Like most hams, I have an assortment of various radios. I have multiple of each major style of ham radio (HF, HT, and mobile). I just bought a Digirig Mobile and some cable sets for some o my radios. That will be great I’m sure. I do maybe wish to also do some Winlink, APRS or whatnot via an Android phone and some K1 equipped HTs. Do I need a Lite, or can a Mobile act as a lite by just using the audio side of it? What about GPIO3 PTT method? Not included in Mobile? When might it matter?
yes, before the lite was an option, many user simply ‘ignored’ the cat/ci-v/remote control capability of the digirig mobile and just used the audio + PTT cable.
as you stated, there is no gpio/ra-board/cm108 ptt method.
so where this matters depends. ‘most’ software developed before the cm108/gpio method becamed available/popular, used the RTS/DTR method so it’s really just a matter of software settings to match ptt method.
good luck
kb0wlf
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Thanks for the reply. Please excuse my rudimentary understanding of this. I have been doing some reading of course before hand and it has lead me to these questions.
Is it kind of universal that vox based PTT method is available with all (or nearly all) software and that can always be used with the audio side of the mobile? Yes, this presumes the radio supports vox of course.
As has been written, vox is the least desirable of PTT methods. What popular software might support GPIO3 but not RTS? What I have read says RTS method can be tough with Android based software. If I need to get a Lite to support the GPIO3 method that is not out of the question, but I was hoping the big brother Mobile could handle anything I needed.
I’m not asking anyone to do my software research for me. I’m just looking for some insights from people who already have and know some answers. My OS of choice is Linux for desktops and laptops, and Android for phone or tablet (unless the tablet can run Linux of course). I’m mainly interested in APRS and Winlink at this time.
I’ll focus on the Android side of things for the moment. I have gotten APRSDroid and WOAD. Anyone know if these support non CAT radios via the RTS method the Mobile supports?
That should help narrow things a bit. I’ll ask about specific setups for other jobs as I come to them and probably in a different thread I should think. But for now, can the Mobile be used for non CAT radios with popular Android software using the RTS method, or does one need to get a Lite to gain the GPIO3 method, or resort to the lowest common denominator of vox?
If anyone knows please share. If not, I’ll grab my own shovel and start digging through dox for specifics.
i can share on WoAD and aprsdroid
woad supports ptt via rts no problem.
samsung s25+ ‘discovers’ the digirig mobile ahead audio and serial without fail.
aprsdroid has only reliably worked for me on the original branch that is quite old and connect it via bluetooth tnc.
vox is my least desirable way to work digital.
the signalink users have had success with vox for many years but there are very few programs i can think of that have no alternative.
droidSSTV is one of them. SSTV for android. the author produced a device called the w0lphilink that was a vox box with trrs plug for an android phone with audio jack.
so my personal thoughts on vox are:
if you have multiple radios or plan to, try not to rely on radio based vox.
the radio settings differ from rig to rig and especially modes on HF, can be a challenge.
good luck
kb0wlf