Let's try to kill the silent Amateur Radio Killer out there!! (Part 2)

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In Part 1 we looked at the first "killer" in this series named the Internet Outage Killer.   Article available HERE.

Many of you would say use real amateur radio radio's and you will not have to deal with silent amateur radio killers.  With all do respect it is not about real radios.  I use what I have available and that will serve the purpose that I have intended for it.  In other words I use the communications medium for a specific reason and purpose.  It is definitely not a hard and fast rule.  I use old valve tech to the newest surface technology, VoIP, Digital Voice modes etc. whenever I feel like using at the time. 

Now in this article I will be looking at the next silent Amateur Radio Killer out there.  In short, the dreaded Server Killer - A "server killer" most commonly refers to a cyberattack or malicious script designed to crash, overload, or disable a network server (such as a DDoS attack). Depending on the context, it can also refer to malware targeting system security.

I am referring to the concept of "Internet Dependence" or "Server Centralization," which many operators call the silent amateur radio killer.

While modes like DMR, D-STAR, and Yaesu System Fusion (C4FM) offer crystal-clear digital voice, they heavily rely on internet-connected master servers and network bridges (like BrandMeister, EvoHam servers, or Reflectors) to route audio globally. When these external servers go down, the internet infrastructure drops, or an emergency grid failure occurs, the radios immediately fall dead and silent—defeating the off-grid, self-reliant purpose of amateur radio. 

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Why Centralized Servers are Considered a "Silent Killer"

• The "Brick" Effect: If a master server or local gateway goes offline, your expensive digital radio cannot connect to talk-groups, leaving you completely cut off from the network. 
• No Warning Signs: Unlike analog radio, where static creeps in to warn you of a weak signal or a failing repeater, digital voice gives no warning. It works perfectly until it instantly drops into absolute silence. 
• Single Points of Failure: Centralized network servers handle routing IDs and call-signs. If hackers target these servers or the host data centers experience outages, entire networks go down globally. 
• Loss of the "Radio Art": Critics argue that routing 99% of a voice conversation over the commercial internet via "hot-spots" turns a radio into nothing more than an expensive, glorified VoIP microphone. 

Direct Comparison of Vulnerability

Digital Voice Mode	Primary Server/Network Infrastructure	Vulnerability to Internet/Server Outage
DMR (Digital Mobile Radio)	BrandMeister, TGIF, IPSC2 Master Servers	High; local hot-spots and linked repeaters fail if servers drop.
D-STAR	Gateway Servers, REF/XRF/DCS Reflectors	High; call-sign routing and global linking cease without the internet.
System Fusion (C4FM)	Yaesu Wires-X Servers	High; rooms and internet node linking go offline completely.
FreeDV (Open Source HF)	None (Pure Over-The-Air HF)	Zero; completely independent of servers for voice traffic.

The True Off-Grid Alternatives

To combat this vulnerability, many hams are moving away from server-dependent commercial protocols and returning to true decentralized RF infrastructure:

• FreeDV: An open-source digital voice protocol designed for HF (shortwave) bands. It does not use any central internet routing; voice is encoded, sent over the air via standard SSB radios, and decoded directly on the receiving side. If the internet dies, FreeDV keeps working. 
• M17 Project: A completely open-source, non-proprietary VHF/UHF digital voice protocol developed specifically to break away from commercial, server-reliant restrictions. 
• Digital Simplex / Local Repeater Modes: Using DMR or Fusion in "simplex" (radio-to-radio) mode removes the internet entirely, relying strictly on direct line-of-sight RF range. 

Is moving away from server-dependence the true Off Grid Alternative or would running your own server from home not be the better alternative?

Running your own server at home creates a personal private network, but it does not create a true off-grid alternative. If your home internet or power goes down, your network still collapses. 

Moving away from servers completely (pure over-the-air RF) and running a private home server serve two completely different goals.

Why a Home Server is Not True "Off-Grid"

• Dependency on Internet ISPs: If you run a DMR or AllStar Asterisk server at home, you still rely on your internet service provider to route traffic to your fellow radio amateurs  houses.
• Power Grid Vulnerability: A home server requires constant power. If a storm knocks out the local grid, you need substantial backup batteries or generators to keep it running. 
• Public IP Changes: Home internet connections usually have dynamic IP addresses, which can change and break connection links unless you manage complex Dynamic DNS settings. 

The Benefits of Running Your Own Server

While it is not off-grid, hosting your own server (like a Private BrandMeister Master, a XLX D-STAR Reflector, or an AllStar Link Node) offers massive advantages: 

• Complete Privacy: You control who connects to your talk-groups or rooms, away from public network moderators.
• Immunity to Global Outages: If the main worldwide servers get hacked or experience a data center outage, your private network remains completely untouched.
• Custom Configuration: You can build unique talk-group structures and automated scripts tailored exactly to your local radio club. 

The Ultimate Hybrid: Mesh Networking

If you want the power of a server but the independence of true off-grid radio, the best alternative is Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN). I have propagated the use of AREDN all along (since the early 2000's) as this will serve you well when the commercial server killer (commercial server outage) strikes as long as you have back-up power to run the equipment on.

• Off-Grid Internet: Radio amateurs use modified commercial Wi-Fi routers to create an independent, high-speed microwave data network.
• Local Servers: You can run a server at your house, and other hams can connect to it over the air without using the commercial internet at all. 

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During a recent Severe Weather event in the Southern Cape we experienced power and internet outages which resulted in the following servers being off-line during this event:

• BrandMeister Master South Africa
• Echolink Servers (All over the world)
• AllStarLink Servers (All over the world)

These outages did not only effected the Southern Cape but also other parts of South Africa.  On a local level the outage did not kill the local DMR Digital Repeater as well as the ZS1I AllStarLink HUB Network in the Mossel Bay area as AREDN provided the server and backup for these systems to operate locally.  Echolink was completely off the air for the duration of the event as it needs the Internet to function.   In Part 1 I mentioned the use of Starlink if it was available but as mentioned supra we all know by now that Starlink in South Africa will not be implemented under the current dispensation unless a miracle happen.  Be as it may we as radio amateurs cannot sit and wait for that day to arrive .  We need to look at alternatives and in Part 1 I also discussed the alternatives.

I would like to encourage my fellow radio amateurs to look at AREDN but also to look into hosting your own server locally in the Shack. (like a Private BrandMeister Master, a XLX D-STAR Reflector, or an AllStar Link Node)  Some might be of the opinion that power- and internet outages do not last for weeks or months and to wait for a while will not hurt anybody or I will use my local analog repeater or HF Radio etc. if there is a need to communicate.  

I respect your opinion but would it not be great to have alternatives available and I am not even talking about the opportunities here to learn and experiment to find alternative that work great.  My whole life I tried not to be dependent on others.  I try to be self sufficient as far as possible but also in the amateur radio hobby.  So far I achieved what I wanted to do but there is ample work to be done in killing this amateur radio killer aka "Server Killer".

In a future posting I will be looking at other methods to "replace dead servers" which will allow me and hopefully others to communicate locally when servers go down.  At least the equipment that depend on the Internet will not be useless in times of need.  In the Afrikaans language we have a saying " 'n Boer maak 'n plan!".  We need different plans / alternatives and the more the merrier.  I made a few plans!  Lookout for Part 3 coming soon.

Finally:  Do you have a back-up plan for your digital voice radios should servers or the internet fails.  If you have a solution or ideas then tell us about it.  Send your comments to the following Email.

New AllStarLink3 - Mumble Bridge (Additions / Extensions) to the ZS1I HUB Network in Mossel Bay (Part 2)

When working or setting up any amateur radio addition or extension, I believe to do it in a structured manner.  I have therefor compiled a list of the sequence on how I installed all the firmware needed for the AllStarLink3 (ASL3) / Mumble Bridge.  I have said it before that articles on this Blog is not to brag or boast and therefor it is also used as a "library" or reference / storage facility should I want to revert back to a project I undertook.

I need to inform readers that this listed method worked for me and the equipment I used.  I can therefor not guarantee that it will work for your setup. 

Herewith the sequence list:

Install the following firmware on the Raspberry Pi 4 

1.  Use a new clean SD Card to write the firmware on.  I only use SanDisk Ultra Class 10 cards in all of my projects.  Never had a card fail on me.

2.  Write AllStarLink3 (ASL3) Bookworm firmware to the SD Card using Raspberry Pi Imager.

3.  Install and run ASL3 Raspberry Pi.  I use a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.5 4 Gig Ram.  I am sure one can run the firmware of a Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W.  I opted to install the Mumble Server  and Mumble Client on one of my Dell Optiplex PC's.

4.  Setup a Public Node using the asl-menu command.  In my instance the public node number is 467650.

5.  Setup a Private Node using the asl-menu command.  In my instance the private node number is 1977. 

For assistance on how to setup the above two nodes and DVSwitch, do a search on Youtube for videos by Ham Radio Crusader.  Link:  https://www.youtube.com/@HamRadioCrusader  

6.  Connect the following 3 x Nodes permanently together:  467650, 1977 and 49355 (ZS1I Hub Node)  I used a script to connect all three nodes together permanently.  

7.  Install the ASL3 Check Connection Script to connect the above three nodes permanently together.

8.  Install DVSwitch on the Raspberry Pi.  No setup needed. I used the Analog_Bridge folder to store the bridge files and firmware.  When you install DVSwitch the Analog_Bridge directory will be amongst other directories that were installed in "/ " under the opt directory.  $ /opt/Analog_Bridge  This is the directory I used to work out and run the mumble_bridge.py script.

9.  Install pymumble on the Raspberry Pi.  I used the system wide installation.  Run:  $ pip3 install pymumble from the cursor in the /home/pi main root directory.

10.  It is now time to install the AI created Mumble_Bridge.py script file in the Analog_Bridge directory.  Name of file = mumble_bridge.py (6.6 kb python file 8 June 2026 18:38:09)  Copy this file to the Analog_Bridge folder using FileZilla.

11.  Install the tcpdump network packet analysis utility program.  This program will assist you if you have any audio packet issues.

Install the following firmware on the Dell Optiplex PC running Linux Mint 22.3

1.  Install the Mumble Client (PC) version.  This is your main control program where you will see all the clients, channels, servers etc.  Mumble uses a client–server architecture which allows users to talk to each other via the same server.

2.  Install the Mumble Server. Also called Murmur.  Murmur is the VoIP server component for Mumble. Murmur is installed in a system-wide fashion, but can also be run by individual users. Each murmur process supports multiple virtual servers, each with their own user base and channel list.

Installed the following application on my Oppo Phone

Plumble Free Ver 3.2.0 nowadays called Mumla - Mumble VoIP and available via PlayStore. 

Note:  I would advise that the Mumble PC Client and the Murmur (Mumble) Server be installed completely separate from ASL3 / DVSwitch/Mumble_Bridge on the Raspberry Pi.  I found that the performance is just better and faster and here is no clashing/fighting between the firmware.

  

Breathtaking sunrise this morning in Mossel Bay situated along the Garden Route of South Africa!

The images below were taken this morning (11 June 2026 @ 07:27) from my QTH in Mossel Bay, South Africa.  The images really do not capture the complete beauty of the sun rise because a two-dimensional photograph cannot convey lived experience, movement, atmospheric lighting, or the emotional depth of a moment. Real-world beauty engages all the senses, whereas an image flattens reality into a simple static frame.  None the less the images are better than no images at all.  

Garden Route was officially crowned the best road trip in the world.

South Africa's Garden Route was officially crowned the best road trip in the world by a global study. It achieved an impressive score of 90.6 out of 100, outperforming iconic drives like Route 66 and the Pacific Coast Highway due to its stellar visibility, low winds, and perfect driving weather. 

🗺️ The Route at a Glance

• The Stretch: Roughly 300km (about 185 miles) along the N2 highway.
• The Path: Runs directly through your area—stretching from Mossel Bay eastward to the Storms River Mouth.
• Key Highlights: The route is celebrated for seamlessly blending towering mountains, ancient indigenous forests, lagoons, and the rugged Indian Ocean coastline.

🌲 Core Attractions

At the heart of this global champion is the Garden Route National Park, which is divided into three main, unmissable sections: 

1. Wilderness Section: Famous for calm waterways, birdwatching, and outdoor activities like canoeing and mountain biking.
2. Knysna Section: Known for its lush forests, estuarine environments, and the chance to spot the endangered Knysna seahorse.
3. Tsitsikamma Section: Offers rugged coastal scenery, dramatic hiking trails, and the iconic suspension bridge at Storms River Mouth. 

🚗 Popular Towns to Stop and Explore

You don't just drive through this route; the stops are what make it special. Some of the top towns and villages along the way include: 

• Mossel Bay: The official starting/end point for the drive.
• Wilderness: Quiet, sweeping beaches and river estuaries.
• Sedgefield: Famous for its bustling Wild Oats Community Farmers' Market (go early to beat the crowds).
• Knysna: Great for oysters, lagoon cruises, and forest walks.
• Plettenberg Bay: Beautiful beaches, marine safaris, and upscale eaterie

Why not explore this world-renowned coastal drive over 3 to 7 days, discovering hidden gems and local wildlife along the way and as a bonus you might experience sun rises as seen in the image below.

Enjoy!

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