piHPSDR Manual

[Jean-Claude Abauzit]

I have been looking for such a manual without much success until today: there is a PDF on the Apache Labs web site.

It has been written by DL1YCF using LATEX and the "source code" of the manual is available on his Github which is referenced at the begining of the manual.

I did not read much of it yet and so far I did not find a mention of the Radioberry but one of the Hermes-Lite 2.

Even if there are things specific to the Radioberry which are not mentioned in this manual it is an invaluable source of information.

[Mike O'Callaghan]

I've been using the DL1YCF piHPSDR successfully with my Radioberry.  Seems to work fine so far, I made a first SSB contact yesterday using a Logitech H800 wireless headset with a USB dongle plugged into the Raspberry Pi 4.

You have to follow instructions to compile piHPSDR with the GPIO lines disabled, see especially Appendices G and J.

You can find this at: https://github.com/dl1ycf

[Jean-Claude Abauzit]

Thanks and congratulations for your first SSB QSO using the Radioberry. Which PA and LPFs are you using?

Regarding building piHPSDR the install script should take care of everything but it is good to know about the GPIO lines having to be disabled in case of problem. I read something about that concerning enabling local CW during install where there can be a GPIO conlflict which must be when GPIO lines are not disabled. For now I am still waiting for my pi4 to arrive and start doing the install. My Radioberry should arrive a few days later.

[Mike O'Callaghan]

First, maybe I should clarify a couple of points to avoid confusion.

On my SD card #1: I installed the current Raspberry Pi OS (Debian bookworm), then followed instructions on the Radioberry Wiki to install the Radioberry and piHPSDR software.  The result is:

piHPSDR build date 2022-01-25, v2.0.8-rc1, WDSP version 1.18.

On my SD card #2: I installed the current Raspberry Pi OS (Debian bookwork), then followed instructions on the Radioberry Wiki only through the step of installing the Radioberry software, stopping before the piHPSDR step.  I instead installed piHPSDR from the DL1YCF github site.  I used Linux installation instructions found in Appendices G and J of the DL1YCF piPHSDR manual, making sure to disable the GPIO option.  The result is:

piHPSDR build date 2024-05-15, v2.3, WDSP version 1.24.

I am using a Raspberry Pi 4 B.  The Radioberry Wiki website I used for installation instructions was: https://github.com/pa3gsb/Radioberry-2.x/wiki

Regarding the rest of the hardware, I’m using the QRP Labs “10W HF Linear PA” for QRP (no LPF yet), and a Pacific Antennas QRP Kit RF-activated “Easy TR Switch”.  Following this I’ve added the Neptune 50W amp from the Ukrainian company 60dBm (RF-sensed auto LPF switching).  I drive the Neptune PTT input using a secondary relay on the TR switch.

The above set of equipment has been assembled and seems to be fully functional.  However – I’m not yet seeing the full expected RF output power and am working with a friend to diagnose the cause (he also has a Radioberry and QRP Labs amp).   

[Jean-Claude Abauzit]

Thanks for the information. I was waiting for my RadioBerry to arrive before posting again. I first made the install as per the Wiki, answering Yes for local CW which was a bad move. I reinstalled PIHPSDR without this option and now PIHPSDR work.

Now I will try with DL1YCH latest version. The manual I downloaded is for V2.2 and the link you provided is for the latest V2.3. One nice feature introduced in 2.2 is the possibility to resize the windows without having to recompile PIHPSDR.

What is the problem with the GPIO option? It is set by default in the install script from the RadioBerry Wiki.

Is  DL1YCH version the official one?

Re-reading your post I notice that you have a Neptune amp and just by coincidence, a few days ago,  I watched a video regarding this amp. It looks like a very nice amp, in particular the auto band switching version (one less haedache when using it with a RadioBerry) and cheaper than a Hardrock 50 which is a kit.

[Mike O'Callaghan]

Hi, Jean-Claude,

GPIO question: piHPSDR works with multiple different SDR radios, they don't all use the Raspberry Pi GPIO pins/signals in the same way.  For the Radioberry these pins must be reserved for use only by the Radioberry software.  The piHPSDR compile option in the DL1YCH installation is used to tell phHPSDR not to use any of the GPIO pins since that would interfere with the Radioberry software.

Is the DL1YCH version "official"?:  All I can say is that there seem to be multiple versions out there (I'm no expert), I chose to try this one because it is used for the ANAN Apache SDR radios and seems to be kept up-to-date with latest DSP and GUI features.

The 50W Neptune PA with auto-band switching is working well.  Using the QRP Labs 10W amp (at around 1-3W) to drive the Neptune I can get about 50W out on all HF bands. Paul at 60dBm has been very responsive when I've had questions.  Be careful not to overdrive the Neptune; specified max input power is 5W.

 Good luck with your new Radioberry.

-Mike

[Jean-Claude Abauzit]

Thanks Mike.  Yes I am very new to the RadioBerry and it is difficult to figure out how this works. The PIHPSDR which is a port of PowerSDR works with the radios based on the OpenHPSDR project. These radio use ethernet to communicate with the software and RadioBerry is the only one  which uses the GPIOs. Up to now I did not find much information abouit that. I printed the schematics which will be helpfull to start understanding the connections between the PI and the RadioBerry.. Regarding the Neptune it will be far in the future. I am on the list for the 5W preamp which will allow me to experiment in particular with LPF filters and may be with BPF filters.  The Hermes-Lite V2 filter board is an intersting one. Paul also has some nice filters and amplifiers boards. A 10W one and a 20W one but that one runs on 24V.

Next step for me is to try the  DL1YCH software mainly because it supports dynamic resizing of the PIHPSDR window.

Jean-Claude

[Jean-Claude Abauzit]

Hi Mike, during my lunch break I had some thoughts.

First I made the assumption that  DL1YCH PIHPSDR does not know anything about the RadioBerry. It works as the RadioBerry is regonized as a Hermes-Lite 2 but you have to compile without GPIO. The current version of PHIHPSDR for the RadioBerry is compiled with GPIO.

So there is something causing problem with the GPIOs.

Second assumption:

When using  DL1YCH PIHPSDR with a Hermes-Lite 2 the GPIOs can be used to add functionality to the  Hermes-Lite 2. A quick search confirmed this: they can be used to connect a controller and may be other things but I did not search further.

To make  DL1YCH PIHPSDR trully compatible with the RadioBerry one would have to "basically" replace the GPIO module with the GPIO module for the RadioBerry. There may be other things and some unexpected side effects. Easier said than done.

I will have a look at the PIHPSDR install script for the RadioBerry, I may find gold nuggets in there.
So many things to do and so little time.

[Jean-Claude Abauzit]

Face plant.

Yesterday evening I looked at the PIHPSDR install script and found out that it uses G0orx repository as is. No modification for the RadioBerry. PIHPSDR does know the RadioBerry and when it says that the RadioBerry is a Hermes-Lite V2 it must be true. Perplexed I went to bed. This morning it occured to me that some magic must happen with the driver: the RadioBerry must appear as an Ethernet device. I did not check, I already spent too much time figuring how this thing works. At this point I am discouraged.

[pa3gsb]

pihpsdr does nowadays not contain specific radioberry code; during the start there was a special radioberry protocol (nowadays i should use the soapy sdr protocol); the intention was  to make a standalone solution no usage of the openhpsdr protocol. But introducing this protocol  for the radioberry openend a world of different SDR programs... so it happened that the firmware implements the protocol. 

https://github.com/pa3gsb/Radioberry-2.x/tree/master/SBC/rpi-4/device_driver/firmware

During the discovery phase the radioberry does send this in return:

unsigned char reply[22] = {0xEF, 0xFE, 0x02, 0x00, 0x01, 0x02, 0x03, 0x04, 0x05, gateware_major_version, HERMESLITE, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, NR, 0, gateware_minor_version };

tellng the SDR program understanding the protocol that a SDR is found and is a HL.

See the software stack:

https://github.com/pa3gsb/Radioberry-2.x/wiki/Radioberry-Software-stack

Hope this helps.

73 Johan

PA3GSB

Op woensdag 26 juni 2024 om 15:48:09 UTC+2 schreef jcad...@gmail.com:

[Mike O'Callaghan]

Thanks, Johan,

That confirms what I had inferred about Radioberry/piHPSDR, thanks for the explanation.

Mike (NJ0L)

Sent from my iPad

On Jun 26, 2024, at 9:05 AM, pa3gsb <pa3...@gmail.com> wrote:

pihpsdr does nowadays not contain specific radioberry code; during the start there was a special radioberry protocol (nowadays i should use the soapy sdr protocol); the intention was  to make a standalone solution no usage of the openhpsdr protocol. But introducing this protocol  for the radioberry openend a world of different SDR programs... so it happened that the firmware implements the protocol. 

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[Ravi Miranda]

Apologies for piggybacking on this email.. I sent a new message about
10 hours ago and it hasn't come through yet :(

Hi,
I'm trying to reinstall Radioberry through the installation script on
64bit Bookworm. There are errors during the install.
I have the following information as a starting point.

What are the troubleshooting steps required? I've tried to install
Bullseye 64 bit through legacy OS but did not have much success

Best 73,

Ravi

==================================================////
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo modinfo radioberry
filename: /lib/modules/6.6.31+rpt-rpi-v8/kernel/drivers/sdr/radioberry.ko
version: 4.01
license: GPL
description: Radioberry SDR device driver. (rpi-4)
author: Johan Maas - pa3...@gmail.com
srcversion: F44D535DA6256D6371962CD
alias: of:N*T*Csdr,radioberryC*
alias: of:N*T*Csdr,radioberry
depends:
name: radioberry
vermagic: 6.6.31+rpt-rpi-v8 SMP preempt mod_unload modversions aarch64
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo systemctl stop radioberry
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ sudo radioberry

====================================================================
====================================================================
Radioberry V2.0


Supports 4 receivers and 1 transmitter.

Build version: 2022.01.24

Have fun Johan PA3GSB

Report requests or bugs to <pa3...@gmail.com>.
====================================================================
====================================================================
Radioberry gateware version 0-0.
No Alex, N2ADR or generic filters interface board connected to radioberry
Radioberry amplifier config failed; only a problem if amplifier is installed.
Radioberry, Starting packet rx part.
Radioberry, Starting packet control part.
Radioberry, Starting packet tx part.
Your Radioberry is registered: http://www.pa3gsb.nl/radioberry/api/read.php
_____________________________________________________________________

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