AMATEUR RADIO
Wesley Belt
Inside my shack, from the FT-991A and AllStarLink to packet radio and the dashboard I built to see it all in one place.
See what’s new in the shack
KO4KRI on QRZ
MY STATION
The Yaesu FT-991A handles HF, VHF and UHF. A Dell running Debian ties together the radio, AllStarLink, packet tools and the shack display. I use the station to experiment with voice, digital modes and emergency communications.
CLUB MEETING SHOWCASE
Audio and CAT tested
Node 662701 links RepeaterPhone to the FT-991A. During a supervised test, I checked audio in both directions and confirmed that the radio unkeyed when I released push-to-talk. I also verified memory recall and independent VFO B tuning with transmit inhibited.
Running on the shack Dell
Built for an older iPad, the dashboard brings radio readouts, AllStar service status, local weather alerts and computer health into one view. From my private connection, I can submit a tuning request for someone at the Dell to review. Direct browser tuning is still in development.
Digital radio bench
I’ve been setting up Pat Winlink on the Dell and feeding it location from a Garmin GLO. Winlink and AllStar use the same FT-991A, so the station switches which one controls the radio. Live APRS and Winlink cards are planned for the dashboard.
44NET / AMPRNET
I use 44Net and WireGuard for the AllStar side of the shack. The public project notes are here on Cloudflare Pages. I use Tailscale to reach the private shack dashboard from my own devices.
About 44NetPRIVATE ACCESS
Connect a device signed in to my Tailscale network before opening the Shack Companion.
Open the station dashboard and the operator’s tuning request screen.
Open Shack CompanionThe family dashboard is available on the home network. A private remote shortcut is planned.