A Lightweight M17 Hotspot

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Until now, CC1200 Hat users had to operate their M17 digital data/voice hotspot using the rpi-interface software on the command line, for example. To change this, Jim N1ADJ and I have spent the last few days developing a lightweight M17 hotspot based on the CC1200 and a Raspberry Pi. The heart of the hotspot is Jim’s m17-gateway, which he has now brought to a stable release. In the meantime, I have completely rebuilt the rpi-dashboard, started by Wojciech SP5WWP, and adapted it to Jim’s m17-gateway.

The following things can now be done via this dashboard:

  • Monitor incoming and outgoing calls

  • Read text messages

  • Edit the configuration of the dashboard

  • Edit the configuration of the m17-gateway and thus

  • Changing the reflector

  • Changing the module

  • Changing the hotspot frequency

  • and much more

  • Updating the M17 hosts file

  • Starting/stopping the m17-gateway

  • It offers all the essential functions you need for daily use while more features are already planned. Jim is also developing his m17-gateway further, whereby we both involve each other, as gateway and dashboard go hand in hand.

It is not a ready-to-use, downloadable Raspberry Pi image, but we provide an installation script, which I have already presented here. In the meantime, this has been adapted so that it no longer installs the rpi-interface but the m17-gateway.

If there are any problems with the installation or if you have any other questions, you can find us on the M17 Discord Server.

More Information - https://rz01.org/cc1200-m17-hotspot/?utm_source=amateur-radio-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

India, Sweden Introduce New Callsign Suffixes, Prefixes

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In India, newly licensed amateur stations have been assigned new suffixes since the 25th of June. Although the existing, older callsigns have not changed, new General Grade licenses, which are assigned a VU2 prefix, now get a combination of numbers and letters, creating callsigns such as VU22DX or VU29AR. Likewise, Restricted Grade licenses, which are assigned a VU3 prefix, receive suffixes of two numbers and three letters, creating callsigns such as VU33ABS.

“These new prefixes are a practical measure to accommodate the increasing number of amateur radio enthusiasts in India by expanding the available callsign combinations while still adhering to the country’s internationally allocated prefix block.”
— Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, assistant director of the National Institute of Amateur Radio

Meanwhile, in Sweden, amateurs who have received the new entry-level class certificate are identifying themselves with the country's new callsign prefix, "SH." These amateurs can be heard on 40, 20, 15, 10, 6 and 2 metres, where they are permitted to use a maximum of 25 watts of power.

MMDVM Project Drops Support for M17 Mode

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MMDVM, a popular software and hardware project that powers many amateur radio hotspots, has announced the intention to drop the M17 digital voice and data protocol as a supported mode. First communicated to the OpenDV Groups.io list on 12 July 2025, the project's maintainer cited a number of grievances and rumours behind the decision.

Inclusion of M17 among the supported modes of the MMDVM project has been a major benefit to the current rate of adoption of M17. The first commercial radios supporting M17 shipped in the second half of 2024.

The M17 Project is an open source digital voice and data protocol that is positioned as an alternative to digital modes that require use of proprietary encoders.

MMDVM is an open source project that enables amateur radio hotspots to support multiple digital voice modes including D-STAR, DMR, YSF, P25, NXDN, and POCSAG.