200 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
200 lines
7.5 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: Winlink on Android with WoAD
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summary: >
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Since I moved from iOS to Android I had to look for another App to test
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a small Winlink setup.
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<small>The thumbnail was created with Google AI (Imagen 3).</small>
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date: 2024-12-07T17:10:03+01:00
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lastmod: 2024-12-15T15:47:02+0000
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categories:
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- amateur-radio
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- computerstuff
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tags:
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- Android
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- Archlinux
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- command-line
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- Digirig
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- Linux
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- Mobilinkd
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- Networking
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- Packet Radio
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- Portable
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- Vara FM
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- Vara HF
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- Winlink
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- draft_post
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# some help
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draft: true
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---
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So I recently sold my iPhone 14 Pro and bought a Google Pixel 9 Pro. I used that for
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about two weeks when I finally replaced the vanilla Android with [GrapheneOS](https://grapheneos.org/).
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The Android app for my setup is called [WoAD](https://woad.sumusltd.com/)
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and is available on the [Google Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.sumusltd.woad).
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It currently costs € 6.99 :money_bag:.
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I will assume the app is all setup with basic information like CALLSIGN, Grid, etc.
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## Packet connection
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I love simple and small configurations (mostly) and this one is really small.
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When I'm out hiking I usually have an <abbr title="handheld transceiver">HT</abbr>
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with me -- usually an Icom ID-52. Together with a Mobilinkd
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<abbr title="terminal node controller">TNC</abbr> it is a very small
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and (since Android) working solution for mobile/portable Winlink operations (I always
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had problems getting the Bluetooth device working with the iPhone - not only with
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the Mobilinkd but also other Bluetooth devices struggled with the iPhone...).
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### Create a new session called **Packet**
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On the main screen (probably the Inbox) click the top right menu (three dots) and select
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<kbd>:right_arrow: Sessions</kbd>. On the bottom right menu (three dots) select
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<kbd>:plus: Add</kbd>. Name it <kbd>Packet</kbd> and set the Protocol to <kbd>Packet</kbd>.
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Touch <kbd>Settings</kbd> and select a Destination address. Select <kbd>RMS channel selection...</kbd>
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and choose a nearby station. Go back and set <kbd>TNC type</kbd> to <kbd>KISS</kbd>. In
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<kbd>TNC configuration</kbd> select <kbd>Bluetooth</kbd> as <kbd>Connection type</kbd> and
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select the previosly paired Mobilink TNC under <kbd>Connection configuration/Device</kbd>.
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<kbd>Device manufacturer</kbd> should stay <kbd>Generic</kbd>.
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See these screenshots for reference.
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| ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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| [](session.packet.1.png) | [](session.packet.2.png) | [](session.packet.3.png) |
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We use the App Mobilinkd TNC to configure our TNC. The app is available at the
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[Google Play Store](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mobilinkd.tncconfig)
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and on [F-Droid](https://apt.izzysoft.de/fdroid/index/apk/com.mobilinkd.tncconfig) (or Neo Store).
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Make sure the audiolevels are ok (<kbd>Audio Input Settings...</kbd>), also check the
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<kbd>PTT Style</kbd> within <kbd>Audio Output Settings...</kbd>.
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[](settings.mobilinkd.audio.1.png)
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Don't forget to disconnect the config app from the TNC.
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Back in WoAD select the Packet session and hit the play button on the bottom (right).
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## VARA FM and HF
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The VARA modes will need another device that can run the VARA software which our
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Android phone will connec to via port <kbd>8300</kbd>.
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Assuming we have a working installation of VARA FM and VARA HF in a
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32-bit wine environment in `~/.wine-winlink`.
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Let us view the screenshots of my WoAD configuration -- create a new session for that
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and call it <kbd>VARA FM</kbd>.
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| ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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| [](session.varafm.1.png) | [](session.varafm.2.png) | [](session.varafm.3.png) | [](session.varafm.4.png) | [](session.varafm.5.png) |
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The configuration for VARA HF is nearly identical, just select <kbd>VARA HF</kbd> for the
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<kbd>Protocol</kbd>. Don't forget to select a proper VARA HF station and make sure the
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bandwitch matches.
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### Setup on the laptop
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In this scenario I use the internal network card (wlan0).
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Usually there is no DHCP server installed, we will need one though (and hostapd):
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```console
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$ paru -S dhcp hostapd
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```
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- Stop the network
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```console
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$ sudo systemctl stop wpa_supplicant@wlan0.service
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```
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- Flush IP configuration on that interface and flush route table
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```console
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$ sudo ip addr flush dev wlan0
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$ sudo ip route flush dev wlan0
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```
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- Set the IP address that we will later use for connecting our WoAD client
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```console
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$ sudo ip address add 192.168.30.1/24 broadcast + dev wlan0
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$ sudo ip link set dev wlan0 up
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```
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- Start the DHCP server
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I use this config for that:
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```dhcp
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option domain-name "mobile";
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default-lease-time 600;
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max-lease-time 7200;
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authoritative;
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log-facility local7;
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subnet 192.168.30.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
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option routers 192.168.30.1;
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option subnet-mask 255.255.255.0;
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option domain-name "mobile";
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option domain-name-servers 192.168.30.1;
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range 192.168.30.2 192.168.30.40;
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}
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```
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```console
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$ sudo systemctl start dhcp4.service
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```
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- Start the hostapd service
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```console
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$ sudo systemctl start hostapd.service
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```
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### Stop the services and bring back normal networking
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- Stop the services (dhcp4, hostapd)
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```console
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$ sudo systemctl stop {hostapd.service,dhcpd4.service}
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```
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- Flush the IP configuration on that interface again
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```console
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$ sudo ip r flush dev wlan0
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$ sudo ip a flush dev wlan0
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```
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Check for empty interface and route table with `ip r` and `ip a`.
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- Start WPA supplicant service on wlan0 again
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```console
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$ sudo systemctl start wpa_supplicant@wlan0.service
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```
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Your normal IP address should be back on that interface shortly.
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