Rasberry Pi 3 B+ linking

[RadioIsNecessary]

Curious to link my GMRS repeater to the national network. However, I'm dumb as a box of rocks with Rasberry Pi 3 B+.

Since the store is currently out of stock. I have located others on E-Bay and Amazon. Does Rasberry Pi 3 A also work with the MyGMRS software or do I need to get the 3 B+? My repeater is a BRidgecom so I assume there is a cable to plug into pi. Help!!!

 

[Newb]

I'm not sure why you need a 3 b+ since the 4 series is out with more memory and a faster processor.  The 3 a is old and is slug slow. 

All the RPis have 4 USB ports and one RI45 .  The newer versions have 2 USB 2 ports and 2 USB 3 (blue) ports.  I believe the 4 series is has 10/100 ethernet.

I stopped using Pis when the price went to $139.  You can buy a bare bones mini computer that will run Linux for the same price and they don't need cooling fans and heat sinks if they are working hard.

I too am new to the repeater side so I hope this helps.

[Irish]

Not sure about your answer. NewB. I believe the software only works with up to pi 3’s it doesn’t work with pi4’s that I know of. 

[Newb]

Check this site.  I believe you will find the latest and greatest OS works on all prior hardware. There is no specific OS for a Pi 3.

https://www.raspberrypi.com/software/

[Newb]

Out of curiosity, what app will you be loading on the Pi?

[Newb]

I just noodled the MyGMRS site and I don't find specification that says it has to be a Pi 2 or 3.  They say if you have your own Pi you can get a pre-loaded SD card configured with the OS and software.  I'd call them and ask about a later model of Pi.  I believe the latest version of Pi is Buster.  

[Newb]

Well, that tells you how long I have been away from the Pi world, I just looked at the web site above and the latest version Pi OS is 11 (bullseye)

[KAF6045]

6 hours ago, Newb said:

All the RPis have 4 USB ports and one RI45 .  The newer versions have 2 USB 2 ports and 2 USB 3 (blue) ports.  I believe the 4 series is has 10/100 ethernet.

Not all R-Pi models have RJ45 Ethernet. There are a few WiFi only models. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raspberry_Pi#Model_comparison

Original Model A and A+, the original Zero (not only no Ethernet, no WiFi either), 3 A+, and Pico.

The 3B+ has Gigabit Ethernet -- BUT throughput limited since it passes through the USB subsystem/chips. The 4B has a true Gigabit Ethernet chip set. 3B+ and 4B also have dual-band WiFi.

4 hours ago, Irish said:

Not sure about your answer. NewB. I believe the software only works with up to pi 3’s it doesn’t work with pi4’s that I know of. 

A more likely possibility is that the software works with an older version of Debian (base for the RaspiOS). Pi4 wasn't supported until Buster (Debian 10) came out. Current release is for Bullseye (Debian 11). If the software bears any resemblance to the Pi-Star suite (Amateur Radio digital mode hotspot and small repeater boards), it may still be tied to Jessie or Stretch (Pi-Star actually skipped the Stretch/9 release since the R-Pi 4 was arriving and required Buster -- no sense working on a release that would just have to be redone within months).

 

[Newb]

I"ll check to see if I have a 3 laying around and let you know.

[wrci350]

7 hours ago, Newb said:

I stopped using Pis when the price went to $139. 

"The price" has not changed at all.  Go look at an authorized reseller's site and you'll see they are still the same price they were two years ago.  Unfortunately, they are also all out of stock everywhere.

There are people out there that are buying them from an authorized reseller (on the rare occasions that they are available) and turning around and selling them at highly inflated prices.  Illegal?  No.  Immoral and wrong?  Some would say so.  Others would say they are good business people.  But either way, the official prices have not changed.

[Newb]

radioisnecessary, I have a 3 B V1.2 I will send you if we can connect.  #s are too slow for my projects.

[Newb]

350, It's supply and demand.  If legit suppliers don't have product and the price is higher from a different vendor, the price has increased.  The value of a product depends on what the buyer is willing to pay.  It's just like the current housing market, houses selling for much more than they are worth.

[wrci350]

1 hour ago, Newb said:

It's just like the current housing market, houses selling for much more than they are worth.

If all houses were produced by one manufacturer and sold through a small set of resellers at a price set by the manufacturer then I would agree with your analogy.

How about, "Best tickets for this sporting event are $75 but you can get them for $400 from some guy standing in the parking lot the night of the game.  That means the price of the tickets is $400."

Fortunately I have a small stockpile of Raspberry Pi's that should last me until they can be purchased for $35 (the price) again.  

[RadioIsNecessary]

23 hours ago, RadioIsNecessary said:

Curious to link my GMRS repeater to the national network. However, I'm dumb as a box of rocks with Rasberry Pi 3 B+.

Since the store is currently out of stock. I have located others on E-Bay and Amazon. Does Rasberry Pi 3 A also work with the MyGMRS software or do I need to get the 3 B+? My repeater is a BRidgecom so I assume there is a cable to plug into pi. Help!!!

 

I guess I'm looking for a recipe that is plug and play in order to link my repeater with the Network. I appreciate the input given by all who responded. I guess I need to do some more research. 73!

[SteveShannon]

23 hours ago, Newb said:

I'm not sure why you need a 3 b+ since the 4 series is out with more memory and a faster processor.  The 3 a is old and is slug slow. 

All the RPis have 4 USB ports and one RI45 .  The newer versions have 2 USB 2 ports and 2 USB 3 (blue) ports.  I believe the 4 series is has 10/100 ethernet.

I stopped using Pis when the price went to $139.  You can buy a bare bones mini computer that will run Linux for the same price and they don't need cooling fans and heat sinks if they are working hard.

I too am new to the repeater side so I hope this helps.

One of the most difficult concepts in engineering is that more isn’t necessarily better. For use with MMDVM software a Raspberry Pi 3b+ will run longer on a battery and with less chance of overheating. 
A Raspberry Pi 3b+ has enough processing power and memory for most repeater networking. 

[dosw]

20 hours ago, Newb said:

I just noodled the MyGMRS site and I don't find specification that says it has to be a Pi 2 or 3.  They say if you have your own Pi you can get a pre-loaded SD card configured with the OS and software.  I'd call them and ask about a later model of Pi.  I believe the latest version of Pi is Buster.  

If it will run on a PI zero, in fact, that would be a great choice in a solar powered setup, since that little Pi-0 draws so little.

[Irish]

7 hours ago, RadioIsNecessary said:

I guess I'm looking for a recipe that is plug and play in order to link my repeater with the Network. I appreciate the input given by all who responded. I guess I need to do some more research. 73!

A pi2/3/b will work with the MyGMRS software with a supported interface card. The MyGMRS software has not been updated for running on a pi 4 yet. This requires updated boot files. MyGMRS software is like all Allstarlink but modified for its own api’s and features. Hense the link mapping system/dashboard/ node manager. Same foundation but different face. A lot of features are stripped/modified so I wouldn’t think you would just use any other linking software. Your on the right path. Just follow the how to get on MYGMRS doc. Along with getting your node number. It took me sometime. But I hear that if you pay for the pre installed card it’s plug and play and they offer support. 

[Newb]

I'm am not a programmer but it sure would be nice if this app was re-written in Java or written for Arduino.  Java apps run on any OS and hardware platform.  Arduino is a cheaper less complex hardware base. 

[SteveShannon]

48 minutes ago, Newb said:

I'm am not a programmer but it sure would be nice if this app was re-written in Java or written for Arduino.  Java apps run on any OS and hardware platform.  Arduino is a cheaper less complex hardware base. 

A Java web client used to be supported but nearly all browsers have abandoned Java and the web client is no longer supported for AllStarLink. https://wiki.allstarlink.org/wiki/Web_Transceiver

An Arduino is not a microprocessor; it’s simply a microcontroller and when you write software for it you write every bit (pun intended).  What that means is that there’s no operating system, no user interface (except what you write) and no services built in for ASL to use, such as networking and storage.  That’s what’s nice about Pi; it’s a complete microcomputer an operating system and with all necessary services. Arduino and Pi are two completely different things. 

[Newb]

Point taken. I have used the Pis since 3 and Arduinos for the past year. You can add networking to the Arduino with a shield and code supplied from the web but storage is a problem.  I'm retired from a large insurance firm where I encountered several different operating and computer hardware systems. 

Arduino is moving along with people writing code for things such as a HAL and the like.  The processors are getting larger but storage on board is still and issue.  RISK programming is getting better all the time with the new generations of young programmers and their new ways of thinking.  Not discounting us old guys here!!! 

[axorlov]

1 hour ago, Newb said:

RISK programming is getting better all the time with the new generations of young programmers and their new ways of thinking

Yeah, sure. Your RISKs are higher as you put more trust into the new generation of young programmers capability and way of thinking. (see what I did here, as a retired insurance professional?)

That was a joke, of course. You clearly meant RISC (reduced instruction set computing). For new generation it is mostly very-high level programming, like C#, Java, Python. I know because I interview them often. I ask question about <genuine problem> to see how they think, and answer 90% of time is "I will google and find Python module to do so". Given 30 minutes to google they come dry because it is a <real problem>, they usually pack and go to never be seen again. With the rest 10%, who attempt to actually think, we often can develop a productive collaboration.

Arduino is not a match for Pi or similar boards (beaglebone, jetson, khadas, etc) for the same reason you do not drive golf cart on a freeway.

[Newb]

Yes, and this new generation will move down the road for $.50.  Good catch on the RISC!!!

[RadioIsNecessary]

On 7/3/2022 at 6:26 PM, Irish said:

A pi2/3/b will work with the MyGMRS software with a supported interface card. The MyGMRS software has not been updated for running on a pi 4 yet. This requires updated boot files. MyGMRS software is like all Allstarlink but modified for its own api’s and features. Hense the link mapping system/dashboard/ node manager. Same foundation but different face. A lot of features are stripped/modified so I wouldn’t think you would just use any other linking software. Your on the right path. Just follow the how to get on MYGMRS doc. Along with getting your node number. It took me sometime. But I hear that if you pay for the pre installed card it’s plug and play and they offer support. 

Thanks!

 

[wrnv921]

Just Fired up my Pi 3A+ which stops at the Color Screen and refuses to Boot..

Any Hacks to allow the PI 3A+ to Work ?

Thanks

Rob..

[KAF6045]

3 hours ago, wrnv921 said:

Just Fired up my Pi 3A+ which stops at the Color Screen and refuses to Boot..

Any Hacks to allow the PI 3A+ to Work ?

Thanks

Rob..

Remove any piggyback boards, download a recent RaspOS image and burn to a new SD card. See if that boots?

Note: recommend using the R-Pi installer for this, as it has a series of pages to configure username/password (the old default is no longer created on image burn), set up WiFi, enable SSH, etc.

If this won't boot, consider that board possibly dead.