Thursday, September 12, 2019

Building A System Fusion Simplex Node. (Part1)


Building A System Fusion Simplex Node.
(Part1)

Forward:- From Yaesu UK.
System Fusion is Yaesu’s implementation of Digital Amateur Radio, utilizing C4FM 4-level FSK Technology to transmit digital voice and data over the Amateur radio bands. In the early 2000’s GMSK emerged in the Amateur radio market as the dominant digital mode, however in 2013 Yaesu introduced “System Fusion” which quickly became the dominating digital format in Amateur radio because of quality, reliability and enhanced performance in a wide range of environments.


The design of System Fusion was genius, allowing it to be used as a digital or analogue system meaning hams did not have to go out and replace their beloved favourite radio and buy more equipment to use the local repeater.  Well not strait away at leased 😊

This was something I hated about Dstar – If your local repeater group “upgraded” the system to Dstar you had to go out and buy new Icom only gear and let me tell you this was flipping expensive when Dstar hit the market!

Along with the expense of Dstar, I personally found it quite hard to setup & use. It was very overwhelming to me having to register my call on a website just to use my radio.
“Maybe this has changed?”

Then I saw System Fusion & the Wire-x System.

To me the Wires-X system looks like EchoLink on steroids with all the rooms & ability to drive the link or repeater anywhere you want.
If you are running on Analogue then the use of DTMF Tones are required to access the rooms you wish to access much like EchoLink, however if you are on Digital then you can get the list of rooms sent to your radio!

Talking of Radios – Here are a couple, a HT & a Mobile.


I had been trying to convince my local ham radio club to setup something digital for a while to no avail because at my location, Near Malin Head – Co. Donegal, there are no digital systems to play with at all.
My plan is to setup a simplex system on UHF. I’m using UHF as we run a 2m repeater here EI2IPG on EchoLink.

I think for the time being the system is going to be on analogue as I don’t have any digital radios for this project, but I do have a few handhelds I can use to monitor and talk through the system with.
 
The node radio is going to be a Motorola GM340 as I have one of these setup on UHF Simplex.
The other item I need is a Wire-X Interface, the HRI-200


A company called Moonraker in the UK (www.moonraker.eu) had the interface in stock so I ordered one.

This Interface will allow me to take full advantage of the Wires-X system and give me the following features.

APRS
Voice Mail
News & WX
Warnings
Text messaging
Pictures

Like I said before a fantastic system.

I found on the Internet called Shop Chip (https://shop.f5uii.net/)
They sell a neat little device that plugs into the back of the Motorola radios 16 pin socket to give you a 6-pin socket like on the back of the Yaesu radio. (Motorola Connector to mini-Din adaptors)
I believe these to have the same “industry Standard” wiring so I should be able to plug the interface into this without any problems – But I will be checking the wiring diagrams before use!

The Motorola Connector to mini-Din adaptors are in kit form and are €7.50 + delivery to Ireland.

At this moment in time I’m just waiting for items to arrive to start building the node / link.
Check back soon when we start to build up all the parts into a working system.












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