There is a new Wiki entry on using the UDRC™ on packet radio with the direwolf soundcard TNC
See: Wiki Post
Using the UDRC™ + Raspberry Pi 3 + 7″ Touchscreen Display + a FT-817 (or other radio) makes a great little desktop Xastir based APRS viewer.
Hi John:
So are you recommending the 7″ MCM electronics touchscreen display for the UDRC and the raspberry 3 ?… I would like to run mine as a controller for the dr-1x repeater. I would like a decent touch screen for the repeater controller. I could live with a 7″ touch screen.
Hi Jeff,
I would characterize it as an example rather than as a recommendation. The display is the official Raspberry Pi 7″ touch display.
I am using it with the Raspberry Pi and the UDRC. They go together nicely and its supported out of the box by the Compass kernel.
One caveat: Some directions have jumpers running from the Pi for GND, +5V, SCA, and SCL. Only jumper the +5 and GND (attaching the other two will cause issues). When attached to the 15-Pin cable (e.g. the DR-1X) for power there is plenty of current. You will need to solder in a couple of PCB pin headers for the jumpers between the Pi and display controller.
In the example for direwolf/Xaster, powering by USB, you can leave the jumpers off and power the boards with a micro USB Y-split cable.
The UDRC has a buck power converter which provides plenty of current for the 3 boards. Many USB power supplies are under powered. A 3A supply is recommended.
The screen resolution is 800 x 480 pixels — you may want to look at any applications that you would use and make sure they are usable at that resolution before purchasing the display.
I have a small Bluetooth keyboard for desktop use, but if the Pi is in a metal case, that may not be practical. Fortunately you can plug in USB keyboards (and mice).
Hi John:
Thanks I may wait a bit and get things all running first and then think about a nice touch display. I was in a bit of a planning stage.