DVSwitch Installation and User Guide

Version 1.61
 Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................................1
Getting Started...........................................................................................................................................2
How to install DVSwitch-Server on a Raspberry Pi..................................................................................3
DVSwitch Server Configuration................................................................................................................4
Main Menu............................................................................................................................................4
Initial Configuration..............................................................................................................................5
Advanced Configuration.......................................................................................................................7
Configure Other Stanzas...................................................................................................................7
TG/Ref DB Management.................................................................................................................8
Ad Hoc Menu & Macro....................................................................................................................9
Additional DMR Networks............................................................................................................10
DVS Tools Menu.................................................................................................................................11
Clone RPi SD Card.........................................................................................................................11
Configure ini. files..........................................................................................................................11
Update & Upgrade..........................................................................................................................11
Language........................................................................................................................................12
Restart DVSwitch Services............................................................................................................12
Shutdown RPi Server.....................................................................................................................12

Appendix A: DVSwitch Mobile Android Client...................................................................................A-1

Basic Configuration..........................................................................................................................A-1
Dialer Screen................................................................................................................................A-1
Accounts Tab................................................................................................................................A-2
Mode Select Screen......................................................................................................................A-3
Talkgroup Listing.........................................................................................................................A-4
Status Display...............................................................................................................................A-5
Config Screen...............................................................................................................................A-6
Macros Window...........................................................................................................................A-7
Advanced Configuration...................................................................................................................A-8
Main Menu...................................................................................................................................A-8
DMR Server Selection.................................................................................................................A-8
Setting Audio Levels....................................................................................................................A-9
Manage TG/Ref DB...................................................................................................................A-10
Tools Menu.................................................................................................................................A-10

Appendix B: pyUC (python USRP Client)............................................................................................B-1

Introduction.......................................................................................................................................B-1
Features.............................................................................................................................................B-1
Install Instructions by Platform.........................................................................................................B-1
Windows 10..................................................................................................................................B-1
Linux.............................................................................................................................................B-4
Mac...............................................................................................................................................B-6
Configuration....................................................................................................................................B-7
Using pyUC to Access DVSwitch.....................................................................................................B-8
The Main Screen...........................................................................................................................B-8
Settings and About........................................................................................................................B-9

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page i

 Table of Contents
(Continued)

Advanced Configuration.................................................................................................................B-10
Main Menu......................................................................................................................................B-10
DMR Server Selection................................................................................................................B-10
....................................................................................................................................................B-11
AUDIO GAIN Setup..................................................................................................................B-11
Manage TG/Ref DB....................................................................................................................B-12
Tools...........................................................................................................................................B-13

Appendix C: System Monitor................................................................................................................C-1

Appendix D: Dashboard........................................................................................................................D-1

Appendix E: Installing DVSwitch on an existing Linux installation.....................................................E-1

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page ii

Introduction
DVSwitch is a Client-Server application for Amateur Radio Digital Voice. The application provides a
“Server” component which runs on a Raspberry Pi (RPi) or other Linux platform. It can also be
installed on a cloud server running Linux. The server component is distributed as an RPi image with all
features and functions installed. Therefore, no additional modules or programs need to be downloaded
or installed for a Raspberry Pi. There are two clients available for DVSwitch. An Android client is
available on the Google App store for virtually any type of Android device. In addition, the python
USRP Client (pyUC) is available to use on Windows, Linux or Mac. Installation instructions for the
Server and all Clients are provided in this document.
DVSwitch supports all current Digital Voice modes with no additional hardware with the exception of
D-Star. For D-Star, an external hardware Vocoder such as the Northwest Digital ThumbDV dongle.
For other modes, the software Vocoder included in DVSwitch provides high quality audio
While DVSwitch has been in use for sometime but the installation was somewhat complex and was
mostly used by computer “geeks”. With this release, an average ham can be up and running in less
than 10 minutes. This release provides many new features including the ability to switch modes
dynamically, customize Talk Group, Room, and Reflector lists from either the server or client and
dynamically switch among DMR networks such as Brandmeister, TGIF, QRM, etc.
The basic components of the system are shown in the following diagram:

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 1

Getting Started
When installing for the first time, it is recommended that the user first print the following table and
gather all the equipment and information needed to get the server up and running.

CCS7/DMR ID To operate on the DMR system, you need to register with an

NXDN ID authentication and routing system called CCS7 (Callsign
Communication System, 7-digit).
• For website DMR and NXID registration for North America,
South America, Asia and Oceania go to:
https://www.radioid.net/register#!
• All Europe and Africa DMR Registrations must use the
https://register.ham-digital.org/ website registration.

D-Star Registration To register your Callsign with the D-Star network go to:
https://www.D-Stargateway.org/D-Star_Registration.html
.
Hardware Vocoder An external hardware Vocoder is not required. The software Vocoder
used in the DVSwitch-Server (i.e., MD-380-emulator) does a good
job but does not support D-Star. The software Vocoder can be used
for testing D-Star however it will not produce communications
quality audio in that format.
The DV3000/ThumbDV is one of the best Vocoder available
(http://nwdigitalradio.com/ ). If you have one available use it. It is
one of the best Vocoder to use for D-Star, DMR, YSF and NXDN.
Raspberry Pi The DVSwitch-Server has been tested with the Raspberry Pi Model
B Rev. 2, RPi3 Model B+ and RPi 4,
• RPi’s, particularly the RPi 4, run relatively hot. Consequently,
we advise a clear plastic vented case with a built-in fan. These
cases are inexpensive and many are even supplied with heat
sinks.
• Since the RPi does not have a power switch, we also
recommend a power cable with an On/Off switch.
MicroSD Card We recommend using a 16 GB or 32 GB class 10 MicroSD card.
Format the MicroSD card using any software available, such as .SD
Memory card Formatter The actual DVSwitch image is less than 3
GB so unless you are planning to install a lot of other software, the
smaller card is adequate.
DVSwitch-Server Image Download the DVSwitch-Server software. It will be a zip file.
Download the official image from
http://dvswitch.org/DVSwitch-Server-RPi.zip
Flash (write) the image onto the MicroSD. There are many good SD
card imaging tools. The option we recommend is balenaEtcher.
Etcher is cross-platform, open source, and easy to use. Etcher will
also flash the DVSwitch-Server image directly from the zip file.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 2

How to install DVSwitch-Server on a Raspberry Pi

Insert the MicroSD card flashed with the DVSwitch server image created above into the Raspberry
Pi, connect it to you home network, power it up and go through the configuration process. You
must have a network connection (either Ethernet or WiFi) in order to use DVS. You can connect
either via method 1 below or methods 2 and 3.
1 The easiest way to get the server connected is to use an Ethernet patch cable, plug it into your
home router or switch and connect from another computer using SSH.
2 PuTTY is a highly recommended free open source SSH client.
To connect using PuTTY you will need to find the DVSwitch-Server IP address.
In a web browser navigate to your routers IP address (e.g. 192.168.1.1) and
browse to the list of connected devices. Look for the IP of the Raspberry Pi
running dvswitch=server.
Another way to find the IP address of the Pi is to use an IP scanner such as
advanced ip scanner
The standard port for SSH is 22,
When using an SSH Telnet client, make sure the remote character translation is set to “UTF-8”,
If using the Windows PuTTY SSH client this setting can be accessed via the “Category”
window (i.e., Window > Translation > Remote character set - drop down list).

3 If you don’t want go the SSH route, simply connect a monitor and keyboard.
4 If your RPi server does not have an Ethernet connection to your home network (i.e., hardwired),
to enable wireless networking use the raspi-config tool.
From the command line, enter “sudo raspi-config” and select “Network Options”.
Select “Wireless LAN”, enter your country, network “SSID” identifier and
“passphrase”.
Select “Finish” and after a few seconds the RPi will be connected to your wireless home
network.
5 Once you are connected to the Raspberry Pi either via ssh or a monitor and keyboard, you will
see a command prompt. Enter “dvswitch” as your login(no quotes). The initial password is
also “dvswitch” (no quotes). You will then be required to change your password. After the
password is changed and you log back in, you will see another command prompt.
6 At the command prompt enter “dvs” to begin the configuration process.
You will see the DVS Main Menu

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 3

DVSwitch Server Configuration

Main Menu

Menu Option Description

Initial Configuration The brief initial configuration dialog is used to collect specific
information required to get the server up and running in its basic
configuration.
Advanced Configuration After completing the initial configuration most users will want to enable
the additional features made available via the Advanced Configuration
Menu. The server can always be returned to the basic configuration.
Tools A variety of tools that will let you clone the running RPi SD card,
manually edit configuration files, update and upgrade the server
software, change the menu language, restart dvswitch services and reboot
or shutdown the RPi server.
Credits The main characters.
Exit Exit dvswitch menus and return to the command prompt.

Each of the entries is explained below.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 4

Initial Configuration
In response to prompts, the user enters information contained in the following table. This data is then
written to the appropriate configuration (*.ini) file. When installing for the first time, it is
recommended that the user first print the table and gather all of the needed information.

Data to Input Description

Callsign (Required) Enter your Callsign (not case sensitive).
CCS7/DMR ID (Required) Enter your 7-digit CCS7/DMR ID.
Repeater ID (Required) In order for the Brandmeister network to distinguish your
DVSwitch server from other devices (e.g., pi-star hotspots) on
your network, you must add a unique 2-digit suffix, (referred
to as a Brandmeister Extended ID (ESSID), to your 7-digit
CCS7/DMR ID. Note, the system will automatically append 2
digits to your DMR ID so just accept the default value.
D-Star Module (Required) Enter the D-Star reflector module. The DVSwitch Mobile user
should accept the default “B” module.
NXDN ID (Optional) Enter your NXDN ID.
USRP Port To avoid conflicts with other applications, it’s best to choose a
port between 50000 and 55000 (e.g., 50111). In the analog
bridge configuration this same port number will be entered for
both txPort and rxPort.
BM Server (Required) From the scroll-down list, select your preferred DMR master
server.
BM Password (Required) If you enabled a hotspot security password in Brandmeister
SelfCare, enter it here in order to access the Brandmeister
network, otherwise accept the default (i.e., passw0rd). For
more information, see: http://wiki.pistar.uk/Pi-
Star_Brandmeister_Hotspot_Security.
Hardware Vocoder (Required) If you do not have an external AMBE Vocoder, select “4
NONE (No Hardware Vocoder)”.
1. If you are using an external standalone Vocoder (e.g.,
ZUM radio AMBE Server board.
http://ambeboard.zumradio.com/), select “1 AMBE
Server”. You will then be required to enter the IP
address and UDP port of the device.
2. If you are using the Northwest Digital USB
DV3000u/ThumbDV dongle, select item “2 ThumbDV,
Dvstick to USB”. You will then be required to enter the
baud rate (230400 or 460800) of the dongle. Note that
starting 13 July 2015 ThumbDV™ devices were set to
a baud rate of 460800.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 5

Data to Input Description
Hardware Vocoder (Required) 3. If you are using a Vocoder that connects to the RPi
(Continued) GPIO (e.g., Northwest Digital PiDV™), select “3
AMBE Board to GPIO”. You will then be required to
enter the baud rate (230400 or 460800) of the device.

After the initial configuration is finished the DVSwitch server will be up and running in its basic
configuration and the user will be returned to the DVS Main Menu. When installing the server for the
first time, it is recommended that you test the server in its basic configuration prior to activating the
advanced macro configuration (see Appendix A, DVSwitch Mobile – Android Application, Basic
Configuration or Appendix B to use the pyUC client).

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 6

Advanced Configuration

Advanced Configuration Menu Option Description

Configure Other Stanzas The Configure Other Stanzas option allows the
user to specify certain optional parameters. It is
not necessary to configure these in order to use
DVSwitch. However, some of these fields may
appear on certain dashboards and so the user may
want to configure these. The fields include TX
and RX frequencies (these are not used and are for
reference only), latitude and longitude, location
(city, state), and the name and URL of the
groups.io support group.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 7

 Advanced Configuration Menu Option Description
TG/Ref DB Management On digital voice networks there are thousands of
talkgroups (and reflectors). The user, from the
client side, connects to a talkgroup by selecting it
from a, sometimes very long, mode specific
talkgroup list.
The user can create and edit “favorite” talk
groups, rooms, reflectors etc. separately for each
digital voice mode. Each mode has it’s own
format and there is at least one default entry in
each file to demonstrate this format.
When editing a file, be sure to keep the same
format. For example (1 Edit DMR):
4000|||Unlink
313966|||Marysville
31665|||TGIF 31665
Note that each file (mode) uses 3 vertical bars (|||)
to delineate the data from the description.
DVSwitch supports both the standard YSF
network and the FCS network. Favorites for both
of these networks are configured by editing the
YSF file. YSF entries can be made using either
the “room number” or the ip/port of the reflector.
For example, America Link can be entered as:
209.126.110.236:42000|||America Link (using
ip/port)
or
02108|||America Link (using room number)
Further, the room number can be pre-pended with
an “8” for YSF or a “9” for FCS. Thus
802108 will connect you to AmericaLink YSF
reflector.
900335 will connect you to Ohio-Net FCS
After editing any of the Favorites files, the user
will want to upload the updated favorite talkgroup
lists to the client (6 Push to DVSM/UC).
Note: Before uploading files to the
DVSwitch-Server, make sure the client
is on and connected to the server.
From this menu, the user can also reset the
favorite DB (7 Reset Favorite DB).

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 8

Advanced Configuration Menu Option Description
Ad Hoc Menu & Macro Important: The system is distributed with the
Macros in “Basic” mode. This is essentially
intended as a troubleshooting mode. Most users
will want to switch the system to the “Advanced
Macro” mode. The following explains how to do
this.

From the select “Ad Hoc Menu and Macro”. If

the system is in Basic mode, it will display the
screen on the left
Select “Yes” and the system will change to
Advanced Mode and restart the services. You will
be returned to the “Advanced Configuration
Menu”.
Note: Additional information on Ad Hoc Menu
and Macro use will be forthcoming at a later date.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 9

Advanced Configuration Menu Option Description

Additional DMR Networks

Change Default DMR Server.
This menu option allows you to change the default
DMR server that will be used when the system
restarts. You can only change the default to a
server that has been configured using the next
menu option.
Configure DMR Server.
This feature allows the user to configure the
DVSwitch server to connect to the following
additional networks (other networks may be added
in the future).
• Brandmeister Network. This option lets
you edit details about the Brandmeister
network.
• The DMRPlus Network is another DMR
network that is starting to gain popularity
in North America (see https://dmr-
marc.net/FAQ/dmrplus-america.html) and
the Pacific (it has been used in Europe for
a long time). To configure the DMRPlus
network, from the drop down list, simply
select one of the IPSC2 servers.
Note: While you can use any IPSC2 server you
like, IPSC2-Quadnet is recommended. It
is very well maintained and extremely
stable (see https://www.openquad.net/)
also https://dmr.openquad.net/ ).
• The TGIF Network is a popular DMR
network with 381 talkgroups (see
http://tgif.network/index.html). To
configure the tgif network, in response to
prompts, enter the following (accept the
defaults).
IP or DNS of Server: tgif.network
Password of TGIFServer: passw0rd
Port: 62031
• Other Networks include the QRM
Network and DVSwitch network. The
DVSwitch network is simply a test server
available for future use. The QRM
Network, with 33 DMR talkgroups is
gaining popularity.
To configure the QRM Network, in response to
prompts, enter the following:
Name: QRM

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 10

Advanced Configuration Menu Option Description
IP or DNS of the Network Server:
qrm.kc3ol.net
Password: passw0rd
Port: 62031

◦ To configure the DVSwitch Network, in

response to prompts, enter the following:
Name: DVSwitch
IP or DNS of the Network Server:
dvswitch.org
Password: passw0rd
Port: 62031

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 11

DVS Tools Menu

DVS Tools Menu Option Description

Clone RPi SD Card Users are advised to clone the DVSwitch Server
SD card for backup.
To clone the current running installation:
• Insert a new SD card into a USB card
reader. Use a clean formatted SD card, The new
card can be same, larger or smaller size card as
long as it is large enough to accommodate the
image.
• Plug it into the RPi,
• Select this menu option.
• Follow the prompts.
Cloning takes about one minute. (May take
longer the first time you clone to a new card)
Configure ini. files By selecting this menu option, the user can
view/edit the DVSwitch configuration files (i.e.,
Analog_Bridge.ini, MMDVM_Bridge.ini
NXDNGateway.ini P25Gateway.ini
YSFGateway.ini ircddbgateway and
DVSwitch.ini). Only edit these files if you know
what you are doing!
Update & Upgrade This menu option will check for available package
upgrades and automatically upgrade (i.e., update
and upgrade) the server as needed. If there are no
packages to upgrade, the system will respond with
the message “There are no new packages to
upgrade.”

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 12

 DVS Tools Menu Option Description
Language DVSwitch supports changing the default menu
language. The following languages are available:
• English (Default)
• Korean
• Japanese
• French
• Greek
• Polish
• Spanish
More languages will be added as soon as the
translations are available. Some of the above
languages are based on machine translation
Restart DVSwitch Services Restarts Analog Bridge and MMDVM Bridge
services. Some server issues can be resolved
by simply restarting services rather than doing a
system reboot.
Reboot RPi Server Causes the server to reboot.
Shutdown RPi Server Causes the server to safely shutdown (halt). To
restart the server you must power cycle it.
Back Returns to the Main Menu.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page 13

Appendix A: DVSwitch Mobile Android Client
You can install DVSwitch Mobile on as many Android devices as you like (e.g., cell phones, tablets,
Internet radios, etc.). This appendix shows how to download, install and use the DVSwitch Mobile
application on a Samsung Galaxy S9. DVSwitch mobile has been successfully run on the ANYSECU
W2 and W5. Inrico T320, Internet radios,
Basic Configuration
1. Download and install the DVSwitch Mobile application from the Google Play Store.

Dialer Screen Notes: This is the main window for the Android
app. Across the top of the screen find
the tab menu (Dialer, Status, Accounts
and Config).

• To connect to a host, check it on the

Accounts tab.
• After you have selected an account, the
selected mode for that account (e.g., *DMR)
will be displayed in the dial string window
above the Send button.
• Hangup will toggle (disconnect/reconnect)
connection with the host server.
• Long press A-key to bring up Mode Select
menu.
• Long press B-key to bring up mode specific
Talkgroups selection menu.

• Long press star (*) key will display the

standard macro menu. If uploaded, a mode
specific ad hoc menu will be displayed (see
Ad hoc Menu and Macro, page 9).

To talk, when connected to a talkgroup select

and release PTT (the button will go red), speak
through the Android microphone, and then
select and release (the button will return to
white). Other PTT options (e.g., Headset PTT,
Volume PTT) can be selected from the Config
tab.

2. From the main menu, select Accounts and then select the first profile and configure the
account.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page A-1

 Notes Accounts Tab

• Select Protocol USRP.

• For Hostname enter the LAN IP address

of the Raspberry Pi DVSwitch-Server.

• For Port and TX Port, enter USRP Port

number. These values should be identical.
Note
To access your DVSwitch-Server from the
outside world. configure your router to
forward this port (UDP protocol) to the
LAN IP address assigned to the DVSwitch-
Server (i.e., Hostname – see a) above).
Then create a separate account using your
public (ISP assigned) IP address as the
Hostname. DO NOT add the port number
to the Hostname.

• Finally, enter your Callsign and 7-digit

DMR ID registration number (i.e.,
CCS7/DMR ID).

• Initially set Transmit Level to about 20

percent and the Receive Level at 100
percent. Later audio levels can be adjusted,
as needed.

• Scroll up to view Codec Types and verify

that it is set to Server Selected (default).

• Save and return to the Dialer screen by

pressing the back arrow (<) button.

Note: All pages except the "Accounts"

page allow you to navigate between
screen pages via the tab menu.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page A-2

 3. To select/change modes, from the Dialer screen long press the A key. The Mode Select screen
displays a list of digital voice modes DVSM supports.

Mode Select Screen Notes

• Simply tap the desired mode. The message

“Setting mode to...”) will be displayed.

• When mode selection is accomplished the

display returns to the Dialer screen.

• The selected mode (e.g., *DMR) will be

displayed on the Dialer screen.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page A-3

 4. To select/change a talkgroup, from the Dialer screen long press the B key. The display will
show a list of mode specific talkgroups (reflectors).
Note: In DMR, P25 and NXDN mode, you can change talkgroups by entering the talkgroup
number (e.g., 3139, 31399, 313966, etc.) and pressing the Send button.

Talkgroup Listing Notes

• The first 10 entries in each database are tied
to the long press function of the dial pad
buttons 0-
• Simply scroll through the list and select.
• When mode selection is accomplished the
display returns to the Dialer screen, the
node name will appear in the window below
the PTT button (e.g., DMR TG 3190 OHIO
TAC) and the connection dial string will
appear in the window above the Send
button (e.g., 31390).

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page A-4

The Status Display:
Status Display Notes
The status display tab shows the following:
• Registration Status
• Connection State
• Codec
• Sample Rate
• Amount of Data Transferred
• Talkgroup Activity
To return to the main screen, tap the Dialer tab.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page A-5

Config Screen

• MACROS are accessible by selecting the

MACROS drop-down window (see next page).
Both the Macro Name and Dial String are
editable.
For example:
Name = YSF Ohio-Link
Dial String = ♦
• Enter dvsm.macro command (e.g., *22).
• For D-Star enter reflector type, number,
module, L (e.g., REF030CL).
• For DMR, P25 & NXDN enter just the tg
number (e.g., 3139).
• For YSF enter IP:port
(e.g., 94.47.95.121:42000) .or
reflector/room number
• Audio Source selections are Auto, Audio,
Bluetooth and Speaker.
• Lock screen orientation is checked to
prevent losing connection when
orientation of the screen is changed.
• At the bottom is a button to Update data
files, (i.e. Database Files) and links to
Email the developers (tell them what you
think), view version info (About) and to
join the Support Forum:
https://dvswitch.groups.io/g/Mobile

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page A-6

Macros Window

Notes
• To access the Macros Window, from the
Dialer screen tap the Macros button
located below the keypad.
• To execute, simply tap the selection.
• Six of the selections (after Macros and
before Parrot Connect) can be edited via
the Config tab.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page A-7

Advanced Configuration

When Advanced Configuration has been enabled on the server, additional scripts and menus are
activated. These scripts and menus make it possible for the user to adjust the transmit and receive audio
gain, switch between different networks (i.e., TGIF, DMRPlus, Brandmeister and other networks),
manage talkgroups, unlink from an active talkgroup/reflector, restart service and reboot or shutdown
the server. All of this can be done from the client device with just a few button presses.

To activate the Main Menu, on the keypad the user presses *0 (i.e., star+zero).and then taps the Send
button. The Main Menu will be displayed. To access a sub-menu, simply tap the selection.

A long press on the star (*) key bring up the active menu/submenu.

Main Menu

The main menu provides access to the following

sub-menus:

• Audio Gain Setup

• DMR Server Selection
• Manage TG/Ref DB
• Tools
Each sub-menu has the option of returning to the
Main Menu.

DMR Server Selection

DMRPlus, TGIF and another network are

configured as part of the server Advanced
Configuration dialog. In this example, the “Other
Network” was configured to access the QRM
Network.
• To make your selection tap on the desired
network.
• To connect to a talkgroup, from the dialer
screen key in the talk group number and
then tap the Send button.
• For example, to connect to TGIF talkgroup
31665, select TGIF and then when
connected key 31665 and then tap Send.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page A-8

Setting Audio Levels

AUDIO GAIN Setup Digital voice repeaters often bridge different modes
with various equipment. This complicates the audio
path. Consequently, digital voice repeaters can be
finicky when it comes to audio levels.

With the AUDIO GAIN Setup, it is possible to

adjust audio levels from a menu displayed on the
clients main screen and, if necessary, make further
adjustments with the client volume control (receive
audio) or via sliders (Transmit Level and Receive
Level) on the client Accounts tab.
TX Gain Setup RX Gain Setup
(Your transmit audio.) (Your receive audio.)

• The current value (DMR TXGain, YSF • The current value (RXGain) is displayed.
TXGain, etc.) is displayed. • To adjust the RXGain, select the button for
• Select the Plus or Minus button to add (+) the value you want.
or subtract (-) the TXGain level by the • After selection, the screen will refresh and
amount shown. display the new value.
• After selection, the screen will refresh and
display the new value.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page A-9

Manage TG/Ref DB
From the client, the user can now, with the touch of a few buttons, identify favorite talkgroups and have
them placed at the top of a mode specific list
Download (DBupdate+Favorite)
• Download your favorites from the server.
Initialize Favorite
ARE you sure?
YES
NO
• Select <YES> to delete all of your talkgroup favorites.
• Select <NO> to return to the Main Menu.
Add/Del TG/Ref – Additions and deletions are applied to the active
mode favorites list.
AA Add bottom line
• Adds the connected TG to the bottom of your favorites list.
A1 Add below line 1
• Adds the connected TG to line 2 of your favorites list.
A2 Add below line 2
• Adds connected TG to line 3 of your favorites. Other entries
will be sequence down one line.
DD Delete line
• Removes the current talkgroup from your favorites list.
Tools Menu

+44 Drop Dynamic TGs

• Disconnects the DVSwitch server from the active
talkgroup/reflector.
Temp message off
• If activated, turns off CPU temperature display.
DVSwitch Version
• Displays the DVSwitch version.
88 Restart DVSwitch
• Restarts dvswitch analog bridge and mmdvm bridge services.
Frequently server issues can be resolved by simply restarting
services rather than doing a system reboot.
99 Reboot RPi
• Causes the server to reboot.
00 Shutdown RPi Server
• Causes the server to safely shutdown (halt).

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page A-10

Appendix B: pyUC (python USRP Client)

Introduction
pyUC supports all features of the DVSwitch-Server. pyUC can be installed on virtually and platform
that supports the Python programming language. This section provides detailed instructions for
installing and configuring pyUC on Windows, Linux and Macintosh operation environments.

Features
The user can:
• Select digital network
• Select "talk group" or reflector from a list
• Transmit and receive to the network using the PC speakers and mic
• Record a list of stations received in the session
• See pictures of the hams from QRZ.com

Install Instructions by Platform

Windows 10
1 Download and unzip the pyUC client from:
https://github.com/DVSwitch/USRP_Client/archive/master.zip
The location of the installation files is not critical. You should create a directory in a convenient
location. We recommend the following:
Windows: c:\pyUC
When you unzip the downloaded file, it will unzip to a sub directory called USRP_Client-
master. We want the individual files in this sub directory to be in c:\pyUC so move them there.
Your directory should look like this:

You can then delete USRP_Client-master and USRP_Client-master.zip if you choose.

2 Install Python 3.8 or later from the Microsoft Store or python.org.
(If you already have Python 3.4 or later, you can use it instead of installing a new version.)

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-1

 3 pip is the Python Install Program. It is used at the command line (dos prompt) to install Python
programs from various Windows repositories or a local file. If the above install of Python
didn’t include the latest version of pip which is sometimes the case, you will get a warning each
time you use it. To prevent this, upgrade to the latest pip by entering the following command at
a command prompt:
python -m pip install --upgrade pip (note the double dash before “upgrade”)

4 Change Directory (cd) to the directory where you unzipped the installation files (c:\pyUC)
5 PyAudio is a key component needed for pyUC. You must install the correct version which
matches both your version of Python and your version of Windows. If you don’t know the
version of Python you have installed, you can enter the following command at any commend
prompt:
Python –V

If you don’t know the type of Windows you are running, you can find it in settings -> system -
>about.
You must download and then install (with pip) the version of pyaudio for your version of
Python and Windows.

These files can be downloaded from

https://www.lfd.uci.edu/~gohlke/pythonlibs/#pyaudio

The general form of the file to download is: PyAudio-0.2.11-cpYY-cpYY-win_XXX.whl

You match the “cpYY” to the version of Python you have (i.e. Python 3.8 would use the cp38
version) and “win_XXX” to the version of Windows you have (i.e. on a 64bit version of
Windows, you would replace XXX with “amd64”).
So for the above example of Python 3.8 on Windows 64 you would download the following file
PyAudio-0.2.11-cp38-cp38m-win_amd64.whl
Note that the cpYY appears twice in the file name. In addition, release prior to cp38 have a
letter “m” before the “-win”.

Once you have downloaded the correct version of pyaudio, you install it using:
pip install PyAudio-0.2.11-cp38-cp38-win_amd64.whl (use the name of the file you
downloaded)

6 Once you have installed the correct PyAudio version, just enter the following commands one at
a time:

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-2

 pip install bs4
pip install Pillow
pip install requests

7 Now you must edit the pyUC.ini. You can use Notepad or any other text editor you choose. See
the section below entitled “Configuration” to configure the system. The minimum
configuration you must do is:
myCall = W8RIK ; You callsign
subscriberID = 3160129 ; Your DMR/CCS7 ID
repeaterID = 316012904 ; Your repeater ID
ipAddress = 192.168.1.110 ; IP address or hostname of DVSwitch Server
(AB)
usrpTxPort = 50415 ; Port on which AB is listening
usrpRxPort = 50415 ; Local port to listen for packets from AB

8 To execute pyUC make sure you are at a command prompt in the installation directory (c:\
pyUC) and enter:

python pyUC.py

9 You may wish to create a Shortcut to execute this commend. The following assumes you have
installed pyUC into c:\pyUC. Change the directory below if you have installed it to a different
location. On the desktop, right-click and select newshortcut. When prompted for the
location of the item, enter “python c:\pyUC\pyUC.py” (no quotes). Click Next. Give the
shortcut a name and click Finish. Double-click the shortcut to test. Note, this will bring up a
“dos” window in the background which will echo all activities of the client. If you would like
to eliminate this window, enter “pythonw” instead of “python” in the shortcut. See below (note
Windows command lines are not case–sensitive)

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-3

If you get an error about MSVCP140.DLL, then you will need to install the MSVC C++ runtime
library.
Get it from: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2977003/the-latest-supported-visual-c-downloads

Linux (Tested on a Raspberry Pi running Buster and Linux Mint 19)

Since the pyUC is a Desktop type application, it makes sense to install it on a version of Linux that
supports desktop apps as opposed to a “lite” installation. You can either connect mouse, keyboard and
monitor to the Linux machine or use VNC or SSH to access it. Note however you will not be able to
run the application using SSH.
Important: The Raspberry Pi does not support using the audio jack for microphone input. You must
connect a microphone via a USB port. If you want to test without a microphone, set in_index = -1 in
the pyUC.ini file. This will not allow you to transmit but you can connect to the server and talk groups.
1 Download and unzip the pyUC client from
https://github.com/DVSwitch/USRP_Client/archive/master.zip
The location of the installation is not critical. You should create a directory in a convenient
location. We recommend the following:
/home/<user name>/pyUC (i.e. /home/pi/pyUC)
When you unzip the downloaded file, it will unzip to a sub directory called USRP_Client-
master. We want the individual files in this sub directory to be in the \pyUC\ so move them
there. Your directory should look like this:

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-4

1 Open a Terminal window and change to the directory which contains the extracted files from
master.zip.
2 Run the following commands in sequence:
sudo apt-get install python3-pyaudio
sudo apt-get install portaudio19-dev
sudo apt-get install python3-pil.imagetk
3 Now you must edit the pyUC.ini. You can use nano any other text editor you choose. See the
section below entitled “Configuration” to configure the system. The minimum configuration you must
do is:
myCall = W8RIK ; You callsign
subscriberID = 3160129 ; Your DMR/CCS7 ID
repeaterID = 316012904 ; Your repeater ID
ipAddress = 192.168.1.110 ; IP address or hostname of DVSwitch Server (AB)
usrpTxPort = 50415 ; Port on which AB is listening
usrpRxPort = 50415 ; Local port to listen for packets from AB

4 Change permissions of pyUC.py to allow anyone to execute it by entering:

4.1 sudo chmod 775 pyUC.py
5 To execute pyUC make sure you are at a command prompt in the installation directory and
enter:
pyUC.py

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-5

Mac (Tested on Macbook Pro running Catalina.)

1 Download and unzip the pyUC client from:

https://github.com/DVSwitch/USRP_Client/archive/master.zip
The location of the installation is not critical. You should create a directory in a convenient
location. We recommend the following:
pyUC

When you unzip the downloaded file, it will unzip to a sub directory called USRP_Client-
master. We want the individual files in this sub directory to be in the pyUC so move them
there. Your directory should look like this:

2 Open the Terminal application. It's located in the Utilities folder within the Applications folder
on your hard drive — choose Applications→Utilities.

3 In the command line, enter the following commands:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/master/install.sh)"
brew install python
brew install portaudio
pip3 install pyaudio
pip3 install bs4 Pillow requests

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-6

 4 Now you must edit the pyUC.ini file. Double click on the pyUC.ini file and use TextEdit. See
the section below entitled "Configuration" to configure the pyUC client. The minimum
configuration you must do is:
myCall = W8RIK ; You callsign
subscriberID = 3160129 ; Your DMR/CCS7 ID
repeaterID = 316012904 ; Your repeater ID
ipAddress = 192.168.1.110 ; IP address or hostname of DVSwitch Server
(AB)
usrpTxPort = 50415 ; Port on which AB is listening
usrpRxPort = 50415 ; Local port to listen for packets from AB

5 To execute pyUC, in the Terminal application command line make sure you are in the
pyUC installation directory and then enter:

python3 pyUC.py

Configuration
To configure the pyUC client, open the pyUC.ini file. At a minimum, you must set your call (myCall),
7-digit Subscriber ID (DMR/CCS7), 9-digit Repeater ID ip address of the server and usrp ports (i.e.,
usrpTxPort and usrpRxPort).
[DEFAULTS]
myCall = W8RIK ; You callsign
subscriberID = 3160129 ; Your DMR/CCS7 ID
repeaterID = 316012904 ; Your repeater ID
ipAddress = 192.168.1.110 ; IP address or hostname of DVSwitch Server (AB)
usrpTxPort = 50415 ; Port on which AB is listening
usrpRxPort = 50415 ; Local port to listen for packets from AB
defaultServer = DMR ; Start up UI on this mode (AB will override)
slot = 2 ; Slot to transmit on for DMR
in_index = Default ; pyaudio index for input device (0-N or -1 to
disable)
out_index = Default ; pyaudio index for output device (0-N or Default)
loopback = 1 ; NOT USED
dongleMode = 1 ; NOT USED
micVol = 50 ; NOT USED
spVol = 50 ; NOT USED
voxEnable = 0 ; Enable = 1, disable = 0
voxThreshold = 200 ; This seems to be a good value for me
voxDelay = 50 ; 50 samples (which is 1 second)
aslMode = 0 ; For VERY limited use with chan_usrp (ASL
experimental).
backgroundColor = Default ; Use the color names (white, red, blue, etc.)
textColor = Default ; Use the color names (white, red, blue, etc.)

Favorite talkgroups and reflectors

The pyUC.ini file contains lists of talk groups, reflectors, etc. for each mode. You can add and/or
modify this list to contain the entries you would like to appear in the Talk Group window on the client.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-7

Using pyUC to Access DVSwitch

The Main Screen

The main screen is divided into three sections;
Mode, Talk Groups and Activity
• In the MODE section find the active Mode,
your 9-digit Repeater ID and 7-digit
Subscriber ID (i.e., CCS7/DMR ID.
• To change modes, click the active Mode
button and, from the dropdown list, select the
desired mode (DMR, D-Star, NXDN, P25 or
YSF).

• In the Talk Groups section find the DMR

time slot (TS 1 or 2), a scroll down list of
talk groups for each mode and TG (talk
group), Connect and Disconnect buttons.
There are two ways to connect to a talk
group.
• Select from the scroll down list and then
tap the Connect button.
• Note The scroll down lists can be
customized to reflect the user’s favorite
talkgroups. See Favorite talkgroups and
reflectors page B7.
• Click the TG button, and a pop up window
will be display. Enter the talk group
number in that window and select OK.

•
• The Activity area shows the network
activity and is displayed on all three tabs.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-8

Settings and About
Settings Tab About Tab

The USRP pyUC client Version number can be

found on the About screen.
• The Server section ……..
• The Network section shows
• With Vox Enabled (i.e., voice operation
switch) the user can adjust the sound level
(i.e., Threshold) below which the
transmission stops and the Delay that
prevents the circuit turning off during short
pauses in speech.
• The Audio section allows you to adjust the
microphone (Mic) and Speaker levels and,
using a dropdown list, select your desired
audio Input and Output device.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-9

Advanced Configuration
When Advanced Configuration has been enabled on the server, additional scripts and menus are
activated. These scripts and menus make it possible for the user to adjust the transmit and receive audio
gain, switch between different networks (i.e., TGIF, DMRPlus, Brandmeister and other networks),
manage talkgroups, unlink from an active talkgroup/reflector, restart services on the server and reboot
or shutdown the server. All of this can be done from the client device with just a few clicks .

Main Menu The main menu provides access to the following

sub-menus:

• Audio Gain Setup

• DMR Server Selection
• Manage TG/Ref DB
• Tools
Each sub-menu has the option of returning to the
Main Menu.
• To activate the Main Menu, from the main
screen, click the TG button.
• To navigate through the menus, click on
the desired selection and then click OK..

DMR Server Selection DMRPlus, TGIF and another network are

configured as part of the DVSwitch-server
Advanced Configuration dialog. In this
example, the “Other Network” was configured
to access the QRM Network.
• To make your selection click on the desired
network and then click OK.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-10

 Digital voice repeaters often bridge different
AUDIO GAIN Setup modes with various equipment. This complicates
the audio path. Consequently, digital voice
repeaters can be finicky when it comes to audio
levels.

With the AUDIO GAIN Setup, it is possible to

adjust audio levels from a menu displayed on the
clients main screen and, if necessary, make
further adjustments with the client volume
control (receive audio) or via sliders (Transmit
Level and Receive Level) on the client Accounts
tab.

TX Gain Setup RX Gain Setup

(Your transmit audio.) (Your receive audio.)

• The current value (RXGain) is displayed.

• To adjust the RXGain, select the button for
the value you want.
• The current value (DMR TXGain, YSF • After selection, the screen will refresh and
TXGain, etc.) is displayed. display the new value.
• Select the Plus or Minus button to add (+) or
subtract (-) the TXGain level by the amount
shown.
• After selection, the screen will refresh and
display the new value.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-11

 Manage TG/Ref DB

From the client, the user can now, with the touch
of a few buttons, identify favorite talkgroups and
have them placed at the top of a mode specific list.

Download (DBupdate+Favorite)
• Download your favorites from the server.
Initialize Favorite
ARE you sure?
YES
NO
• Select <YES>to delete all of your
talkgroup favorites.
• Select <NO>to return to the Main Menu.
Add/Del TG/Ref - Additions and deletions are
applied to the active mode favorites list.
AA Add bottom line
• Adds the connected TG to the bottom of
your favorites list.
A1 Add below line 1
• Adds the connected TG to line 2 of your
favorites list.
A2 Add below line 2
• Adds connected TG to line 3 of your
favorites. Other entries will be sequence down one
line.
DD Delete line
• Removes the current talkgroup from your
favorites list.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-12

 Tools
+44 Drop Dynamic TGs
• Disconnects the DVSwitch server from the
active talkgroup/reflector.
Temp message off
• If activated, turns off CPU temperature
display.
DVSwitch Version
• Displays the DVSwitch version.
88 Restart DVSwitch
• Restarts dvswitch analog bridge and mmdvm
bridge services. Frequently server issues can
be resolved by simply restarting services
rather than doing a system reboot.
99 Reboot RPi
• Causes the server to reboot.
00 Shutdown RPi Server
• Causes the server to safely shutdown (halt).

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page B-13

Appendix C: System Monitor
For those interested, a system monitor dashboard is available. You can access the dashboard web page
at <http://ip_address_raspberry_pi:2812> (e.g., 192.168.0.201:2812).
Note: The web server is only available to non-routeable addresses.
The dashboard displays statistics like CPU load, time and temperature. Information pertaining to a
service can be displayed by clicking on the service in the Process column. It also allows users to start
and stop services from the web page. Host files are also tracked.

Actually, the dashboard was made available, just for fun, to pique your interest and curiosity. It does
have some useful features.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page C-1

Appendix D: Dashboard
The DVSwitch Dashboard is based on Pi-Star Dashboard, © Andy Taylor (MW0MWZ) and adapted to
DVSwitch by SP2ONG. The Dashboard is accessible via a web page at the IP address of the
DVSwitch server. Foe example: http://192.168.1.25/. As can be readily observed, it is based on the
very popular Pi_Star dashboard and provides similar information. In general, the Dashboard is for
display of the activity of the current gateway as well as showing many of the parameters of the
DVSwitch configuration and hardware environment. Most of the items are self explanatory. If you
hover your mouse over the “Analog Bridge Info” header, the system will display more details of the
AB configuration. Another interesting feature is that for YSF stations with APRS, the system shows a
clickable GPS link in the Duration column. Clicking on this link opens a detailed map of the location
of the station. Here is an example of the Dashboard:

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page D-1

Appendix E: Installing DVSwitch on an existing Linux
installation
The DVSwitch installation described at the beginning of this document entails using a Raspberry Pi
image. If you choose, you may install DVSwitch on an existing Linux installation. This gives you the
option of using a platform other than a Rasbpberry Pi as well as using a platform that as a full GUI or
other software. Once the procedure in this section has been completed, you can configure the server as
described in the applicable section above.
Open a terminal window on your Debian system (or ssh in), switch to your home directory and enter the
in the approfollowing commands:

wget http://dvswitch.org/buster
sudo chmod +x buster
sudo ./buster
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install dvswitch-server

Once the install is complete, reboot the server.

Open a terminal window and enter "dvs" (no quotes) to start the dvswitch menu system. Proceed to
configure the system as described as described in the appropriate section of this document.

DVSwitch Installation and User Guide Version 1.61 Page E-1