Thanks to all of our early adopters! The response to DRAWS has been overwhelming.
The first units have shipped, but it will take a couple more days to work thru the backlog. You will receive an email when your order ships along with the tracking number.
We have initiated the next build and will open up ordering again, once we have a target date to ship.
Thanks for your patience.
A few questions have come up about DRAWS.
WHAT IS DRAWS
Digital Radio Amateur WorkStation Board
DRAWS is a platform with multiple components.
First, it is a Raspberry Pi HAT. This is a purely hardware solution that puts several components that are useful for amateur radio projects on a single board; namely a high-performance sound chip (CODEC), a GPS with pulse per second (PPS) that includes an embedded battery backed real-time clock (RTC), and a 12VDC power circuit to power the onboard devices and the Raspberry Pi from a single power supply. It has two mini DIN-6 audio sockets that match the ‘TNC’ specification found on many radios designed for amateur radio, an SMA connector for a powered GPS LNA antenna, power connection socket, and a small GPIO array for additional I/O.
Secondly, the DRAWS Workstation, which is the HAT plus an SD Card, Raspberry Pi, and an optional metal case, which creates a self-contained unit. The Raspberry Pi provides the computing power for the workstation to run the drivers for the HAT components and applications to provide various functions. Those functions are mostly in the realm of packet radio (Direwolf modem, AX.25, APRS, etc.), other digital modes (fldigi, WSJT-X, etc.), and digital voice (D-STAR, etc.), and ancillary utilities and applications such as a Stratum 1 timeserver, GPS location, and so forth.
Is there a prebuilt image for DRAWS?
The short answer is Yes. Get the beta at http://images.nwdigitalradio.com/downloads (current_beta.zip)
Starting with delivery of the DRAWS HAT, a downloadable image will be available to run the DRAWS workstation. It will contain the current version of Raspbian (Stretch) including preloaded DRAWS HAT driver and a selection of applications that have been compiled for and tested on the DRAWS platform.
The image is known as Compass Linux, however, except for the driver, application selection, and some configuration parameters, it is plain old Raspbian. After booting the image, Raspbian repositories are used for updates of the operating system.
What technical support is provided for DRAWS?
NW Digital Radio supports the DRAWS HAT hardware and its driver software. All other applications are provided on an ‘as is’ basis, with support for configuration and operation of those applications provided by the authors and user community for those applications. NW Digital Radio’s DRAWS HAT driver and configuration is Open Source Software and is free for amateur radio use.
Can I just use Raspbian or another distribution?
Yes. However, you will need to add the Compass Linux repository to install the DRAWS HAT driver and to access pre-built applications for the DRAWS Workstation.
Creating your own image using Raspbian or other components assumes that you are familiar with the creation and administration of such a system. NW Digital Radio cannot provide support or technical assistance for images created independently of the Compass Linux distribution.
Can I use another single board computer in place of the Raspberry Pi?
NW Digital Radio will provide schematics and pin out information for the DRAWS HAT and the driver is open source software. Experimenters are free to use this documentation to try other platforms but do so at their own risk and NW Digital Radio is under no obligation to provide advice or engineering support.
We like experimentation, and wish to encourage amateurs to ‘put the amateur back in amateur radio’, however we do have limited resources and must focus them on our supported configurations.
Why is there a distinction between the DRAWS HAT and DRAWS Workstation?
In the design phase of the DRAWS platform we recognized we have two primary communities we need to offer products to:
First the DYI community. They like to get under the hood and understand the various parts of a solution. They like building/assembling projects, experimenting, and sometimes save a little on the upfront cost. These are candidates for the DRAWS HAT. They can purchase other components as needed.
Secondly, there are those who want to buy a pre-assembled solution, connect it to their radio(s), power up, configure, and operate. These are candidates for the DRAWS Workstation.
In either case, their solution may be dedicated to one configuration or they may want to explore additional modes and configurations using a single piece of hardware.
Is my application or mode supported by DRAWS?
We get the question “Does DRAWS do ‘XYZ’?” The answer to that is, “Is there and application that does ‘XYZ’” already ported to the Raspberry Pi which uses a soundcard and configurable GPIO, USB, or network (Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth) for control and access. If the answer is yes, then it should work with the DRAWS platform.
A list of pre-installed applications will be included with the release of the image, and more will be added over time. Some early known applications include: Direwolf, AX.25 tools, Fldigi, dstarrepeater/ircddbgateway, WSJT-X, and more.
I have an application that I would like to add to the DRAWS platform, how do I get it added?
If you are the author of an application or a builder/integrator of an open source project, then contact support@nwdigitalradio.com and we will discuss access to engineering and other resources to get your project on DRAWS.
Software projects work best if the source tree includes all of the resources to build a Debian package.
Who do I contact about orders, delivery, and warranty issues?
All standard ordering should be done at the website at https://nwdigitalradio.com/shop/
Once your order is shipped, you will receive a tracking number for the shipment. Use it to follow your package’s progress to its destination. NW Digital Radio does not have any additional information than what is presented by the tracking service.
If you wish to enquire about large quantity orders, need a formal quote for a special purchase, warranty follow-up, etc. contact sales@nwdigitalradio.com
Where is the best place to discuss questions and ideas for the DRAWS platform?
Join the forum at https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/udrc
Early adopters can purchase the DRAWS board for $129.95, a $20 discount, along with the companion GPS/LNA Antenna for $9.95, a $5 discount.
Here’s the Brochure:
Digital Radio Amateur WorkStation
The production run arrives this week as well as cases and power connectors. We will ship next week once the units have passed test.
You will need to provide a 12V nominal PS (9-15V will work).
The cases will require modification to access the power and USB.
After shipping existing orders we will have a few additional units for sale.
This is a custom build for the XLX team, using their design found at https://github.com/LX3JL/usb-3006 and we will warrant the hardware from defects for 90 days.
All software and configuration support is from the XLX team at https://github.com/LX3JL/xlxd and community at https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/xlxd-star/info
From the repository at https://github.com/g4klx/FMRepeater
“These are the source files for building the FMRepeater. This is a simplified version of the old Analogue Repeater that has existed on the OpenDV GitHub repository for many years. It has the following features:
It builds on 32-bit and 64-bit Linux as well as on Windows using Visual Studio 2017 on x86 and x64.page on the LCDproc website for more info.”
From the repository at https://github.com/g4klx/MMDVM-UDRC
“This is the source code of the MMDVM program/daemon that supports D-Star, DMR, System Fusion, P25, and NXDN modes via the UDRC Pi interface.
It will provide all of these modes in simplex mode, and all bar DMR in duplex mode. It is not possible to get DMR to operate in duplex mode via the UDRC. If you want full duplex in all modes then you will need to run a full MMDVM system including hardware.”
See the announcement at https://nw-digital-radio.groups.io/g/main/topic/mmdvm_udrc/18176410
At 6:20 on the timeline.
NW Digital Radio is seeking input for the next Raspberry Pi based Amateur Radio digital station platform.
The new Raspberry Pi HAT will contain a CODEC (sound card) based on the successful UDRC II and will include two amateur radio packet standard mini DIN-6 ports allowing one or two radios to be connected with PTT and SQL detect and support programs/protocols such as:
Direwolf – providing multi-speed packet radio modems (2 channels) [APRS, RMS, Xastir, URONODE, …]
wsjt-x – K1JT family of digital modes including FT8
fldigi/flrig/… – digital modes
dstarrepeater – D-STAR hotpsot/repeater
and more
This will be an integrated package, in a custom case, with available pre-built images requiring minimum configuration.
Please participate in the survey, and give your opinion on GPS integration. It is only one multiple choice question and should only take a minute of your time.
Thank you.
Feel free to forward this email to appropriate individuals and mailing lists.
Today is the last day to order an XC-3006 6 Channel AMBE Vocoder. We’ve received 22 of the 25 orders required for an assembly run. We need 3 more to make the run.
If you are one of the 30 Kickstarter Backers and you haven’t received your discount coupon please email me.
Thanks,
Bryan K7UDR
NW Digital Radio has been evolving over the last few years. Our initial focus was to develop a 70cm radio focused specifically at higher speed digital communications for the amateur radio market. This is still a goal, however, due to a series of conditions we cannot predict when this will happen.
While working on the various aspects of the radio we have been able to produce a series of products that have sustained the ongoing efforts of the company.
We have learned a lot in the process and will be taking that knowledge into new products going forward.
We at NW Digital Radio are problem solvers, and like the process of assembling a project from components, both hardware and software, and have delivered products based on that model.
For some products this model works very well, like our ThumbDV™, which has been very successful when used with software like BlueDV, WinDV, AMBEserver, DummyRepeater, XLX/ambed, and more. Thousands are finding that the ThumbDV™ is just the right product at the right price point and are successfully using it to communicate from computer, over the network, to Digital Voice protocols such as D-STAR, DMR, and more.
Other products, such as the UDRC and UDRC II, have allowed the creation of digital communications systems whether D-STAR repeaters, fldigi workstations, Direwolf sound modem TNCs, or other soundcard DSP based systems. Many of these projects have come about by experimentation and integration by individual amateurs working with open source software and our boards.
However, as we talk with customers and potential customers, we find that many are more interested in solutions that are prepackaged with hardware, software, and a case. Basically, they want a “plug and play” solution that requires little to no integration beyond basic cabling to radios and some minor, guided, configuration.
In 2018, you will see NW Digital Radio evolving from a component provider to a solution provider. We continue to be dedicated to products that leverage open source software and standard platforms, but will be focusing on delivering solutions that are pre-integrated with hardware, software, and packaging.
We will also continue to provide the experimenter and developer a platform that they can access and build upon.
Furthermore, we intend to use the kick starter model on some products where there appears to be an interest in the community, but where we need to know the level of that interest before proceeding with full inclusion of an idea into our product line. If you find a product on our kick starter list, please support it, the risk to you is minimal, while helping us bring out innovative solutions.
Some of the projects we have under design at the current time include:
and more.
Look for these projects to roll out over the next few months. We think 2018 is going to be a great year to continue to put “The Amateur back in Amateur Radio” —
Your NW Digital Radio team.
