DStarRepeater Configuration Reference
The configuration file uses INI format with [Section] headers, Key=Value pairs, and # comments. The format is compatible with MMDVMHost.
To get started, copy the example config and edit for your installation:
sudo cp /etc/dstarrepeater/dstarrepeater.ini.example /etc/dstarrepeater/dstarrepeater.ini
sudo nano /etc/dstarrepeater/dstarrepeater.ini
Then start the daemon:
dstarrepeaterd /etc/dstarrepeater/dstarrepeater.ini
[General]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Callsign |
GB3IN C |
Repeater callsign, padded to 8 characters. 7-character base + 1-character module suffix (A–E). |
Gateway |
(empty) |
Gateway callsign, padded to 8 characters (e.g. GB3IN G). Leave empty if not linked. |
Mode |
0 |
Operating mode — see Mode Values below. |
Ack |
1 |
Acknowledgement type — see Ack Values. Forced to 0 in Gateway, TX Only, RX Only, and TX+RX modes. |
Restriction |
0 |
1 = only whitelisted callsigns accepted. |
RPT1Validation |
1 |
1 = only accept headers addressed to this repeater. |
DTMFBlanking |
1 |
1 = mute DTMF tones from the audio stream. |
ErrorReply |
1 |
1 = reply with error message for invalid commands. |
Mode Values
| Value |
Mode |
Description |
0 |
Duplex |
Full duplex repeater (simultaneous TX and RX) |
1 |
Simplex |
Simplex repeater |
2 |
Gateway |
Gateway mode (ack forced off, RPT1 validation forced on) |
3 |
TX Only |
Transmit only |
4 |
RX Only |
Receive only |
5 |
TX and RX |
Sequential transmit then receive (split-site) |
Ack Values
| Value |
Type |
Description |
0 |
Off |
No acknowledgement |
1 |
BER |
Respond with Bit Error Rate |
2 |
Status |
Respond with status message |
[Log]
Logging levels match MMDVMHost: 0=None, 1=Debug, 2=Message, 3=Info, 4=Warning, 5=Error, 6=Fatal. Higher values are more selective (fewer messages).
| Key |
Default |
Description |
FilePath |
/var/log |
Directory for daily log files (dstarrepeaterd-YYYY-MM-DD.log). |
FileLevel |
2 |
Minimum level to write to log file. 0 = no file logging. |
DisplayLevel |
2 |
Minimum level to write to stdout. 0 = no stdout output. |
MQTTLevel |
2 |
Minimum level to forward to MQTT. 0 = no MQTT logging. |
[Paths]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Data |
/usr/share/dstarrepeater |
Directory containing AMBE voice beacon files (.ambe and .indx). |
Audio |
/var/log |
Directory for DVTool audio recordings and announcements. |
[Network]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
GatewayAddress |
127.0.0.1 |
IP address of the gateway (ircDDBGateway or DStarGateway). |
GatewayPort |
20010 |
UDP port the gateway is listening on. |
LocalAddress |
127.0.0.1 |
Local IP address to bind. |
LocalPort |
20011 |
Local UDP port. |
Name |
(empty) |
Network name for multi-repeater setups. |
[Modem]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Type |
DVAP |
Hardware modem type (case-sensitive). |
Valid modem types:
| Value |
Hardware |
DVAP |
DVAP USB Dongle |
DVMEGA |
DV-Mega board |
DV-RPTR V1 |
DV-RPTR Version 1 |
DV-RPTR V2 |
DV-RPTR Version 2 |
DV-RPTR V3 |
DV-RPTR Version 3 |
GMSK Modem |
GMSK modem (Dutch*STAR) |
MMDVM |
Multi-Mode Digital Voice Modem |
Sound Card |
Sound card modem (ALSA/PortAudio) |
Split |
Multi-receiver split-site |
Icom Access Point/Terminal Mode |
Icom radio in AP/terminal mode |
Only configure the section matching your modem type.
[Times]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Timeout |
180 |
Transmission timeout in seconds. 0 to disable. |
AckTime |
500 |
Acknowledgement delay in milliseconds. |
[Beacon]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Time |
600 |
Beacon interval in seconds. 0 to disable. |
Text |
D-Star Repeater |
Text transmitted in the beacon slow data field. |
Voice |
0 |
1 = transmit a voice beacon in addition to data. |
Language |
0 |
Language for voice beacon — see Language Values. |
Language Values
| Value |
Language |
0 |
English (UK) |
1 |
Deutsch |
2 |
Dansk |
3 |
Francais |
4 |
Italiano |
5 |
Polski |
6 |
Espanol |
7 |
Svenska |
8 |
Nederlands |
9 |
English (US) |
10 |
Norsk |
[Announcement]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Enabled |
0 |
1 = enable announcement recording and playback. |
Time |
500 |
Announcement playback interval in seconds. |
RecordRPT1 |
(empty) |
RPT1 callsign that triggers recording. |
RecordRPT2 |
(empty) |
RPT2 callsign that triggers recording. |
DeleteRPT1 |
(empty) |
RPT1 callsign that triggers deletion. |
DeleteRPT2 |
(empty) |
RPT2 callsign that triggers deletion. |
[Control]
DTMF remote control via D-Star headers. When enabled, specific YOURCALL values trigger actions.
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Enabled |
0 |
1 = enable DTMF remote control. |
RPT1 |
(empty) |
RPT1 callsign required for control commands. |
RPT2 |
(empty) |
RPT2 callsign required for control commands. |
Shutdown |
(empty) |
YOURCALL value to shut down the repeater. |
Startup |
(empty) |
YOURCALL value to start up the repeater. |
Status1–Status5 |
(empty) |
YOURCALL values to trigger status messages 1–5. |
Command1–Command6 |
(empty) |
YOURCALL values for custom commands 1–6. |
Command1Line–Command6Line |
(empty) |
Shell command executed when the corresponding command is triggered. |
Output1–Output4 |
(empty) |
YOURCALL values to toggle output relays 1–4. |
[Controller]
External hardware controller for PTT, LEDs, and relay outputs.
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Type |
(empty) |
Controller type — see Controller Types. |
SerialConfig |
1 |
Pin/output configuration preset (1–5). |
PTTInvert |
0 |
1 = invert PTT output (active low). |
ActiveHangTime |
0 |
Seconds to hold active state after last transmission. 0 to disable. |
Controller Types
| Value |
Description |
| (empty) |
No controller (dummy) |
GPIO |
Raspberry Pi GPIO pins |
UDRC |
UDRC board (Raspberry Pi) |
Velleman K8055 - 0 |
Velleman K8055 USB board (address 0–3) |
URI USB - 1 |
URI USB relay card (address 1–6) |
Serial - /dev/ttyUSB0 |
Serial port controller |
Arduino - /dev/ttyUSB0 |
Arduino controller via serial |
[Outputs]
Default state of output relays at startup.
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Output1 |
0 |
Output relay 1. 1 = on at startup. |
Output2 |
0 |
Output relay 2. |
Output3 |
0 |
Output relay 3. |
Output4 |
0 |
Output relay 4. |
[Frame Logging]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Enabled |
0 |
1 = record all D-Star frames to .dvtool files in the audio directory. |
[Whitelist] / [Blacklist] / [Greylist]
Callsign access control lists. Each takes a single File key pointing to a text file with one callsign per line.
| Key |
Default |
Description |
File |
(not set) |
Full path to the list file. Leave commented out to disable. |
Example:
[Whitelist]
File=/etc/dstarrepeater/rptr_whitelist.dat
Modem-Specific Settings
Only configure the section matching your [Modem] Type.
[DVAP]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Port |
(empty) |
Serial port (e.g. /dev/ttyUSB0). |
Frequency |
145500000 |
Operating frequency in Hz. |
Power |
10 |
Transmit power in dBm. |
Squelch |
-100 |
Squelch threshold in dBm. |
[GMSK]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
InterfaceType |
0 |
0 = libUSB, 1 = direct/serial. |
Address |
768 |
USB address in decimal (768 = 0x0300). |
[DV-RPTR V1]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Port |
(empty) |
Serial port (e.g. /dev/ttyUSB0). |
RXInvert |
0 |
1 = invert received signal polarity. |
TXInvert |
0 |
1 = invert transmitted signal polarity. |
Channel |
0 |
0 = Channel A, 1 = Channel B. |
ModLevel |
20 |
Modulation level (0–100%). |
TXDelay |
150 |
Transmit delay in milliseconds. |
[DV-RPTR V2]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Connection |
0 |
0 = USB, 1 = Network. |
USBPort |
(empty) |
USB serial port. |
Address |
127.0.0.1 |
Network address (when Connection=1). |
Port |
0 |
Network port (when Connection=1). |
TXInvert |
0 |
1 = invert transmitted signal polarity. |
ModLevel |
20 |
Modulation level (0–100%). |
TXDelay |
150 |
Transmit delay in milliseconds. |
[DV-RPTR V3]
Same keys as [DV-RPTR V2].
[DVMEGA]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Port |
(empty) |
Serial port (e.g. /dev/ttyAMA0). |
Variant |
0 |
0 = Modem, 1 = Radio 2m, 2 = Radio 70cm, 3 = Radio 2m/70cm. |
RXInvert |
0 |
1 = invert received signal. |
TXInvert |
0 |
1 = invert transmitted signal. |
TXDelay |
150 |
Transmit delay in milliseconds. |
RXFrequency |
145500000 |
Receive frequency in Hz (radio variants only). |
TXFrequency |
145500000 |
Transmit frequency in Hz (radio variants only). |
Power |
100 |
Transmit power 0–100% (radio variants only). |
[MMDVM]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Port |
(empty) |
Serial port (e.g. /dev/ttyACM0). |
RXInvert |
0 |
1 = invert received signal. |
TXInvert |
0 |
1 = invert transmitted signal. |
PTTInvert |
0 |
1 = invert PTT signal. |
TXDelay |
50 |
Transmit delay in milliseconds. |
RXLevel |
100 |
Receive level (0–100%). |
TXLevel |
100 |
Transmit level (0–100%). |
[Sound Card]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
RXDevice |
(empty) |
Sound card device name for receiving. |
TXDevice |
(empty) |
Sound card device name for transmitting. |
RXInvert |
0 |
1 = invert received signal. |
TXInvert |
0 |
1 = invert transmitted signal. |
RXLevel |
1.0 |
Receive level multiplier (1.0 = unity gain). |
TXLevel |
1.0 |
Transmit level multiplier (1.0 = unity gain). |
TXDelay |
150 |
Transmit delay in milliseconds. |
TXTail |
50 |
Transmit tail in milliseconds (extra carrier after last frame). |
[Split]
Multi-receiver split-site configuration using UDP.
| Key |
Default |
Description |
LocalAddress |
(empty) |
Local IP address for split communication. |
LocalPort |
0 |
Local UDP port. |
Timeout |
0 |
Timeout in milliseconds. 0 to disable. |
TX/RX names are configured as indexed keys: TXName0–TXName4 and RXName0–RXName24.
[Icom]
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Port |
(empty) |
Serial port (e.g. /dev/ttyUSB0). |
[MQTT]
Only used when built with make MQTT=1. See MQTT.md for full details.
| Key |
Default |
Description |
Host |
127.0.0.1 |
MQTT broker hostname or IP. Empty to disable MQTT at runtime. |
Port |
1883 |
Broker port. |
Auth |
0 |
1 = authenticate with username/password. |
Username |
(empty) |
Broker username (when Auth=1). |
Password |
(empty) |
Broker password (when Auth=1). |
Keepalive |
60 |
Keepalive interval in seconds. |
Name |
dstar-repeater |
Client name and topic prefix. |
MQTT Topics
With Name=dstar-repeater:
| Topic |
Content |
dstar-repeater/log |
Timestamped log messages (filtered by MQTTLevel). |
dstar-repeater/status |
JSON repeater status (1/sec). |
dstar-repeater/json |
Display-Driver-compatible D-Star events. |
