BlueDV

BlueDV formerly known as bluespot

BlueDV, formerly known as Bluespot, is an Android and Windows application for digital amateur radio communications such as DMR, D-Star and Fusion. It was written and is maintained by David, PA7LIM of the Netherlands.

BlueDV Author: David - PA7LIM

This is David and he lives in Utrecht with his girlfriend and beautiful daughter. His occupation is Linux/Network/Cloud consultant at a company in The Netherlands. Certified in VCP, CCNP datacenter, CCNP routing/switching, CCDP, LPI 1&II, RHCE (almost RHCA). In his private life he likes to play/listen music, play golf, drive motor and write applications in several languages. In May 2013 he passed his Novice HAM license ( PD7L ) and 4 months later he bought his icom ID-51E and red dongle. The combination of HAM radio and programming brought him to the idea to write an android application called ircDDB remote. In March 2015 he passed his Full license ( thanks to PA3GER and PA3FMN) . His new call is now PA7LIM. In the summer of 2015 he started a new project. He tried to make a DSTAR hotspot/dongle on an Android phone. He received a AMBE3000 board from Guus PE1PLM en started to build the software. After a few weeks of wiresharking (network sniffer) the G4KLX software, he was able to make his first QSO from an Android phone. Then he started to make a hotspot with the DVMEGA dual band transceiver, so he could make a QSO from a ICOM transceiver. In 2016 David got in touch with Rudy PD0RZY, who helped him to understand the Brandmeister DMR part. In the meanwhile Guus PE1PLM made the DVMEGA DMR ready and Ruud PE1MSZ made the Bluetooth board. In February David had a working DSTAR and DMR hotspot.

PRESENTER: Denny - KD5DLJ with XYL Mary Joyce - KF5KLS

In this presentation, I, will be talking about my personal experience with using BlueDV on a 10" Android tablet that is connected to my DVMega on a Bluestack as pictured at the top of this page..

The images may or may not look exactly like mine depending on the device you are using the software on but the main items will apply. Prerequisites to making an actual connection using this app include connecting your android or windows device to the internet either via cell data connection provided on the phone or through a mobile data hotspot such as an iPhone or wifi network. I trust you know how to do that.

This is a screen capture of the latest beta version of BlueDV. It has changed esthetically from the latest release with the type now being black over the color background instead of reversed white type; a brushed aluminum background which I think makes it looks more Mac-like (the only close ties to the mac environment): and added background colors for the transmit/receive panel.

CONNECT: The Connect button is used to connect your BlueDV application to your DVMega device via Bluetooth. INFO: The Info button reveals helpful information about your system including credits, your DVMega firmware version and the app version, plus website information of the app creator.

SETTINGS: Necessary configuration settings include your Callsign, DMR id, frequencies for each mode, DMR Master, password, etc.

Once all your settings have been made, you will be ready to connect to your master server or reflectors.

SELECTING DIGITAL MODES and REFLECTORS: DCS, REF, XRF are the available choices for D-Star networks; DMR; FCS and YSF are Fusion Reflectors.

MODE REFLECTOR SELECTIONS: Upon selecting the mode of communication, a couple more menu options appear for selecting the desired reflector for connection. In this case we are selecting a D-Star DCS network reflector.

CONNECT BUTTON: Click on the green phone handset when you are ready to connect to your selected network. NOTE: You will need to disconnect from the reflector before making another selection. Disconnect by clicking on the phone again.

DMR: In the DMR mode, you will be connected to the Brandmeister Network. Click on the phone handset icon to connect. Once connected, you will use your DMR radio to select the TalkGroup you wish to use by keying the PTT for a second. As you can see in the photo above, the connect button is no longer green, but grey, meaning you are now connected to the DMR Master Server and network.

When transmitting, the status box will turn green if you have colors turned on in the settings beforehand.

When in receive mode, the status box will turn red and will display the callsign and DMR # of the one transmitting. The meter will provide helpful visual feedback regarding your transmission and reception. A really nice feature is the running list of users who have transmitted with their Callsigns and names. This is a great feature for those who are running a net. Use the DIM OFF button to dim the screen to prevent screen burn when away from your station.

As you can see here, BlueDV for Windows looks quite a bit different than on the Android. I would imagine that installation and setup are different on Windows, too. I don't have a Windows machine so can't speak to that from experience.

David's BlueDV website will provide you with much helpful information about his software for Android and Windows. Click on the button below to visit his website.

www.pa7lim.nl/bluedv

FINAL COMMENTS

Some have wondered why BlueDV has to be running in the foreground on their devices. The reason is that when it gets put in the background, folks often start running another application that takes a lot of processing power away from BlueDV which doesn't allow it to process voice frames in time.

Good news! David is working on a version that will run on Apple devices! Yahooooo! It is a little more challenging but he's gonna give it a go. Stay tuned for more news on the Apple front.

Keep in mind that David has no commercial interest in DVMEGA or Combitronics. He's just a guy who loves to combine HAM hobby and coding. Most coding is done after work. If anyone have issues with the software, please sent him an email at info@pa7lim.nl Reporting bugs makes the product better and better!

Denny - kd5dlj.com - Fun on a Bluestack

Below are several youtube videos of BlueDV in action, both on Windows and on Android. There are many more that I'm sure many of you have already watched. Hope they are helpful.

Created By

Denny Johnson

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BlueDV formerly known as bluespot

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