The following table lists the DTMF commands recognised by GB3KD.
Please note that DTMF commands are not actioned unless they begin within 10 seconds of the start of your transmission, and finish no more than 2 seconds before the end of your transmission. The correct procedure is as follows:-
1) Press and hold your PTT.
2) Begin keying the command within 10 seconds
3) Don't leave a gap of more than 10 seconds between digits
4) When you have finished entering the command, release the PTT immediately.
To enter a callsign (for the Connect by Call or Query by Call commands), press two digits for each letter and number in the callsign. The end of the callsign is signified by a hash (#).
The first digit of each pair is the key on which the letter appears, and the second digit is 1, 2, 3 or 4, to indicate which character from that key is being entered. To enter a digit, press the digit followed by 0.
If your keypad does not have letters on it, here's a guide:
Key
Char 0
Char 1
Char 2
Char 3
Char 4
0
0
-
*
/
.
1
1
2
2
A
B
C
3
3
D
E
F
4
4
G
H
I
5
5
J
K
L
6
6
M
N
O
7
7
P
Q
R
S
8
8
T
U
V
9
9
W
X
Y
Z
For any given character, simply find the corresponding row (key) and column (character) numbers from the table
For example, the letter "K" is entered as "52", the minus sign (-) is entered as "01", and the digit "7" is entered as "70".
Callsigns need not be entered in full. If a partial callsign is entered, GB3KD will find the first match among the stations currently logged onto the Echolink system. If no match is found among the stations currently logged on, GB3KD will say " NOT ONLINE".
If you request a random connect, GB3KD will select a non-busy node at random, and will attempt to connect to it. This is a bit like calling CQ into the ether, not knowing who will come back. The repeater will say "Connecting to xxx", and a short while later "Connected to xxx".
If it doesn't say the second message within 30 seconds, it has failed to connect. This could be because the target station has gone off line or busy since the last directory update, or because he is denying access.
If you wish to abort a connection in progress, dial the hash (#) key. This will reset the system, so that it is ready to try another connect.
Over time, some nodes prove to be more reliable or useful than others, and the good ones are entered into a special "favourite stations" list. If desired, the random connect commands can pick from this list instead of from the world list, which means you're more likely to get connected to someone interesting.
The favourites are decided by myself, but I will be happy to add any nodes you'd like to suggest.
The # command disconnects the most recent connectee, but sometimes you may need to selectively disconnect a station without disconnecting others who connected AFTER him. You can do this using "#n", where n represents a number.
Either the full node number or 3-digit shortcut number of the station can be used, e.g. #62872 disconnects node 62872, and #700 disconnects GB3IE repeater.
Or you may "disconnect by index", e.g. to disconnect the 2nd station, use "#2". You can find the index by using "08" - the repeater will respond with "Connected to GB3xx and G6yyy and M3zzz". The first callsign announced (GB3xx) is number 1, the second (G6yyy) is number 2 etc., so "#" alone will disconnect M3zzz whilst "#2" will disconnect G6yyy.
