I didn't mean to mis-repsrent the cost of a BBB or dis it in any way. I have a BBB and it’s a fine node. Here’s why I recommend RTCMs over any type of USB node in general and specifically in response to Robert’s question:

  • Permanent connections are no where near as reliable as RTCMs in mixminus mode. 
  • Startup macros are very annoying when restarting and troubleshooting a node. 
  • Repeater ID, hangtime, courtesy tones, touch tone commands, cron jobs, tail messages etc, etc, are all set just once. 
  • Less is better: RTCMs are absolutely the least amount of hardware you can deploy.
  • Entire solution comes from a single source.
  • Easy to install by non Linux knowledgeable radio techs.
  • No CF or SD to burn or CD to load. 
  • Just a few settings including audio. RX levels set with LED indicators.
  • Lots of TX audio drive.
  • Proven to work in harsh environments.
  • No problematic and unpredictable USB issues.
  • Have the capability to fail over to a backup server.
  • Have ZERO repeat audio delay in duplex mode 3.
  • If you might ever want to set up a voter or simulcast system you can.
  • Squelch is the best there is, as good as or better than MICOR squelch. 
  • Firmware remotely upgradeable.
  • Runs over a wide input voltage. 
  • On board RC pre and deemphasis filters.

In all fairness there are a couple of drawbacks:

  • Repeater duplex mode 3 has no TT muting. Other full duplex modes do not have this issue.
  • This is somewhat subjective but my sense is the network needs to have lower loss and latency than with IAX.

Yes, there are cheaper solutions but for my money, time and effort the RTCM is the best trade off. 
--
Tim
:wq

On Sep 28, 2014, at 6:21 PM, k5tra <k5tra@austin.rr.com> wrote:

Chuck,
Actually, BBB for $55, uSD 16GB for $8 and  USB FOB (modified) for $12 is well under $100 for a very good node.
Tom / K5TRA
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