Has anyone else heard of M17?

I've been playing with M17 a fair bit lately and gotten involved with the developers on the M17 Discord.

M17 is a new digital voice and data mode for VHF/UHF. It has some similarities with modes such as D-STAR and Fusion, but it's 100% open source and built from the ground up by hams. M17 is an exciting space, with rapid development taking place on many fronts. While there's no complete M17 radios yet, there's functioning gateways (latest MMDVM software supports M17, and eventually Pi-Star will be upgraded). There's also a number of modems that can be used with 9600bps capable radios, and the OpenRTX project is making good progress on new firmware for the MD-380 and other similar radios to run M17. M17 can also be accessed at the network level through DroidStar.

Anyway, I have been quiet but plan to stick around more.


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Hi Vk3jed!

17 Dec 2021 20:06, from Vk3jed -> All:

M17 is a new digital voice and data mode for VHF/UHF.

Never heard of it.
Please keep us updated how it goes for you.
I do have a pi-star hotspot, so maybe it will be supported there in the future.

CU, Ricsi

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On 01-05-22 14:21, Richard Menedetter wrote to Vk3jed <=-

Hi Vk3jed!

17 Dec 2021 20:06, from Vk3jed -> All:

M17 is a new digital voice and data mode for VHF/UHF.

Never heard of it.
Please keep us updated how it goes for you.
I do have a pi-star hotspot, so maybe it will be supported there in the future.

It's fun to play on the bleeding edge, and it's possible to modify a Pi-Star hotspot to support M17. However, the first step of such an upgrade needs to be the modem/hotspot board firmware. There's also an unofficial update that you can apply.

... Housework - like putting beads on a string with no knot at the end.

:D


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Hi Vk3jed!

07 Jan 2022 15:19, from Vk3jed -> Richard Menedetter:

M17 is a new digital voice and data mode for VHF/UHF.

Please keep us updated how it goes for you.
I do have a pi-star hotspot, so maybe it will be supported there
in the future.

It's fun to play on the bleeding edge, and it's possible to modify a Pi-Star hotspot to support M17. However, the first step of such an upgrade needs to be the modem/hotspot board firmware. There's also an unofficial update that you can apply.

I have a HS_Dual radio.
Will wait a bit until it is better supported.

I do not get the concept fully yet.
Does pi-star convert it, so that you can talk to somebody with an m17 HT with DMR or D-Star HTs?
Or do you need a M17 HT?
And what HT does support M17?

PS: I just played around a bit with the onion router.
Set up a relay node, and out of curiosity set up a hidden service.

CU, Ricsi

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On 01-10-22 14:32, Richard Menedetter wrote to Vk3jed <=-

I have a HS_Dual radio.
Will wait a bit until it is better supported.

They work well with the firmware upgrade.

I do not get the concept fully yet.

It's 100% open source, that's the real concept. If you like open source, it's worth looking at.

Does pi-star convert it, so that you can talk to somebody with an m17

No, M17 has its own network protocol and reflector network.

HT with DMR or D-Star HTs?
Or do you need a M17 HT?

You need a radio capable of M17, if you want to use RF.

And what HT does support M17?

At this point in time, none, but there has been a lot of work done on firmware to convert inexpensive DMR radios into M17 radios. Currently, it's not ready for general use, but progress is steady.

I use a MMDVM based modem with a FT-818 myself. This uses the same board that you would use to build a DV repeater, but different software on the Pi that takes mic and speaker audio, and transmits/receives 4FSK baseband to the radio, via the data port (in 9600 mode). But for quick network access, I often use DroidStar, for convenience, which can directly access M17 reflectors from your phone. Not as much fun as RF, but handy in a pinch. And since M17/Codec2 is open source, you don't need any hardware dongles or plugins of dubious legality. :)

PS: I just played around a bit with the onion router.
Set up a relay node, and out of curiosity set up a hidden service.

Interesting. :) I've never played with Tor myself.



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