Connection Guide for AllStar and EchoLink Nodes (HamVOIP)

This guide will help you get your AllStar/EchoLink Node which is running the HamVOIP Image online and running on the VK44 Network.

Requirements

The below files and resources are required in order to connect your Allstar/EchoLink Node running the HamVOIP Image to the VK44 Network. You can also adapted the instructions to fit other builds of Allstar and/or EchoLink Nodes which have OpenVPN pre-installed.

HamVOIP Image

If you are not currently running the HamVOIP Image, we would highly recommend it. The image has a number of customisations which make running a node easy.
You can download the HamVOIP Image and access their setup instructions in order to get your node up and running at their website (https://hamvoip.org). This guide assumes that you already have a node up and running with the HamVOIP Image and you are using this guide to connect the node to the VK44 Network.

Download the HamVOIP Image from:
https://hamvoip.org/#download 

VK44.NET Profile

You will need to apply for a VK44.NET VPN Profile from our dashboard and ensure your have it ready to place onto the HamVOIP Node OpenVPN Client.

This service is available free of charge to VK (Australia) Amateur Radio Operators which are approved users of the VK44 Network. Service Terms and Conditions apply.

Instructions

NOTE: These Instructions are in DRAFT, please let us know on the Support Chat if they work okay for you!

1. Connect to the Linux device via SSH.

2. Select Option 9 (Start Bash Shell Interface).

nano /etc/openvpn/client.conf

3. PASTE the contents of the VK44.NET VPN Configuration from the CALLSIGN.conf file that you downloaded from the VK44.NET Dashboard.

Add the following after the remote VPN.VK44.NET 1194 udp line of the profile:

cipher AES-256-CBC
resolv-retry infinite

1. Ctrl + X to close
2. Y to save

4. We have found that OpenVPN Service needs to automatically restart the Asterik Service to ensure that Allstar and EchoLink Register with the correct IP Address. This ensures that people can connect to your node.

systemctl enable openvpn@client
nano /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/openvpn@client.service

5. To do so, replace the line starting with ExecStart to the following…

ExecStart=/usr/bin/openvpn --cd /etc/openvpn --config /etc/openvpn/%i.conf --script-security 2 --up /usr/local/sbin/astres.sh --daemon openvpn@%i --writepid /run/openvpn@%i.pid

1. 1. Ctrl + X to close
   2. Y to save

6. Apply the changes to the Service and Restart the OpenVPN Client with the following:

systemctl daemon-reload
systemctl restart openvpn@client

Check to make sure that the repeater is showing up on the VK44.NET VPN Dashboard - https://vpn.vk44.net 
If all is correct, you are now able to access your repeater at it's Dahsboard URL: https://CALLSIGN.vk44.net

If you need additional assistance, want to give us some feedback or don’t have a User Guide for your device, please reach out to us via our Support Portal or by emailing us at: support@vk44.net.