Ham Radio DEB Repository

Debian/Ubuntu package repository for Ham Radio software, hosted on GitHub Pages.

🌐 Repository URL

• Web: https://deb.pistar.uk
• Repository: https://deb.pistar.uk/

📦 Available Packages

Core MMDVM Software

Package	Description	Components	Upstream
mmdvmhost	MMDVM Host Software & Calibration Tool	MMDVMHost, MMDVMCal, RemoteCommand	MMDVMHost & MMDVMCal
dstarrepeater	D-Star Repeater Controller	dstarrepeaterd, dstarrepeaterconfig	DStarRepeater

Gateway & Client Packages

Package	Description	Components	Upstream
dmrclients	DMR Gateway and Cross-Mode converters	DMRGateway, DMR2YSF, DMR2NXDN	DMRGateway & MMDVM_CM
dstarclients	D-Star Gateway and tools	DStarGateway, dgwtimeserver, dgwtexttransmit, dgwvoicetransmit	DStarGateway
ysfclients	YSF Gateway, Parrot, DGId Gateway and Cross-Mode converters	YSFGateway, YSFParrot, DGIdGateway, YSF2DMR, YSF2NXDN, YSF2P25	YSFClients & MMDVM_CM
nxdnclients	NXDN Gateway, Parrot and Cross-Mode converter	NXDNGateway, NXDNParrot, NXDN2DMR	NXDNClients & MMDVM_CM
p25clients	P25 Gateway and Parrot	P25Gateway, P25Parrot	P25Clients
pocsagclients	POCSAG/DAPNET Gateway for paging	DAPNETGateway	DAPNETGateway
fmclients	FM Gateway for analog-to-digital bridging	FMGateway	FMGateway
aprsclients	APRS Gateway between APRS-IS and RF	APRSGateway	APRSGateway

🐧 Supported Debian/Ubuntu Versions

Debian

• Debian 13 "Trixie" (stable)
• Debian 12 "Bookworm" (oldstable)

Ubuntu

• Ubuntu 25.10 "Questing Quokka" (use bookworm packages)
• Ubuntu 25.04 "Plucky Puffin" (use bookworm packages)
• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS "Noble" (use bookworm packages)
• Ubuntu 22.04 LTS "Jammy" (use bookworm packages)

Raspberry Pi OS

• Raspberry Pi OS (Current - based on Trixie, use trixie packages)
• Raspberry Pi OS (Legacy - based on Bookworm, use bookworm packages)

🖥️ Supported Architectures

• amd64 - 64-bit Intel/AMD
• arm64 - 64-bit ARM (Raspberry Pi 3/4/5 64-bit OS)
• armhf - 32-bit ARM (Raspberry Pi, ARMv7)

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

Add the repository and install packages on your Debian/Ubuntu system:

# Add GPG key
wget -qO - https://deb.pistar.uk/hamradio.gpg | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/hamradio.gpg

# Add repository (choose your Debian version)
# For Debian 13 (Trixie) / Raspberry Pi OS (Current)
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hamradio.gpg] https://deb.pistar.uk/ trixie main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hamradio.list

# For Debian 12 (Bookworm) / Ubuntu 22.04-25.10 / Raspberry Pi OS (Legacy)
echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/hamradio.gpg] https://deb.pistar.uk/ bookworm main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/hamradio.list

# Update and install
sudo apt update
sudo apt install mmdvmhost dmrclients ysfclients

Configuration

All packages store configuration in package-specific directories:

# Configuration files location
/etc/mmdvmhost/       # MMDVM Host configuration
/etc/dmrclients/      # DMR Gateway and cross-mode configs
/etc/ysfclients/      # YSF Gateway, DGId, and cross-mode configs
/etc/dstarclients/    # D-Star gateway configs
/etc/dstarrepeater/   # D-Star repeater configuration
/etc/nxdnclients/     # NXDN gateway and cross-mode configs
/etc/p25clients/      # P25 gateway config
/etc/aprsclients/     # APRS gateway config
/etc/pocsagclients/   # DAPNET gateway config
/etc/fmclients/       # FM gateway config

# Example: Configure MMDVM Host
sudo cp /etc/mmdvmhost/MMDVMHost.ini.example /etc/mmdvmhost/MMDVMHost.ini
sudo nano /etc/mmdvmhost/MMDVMHost.ini

# Example: Configure DMR Gateway
sudo cp /etc/dmrclients/DMRGateway.ini.example /etc/dmrclients/DMRGateway.ini
sudo nano /etc/dmrclients/DMRGateway.ini

# Example: Configure D-Star Repeater
sudo cp /etc/dstarrepeater/dstarrepeater.conf.example /etc/dstarrepeater/dstarrepeater.conf
sudo nano /etc/dstarrepeater/dstarrepeater.conf

Starting Services

Services are managed via systemd:

# Start services
sudo systemctl start mmdvmhost      # MMDVM Host
sudo systemctl start dmrgateway     # DMR Gateway
sudo systemctl start ysfgateway     # YSF Gateway
sudo systemctl start dstargateway   # D-Star Gateway
sudo systemctl start dstarrepeater  # D-Star Repeater Controller
sudo systemctl start nxdngateway    # NXDN Gateway
sudo systemctl start p25gateway     # P25 Gateway
sudo systemctl start aprsgateway    # APRS Gateway
sudo systemctl start dapnetgateway  # DAPNET/POCSAG Gateway

# Enable at boot
sudo systemctl enable mmdvmhost
sudo systemctl enable dmrgateway
sudo systemctl enable ysfgateway
sudo systemctl enable dstarrepeater

# Check status
sudo systemctl status mmdvmhost

🔧 Building Packages

Packages are built using GitHub Actions. To trigger a build:

1. Go to Actions
2. Select "Build Debian Packages" workflow
3. Click "Run workflow"
4. Select options:
   • Package: Choose specific package or "all"
   • Debian Version: Choose specific version or "all"
5. Click "Run workflow"

The build process:

• Clones source from upstream git repositories
• Builds for all architectures using Docker and QEMU
• Creates DEB packages following Debian standards
• Generates repository metadata (Packages, Release files)
• Deploys to GitHub Pages

Automatic Builds

The repository can monitor upstream repositories for changes and automatically rebuild packages when updates are detected (workflow available but not scheduled by default).

📝 Package Versioning

Packages use date-based versioning with git commit tracking:

• Format: YYYY.MM.DD-r{revision}
• Example: 2025.01.02-r1
• Git commit hash is embedded in the package description

🔑 Repository Signing

The repository uses GPG signing for security:

• Public Key: https://deb.pistar.uk/hamradio.gpg
• Key Location: /usr/share/keyrings/hamradio.gpg

All repository metadata (Release files) can be signed with GPG for APT secure verification.

🛠️ Development

Repository Structure

MMDVM_DEB/
├── .github/workflows/       # GitHub Actions workflows
│   ├── build-debian-packages.yml
│   ├── check-upstream-updates.yml
│   └── cleanup-old-packages.yml
├── packages/                # Package definitions
│   ├── mmdvmhost/
│   ├── dmrclients/         # DMRGateway, DMR2YSF, DMR2NXDN
│   ├── dstarclients/       # DStarGateway and tools
│   ├── dstarrepeater/      # D-Star Repeater Controller
│   ├── ysfclients/         # YSFGateway, YSFParrot, DGIdGateway, YSF2*
│   ├── nxdnclients/        # NXDNGateway, NXDNParrot, NXDN2DMR
│   ├── p25clients/         # P25Gateway, P25Parrot
│   ├── pocsagclients/      # DAPNETGateway
│   ├── fmclients/          # FMGateway
│   └── aprsclients/        # APRSGateway
│       ├── build.sh        # Build script
│       └── source.conf     # Source configuration
├── keys/                   # GPG public key
├── scripts/                # Build and maintenance scripts
├── docs/                   # Documentation
└── deploy/                 # GitHub Pages deployment (auto-generated)
    ├── index.html         # Repository landing page
    ├── dists/             # APT repository structure
    │   ├── bookworm/
    │   └── trixie/
    └── pool/              # Package pool
        └── main/

Package Organization

The repository follows Debian packaging conventions:

• Protocol-specific clients: dmrclients, dstarclients, ysfclients, nxdnclients, p25clients
  • Each contains the main gateway, parrot/test tools, and cross-mode converters where applicable
• Core software: mmdvmhost - The main MMDVM host software with calibration tools
• Repeater controller: dstarrepeater - D-Star repeater system
• Single-purpose clients: aprsclients, pocsagclients, fmclients

Adding New Packages

1. Create package directory: packages/{package_name}/
2. Add build.sh script with build instructions
3. Add source.conf with source repository information
4. Test locally with Docker
5. Commit and run workflow

See docs/CONTRIBUTING.md for detailed instructions.

Local Testing

Test builds locally using Docker:

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/MW0MWZ/MMDVM_DEB.git
cd MMDVM_DEB

# Test build (requires Docker)
cd packages/mmdvmhost
OUTPUT_DIR=./output ARCH=amd64 DEBIAN_VERSION=bookworm ./build.sh

# Check output
ls -la output/

📚 Documentation

• Building Packages - Detailed build process
• Package Signing - GPG signing details
• Contributing - How to contribute

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Add your package following the guidelines
4. Submit a pull request

All packages must be Ham Radio related and build from source.

📜 License

• Repository infrastructure: MIT License
• Individual packages maintain their upstream licenses
• Most packages: GPL-2.0-or-later

👤 Maintainer

MW0MWZ - andy@mw0mwz.co.uk

🔗 Links

• Repository: https://github.com/MW0MWZ/MMDVM_DEB
• Issues: https://github.com/MW0MWZ/MMDVM_DEB/issues
• Web Interface: https://deb.pistar.uk
• Sister APK Repository: https://apk.pistar.uk

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Built with ❤️ for the Amateur Radio community by Andy Taylor (MW0MWZ)