Direwolf is a software created to make operating a ground station easier. The link to the Direwolf github page can be found here. The user manual explains how to go about installing and setting up Direwolf.
Pre Steps
Once Direwolf has been installed, it is important to know where the config file is stored. This file has the label direwolf.conf. The default location for the config is in the home directory. A third party program named Sublime Text is helpful when opening and reading the config file. To install and run Sublime Text, see the following command.
sudo apt install sublime-text#this installs Sublime Text
subl direwolf.conf#run this in the same directory to open the config file
Config File
The config file is extensive and contains all of the settings with which Direwolf will run. This file must be edited to meet the specifications of the Baker Ground Station.
Audio Device
Direwolf must know the specific audio device to output the transmitted and received signal. For the Baker Ground Station, the following line has been added to denote that the audio device corresponds to card 2, device 0.
ADEVICE plughw:2,0
Call Sign
In adherence to FCC regulations, the ground station user’s call sign must be included in all transmissions. By default the config file has the following line. NOCALL should be replaced with the user’s call sign.
MYCALL NOCALL
Frequency Modulation and Baud Rate
The rate at which data is transferred is known as the baud rate. The baud rate which the ICOM IC-9700 can handle is 2400 bps. The specific frequency modulation the ICOM needs to transmit over is GSFK. These specifications are added to the config file by adding the following line.
MODEM 2400 G3RUH
Configuring PTT
PTT (push-to-talk) is apparatus through which the radio is set into its active transmitting state. It must be configured correctly within the Direwolf configuration file in order for the radio to be in its active state when transmitting. The following line was added to the Baker Station’s config file:
PTT RIG 2 localhost:4532
Once the configuration file has been properly edited, Direwolf can now be run. It is important to run Direwolf last so that it can properly connect to the other ambient servers running in the background.