TGIF.Network

Welcome anyway kg4jdc  

Welcome W9BA glad your here  

Edit: Just found this thread, it looks like it may be a general problem occasionally? Dunno how I didn't find it on my search, https://tgifnetwork.createaforum.com/report-networksystem-issues/self-care-not-working/

Exactly.  The self-care routines are NOT operating in a stable fashion right now.  Sometimes they work and sometimes they don't.

In addition, the developers are concentrating on finishing/debugging the code for the new Prime server now.  So, self-care on the current (legacy) server will likely NOT improve.  That's the bad news.

The good news is that the self-care code on the new Prime server is...stable and (IMHO) SWEET!

So, my advice to you and others having problems with the current API and/or self-care is this: Relax, don't sweat it, and wait.  Once the switch to the new server happens, your current troubles with self-care and/or the API will be gone.

73,
Joe, WB3IHY

Here's what the release note says with regard to v2.39:

V1.39 and V2.39 Improvements (dated 2020-8-7)
1. CPS->Channel ->DataACK Disable, allows to disable the radio response to repeater data service request. It helps to improve the radio freeze issue.
Firmware: 1.39 / 2.39
CPS: 1.39
SCT3258 Ver: 2.01.05NJ

To many, the Pi-Star Gateway is a mysterious, complicated, hard to understand function of their hotspot.  I know it was for me when I first began to read about it.  If you listen long enough, you'll hear all kinds of scary sounding terms regarding it thrown around on the air: Expert menus, rewrite rules, editing configuration files, and so on.  Many avoid delving into this useful function of Pi-Star because of all this.  My hope in writing this is to help make the gateway less mysterious, less complicated, and easier to understand.

How? By comparing it to something you probably do all the time: Using a TELEPHONE! Stick with me on this.

Many years ago, most people mainly made local calls (in one's own area code) using 7 digits: We'll use 555-1212 as an example.  As long as the number you were calling was in your local area code, you didn't need to enter that area code before the number.  As years passed, they started running out of numbers in some localities and had to add area codes/overlap areas with more than one area code.  As a result, dialing an area code became necessary, even if your call was "local." So, ten digits became the norm: 215-555-1212, following our example.

With me so far? Well, here's how that compares to Pi-Star and the Gateway.

Many years ago, most DMR users only used one network using talkgroups with a maximum of 5 digits.  We'll use 31665 as an example.  As long as the talkgroup you wanted was on that network, you just set Pi-Star to access that single network and entered that number on your radio.  Easy-peezy.

As years passed, more networks came online, each with their own talkgroup numbering scheme.  So, if you wanted to use more than one network at a time on your hotspot, you needed a way to differentiate 31665 on one network from 31665 on another.  So, what to do? You set Pi-Star to Gateway (multiple network mode) and you create an "area" code of sorts to tell them apart.  In our example, we could enter 1031665 for that talkgroup on the first network, 2031665 for that talkgroup on the second network, 3031665 on the third, and so on.  Seems simple enough, right? Well, yes and no.  Keep reading.

By default, Pi-Star is set for single network operation mode.  Choose one network from a drop down menu, enter a few things in the fields, hit apply and BOOM: It works, using simple talkgroup numbers.  It's designed to be (relatively) simple to set up.  A lot of things "under the hood" are automagically configured based on what you enter.  In other words: Easy for a novice to use. 

But multiple network mode (Gateway) is considered to be an "expert" mode.  Not only do you gain the ability to use more than one network at a time, you also gain the ability to configure EVERYTHING to your liking: What networks you want to use, what "area codes" to assign to each network, and so on.  In a sense, it's Pi-Star "without the training wheels." And how do you tell Pi-Star EXACTLY what YOU want it to do?

By directly editing the Gateway configuration file (including rewrite rules) in the EXPERT section.

The Gateway configuration file tells Pi-Star all the particulars of the networks you want to use: Name, address on the Internet, your password, and so on.  And the rewrite rules in that file? Think of them as "explicit Instructions to the telephone switchboard operator inside Pi-Star on how to route calls back and forth on each network based on what numbers I dial." That's a lot of power and a lot of versatility! The downside? You have to tell it EVERYTHING you want to do and follow the proper format in the file so Pi-Star can read it properly.  No more "Select it from a menu and hit apply."

Also: "Once an expert, always an expert."  Once you declare to Pi-Star that "you're an expert" and start making expert level changes under the hood to use the gateway, you MUST NOT USE the non-expert configuration areas (IE Select it from a menu and hit apply) of Pi-Star to make ANY changes anymore. Why? Because if you do, Pi-Star will mess with/overwrite your expert configuration settings in an attempt to make things "simple" again for you.

I hope that all this has helped you wrap your head around the DMR Gateway function of Pi-Star and enticed you to learn a bit more about it.

73,
Joe, WB3IHY