Glossary

This glossary defines terms, acronyms, and named tools that are specific to AllStarLink, app_rpt, amateur (ham) radio, or PBX/telephony (particularly Asterisk) as they are used throughout this manual. General computing, Linux, or networking terms are omitted unless they carry a specialized meaning in this context.

0-9

44Net (AMPRNet) — A block of globally routable IPv4 addresses (44.x.x.x) allocated for amateur radio use.

44Net Connect — A VPN service that gives an AllStarLink node a publicly routable 44Net IPv4 address over a WireGuard tunnel, commonly used when a node is behind NAT/CGNAT.

A

A Record — A DNS record type returned by AllStarLink's node-lookup service, giving the IPv4 address of a node's IAX server or proxy.

AAAA Record — A DNS record type returned by AllStarLink's node-lookup service, giving the IPv6 address of a node's IAX server or proxy.

Access List (Allowlist / Denylist) — A per-node ASL3 access-control list, stored in the Asterisk database (AstDB) and enforced by contexts like [radio-secure] and [allstar-public], that permits ("allowlist") or blocks ("denylist") connections from specific node numbers or callsigns; replaces the older global "blacklist"/"whitelist" system. Changes take effect immediately without editing config files or restarting.

Adjacent Node — A node directly connected to a given node, as opposed to one reachable only indirectly through another node.

AIOC (All-In-One-Cable) — A low-cost USB radio interface device that can be recognized natively or reprogrammed to emulate a C-Media CM108 chip.

Allmon3 — AllStarLink's current web-based dashboard for monitoring and controlling nodes, communicating with Asterisk over the Asterisk Manager Interface (AMI).

allmon3-passwd — The command-line utility used to add, edit, or delete Allmon3 user accounts stored in /etc/allmon3/users.

allmon3.ini — The Allmon3 configuration file where monitored node connections are defined, one stanza per node number, with host/port/credentials.

[allstar-public] context — The extensions.conf/iax.conf context that handles connections authenticated via the Web Transceiver token method.

[allstar-sys] context — The extensions.conf/iax.conf context that processes AllStarLink Telephone Portal calls.

AllStarLink — A network of amateur radio repeaters, remote base stations, and hotspots linked to each other over VoIP.

AllStarLink Portal — The web application (allstarlink.org/portal) where users register an account, add servers, request node numbers/passwords, and configure how a node presents itself to the network.

AllStarLink Telephone Portal — A dial-in phone number that lets a caller with a Portal account and PIN connect into or control a node from the PSTN.

AMI (Asterisk Manager Interface) — Asterisk's TCP-based management/control protocol, used by tools like Allmon3 to query and control a node; considered high-risk to expose to the public Internet.

app_rpt — The Asterisk application that provides AllStarLink's core repeater-controller, node, and linking functionality, invoked from the dialplan via the Rpt() application.

Archive Directory (archivedir=) — The rpt.conf setting that enables per-node audio recording and activity logging, storing recordings under a per-node-number subdirectory, keyed off COR activity.

asl-backup-menu — The utility (standalone or via asl-menu) for creating, restoring, editing, and deleting backups of a node's AllStarLink/Asterisk configuration.

asl-broadcastify — A templated, multi-instance systemd service that streams a node's audio to Broadcastify via ffmpeg, independent of the main Asterisk process.

asl-check-install — A command that checks an AllStarLink installation for problems, typically run after an OS upgrade.

asl-find-sound — A utility that lists USB sound devices compatible with app_rpt, for use as the devstr= value in simpleusb.conf/usbradio.conf.

asl-menu — ASL3's main text-based configuration menu utility, used to manage a node's number, password, audio interface, access lists, and other settings without manually editing files.

asl-node-auth-check — A command that performs a comprehensive check of a node's configuration, reachability, and registration status.

asl-node-lookup — A command-line tool that queries AllStarLink's DNS servers (and, as root, the local node table) for information about a node number.

asl-play-arn — A utility that plays the Amateur Radio Newsline audio bulletin on a specified node, immediately or at a scheduled time.

asl-repo-switch — A utility that changes the package release stream (e.g. main or beta) used for AllStarLink software updates.

asl-say — A tool for making Asterisk speak basic statements, such as the time or system IP address, on a specified node.

asl-show-version — A utility that reports the installed versions of all ASL3 packages, Asterisk, and app_rpt, typically used in bug reports.

asl-tts — AllStarLink's built-in text-to-speech command, using the Piper engine to generate and play spoken audio on a node without a pre-recorded sound file.

asl3-update-astdb — The engine that generates astdb.txt, the legacy node-name database used by third-party applications.

asl3-update-nodelist — The engine/service that periodically updates rpt_extnodes, the local node dictionary database used for node number resolution.

ASL2 — AllStarLink version 2, the predecessor to ASL3, with no direct upgrade or migration path to ASL3.

ASL3 — AllStarLink version 3, the current generation of the AllStarLink node software, built on Asterisk 20+.

ASL3 Appliance — A pre-packaged, near-turnkey configuration of ASL3 (for Debian systems, PCs, or Raspberry Pi) bundling Asterisk/app_rpt, Cockpit, Allmon3, and supporting tools.

ASL3 Nodelist Updater — The optional package that maintains a local cached copy of the AllStarLink node database for faster or offline node number lookups.

astdb.txt — A downloadable AllStarLink node-name database file historically used by third-party applications such as Supermon or Node Remote.

Asterisk — The open-source PBX (telephony) software platform that AllStarLink and app_rpt are built on.

Asterisk CLI (Console) — Asterisk's interactive command-line interface (asterisk -rvvv) used to issue live commands and troubleshoot a node.

Asterisk Database (AstDB) — Asterisk's built-in key/value database that ASL3 uses to store allowlist/denylist entries and other runtime states.

asterisk user — The dedicated, non-root system account under which the Asterisk process runs in ASL3.

Autopatch — An app_rpt feature letting radio users dial out to (or receive calls from) the public switched telephone network through a VoIP trunk connected to the node.

B

Backup and Restore menu — The asl-menu section that backs up and restores a node's AllStar and Asterisk configuration.

Band Plan — A frequency allocation scheme, set by a regional/national amateur radio authority, specifying which frequencies/services are permitted within an amateur band.

Beta channel — An optional AllStarLink package repository stream containing pre-release software with in-progress bug fixes and features.

bindport= / bindaddr= — iax.conf directives that set the local UDP port (default 4569) and address Asterisk listens on for incoming IAX2 connections.

Bootloader (VOTER/RTCM) — The initial firmware stage on a VOTER/RTCM's dsPIC that runs at power-up and allows remote firmware updates over Ethernet before handing control to the main firmware.

Broadcastify — A public audio-streaming platform that ASL3 nodes can stream repeater/node audio to via a feed account.

C

Call Token (IAX2 Call Token) — An IAX2 anti-spoofing security mechanism required by Asterisk 20+ that some older client software doesn't support, sometimes requiring requirecalltoken = no.

callsign — The unique identifier issued by a licensing authority to an amateur radio operator/station, used to identify nodes, EchoLink accounts, and APRS reports.

CGNAT (Carrier Grade NAT) — A carrier networking technique that shares a public IP among many customers, breaking the IP-address matching that AllStarLink IAX connections traditionally require.

chan_echolink — The Asterisk channel driver implementing EchoLink connectivity for an AllStarLink node.

chan_pjsip — The modern Asterisk PJSIP channel driver used for SIP phone connections to a node, replacing the deprecated chan_sip.

chan_simpleusb — The "SimpleUSB" Asterisk channel driver used to interface a basic (no-DSP) USB radio sound card to app_rpt.

chan_tlb — The Asterisk channel driver implementing the TheLinkBox (TLB) linking protocol.

chan_usbradio — The "USBRadio" Asterisk channel driver, providing full-DSP USB radio interfacing with configurable audio filters and GPIO pins.

chan_voter — The Asterisk channel driver that provides the interface between app_rpt and the hardware VOTER/RTCM RoIP adapter. Can be used in multi-site receiver voting, simulcast, multi-site non-voting (mixed audio), and single-site applications..

Channel Driver — An Asterisk module (e.g. SimpleUSB, USBRadio, Voter, TLB, EchoLink) that provides the audio/signaling interface between app_rpt and a specific type of radio or network hardware.

CM108/CM119 — C-Media USB audio chipsets commonly used in radio-to-computer USB sound fob (URI) interfaces, providing usable GPIO pins for PTT/COR/CTCSS signaling.

CODEC (COder/DECoder) — The audio compression format (e.g. u-law, GSM, G.722, slin) negotiated for audio streams between two channels, nodes, etc.

Command Mode — A DTMF operating mode where subsequent digits are sent directly to a specified remote node, bypassing local command decoding, until # is pressed.

Configuration Template — ASL3's stanza-inheritance system (e.g. [node-main](!) / [1999](node-main)) that lets multiple node stanzas in rpt.conf, simpleusb.conf, usbradio.conf, and gps.conf inherit shared default settings.

Context (Asterisk) — A named section of the Asterisk dialplan in extensions.conf that groups related call-handling logic, such as [autopatch] or [allstar-sys].

Control Operator - A privileged user that can execute administrative-type (elevated) commands to control how a node operates.

Control Operator (COP) Functions — A privileged DTMF function class in rpt.conf used for control-operator-level administrative commands, such as manipulating GPIO pins or enabling Parrot/Sleep Mode.

COR (Carrier Operated Relay) / COS (Carrier Operated Switch/Squelch) — The signal/state indicating a radio receiver has detected a valid carrier (squelch open), used to trigger recordings, keying, and activity logging.

Courtesy Tone — An audible tone or sound played when a transmission ends (on un-key) to signal repeater/link status to users.

CTCSS (Continuous Tone-Coded Squelch System) — A sub-audible tone (also called a "PL" tone) used for squelch and access control on repeaters and radios, calibrated as part of audio-level setup.

CW ID — A Morse code station identification sent by a node, configured via idrecording=.

D

DCS (Digital Coded Squelch) — A digital sub-audible squelch/access code used as an alternative to CTCSS.

De-emphasis — Audio filtering applied to discriminator audio that reverses transmitter pre-emphasis, controlled by the COR Type/nodeemp options.

Deviation (Peak Deviation) — The amount of frequency shift produced by modulating an FM transmitter, calibrated as part of AllStarLink audio-level setup.

Dialplan — The Asterisk call-routing logic in extensions.conf that processes incoming calls/connections and hands them off to app_rpt.

Discriminator Audio — The raw, un-de-emphasized output of an FM receiver's discriminator, required by the VOTER/RTCM for noise-based squelch and RSSI analysis.

DNS Node Resolution — AllStarLink's method of resolving a node number to its IP address via DNS queries against nodes.allstarlink.org.

DTMF (Dual-Tone Multi-Frequency) — Touch-tone signaling used to send function/command codes to app_rpt from a radio or phone.

DTMF Function — A command triggered when a user dials a defined DTMF sequence prefixed by funcchar, used to control macros, linking, and other node behaviors; grouped into named "function classes" (e.g. ilink, cop, autopatchup) that determine what a code does.

Duplex Mode — An rpt.conf setting (0–4) controlling how a node handles simultaneous transmit/receive, telemetry tones, and hang time; distinct from the physical radio concepts of full duplex (simultaneous TX/RX, e.g. a repeater) and half duplex (TX/RX cannot occur simultaneously, e.g. simplex or remote-base nodes).

E

Echo Mode — A diagnostic mode in simpleusb-tune-menu that loops back received audio so interface levels can be verified.

EchoLink — A separate VoIP-based amateur radio network that AllStarLink nodes can bridge to via chan_echolink, using a reserved node-number range prefixed with 3.

Event Management Subsystem — An app_rpt mechanism, configured in rpt.conf's [events] stanza, that triggers actions based on state transitions like keying or link changes.

extensions.conf — The Asterisk configuration file containing the dialplan that routes connections to app_rpt and handles autopatch calls.

External Node Directory File (rpt_extnodes) — A locally cached copy of the AllStarLink node database (maintained by asl3-update-nodelist) that app_rpt uses to resolve node numbers to IP addresses/ports, as an alternative or fallback to DNS.

F

Foreign Telemetry — Telemetry announced on the local node when a remotely connected node performs an action, as distinct from telemetry generated by the local node itself.

Full Quieting — A ham radio term for a received signal strong enough to produce no audible background noise/hiss/crackle, used as the reference condition when calibrating VOTER/RTCM audio levels.

G

GPIO (General Purpose Input/Output) — Configurable input/output pins on a URI/USB sound fob (or parallel port) used for control and status signaling (e.g. PTT, COR) in app_rpt.

H

Hang Time (hangtime=) — The length of time a repeater/node keeps its transmitter keyed after a user un-keys, akin to a squelch tail; often shortened for hot spot responsiveness.

Hot Spot — A low-power, typically simplex, personal AllStarLink node/gateway device used for local radio-to-network access (e.g. ClearNode, HotSpotRadio).

HTTP Registration — ASL3's default node-registration method (replacing IAX2 registration), which publishes a node's connection info via HTTP/DNS, configured via rpt_http_registrations.conf.

Hub — A node, often without an attached radio, used as a common meeting point that other nodes connect to.

I

IAX / IAX2 (Inter-Asterisk eXchange) — The primary Asterisk VoIP protocol AllStarLink nodes use to connect to each other and to registration servers (default UDP port 4569), configured in iax.conf.

IAX Direct Authentication — Configuring iax.conf to authenticate individual IAX2 clients/peers directly, bypassing the full ASL registration infrastructure.

IAX Proxy — An arrangement where an AllStarLink server with unstable/NATed connectivity (the Server Proxy Client) relays all its IAX2 traffic through a stable Server Proxy Server.

IAX Registration — The legacy method of registering a node's location with the AllStarLink Network using a register= directive in iax.conf, superseded by HTTP Registration.

IAX Text Protocol — An informally documented text-frame protocol app_rpt uses over IAX2 to exchange telemetry, keyed status, and messages between nodes (e.g. the NEWKEY/IAXKEY handshake).

IAXRpt — An older Windows "soft phone" client used to connect to an AllStarLink node over IAX2 using a computer's microphone/speaker.

Initial Node Number (INN) — A user's first, base AllStarLink node number, before being expanded into a Node Number Extension (NNX) series.

iax.conf — The Asterisk configuration file defining IAX usernames, secrets, ports, and contexts used to authenticate incoming node connections.

J

Jitter Buffer — A buffering mechanism (in Asterisk/IAX2, or chan_voter's multi-dimensional version) that smooths out network timing variation in received audio packets, or time-aligns audio from multiple VOTER/RTCM clients for voting.

K

Kerchunk — Ham radio slang for briefly keying and un-keying a transmitter, often to test that a node/repeater is keying up correctly or to reset a time-out timer.

L

Loopback Protection — app_rpt logic that refuses a connection when it detects the same node number already present elsewhere in the link path, preventing routing loops.

M

Macro — A stored, numbered sequence of one or more DTMF commands (defined in a [macro] stanza) invoked by a single DTMF code, the scheduler, or an external script.

Monitor Mode — A link/phone connection mode that allows listening to a node/link without without transmit capabilities or DTMF function control.

Morse ID — A telemetry method (|i) that sends a node's identification as Morse code.

N

NBFM (Narrow Band FM) — The standard 5 kHz peak-deviation FM mode assumed as the baseline for AllStarLink audio-level calibration.

NNX (Node Number Extension) — A method of expanding a single issued AllStarLink node number into up to ten sequential node numbers by appending an extra digit.

Node — A logical AllStarLink endpoint, identified by a unique node number, running Asterisk/app_rpt and typically representing a radio, application, or link.

Node Number — The unique numeric identifier assigned to an AllStarLink node, analogous to a telephone number, used throughout dialplan, registration, and linking.

Node Number Stanza — The rpt.conf section, named after the node's number (e.g. [1999]), that holds all configuration options for that node.

Node Registration — The process by which a node announces its connection info to the AllStarLink Network so other nodes can locate and connect to it (see HTTP Registration, IAX Registration).

nodes stanza — The rpt.conf [nodes] section that acts like a local "hosts" file, listing known nodes and their IP/hostname and port for lookup.

P

Parrot Mode — A node mode that records a user's transmitted audio and plays it back after they un-key (after a parrottime delay), used for audio testing or to build a simplex repeater.

peer — In Asterisk/IAX2 terminology, a remote endpoint definition (type=peer in iax.conf) representing a server that can originate and/or receive calls.

Permanent Node Connection — A persistent link between two nodes that continuously reattempts connection and survives network outages and far-end reboots, established with ilink,12/13/18 and removed with ilink,11.

Phone Portal PIN — The numeric code assigned to an AllStarLink Portal account, required to authenticate calls to the Telephone Portal.

Ping Ponging (Relay Racing) — A back-and-forth keying loop between two linked simplex nodes caused by COR or squelch glitches.

Piper (piper-tts) — The open-source, offline text-to-speech engine used by asl-tts to generate spoken node audio without cloud dependencies.

PL Tone / DPL — Common shorthand for CTCSS ("PL", Private Line) and DCS ("DPL", Digital Private Line) sub-audible squelch tones used for repeater and radio access control.

PPS (Pulse-Per-Second) — A precise, once-per-second timing pulse output by a GPS receiver that the VOTER/RTCM uses for audio synchronization in receiver voting and simulcast applications.

Pre-emphasis — High-frequency boost applied to transmit audio, normally by the transmitter (or by the VOTER/RTCM itself when generating CTCSS/direct-modulation audio), to match standard FM de-emphasis on receive.

Private Node — A node that does not directly connect to (or accept connections from) the public AllStarLink network, typically numbered under 2000, used for local, isolated networks, testing, or special applications.

R

radio-secure context — The extensions.conf context, called from iax.conf's [radio] stanza, that authenticates and routes incoming IAX2 node-to-node connections to app_rpt.

Remote Base — A node configuration where the attached radio can be remotely tuned/controlled (frequency-agile) rather than acting as a fixed repeater.

Reverse Burst / Chicken Burst — CTCSS "turn-off" styles (txtoctype=) where the tone is briefly phase-shifted (reverse burst) or continues briefly with no tone (chicken/notone burst) when a transmission un-keys, to quickly mute the receiving radio's squelch tail.

RoIP adapter - Radio over IP adapter. A hardware device that creates an interface between an analog radio and Ethernet so that audio and signaling can be transmitted natively over Ethernet networks to a host for processing and control. In the AllStarLink context, the VOTER/RTCM operate as a RoIP adapter to interface to the host node (via chan_voter) over Ethernet (instead of USB as used by chan_simpleusb and chan_usbradio).

RTCM (Radio Thin Client Module) — It is a radio-over-IP (RoIP) hardware interface that uses Ethernet to connect between the attached radio and the host AllStarLink node running chan_voter.

RX Toneburst — A repeater access method (common in Europe) requiring an initial burst of a specific tone (typically 1750 Hz) to "wake up" the repeater before it accepts carrier access.

S

SA818 / DRA818 — An inexpensive VHF/UHF RF transceiver module commonly used to build low-cost AllStarLink node/hotspot radio interfaces; sa818 and sa818-menu are the command-line and interactive utilities used to program it.

Satellite Receiver - Additional radio receivers equipped with VOTER/RTCM interfaces that feed receive audio back to chan_voter, which in turn selects the one with the best signal to be sent out the repeater transmitter.

Scheduler — The built-in app_rpt time-based scheduler, distinct from system cron, that triggers a macro to run once when a defined time/date pattern in the [schedule] stanza matches; can be toggled via control-state mnemonics skena/skdis.

Server — The physical or virtual machine that runs the Asterisk/app_rpt software and hosts one or more Nodes.

SHARI — A popular Raspberry Pi USB/HAT radio interface board sold by Kits4Hams.

Simple Node Auth — An AllStarLink API for authenticating infrastructure clients using a node number and node password.

Simplex — A radio mode where transmit and receive share the same frequency and cannot occur simultaneously; simplex nodes require VOX for autopatch.

Simplex Dumb Phone Control Mode (S) — An app_rpt dialplan option giving audio-only, toggle-PTT phone access to a simplex/half-duplex radio system.

SimpleUSB — One of app_rpt's two USB radio interface driver/configuration types (chan_simpleusb, configured in simpleusb.conf), for basic USB radio interfaces without DSP-based tone deoding.

simpleusb-tune-menu — An interactive menu utility for tuning a SimpleUSB radio interface's TX/RX audio levels and checking COS/CTCSS/PTT signaling.

Simulcast — Operating multiple transmitters on the same frequency, precisely synchronized in time and frequency, so their coverage overlaps without mutual interference.

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) — A signaling protocol commonly used by VoIP provider for autopatch trunks and by SIP phones, configured via pjsip.conf.

Sleep Mode — A node mode that disables the local repeater receiver after a period of inactivity (sleeptime=), re-enabled by remote traffic/telemetry or a cop,53 command.

Sound File Formats — The header-less, 8kHz mono audio codec formats (ulaw, gsm, pcm) commonly used for Asterisk/app_rpt sound files.

Splatter Filter — Transmitter audio processing (limiting and filtering) that prevents adjacent-channel interference normally provided by the radio transmitter.

Squelch — The receiver circuit that mutes a radio's audio output until a valid on-channel signal of sufficient signal strength is received. May require a valid CTCSS/DCS/DPL/PL tone/code, if configured.

SRV Record — A DNS record type returned by AllStarLink's node-lookup service that gives a node's IAX2 port.

stanza — A named block of key=value settings in an ASL/Asterisk configuration file, delimited by square brackets; also called a context in dialplan terms.

Startup Macro — A macro (startup_macro) automatically executed when Asterisk starts, commonly used to establish a permanent link connection on boot.

Stats API — An AllStarLink JSON API for retrieving node and link statistics.

T

Tail Message — A short audio message periodically played after a user un-keys (at the "tail" of a transmission), which can be interrupted ("squashed") if someone keys up over it.

Telemetry — Tones or short voice messages played on the transmit audio path of an AllStarLink node during the connect/disconnect of another node and other events.

TheLinkBox (TLB) — A third-party linking program (by WB6YMH) that interfaces with app_rpt via the chan_tlb channel driver and tlb.conf, using a private node number.

Tone Group — A set of four comma-separated values (two frequencies, duration, amplitude) defining one segment of a telemetry tone sequence.

Tonemacro — A macro triggered by receiving a specific CTCSS tone rather than a DTMF sequence, normally executing only once per newly received tone.

TOT (Timeout Timer) — The app_rpt feature (totime=) that limits the maximum continuous transmission length on a node/repeater, forcibly un-keying a stuck transmitter.

TXT Record — A DNS record type returned by AllStarLink's node-lookup service containing debugging info such as node number, IP address, and IAX port.

U

u-law — The standard audio codec used by AllStarLink for node-to-node and client audio.

URI (USB Radio Interface) — A USB sound-card-based radio interface device (often built on chips like the CM108/CM119) used to connect a radio to an Asterisk server.

USB EEPROM — Onboard memory in some USB radio interfaces (e.g. CM119A/CM119B) used to store audio configuration values like rxmixerset.

USBRadio — The other app_rpt USB radio interface driver/configuration type (chan_usbradio, configured in usbradio.conf), supporting DSP-based squelch detection, CTCSS/DCS tone encode/decode, and additional audio filtering.

V

VFO (Variable Frequency Oscillator) — The tunable frequency mode of a remote base radio, set via the remote,2 command as opposed to a stored memory channel.

VID/PID — The USB vendor identifier and product identifier used by ASL3 to recognize compatible sound card interfaces.

VOIP (Voice Over IP) — The technology used by telephone termination providers to connect Asterisk-based autopatch calls to the PSTN.

VOTER (Voice Observing Time Extension for Radio) — The original open-source, GPS-timed receiver-voting hardware/protocol system created by Jim Dixon, WB6NIL, for use with chan_voter. The through-hole equivalent of the RTCM. Can be used to select the best receive signal from multiple sites to transmit on the repeater transmitter (voting), mixing audio from multiple receiver sources (mix/general purpose mode), or acting as a stand-alone RoIP adapter..

VOTER Protocol — The connectionless, UDP-based protocol (historically port 667, now 1667) carrying timestamped/GPS-referenced audio, RSSI, and GPS position between VOTER/RTCM clients and the chan_voter host.

VOX (Voice Operated Transmit) — An audio-level-triggered PTT mechanism used for simplex nodes, autopatch, SIP phones, or the Telephone Portal, where a physical PTT signal isn't available.

W

Web Admin Portal — The branded name for the Cockpit-based web administration interface on an ASL3 Appliance.

Web Transceiver (WT) — A browser/portal-based authentication method (originally a Java applet) letting apps connect to a node using AllStarLink Portal credentials, issued a token via the WebTransceiver Auth API.