Image: The South African SVXLink Portal landing page. (Click on image for larger view.)
South Africa now has its own SVXLink Portal thanks to Curtis ZS6CMO. For a while now Curtis ponder over the issue to setup a SVXLink Portal for South African radio amateurs. The portal can also be used by other SVXLink users World Wide. The portal is currently running on a test basis and Curtis is still busy working on other aspects of the portal. As can be seen there is already the following users:
- SOUTCAPE
- ZR1ACP
- ZS6CMO
I am sure other users will soon follow suite.
Now what is earth is an SVXLink Portal?
In short an SvxLink Portal (often called an SVXPortal or SvxLink Dashboard) is a web-based interface that allows users to monitor and manage SvxLink
reflector networks in amateur (ham) radio.
SvxLink is an open-source "radio operating system" that runs on small computers like the Raspberry Pi, turning standard analog radios into advanced repeater systems. An SvxLink portal visualizes this network on the web and provides several useful features:
- Live Node Monitoring: View a real-time list of all connected analog repeaters, simplex nodes, and active users currently on the network.
- Talk Group Management: See which "Talk Groups" (logical channels) are static, active, or monitored by different repeaters in the network.
- Traffic Statistics: Access logs and metrics, such as how many hours of transmission occurred and which nodes are the most active.
- Connection Tracking: Visually map how different stations and reflectors link together over the internet.
Because it relies on database-heavy platforms (like MySQL), the portal is typically hosted on a separate server or computer rather than the Raspberry Pi running the actual radio node.
Herewith a few images. An update once the South African SVXLink Portal is fully operational will be published in Part 2. More information will also be provided on how this portal will be incorporated in other amateur radio VOIP networks.
Curtis ZS6CMO has done sterling work in this regard and I want to congratulate him on establishing the first South African SVXLink Portal.
Images: Click on images for larger view
