Getting the AIOC to work with ASL v3

Although there are many youtube videos setting up the AIOC card to work with AllStar, almost every one of them is with the HAMVoip version not the most recent ASLv3 version. Why is this important? Well ASLv3 has two major enhancements, first its updated to the latest version of the Asterisk code base (I believe its version 20) and HamVoip is 1.4 which is over 20 years old now. Second ASLv3 is designed to leverage the Linux Package system for updates going forward which means that your nodes will be able to leverage security updates and other feature enhancements without having to reinstall a new image.

Finally I also found conflicting information, it also didn’t help I underestimated the inconsistency of the AIOC card when it comes to experiencing RF interference. So I hope this guide highlights the right path and settings as well as please remember to put some ferrites on the cables you are using.

Step 1 Update and Configure AIOC for ASl v3

This process is pretty simple, update the firmware on the AIOC card then configure it to look like a CM108 audio device that the AllStar software is expecting.

Thanks to mark@g1lro.uk he has created a couple of scripts and detailed instructions to flash the card and configure it to look like a CM108 audio device.

So head over to his blog: https://g1lro.uk/?p=676 and follow those steps to make sure the AIOC card is set right.

Go ahead, I will be waiting back here when your done!!

Step 2 Getting ASL V3 running

Now its time to get ASLv3 up and running. Again there’s a great step by step guide at Allstarlink.org. Go ahead and follow the steps on obtaining the image for the Raspberry PI or if your installing the Debian 12 pacakges on a laptop follow those.

The guide for getting the ASLv3 image up and running is here at AllStarLink

Great Video Walk through by Freddie Mac KD5FMU:

Come on back here once you get to step 24 on the guide and we can finish the setup.

Step 3 Configuring your ASL node.

Before starting the node configuration process I highly, highly recommend that the USB cord between the PI, and or PC running linux, have some Ferrite beads in place. When I was trying to make this work I struggled with all sorts of internment issues that I never attributed to RF with the connection that made the AIOC card become unstable.

1. Once you get into the ASL cockpit and select terminal enter the following command:

sudo asl-menu

Which brings up the AllStar link configuration menu

2. Select AllStar Node Setup Menu, then Add Node:

3. Enter the node number and Node Password assigned by AllStarLink (again instructions on the Allstar Link Website)

4. For the AIOC card with a single HT attached you should select either option 1 or 2 Hotspot Half duplex (courtesy tones are a personal preference)

5. Now we get to the meat of the configuration, some of the content out on the web contradicts which interface to use however the right answer I believe is Option 1: SimpleUSB

6. Enter your own call sign and accept that the Asterisk Service will need to be reset

7. After the Asterisk service restarts you should be in the Simple USB Tune utility. Make the following changes:

   1. Change / Verify PTT Mode is set to “ground”
   2. Change / Verify Carrier From is set to “usbinvert”
   3. Change / Verify CTCSS from is set to “no”

   After the changes the Tune Menu should look like this:

8. Be sure to select W to write your changes to the config file.

For those that are experienced with directly editing the SimpleUSB.conf file, this is the code to paste into your node settings

carrierfrom = usbinvert
ctcssfrom = no
invertptt = no 

At this point you should have a functioning AllStar node, congrats!! To tune and test your node,I would recommend you have a look at Freddie Mac KD5FMU the HamRadio Crusader on YouTube he has has some great videos on various configurations, services you can leverage to really expand what you can do with AllStar.

Thats it for now, 73

Chris - K5CTW