AllStarLink Node 63683
A full-duplex AllStarLink node running here in Summerfield. RF access is via an HSR USB Duplex Repeater hotspot — low power, local coverage for the station and the truck on the driveway. The interesting part is the link side: the node is open on AllStarLink, so anyone with a node can connect from anywhere in the world.
Being duplex rather than simplex matters more than it sounds. A simplex hotspot can’t hear anything while it’s transmitting, so on a busy hub you have to wait for it to drop before you can get a word in or send a DTMF command. Duplex transmits and receives at the same time — so you can break in like you would on a real repeater.
- Node number
- 63683
- Mode
- Full duplex
- RF interface
- HSR USB Duplex Repeater
- Audio IC
- CM-119B
- Channel driver
- SimpleUSB
- Host
- Raspberry Pi 5 · NVMe · ASL3
How to Connect
Licensed amateurs are welcome. From your own AllStarLink node:
; connect, transceive *3 63683 ; monitor only *2 63683 ; disconnect *1 63683
Please identify with your callsign and leave a pause between transmissions so linked systems can key up.
Station
Base
- Icom IC-7100
HF / VHF / UHF all-band, all-mode transceiver
Mobile
- Icom ID-5100
Dual-band mobile — in the truck
Handheld
- Kenwood TH-D75A
Tri-band HT with D-STAR and APRS
Antenna
- Diamond X300A
Dual-band 2 m / 70 cm base vertical
Infrastructure
- AllStarLink ASL3 on Raspberry Pi 5
- SimpleUSB radio interface
- Allmon3 dashboard
- Full transmission audio archive
Digital Modes
- D-STAR · APRS · AllStarLink
About
Est. 1970 — married, with six kids. Licensed in November 2024 as KQ4WSV, now holding the vanity call W9APZ. Technician class, operating from Summerfield in the North Carolina piedmont. Also licensed for GMRS as WSFH657.
Where to find me
Most often on node 42235 — the K4JDR repeater, 441.725 MHz out of Raleigh, part of the Carolina 440 UHF Link System. Node 63683 stays permanently linked there, so calling on 42235 is the surest way to catch me.
Carolina 440 is a non-profit network of linked UHF repeaters covering large parts of North Carolina, supporting SKYWARN, AUXCOMM/ARES and public service events across the region. The weekly Carolina 440 net runs Monday evenings at 19:30.
Local club — GARA
Member of the Greensboro Amateur Radio Association, who sponsor the W4GSO repeater on 442.8625 MHz (+) — a D-STAR machine covering the Piedmont Triad. The North Carolina D-STAR net runs Tuesdays at 21:00.
N4IV — Madison
Also found on the N4IV repeater out of Madison, NC — up in Rockingham County, north of the Triad.