AX.25 NODE BBS setup instructions for DigiPi 2.01

[David Rose]

Are there instructions for what files to edit when setting up a BBS using AX.25 Node Network?

[Craig]

That'd be a good wiki entry.

everything in /etc/ax25 and direwolf.node.conf .

grep DIGI /etc/ax25/*

change DIGI or #DIGI to your node name  (no pound signs)

-craig
KM6LYW

On 10/30/25 13:26, David Rose wrote:

Are there instructions for what files to edit when setting up a BBS using AX.25 Node Network?

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[David Rose]

Thanks, I've seen reference to a WIKI. Can you provide the URL?

David

[Craig]

Yah, i should have mentioned it - here's the link,

   https://github.com/craigerl/digipi/wiki/DigiPi-Wiki

Lots of support there - thanks everyone!

-craig
KM6LYW

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/digipi/73954d6c-73b8-436e-a5a8-6381bc08fa23n%40googlegroups.com.

[David Rose]

Thanks Craig,

I changed all instances of DIGI or #DIGI in the etc/AX25/ files that I found with grep.

I also changed my callsign to then NODE name which I randomly chose as CANOE. 

I'm confused by the difference between MYCALL and NODE. The instructions in the direwolf.node.conf file suggest changing the call to the node name.

Should my NODE name be my call sign K2LJL-4 that was initially in the direwolf.node.conf file? Or should I change all instances of my call with my NODE name that I chose.

This is what it is beaconing now. 

DNS-SD: Avahi: Service 'Dire Wolf on digipi' successfully registered.
[0L] CANOE>BEACON:CANOE Linux Node http://digipi.org/

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/digipi/73954d6c-73b8-436e-a5a8-6381bc08fa23n%40googlegroups.com.

[Craig]

I don't really know the tradition here, but to give you an idea this is how I setup COOL node.
Initialize pokes your callsign into the important parts and you're expected to change DIGI
to something else, COOL in my case.  If you use a tactical callsign, like COOL, just make
sure your real call is in the CBEACON.

cool,
-craig
KM6LYW

pi@cool:~ $ grep COOL direwolf.node.conf
MYCALL COOL
CBEACON via=KBERR dest=BEACON delay=00:30 every=30:00 info="COOL Node, KM6LYW-10 Winlink, http://craiger.org/bbs/ http://digipi.org/ "

pi@cool:/etc/ax25 $ grep KM6LYW *
ax25d.conf:##[KM6LYW-10 VIA udr0]
ax25d.conf:##[KM6LYW-1 VIA radio]
ax25d.conf:[KM6LYW-10 VIA radio]
ax25d.conf:[KM6LYW-4 VIA radio]
ax25d.conf:[KM6LYW-5 VIA radio]
axports:radio KM6LYW-10 1200 255 2 VHF
nrports:netrom KM6LYW-4 COOL 255     145.050 Linux Node
uronode.conf:NodeId             COOL:KM6LYW-4
uronode.conf:FlexId             KM6LYW-4
uronode.conf.digipi:NodeId              COOL:KM6LYW-4
uronode.conf.digipi:FlexId              KM6LYW-4
uronode.perms:KM6LYW * * abc123 255
uronode.users:KM6LYW:password:pi:shell

pi@cool:/etc/ax25 $ grep COOL *
ax25d.conf:[COOL VIA radio]
nrports:netrom KM6LYW-4 COOL 255     145.730 Linux Node
uronode.conf:NodeId             COOL:KM6LYW-4
uronode.conf:#Prompt "COOL: "
uronode.conf.digipi:NodeId              COOL:KM6LYW-4
uronode.info:Welcome to COOL!

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/digipi/CAK1xkA0%3D_UcvufY_NWrzXKPMQjuiSt0qpEvUNV9Xxiz1jS53gg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Dave Perkins]

David,

You don't want to change your call to your node name (CANOE) in direwolf.node.conf.  Keep it as yourcall-4 

[David Rose]

Thanks,

I have this now please check.

# optionally change your call to a node name here and in CDIGIPEAT below
MYCALL K2LJL-4

CBEACON  dest=BEACON delay=00:30 every=30:00 info="DROSE Node K2LJL-4 winlink"

CDIGIPEAT 0 0 DROSE

DCD GPIOD /dev/gpiochip0 16

[David Rose]

Also, I changed my Node name to DROSE , not canoe

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/digipi/72cf9a0f-0b50-4eab-9e87-551e00af9fdfn%40googlegroups.com.

[Craig]

looks great!  thanks for supporting the AX25 network community.

CDIGIPEAT will make you a ax.25 digi... in addition to netrom linking.

make sure DROSE is in /etc/ax25/* where you see DIGI

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/digipi/CAK1xkA2%2BioVNAaUNA3NQZip9ysCCbyMxRoXQh1xOLw9JMZ%3D6qg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Mike Backus]

Okay, I fought with this since this thread started. I sorted it out and have distilled it into a series of steps that have worked for me twice in a row. I am going to post it here for you all to take a look at before I try to get it into the wiki. It was a bit more fragmented than I thought. If there is anything that seems ridiculous or anything that i obviously missed, please let me know and I will get it modified. 

I have been having a hard time creating a github account so that I can modify the wiki, but I will work on that. 

Here is what I have.

 So, Changing the name of the BBS Node in Digipi was a bit more involved than I thought. The response from Craig was a great starting point. I was trying to get my node to answer the tactical call sign CREEK.  

Connect to your DigiPi thourgh the web browser of your choice. In the menu, below the toggles, find the “Shell” link. Use that to open a shell command line on the DigiPi. The default password is raspberry.  

First step,  

Command – sudo remount 

As displayed in the shell intro, this will make the file system writable. Without this command you will not be able to save any of the changes that yu are about to try to make.  

The initial instructions were to locate all the instances of DIGI or #DIGI in the /etc/ax25/  

Grep is good for this.  

Command - grep DIGI /etc/ax25/* 

This should return something like this: 

pi@digipi:~ $ grep DIGI /etc/ax25/* 

grep: /etc/ax25/mheard: Is a directory 

/etc/ax25/nrports:#netrom KB9ZDD-4 #DIGI  255     145.730 Linux Node 

/etc/ax25/nrports:netrom KB9ZDD-4 #DIGI 255     145.730 Linux Node 

/etc/ax25/uronode.conf:NodeId           DIGI:KB9ZDD-4 

 

This gets us headed in the right direction.  Reading that, it shows that we need to look at the following files: nrports and uronode.conf. We will start there. I use nano for text edits. It is already on the DigiPi build and i find it simpler to use. If you prefer another editor, feel free to use that. This is a good time to remind you that you must “sudo remount” before editing any of the files or you will not be able to save your files after editing them.  

Command - sudo nano /etc/ax25/nrports 

Should return somthing that looks like this.     

# /etc/ax25/nrports 

# 

# The format of this file is: 

# 

# name callsign alias paclen description 

# 

#netrom KB9ZDD-4 #DIGI  255     145.730 Linux Node 

netrom KB9ZDD-4 #DIGI 255     145.730 Linux Node 

 

Edit that bottom line, replacing #DIGI with your node name, in my case CREEK, and whatever you want the description to be. Mine ended up like this: 

 

Netrom KB9ZDD-4 CREEK 255 KB9ZDD-4 145.730 CREEK Node 

 

Save the nrports file.  

 

Let’s look at the uronode.conf file.  

 

Command - sudo nano /etc/ax25/uronode.conf 

 

It is too big to post the full file here, but the parts that we are interested in for a node rename are: 

 

#Node ID. 

#This displays before all output texts when the user connects into 

#your node via NetRom. Set to "" to leave blank. 

#Note: This -must- be defined or will display as "(null)". A space 

I#s hardcoded in. Example: UROHUB:N1URO-2 do NOT add the bracket 

#Afterwards "}" this is predefined in URONode. 

#NodeId XXXXXX:XX#XX-#  

NodeId DIGI:KB9ZDD-4 

 

  It is that last line we want. Replace DIGI with your node name: 

NodeId CREEK:KB9ZDD-4 

We now have everything that grep got us, but there are two more files to look at. First, lets check out /etc/ax25/ax25d.conf 

Command – sudo nano /etc/ax25/ax25d.conf 

Again, not the whole file, but the section that we need to look at: 

 ####################### Node AX.25  

[KB9ZDD-4 VIA radio]  

NOCALL * * * * * * L  

default * * * * * * - root /usr/sbin/uronode uronode  

#default * * * * * * - root /usr/sbin/ax25-node ax25-node 

 

That second line [KB9ZDD-4 VIA radio] is our focus. Change your callsign in that line to the node name that you are trying to set.  

[CREEK VIA radio] 

Save that and exit your editor.  

Next, we should check the direwolf.node.conf 

Command – sudo nano direwolf.node.conf 

The three lines that we are interested in are: 

#optionally change your call to a node name here and in CDIGIPEAT below 

MYCALL KB9ZDD-4 

CBEACON dest=BEACON delay=00:30 every=30:00 symbol="winlink" info="KB9ZDD-4 Linux Node http://digipi.org 

 

CDIGIPEAT 0 0 KB9ZDD-4 

 

Follow the modification instructions on that uncommented line. 

MYCALL CREEK 

CBEACON  dest=BEACON delay=00:30 every=30:00 symbol="winlink" info="KB9ZDD-4 CREEK Linux Node http://digipi.org 

CDIGIPEAT 0 0 CREEK 

If you remembered to “sudo remount” before you started all this and were able to save your edits to these four files, you should be done.  

Exit the shell. Go back to the digipi.local screen. At the bottom of the menu, there is a “Save Configuration” button, click on it. Once you receive the message to restart the digipi, click the “restart” button.  

Once the Pi restarts, it should answer the new Tactical call sign.  

I would also recommend editing the /etc/ax25/uronode.info file. This is what is displayed to the user when they connect to the node. You can add whatever info you feel there, but I would make sure that your actual callsign is displayed.  

I am unsure if the “sudo” command is actually required on some of the commands that I have used above. I use it and they seem to function correctly. Some of them will not finction correctly without it so i use it on all of them out of habit. Liux Gurus feel free to correct me on proper sudo usage if you feel the need.  

 

[Craig]

Winning!!  thank you.   I wonder if we can upload this as an attachment
to the digipi wiki at github.com/craigerl/digipi

I did all these steps to bring up "COOL" node, but ultimately the default
node name is #DIGI and YOURCALL-4.   I use #DIGI as an "invalid" node
name which wont insert itself into routing tables, which you should only
do if your node will be up full time.

great job!

-craig
KM6LYW

[Mike Backus]

The only thing that I might change is the modifications to the ax25d.conf file. Changing it like I did will connect to it when you call CREEK, but I would like it to answer to CREEK and KB9ZDD-4. It currently will answer KB9ZDD-4 but not connect correctly, which I think lies in that config file. I am going to add a section to that and see if I can get it to reliably answer to both.

I will do that testing this weekend and let you know how it works out.  I dont mind this being in the Wiki, that is what I intended, but I cannot get it there. 

[Craig]

I don't know if it helps, but I just posted the COOL node configuration here
if you want to compare/contrast, or give any tips,


https://craiger.org/craiger/cool/


CDIGIPEAT works great, but i'd also like it to cdigipeat "KCOOL" as well as "COOL"... when i
add KCOOL, it inserts COOL into the repeated routing table, breaking reverse connections.
That's my only complaint tho.


cool,
-craig
KM6LYW

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[Dave Perkins]

Good job and thanks for the writeup. It was a lot of trial and error trying to figure this out on my part as well. 

One thing though, in AX25d.conf. The part that you wrote:

 

####################### Node AX.25  

[KB9ZDD-4 VIA radio]  

NOCALL * * * * * * L  

default * * * * * * - root /usr/sbin/uronode uronode  

#default * * * * * * - root /usr/sbin/ax25-node ax25-node 

 

That second line [KB9ZDD-4 VIA radio] is our focus. Change your callsign in that line to the node name that you are trying to set.  

[CREEK VIA radio] 

 You can leave this alone and just add another line under it with you node name. Copy the info from from above into it. Posting a screenshot of mine below:

You can see above I have the name of my node as LCITY. I also still have the line with KC6ZBE-4. With these two in ax25d.conf, anyone can connect to me using either LCITY or KC6ZBE-4.

73 and Happy New Year!

[Brian Webster]

Here is a link to configuring URO Node by the original author N1URO (SK), keeping in mind that this document is meant for a node “stack” which would have contained multiple radios and TNC’s or modems (Which DireWolf no nicely replaces that hardware)

 

https://www.qsl.net/ww2bsa/index_htm_files/Linux%20ax25%20and%20node%20configs%20explained%20-%20by%20N1URO.pdf

 

This might help a great deal. Since you are setting up a node on a connected network things are very different than unconnected packets on the APRS system. You are sending packets and expecting acknowledgements in return. Parameters for node is very critical to having a proper function packet network.  There are limitations in the length of the node Alias (6 Characters). This is a limitation in the NetROM protocol that goes back to the 1980’s

 

Also remember as you add a node to any active packet frequency  (The Network) the concept of hidden node syndrome creeks in (Carrier Sense Multiple Access Networks suffer from this). Since there is no wait to send because someone else might be talking that a hilltop site can hear and you can’t, it is possible that as you try to move more data and packets, the node at the hilltop you are trying to connect to is hearing someone else trying to do the same thing and the packets at the hilltop aren’t decode because they both arrive at the same time. Busy packet channel seem very slow because of this. The concept of store and forward on the same frequency makes this problem more pronounced.

 

I love the fact that DigiPi can be set up as a packet network node and join in to an existing network. There are just some things like I mentioned above that have to be considered that are part of the reality of the network design.

 

Dedicated packet node sites usually have multiple radios and modems, one for user access and other radios/modems (Ports) designed for moving data between other node sites that users cannot connect to. This minimizes the hidden node problem and moves data through the network more efficiently because one single radio and modem is not trying to do a digital store and forward on the same frequency that all of the other mountaintop nodes are also on. The inter node traffic is moved off to dedicated backbone links or ports.

 

There is a lot of information about large scale packet networks on this page https://www.qsl.net/ww2bsa/eastnetpacketfiles.htm

Much of this information is from what we learned in the 1990’s and early 2000’s when we built a network from Main to Ohio BEFORE there was the internet that we know today.

 

I love the idea that there are new people learning and discovering packet radio networks!

We have an EastNet mailing list for anyone who really is interested in packet networks https://groups.io/g/EastNetPacket#submenu0

 

Craig, if you ever want to chat and talk about some of these topics such that you can use it for content in future episodes of your YouTube channel I am available to share what I know. I am a huge fan of your content and have been a longtime Patron.

 

Thank you,

Brian N2KGC – President EastNet Packet Radio Group

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/digipi/c59041eb-dee4-432a-a98a-099ff724f5fbn%40googlegroups.com.

[Mike Backus]

Brian, 

Your reply was very useful, as it got me looking ot some of the other issues that might arise. Although it is not much of a problem at this point as there are no nodes near me that I am aware of or have been able to hear on any of the common VHF freqs. I am in the very beginning stages of rebuilding a network in the area. This will be setup as a demonstration to try to get more folks interested. 

I will certainly look at your group and pull as much info as I can. 

Before I hit reply, I looked at your site. That is the first packet map that I have found that actually works! It shows a node one town north of me, that I am about to try to get into. Thanks already. 

[Mike Backus]

That is exactly what I was thinking. I modified that and it now answers to both. Thank you very much. I will update the walkthrough.