI200 wires x box. If you want to know more just search FTM-300 PDN mode.

[@deaningram3]

I am setting this up now. Is the digital id provided by yeast, or do you just set it up yourself?

[@justincompton4593]

Unfortunately that cable did not come with the newer radios past the ftm400 so us ftm300, ftm200, and ftm500 owners will have to pay for it.

[@kleinbiker1]

“Final countdown” by Europe! I’ve suggested this before. Lol

[@KM6LYW]

Yah, I looked at it, but it's mostly a Keyboard/synth song?

[@thuff3207]

Nice I have been using YAAC to do the conversion for several years. Nice to have a script. Now I think you can get APRS data out of the FT1DR. It’s a little convuluted to get it to send data out of the radio but I believe you can.

[@craig9309]

the FTxDR HT's simply don't present the data... i think you get some sort of gps stream out of them. let me know if you discover otherwise!

[@danadkin8652]

Excellent

[@hawkeyeCH53E]

Craig actually the FT-5DR works with serial port cable and their system fusion software.

[@cappaculla]

Ned Flanders is a real person !!!

[@verdexj160]

For a stand alone aprs system, would this record position in a computer not connected to the internet. For example, i have my computer and mobile radio, would packets reecived show up on my aprs software?

[@jsoares66]

Hello, I’m have FTM400, I have the SCU20 cable - do you think I can connect the cable with a usb/usb-c adaptor dongle to my galaxy tablet and have an APRS droid app running on it or will I need other items? I’m thinking to connect it radio direct to tablet then use my phone as a hotspot to give tablet internet . My goal is to see myself and others on the map. Your advice would be appreciated. Thank you

[@KM6LYW]

Nope, sorry. you'll need a Pi or PC that can run ygate.py... it's just not for android/OS. Unless there's python for android/ios?

[@jampskan5690]

It's not 90's, but, The Faces - Ooh La La, would make a good bumper intro tune. Also, I wish I knew all this ham stuff when I was younger... Oh well, no time like the present I guess.

[@K3JRZOnTheAir]

Final got a cable from AliExpress that came on the slow boat... Can't seem to find one here in the US and the FTM-300 didn't come with such cable. Got it all set up and running. I see data on the screen. No clue if it's populating to the Internet. 73!

[@markamccormick160]

Yaesu sells a newer cable as part of the Wires-X connection kit for the 300 and 500. It's in the SCU-58 package. Comes with the cable Craig is using as well as an additional jumper cable with analog connections.

[@alexjh47]

Damn, my FTM300 didn't come with the cable 😞 Will have to pick one up.

[@K3JRZOnTheAir]

I didn’t get such a cable either with my 300.

[@markamccormick160]

Yaesu sells it as part of the SCU-58 Wires-X connection cable kit. Comes with two cables. One of them is the one used here.

[@MRCTechnophile]

Great content! Question…Is there any way to incorporate the FTM-400xdr gps data while running this? I would love to run this igate while mobile in vehicle.

[@KM6LYW]

Hrm.. i'm not sure. if you send a beacon with the 400, it should come through the igate? and upload? not sure how that's connected. let us know!

[@MRCTechnophile]

Thanks. I will definitely experiment with that!!!

[@davef5595]

I have the FT3D. So I wish it would work with the SCU-39 cable I have for that radio. I know it's only an HT, but if it worked, it would be better than nothing.

[@KM6LYW]

Nope, the Yaesu HT's don't present aprs data (only gps info?).. I remember trying.

[@LetsGoAmateurRadio]

The Stones!

[@KM6LYW]

I think I did "Angie" once... i'll have to look at the others - thanks!

[@LetsGoAmateurRadio]

The intro sounded like Exile on Maim St.

[@KM6LYW]

@@LetsGoAmateurRadio Queen. that's what we were looking for. Queen.

[@LetsGoAmateurRadio]

Oh sorry I’m getting my classic rock mixed up

[@vica153]

What was the intended purpose for the serial port?

[@KM6LYW]

from what I can tell it might be used for flashing firmware? it can output NMEA9 data either for the GPS or the APRS packet info... the latter of which was interesting.

[@deaningram3]

So I have the SCU56, but it is USB A. How are you plugging in to the zero?

[@KM6LYW]

You can get a USB adapter for the Zero's micro usb ports. I use the Vilros adapter from this kit, www.amazon.com/Raspberry-Vilros-Adapters-Quickstart-Download/dp/B0C62T5417

[@deaningram3]

@@KM6LYW Thank you! The cable for the Yaesu ht's is SCU58

[@KM6LYW]

@@deaningram3 Yah, they have a few cables now that work, I think SCU58 is the latest?

[@deaningram3]

Yes, just got it a couple days ago with the FTM500

[@paulgrindley8192]

What are you using for your guitar tone?

[@craig9309]

Zoom G1Four... JTM40 amp model

[@paulgrindley8192]

@@craig9309 It’s a good tone

[@paulgrindley8192]

@@craig9309 and video 😃

[@KM6LYW]

@@paulgrindley8192 It's a cheap amp/FX unit - I'm shocked at the quality of the tone. The American-made Gibson Les Paul contributes a lot too :)

[@barryinn1778]

My ftm 500 did not come with this cable.

[@KM6LYW]

Yah, I suspect only the FTM100 and FTM400 shipped with the SCU-20 cable? Those are the only FTM's I have on hand.

[@markamccormick160]

@@KM6LYW Not sure if the cable works the same way, but Yaesu market's their SCU-58 kit for use with the FTM-500. It came with a cable that looks like the one you show (but marked as scu-58 instead of 20), plus another one to jump inline with it that has audio outs. You can use just the main cable to program the radio and supposedly interface with the wires-x system from the internet digitally and the extra cable is if you also want to run analog through the wires-x. I just got the radio so I haven't tried any of that yet but that's what the little sheet that came with the cables shows me.

[@LifeAtTerminalVelocity]

My radio didn't include the cable. :(

[@KM6LYW]

Yah, i was overzealous, as far as I can tell, it comes with the FTM400 and FTM100...

[@sturmBAQ89]

Can we use this cable to turn the ftm300 into a digipeater with direwolf and raspberry ?

[@KM6LYW]

nope, it's a receive-only igate. the cable doesn't allow for transmission. if you want to build a digipeater checkout digipi.org

[@deaningram3]

@@KM6LYW can we use this cable to connect the FTM 500 to the digi pi? Does anything else need to be set? Any chance of adding Wires X to the digi pi?

[@KM6LYW]

@@deaningram3 @deaningram3 Nope, Nope, and Nope. The cable is mostly useless, no audio, just a serial port. If you want to hookup a digipi you need the CT167 10-pin breakout TNC cable.

[@deaningram3]

@@KM6LYW the scu58 is a kit that comes with an audio breakout cable….

[@deaningram3]

The scu57 for the FT5D is set up the same. Serial cable with and audio breakout

[@gmanshackshack6822]

This won't work with the FT3D/4D/5D? Bummer!

[@KM6LYW]

Negative, no aprs info on the Yaesu HT's. I looked.

[@kurtliv1]

For some reason I'm getting an Invalid Syntax error. pi@aprs:~ $ ./ygate.py File "/home/pi/./ygate.py", line 143 match run_state: ^ SyntaxError: invalid syntax Did I do something wrong?

[@KM6LYW]

That indicates you're using Python2... I'm guessing you're on a realy old OS? Python3 is generally the new standard.

[@kurtliv1]

@@KM6LYW pi@aprs:~ $ python --version Python 3.9.2 pi@aprs:~ $

[@kurtliv1]

That's odd. I'm running 3.9.2 according to python --version. @@KM6LYW