Raspberry Pi Build for Ham Radio Part 1 Step by Step

[@phoeg]

I just got my Raspberry Pi up and running with VNC on my Mac and on my iPad. I watched your videos countless times, but I'm in. Your videos are a godsend! Fantastic!

[@no5x937]

Great video, instructions, web and github pages. You're performing a great service for fellow hams. Look forward to part 2.

[@KM4ACK]

Thank you! 73, de KM4ACK

[@thuff3207]

You are providing a wealth of information to help hams. Thank you.

[@KM4ACK]

Thanks Thuff! Glad you find it helpful. 73, de KM4ACK

[@mriflyrc]

I had problems for a long time trying to operate VNC viewer on my MAC, you have made it easy with your videos. Thank you for your time in making the Pi videos.

[@TheNoCodeTech]

Jason = my hero

[@vidcreator5276]

Just finished watching all 3 videos in this series. Actually more than once and have picked up a little more with each viewing. I think my New Year's resolution is to incorporate a pi into my go box. Thank you for all your time and efforts in this education of using a pi in ham radio. Gerald - KG0VA

[@KM4ACK]

Thanks for the kind words Gerald! Careful with the pi's. They are addictive. hihi. 73, de KM4ACK

[@jamesgoacher1606]

Many thanks for the video. I have yet to buy a Pi-4 and may not but I am finding this extremely informative.

[@snake_eyes_garage]

For new people... i would suggest google articles on using the Terminal to create the sd card image, the ssh file and the WiFi autoconfig files to automatically connect to my WiFi. As someone else here suggested that saved me so much time in getting it up and running.

[@triggertechie]

Thank you Jason.

[@MeineVideokasetten]

Hey KM4ACK. Your videos are great. This is what I need. Thank you very much. 👍🏻

[@KM4ACK]

Awesome!. Glad it helped. 73, de KM4ACK

[@hhampton]

You certainly put a lot of time and effort into this project. great job! I finally got everything up and running and even figured out how to change to my new vanity call. Thanks for all your help. Now I'm going to see if I can figure out how to move the conky display to the center of the screen.

[@DevonHarris116]

Jason thanks again for an awesome instructional video. this instructional video will help our operators! Sharing again.

[@KM4ACK]

Thanks Devon! 73, de KM4ACK

[@kenjarvis2693]

Thank you so very much.

[@stevemiller2957]

Very clear and consice

[@send2gl]

Very nicely explained. Well done.

[@TheMountainRN]

Thank you thank you and a million of thanks. Finally will maybe able to have a working device. Any extra step to make it work with DRAWS?

[@KM4ACK]

The hotspot should work with DRAWS. Most everything else comes preinstalled on the DRAWS beta image. I would load their image and then maybe only the hotspot. For additional setup, check their forums. I use a signalink in this setup which uses VOX. Their sound card relies on PTT control over the GPIO pins. 73, de KM4ACK

[@BuilderTrevin]

This is exactly what I was looking for! Awesome thank you!

[@thuff3207]

Great video and it will help many to get a pi up and running.

[@KM4ACK]

Hopefully so. Just trying to take some of the mystery out of Linux. 73, de KM4ACK

[@pathopkins4500]

This is SO COOL a SCRIP Jason and WONDER TUTORIAL ..... thank you very much for your hard work =)

[@Steven_VE9SY]

I followed the instructions to the letter, and everything worked fabulously! Then I got playing with it and some how completely locked myself out. Can not get in on the network, or hotspot!! :( So I just redid the card with buster, and tomorrow I will do this again. This time ill do backups after each step!!!!

[@KM4ACK]

😳wonder what you did to lock yourself out?? 73, de KM4ACK

[@MINI-4X4-RADIO]

A really great YT.. I tried once to setup a PI, but never really got to grips. One thing I remember, don't you need to "Expand File System" during the config setup..?? Looking forward to follow on YT's

[@KM4ACK]

You can expand the file system but it's not mandatory. 73, de KM4ACK

[@MINI-4X4-RADIO]

@@KM4ACK O.K.. Good to know

[@jsmackeil]

so I have an AOC Disply Link USB video monitor that seems it would be a good thing to use with a PI for feild ops as it is powerd off USB. But so far PI OS does not recognize and display. Displaylink does have an FAQ for the PI driver. have you done anything with a usb display on PI400 ???

[@stewarthowarth9744]

Thanks Jason for all the hard work you've put in to these instructional videos. Would you be able to include WSJT (not WSJT -X ) in your build, or give instructions on how to download & install it? There are a couple of legacy modes that are in WSJT, but not included in -X, particularly FSK441. I'm a complete Newbie to LINUX, and need to be led by the hand, for now. Best regards, Stewart GM0GTU

[@xrpirate536]

You are the bomb! Just what I needed! Thank you!

[@Liberty4Ever]

Thank you for the video and blog that proceed in a logical sequential order that makes it easy for script kiddies. I'm a lazy old geek, so I'm waiting on the Raspberry Pi image with all of the amateur radio software pre-installed - fldigi, flrig, winlink, JS8call, etc. :-)

[@KM4ACK]

What you seek has recently been released. More info groups.io/g/RaspberryPi-4-HamRadio/topic/w3djs_raspberry_pi_ham_radio/39671852?p=,,,20,0,0,0::recentpostdate%2Fsticky,,,20,2,0,39671852 73, de KM4ACK

[@timk7749]

Excellent! I might have to make the change to the RPI4. I know this took a lot of time to put together and it is much appreciated. Keep up the good work. 73 de KF7VUT

[@KM4ACK]

Tim, it should work equally as well on the pi 3 as long as you are running buster. 73, de KM4ACK

[@timk7749]

@@KM4ACK I'm going to forget you said that. I need an excuse for the PI4 lol.

[@KM4ACK]

@@timk7749 LOL. whatever make you feel better brother. 73, de KM4ACK

[@km4fsi827]

good job with the video!! 73 and happy new year.

[@andyjohnson5571]

Thank you for the excellent information. I am building SHTF comms with 128 encryption, very informative and I got some really good idea's from this video. God Bless America, God Bless You....TRUMP 2020 #AmericanLivesMatter

[@TheOzembuch]

Thank you for doing this, it will definitely bring more people into HAM radio and digital modes. I appreciate your time. I'm curious if you will include setup of BPQ32 node on RPi as well, that is something I'd really like to see done this simple way you are showing it.

[@KM4ACK]

I do have a BPQ mode on my pi to work as a Winlink Gateway. However, I had a devil of a time setting it up and I have only done it once. One of these days I'll get back to working with it and make better notes so I can bring you guys a video. 73, de KM4ACK

[@TheOzembuch]

@@KM4ACK That would really awesome if you did that. Please keep that in mind for the future. I just watched your other videos, excellent stuff, professionally done. You have a subscriber here.

[@KM4ACK]

Thanks & welcome to the channel! Can't say when on the gateway video but it's on the bucket list :-) 73, de KM4ACK

[@docaliquot4189]

This is one fine piece of code, Jason! Just got all the parts yesterday, and I'm sitting at the bench watching GCC do it's magic. One question..my FTDX-10 isn't supported in the hamlib 3.x build, and I have no clue on how to upgrade to the 4.1 release which does support it. What mojo do I have to use to get it working? Much thanks and kudos for this terrific app! 73, Ted, K4TML

[@KM4ACK]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mny5gpeDidF2d7s

[@jpitfield]

Awesome video...superb

[@KM4ACK]

Thanks John! 73, de KM4ACK

[@oldgeekster1]

Jason, for this build, what is the hardware setup you will be connecting to the RPi4? TIA W6TUX (I know the radio but USB Signalink? GPS dongle? That kind of thing).

[@KM4ACK]

GPS is amzn.to/33uhBpx It is the same one I have been using for the past year. All testing has been done with the signalink so far but I might move to the wolphilink. Basically the same thing in a smaller package. Haven't decided for sure just yet. 73, de KM4ACK

[@oldgeekster1]

@@KM4ACK Thank you! When I started working my way through the associated textual tutorial/guide (very first link above) for this video, the light came on. Have only recently discovered your videos and rapidly getting up to speed. Good stuff OM! de dave W6TUX

[@BarefootBeekeeper]

Just discovered your channel - great job!

[@KM4ACK]

Thanks Phil & welcome to the channel! 73, de KM4ACK

[@TheCyberRick]

Hi Jason, I ran into a problem: I followed your guide to establish a hotspot. Everything worked without any error messages. But when I change the ssid for my home wifi in the .conf file and restart the autohotspotN, the respberry still remembers the old setting and doesn't establish its own hotspot. Even better - it changes the entries in the config file by its own so that next time I look into it the correct settings for my home wifi are reentered. What am I missing?

[@grahampostlethwaite3824]

I have followed all your directions and am able to view the Pi on my laptop and my iPad using VNC all great - for the first time I tried the pi remote and it went into hotspot mode great and I was able to log onto the wifi signal from my iPad, however when I fired up VNC on the iPad I got an error message, it could not connect. I guess because the ip address changed ??? I noticed when I put the pi back in my office everything was OK. I had an IP address for the wireless connection in my home and another on the screen for the hotspot, it said 10.10.10.162 iPad2 Not sure what I should do Jason, probaly missing a simple trick but my 75 year old brain is not as sharp as it was. 73 Graham M7POS

[@KM4ACK]

192.168.1.4 is the IP address assigned to the pi by your home router. 10.10.10.162 is the IP address assigned to the iPad when you connected to the Pi's hotspot. You were very close to success. Use your iPad to connect to the Pi's hotspot again. Then when you open VNC use the IP address of 10.10.10.10 and you should be good to go :-) Here's a great video to help you understand the hotspot better - kzbin.info/www/bejne/jaLcgZqgaMh3gac

[@stevec5000]

Would it be possible to put software such as XClass for Unix on HamPi to control a Ten-Tec RX-320D receiver since the only way to control it now is with software on a PC but it's so old that it mostly only runs on Windows 7. @t

[@airsofteo9105]

Ive spent countless hours trying to get this gps usb to work to no aval. Even tried multiple different installs. Heck even tried it on windows 10 and nothing. Plug it into a wall usb and it work though. So weird.

[@timmanwell2538]

Jason, with others I have to add my feedback that your time/effort putting these vids together is GREATLY appreciated! What a cool thing it is to live in an era of Internet Elmers! So...here's a question for you. One of the things I notice is that when it comes to doing a VNC connection from my Mac Mini to my R-pi, ....*every time*... I have to SSH in first and enter the vncserver command, $ vncserver :1 -geometry 1920x1080 -depth 24. Then, and only then, am I able to VNC into the Pi. If I fail to do the SSH thing first, I get "The connection was refused by the computer" when I try to VNC into the pi. I've googled this, but everything I see seems to indicate that it's a simple matter of enabling VNC in the config once, then shazzam, you can VNC in any time w/o issues. Not me. :-( Thoughts?

[@KM4ACK]

You shouldn't have to enable everytime. Should be a once and done. From terminal, sudo raspbi-config and enable VNC under interfaces. Another option is through the GUI. Click Start>Preferences>Raspberry Pi Configurations Once the new window opens choose the interfaces tab and set VNC to enable. Click OK. Reboot and test. 73, de KM4ACK

[@timmanwell2538]

@@KM4ACK Ok, this was a 'duh' moment on my end. So sorry. It was on the mac end. All good now! 73, KD9LAI

[@richvantrease]

Jason, first let me say I think you are doing an amazing thing creating all of these videos. I have watched most of them at least once. I was following this guide series, and it occurred to me there is an easier way to connect to wifi that doesn't require first connecting to a wired connection. Here is an excerpt from www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=254526 : I usually pre-configure the card with ssh and wpa_supplicant.conf files in the small FAT32 "boot" partition. No need for a keyboard, screen or Ethernet connection (completely headless system setup). Write a Raspbian image to the SD card with Etcher. Remove and reinsert the card, so your Windows/Mac OS PC can see the "boot" partition (ignore/canel format warnings). Add an empty file named ssh (or ssh.txt). Add a pre-configured wpa_supplicant.conf file. Safely eject the card and use it to boot the headless Pi computer. The wpa_supplicant.conf file should contain the following. Code: Select all ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=netdev update_config=1 country=GB network={ ssid="WiFi SSID" psk="WPA/WPA2 passphrase" key_mgmt=WPA-PSK } Edit country=, ssid= and psk= with your information and save the file (use the 2 letter country abbreviation in CAPS). When Raspbian finds a wpa_supplicant.conf file in the "boot" partition it will move it to its correct location and use it to connect to the network. If there was a previous wpa_supplicant.conf file, it will be overwritten, so this can also be used to update WiFi connections if you get a new router or change your router settings.

[@KM4ACK]

This is the same way I handle my new builds except I don’t bother with the wpa file. I simply connect Ethernet and power and ssh in. From there I update/upgrade before enabling VNC. After that, I am off to the races. 😀 Main reason I don’t bother with the wpa file is that I know I am going to run the autohotspot script during setup which will configure the file for me. 73, de KM4ACK

[@gcaines3057]

GPS install - using a GPS/GLONASS USB have installed your script getting the following on GPS test: Systemct1 is active GPSD - shows inactive Systemct1 is active Chronyd - shows active Cannot get GPSD to indicate active - any thoughts? 73 Gerry, VE4CP

[@rtcy2008]

it maybe too late to ask this, but I'm playing around a laptop with i5 and so far setup buster desktop and now doing the commands in your guide , do you think it might work ?

[@factorylad5071]

It would work but you will need to write the drivers yourself.

[@Frisky0563]

thank you I ike the Hot Spot that helps me

[@KM4ACK]

It’s a cool feature to have on any pi. I run it on most of mine. 73, de KM4ACK

[@hamradioauctions]

You are a great teacher! I was hoping you could do an addendum on how to intergrate all this to use with a Kenwood TH D74. I have not been able to get it all to function together, as there are very few resources I could find. If you ever get a chance give me a call on the N5BZM echolink node in Port Arthur, TX. 73---Steve (N5BZM)

[@KM4ACK]

Hi Steve, without owning the D74 or having one to test with, I am afraid it will be impossible to do a tutorial for that specific radio. Here's a great group to ask questions groups.io/g/RaspberryPi-4-HamRadio/topics 73, de KM4ACK

[@dltrisch]

i keep getting a fail when i run systemctl is-active gpsd. Any way to fix this?

[@muha0644]

ssh is included in windows

[@billbrown3414]

The latest firmware in the Pi's and the latest versions of Raspberry Pi OS have screwed me up on using my Pi 4 for digital modes. Is it time to update this?

[@KM4ACK]

Build a Pi should work with the latest version of Pi OS and the latest firmware - github.com/km4ack/pi-build

[@markharrisvk3eme977]

A fantastic job Jason on all your videos, I have watched them all and started working thru them. VK3EME

[@KM4ACK]

Cool. Maybe this series will help put some order to all of them. 73, de KM4ACK

[@Raymond_duck]

Another great video. Just one question; when I have the Pi running as a hotspot, what IP address do I use for VNC? Keep up the good work.

[@KM4ACK]

10.10.10.10

[@Raymond_duck]

@@KM4ACKThat was quick! Cheers mate.

[@billgardiner8530]

If i use a monitor directly connected to the Pi can i skip the steps for SSH and VNC??

[@KM4ACK]

Yes. If you only intend to use it with a monitor connected, those steps can be skipped. It won’t hurt anything though to go ahead and do them just in case you change your mind in the future. 73, de KM4ACK

[@billgardiner8530]

@@KM4ACK Many thanks for the fine videos. 73's N3DXE

[@johnsyouacct]

What does it mean when (after the GPS install) systemctl is-active gpsd returns "inactive" instead of "active"? It appears that my date and time are being set correctly. These videos are well put together. Thank you. It would be helpful if you could cover what to do when something goes wrong. John, KC3YS

[@KM4ACK]

there are so many possibilities when things go wrong. it would be impossible to cover them all. my advice is backup OFTEN so you can go back one step when needed and try again. GPSD being inactive tells me something didn't install correctly or you haven't rebooted after the install. 73, de KM4ACK

[@johnsyouacct]

I just realized that the clock is set because the pi is connected into the wifi network. Duh.

[@mikeerstad3705]

I've lost my "Pi 4 Build Notes"....how can I get them from you again? Thanks Very Much, Mike

[@KM4ACK]

Mike, there is a link to the notes in the description of this video. 73, de KM4ACK

[@mikeerstad3705]

@@KM4ACK Thanks Much... I thought I had saved it but you really can't because it a WebArchive...(which I did save it in that forum)

[@PatrickDickey52761]

One comment to make. On your site in the guide, you might want to add target=_blank to your links. Otherwise, people leave your site to go to the places you recommend.

[@MoTown44240]

After the first reboot and after your VNC Viewer connected to the Pi, did you unplug the cat 5 cable? I remained plugged in and the find wifi box of the wizard never appeared. I tried to force it by right clicking on the double arrows but only my eth0, wired, connection was accessible. KB8AMZ

[@MoTown44240]

Disregard. The brick just slammed into my head. I am using a RPi 1. It doesn't have WiFi. I just received RPi 4 and will set it up next. I'll reply on that install. KB8AMZ

[@KM4ACK]

It's happened to me before as well. An old Pi 2 seems to sneak into the test systems every now and again. Takes a minute to figure out why I don't have a wifi connection. 73, de KM4ACK

[@MoTown44240]

@@KM4ACK Solved problem with router. Reset it to factory specifications. I have WiFi again but only use it for my cellular phone. Cloning SD cards for other Pi's. VNC working too, but desktop on RPi3 not functional. Its there on my laptop monitor and my mouse can move about the desktop but nothing works. The 'mouseover' doesn't seem to function. Thought maybe I needed to allocate more system RAM to video so I up'ed from default 64 to 128. Desktop still not functional. I have one Pi setup from Canakit I purchased that uses a wireless keyboard and mouse and a 7-inch diagonal monitor. Tried RPi3 with it and GUI works. Don't know why the gui doesn't come up when I VNC from my Dell laptop running Linux Mint 18 on the RPi3.

[@MoTown44240]

UPDATE: VNC VIEWER now WORKING on RPi3+. Hello Jason, After following all your instructions for installing Buster, other software, and ssh and vnc viewer I was not able to get vnc viewer client to work from my Linux Mint Dell laptop. I mentioned this to you in a couple emails. I tried uninstalling vnc viewer server from the RPi3+ and re-installing. I uninstalled vnc viewer client from my laptop and reinstalled. Still the RPi3+ GUI showed on my Linux Mint vnc viewer client window but the only I had any control with was the exit 'X' at the upper right of the window. No other points on the RPi3+ desktop were clickable; not even with the CTRL or Shift keys or combination of both depressed. In between the uninstall of vnc viewer from both the RPi3+ and laptop I tried remmina server and client on the laptop. Those would not work either. Finally, I looked into the 'Preferences' of the vnc viewer client on my laptop and found some items that I thought should be changed from False to True. Finally, I have control RPi3+ with my laptop mouse. You mentioned that we should leave any fixes on the appropriate video when we get the problem solved. I don't say specifically what changes I made. I can document those if anyone feels that is needed. I am happy now that I can communicate headless to my RPi3+ and have a better understanding for other RPi's waiting to be utilized. 72 de KB8AMZ

[@leoket1826]

I got it up and ryunning but at my office how do i get it to change wifi to my home ssid, it keeps going in the hotspot mode even with keyboard I can not access the settings.

[@KM4ACK]

Have you installed hotspot tools? It is by far the easiest way to add a new known WiFi. kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZDImpuJg8R4iZo

[@leoket1826]

@@KM4ACK Thanks! Just what I was looking for. Keep up the good work I learned a lot from it. 73's Leo PA2LK

[@angelscomputers]

Hi, im stuck in the part where im suppose to connect by VNC, VNC connects but says "Cannot currently show the desktop". i went back and changed the resolution to default to see what happens but still the same. Any idea?

[@KM4ACK]

This video will show you how to fix the issue. kzbin.info/www/bejne/i6qZqZV5Za2cm9k

[@angelscomputers]

FOUND THE PROBLEM (But no clue why happened) Went to raspi-config and Boot Menu to pick Desktop (thinking that maybe CLI was chosen), when picked Desktop with login the system told me "Do sudo apt-get install lightdm to allow configuration of boot to desktop" so I went ahead and did, after that when back again to raspi-config and picked Desktop with login and then reboot and boom, is working fine now. Now, I say "no clue why" because this is a brand new raspberry pi I just took from the amazon box and flash it with the Buster with Desktop from yesterday, so, why the Buster with Desktop came without the desktop? no clue. Today is Feb 29, 2020 and I downloaded the image yesterday, so maybe that image was bad? again, no clue, good thing is that is working and the troubleshooting was not too bad, lets keep going, hopefully no more surprises haha, 73 everybody KB0AP.

[@KM4ACK]

Any chance you downloaded Buster Lite?

[@angelscomputers]

@@KM4ACK im 200% sure I downloaded the desktop version. Sorry I saw your reply after put mine. Anyways as a matter of practicing I am wiping and flashing the card again to start the steps again to see what I get this time. Currently downloading the desktop image again...

[@angelscomputers]

@@KM4ACK buahahahahaha, found the issue to all my problems, this is ridiculous, Im ashamed, in short, I was working on my PI-Hole by mistake....long story, when took the IP from Angry IP Scanner I mistakenly took the IP of my Raspberry PI running PI-Hole, it was driving me crazy that no matter how many times I re-formated and re-flash the card it was having the same password. Figured out after a reboot and went to google and opps, my computer have DNS issues, of course because I was rebooting my DNS/PI-Hole device hahahahahahahaa, cant believe this...Well, lets start again with the right PI!!!!!! lol

[@gilbreathca]

In a late-night session of stepping through this first video, I accidentally installed the GPS script prior to having the GPS on-hand. I ordered the one you are using and it delivered today. When I plugged it in this evening, it flashed a green light one time and then goes blank. I removed the GPS and attempted to uninstall the script using " sudo dpkg --list " and " sudo apt-get --purge remove libgps23:armhf " I then entered " sudo apt autoremovey point-rpi " No luck... I do have a backup but it will only take me back to the point prior to me trying to remove all this. Ugh... I'm a total noob to this... the GPS just won't lock on... any help would be greatly appreciated. W5ZYM

[@KM4ACK]

You are early in the build. Rely on your backup or start fresh. Move the GPS next to a window and then give it time to get its lock. After the initial lock, future locks will take much less time. Typically just a couple of minutes or so. 73, de KM4ACK

[@gilbreathca]

I had a flashing green light this morning. It just took forever to lock. Ran the the GPS install again this morning and it tested just fine. Thanks

[@KM4ACK]

That's great news! 73, de KM4ACK

[@massoud999]

Cool Thanks from 4Z5UY

[@hhampton]

I already have 2 Pi 3. Do I really need to change to the Pi 4?

[@KM4ACK]

Probably not. Your Pi 3 will more than likely run everything you can throw at it unless it is something really processor intensive. Then you might want to move to the Pi4 for the extra horse power. 73, de KM4ACK

[@DialM4Microcontrollr]

SD card: 8GB or 16GB? Looks great! Looking forward to part 2 and 3. :)

[@mikemcdonald5147]

I use a 32 gig and have plenty of room never been an issue. Also the 32 gig card is only 8-10 dollars so its not a big deal.

[@DialM4Microcontrollr]

@@mikemcdonald5147 thanks

[@KM4ACK]

I ran 16GB for the longest but often now, it is the same price to get a 32GB. 73, de KM4ACK

[@JohnHays-K7VE]

32GB is the current sweet spot for SD Cards (Class 10 or better)

[@wadepatton2433]

I think I'd like to build one for ham-puting, as Jeff states I'm "new" to Linux but also remember the days of DOS. So disappointed in ham-ware that so much is now Win-only, whereas it used to all be DOS or nothing. So I'll adapt and get something like this going, I really hope to never use MS operating systems again. ever. Open Source for the ultimate win.

[@KM4ACK]

Totally agree. I was windows for many years but have since moved on. Open source is better for the community as a whole. 73, de KM4ACK

[@factorylad5071]

Trouble with some of these easy solutions that are quick to set up but unfortunately too chrono plastic for my tastes . I mean what is the point of putting all that brain meat to work , into your system today only to find out two weeks later that the new system is not retro compatible ? That's one of the reasons I opt for Riscos 5.22 although it is nowhere near as popular as Linux. Oh I see! You have just answered my question . You have got 7 pi s connected on tcp and I assume you have a different release of raspian on each one , clever .

[@gwilbur1]

the link to the guide is identified as having malware, a virus in it.