Image: ZS5RMN AllStarLink Node (Click on image for larger view.)
The AllStarLink Network is growing in South Africa
Yet again another AllStar Node has joined the ZS1I AllStar Hub Network in Mossel Bay. This time it is the node of Richard ZS5RMN from Pietermarizburg. It is located in Chase Valley, Pietermarizburg in the Kwazulu Natal province. Pietermaritzburg is the inland capital city of South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, positioned closest to Durban and significantly further away from the Western Cape coastal cities of Mossel Bay and Cape Town.
Geographic Breakdown
From Durban: Pietermaritzburg sits roughly 67 to 90 kilometers inland to the northwest. It is an easy 1-hour drive along the N3 highway, which functions as the primary economic corridor connecting Durban’s port to Johannesburg.
From Mossel Bay: It is located approximately 1,200 kilometers away by road to the northeast. Driving between the two takes around 15 to 16 hours, moving from the Garden Route up through the Eastern Cape via highways like the R56 and N2.
From Cape Town: Pietermaritzburg is located roughly 1,870 kilometers away by road to the northeast. Driving directly between them requires a major road trip of about 22 hours across the interior of the country.
Image: Chase Valley, Pietermaritzburg. Click on image for larger view.
Pietermaritzburg offers a surprising variety of specialized attractions for hobbyists, ranging from miniature steam engineering and live-action gaming to craft markets outdoor sports tracking and Amateur Radio. Whether you are into mechanical building, model building, action sports, electronics or crafting, the city and its immediate borders host several notable hubs.
To practice Amateur Radio means to regularly engage in the activity you enjoy, outside of work or school, for leisure and personal enrichment. It's about developing skills, learning new things, and finding enjoyment in the process. You can practice Amateur Radio by setting aside dedicated time, finding resources or communities related to your chosen activity, and consistently working on improving your skills and knowledge.
Chase Valley on the Air
This is exactly what Richard has done. He has setup a DMR Hotspot and is using his DMR Radio to talk all over the world whenever he feels like it. He recently setup an AllStar Network Node at his home in Chase Valley, Pietermarizburg. AllStarLink is a world wide network of Amateur Radio repeaters, remote base stations, and hot spots accessible to each other via the Internet and/or private IP networks. AllStar software runs on a dedicated Linux computer (including the Raspberry Pi) that you host at your home, radio site, clubhouse, school, university, workplace, or computer center. AllStar is based on the open source Asterisk PBX and is released under the GNU GPL and is free for anyone to use. The core of AllStar and AllStarLink is the powerful app_rpt application and associated modules that load into the Asterisk PBX system.
The ZS6RMN Node is Alive
The allstarlink node that Richard setup links to the ZS1I AllStar HUB Network in Mossel Bay. Any radio amateur can connect from around the world to the Shari Pi AllStar node of Richard in Pietermarizburg. The SHARI (SA818 Ham Allstar Radio Interface) is a ham construction project designed by N8AR that implements a Raspberry Pi hosted Allstar node using a NiceRF SA818 embedded UHF (420 – 450 MHz) or VHF (144-148 MHz) radio module. SHARI PiXX is designed as a kit for construction and use in the amateur radio service by licensed amateur radio operators. More info on the SHARI Pi can be found HERE.
Now lets look at the ZS5RMN SHARI Pi AllStar Node particulars:
Images: (Click on images for larger view.)
Images: Click on images for larger view.
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