G7VRD[/M]

A simple HF ARDOP ARIM howto

This is a simple howto on how to use ARIM and ARDOP on HF.
ARDOP is a modern TNC that supports multiple bandwidths, and Forward Error Correction. ARDOP doesn't do any sort of rig control other than PTT (and even that I couldn't get working). You need to set the frequency, mode, power manually, etc
ARIM is an Amateur Radio Instant Messenger program. I haven't had a chance to fully investigate it, but it seems to be fairly full-featured.

Get ARDOPC

There is a binary version available at http://www.cantab.net/users/john.wiseman/Downloads/Beta/ardopc_64, but I always prefer to build my own.
The authors don't seem to believe in VCSes (or HTTPS), so I created a Git repo with the latest contents of the zip: https://gitlab.com/g7vrd/ardopc
I might not notice if the zip is updated, so for the latest code, you might want to use the zip. However, what's in the repo is what I'm running at the moment, and it works fine. 

wget http://www.cantab.net/users/john.wiseman/Downloads/Beta/TeensyProjects.zip
unzip TeensyProjects.zip
cd TeensyProjects/ARDOPC
make

Get ARIM

As with ARDOP, there isn't a repo, so I created one at https://gitlab.com/g7vrd/arim. You can use this, or use the source zip. 

wget https://www.whitemesa.net/arim/src/arim-2.7.tar.gz
tar xvfz arim-2.7.tar.gz
cd arim-2.7
./configure
make

Configure ALSA

This next step seems to be necessary as ARDOP requires a sample rate that's 12k (or a multiple thereof). You might not need this.
Use the right hardware device for your machine (replace hw:2,0 with the right thing) 

cat ~/.asoundrc
pcm.ARDOP {type rate slave {pcm "hw:2,0" rate 48000}}

Configure PTT

I couldn't get the built-in PTT support in ARDOP to work, so I had to use the VOX functionality on my radio.
For a TS590SG, it's menu 76 (VOX operation with data input) - set that to ON
If you know how to get the CAT- or RTS PTT working over /dev/ttyUSB0, please let me know.

Run ARDOP

If you've set up the .asoundrc above, the devices will be pcm.ARDOP. If you haven't they'll be something like hw:2,0. 

./ardopc 8515 pcm.ARDOP pcm.ARDOP

Set up ARIM

Edit arim.ini, and set the two mycalls and gridsq

Run ARIM

Run ARIM, attach to the first TNC, and send a test beacon (will hopefully make your radio transmit - make sure it's correctly tuned, attached to an antenna, etc) 

rm *.mbox
./arim -f arim.ini
<space>att 1
<space>btest

ARIM operation

There seem to be a few modes for ARIM. Read the instructions at https://www.whitemesa.net/arim/arim.html
I've had it running between a couple of laptops (without radio involved), and have had some success, although an ARQ connection didn't establish. I think it might be due to the soundcard "clicking" when it starts. I guess this might also cause a problem with VOX radio operation too.

Frequencies

I've found these following frequencies in various posts. They might be wrong. ARIM seems to be designed for pre-arranged QSOS though, so anywhere that's OK for digimodes should be fine.

I haven't found any ARIM activity though just by monitoring frequencies. I think this is the sort of thing that needs a scheduled contact. Anyone want to give it a go? Get in touch.