[YaesuSystemFusion] What does the HRI-200 actually do ?

I'm trying to work out what the HRI-200 is actually doing.

Fusion radios already contain a CPU, audio ADC/DAC's, a C4FM modem, AMBE+2 vocoder, a DSP (operating as the C4FM mode and vocoder) and a serial communications port for direct connection to a PC.

I could understand having a unit like the HRI-200 IF it had a network port on it that allowed it to act as a stand alone bridge between the radio and the Yaesu internet based network system. But no, a constantly connected and running PC is requi
red to act as the internet-interface/bridge/radio-controller etc, which of caused can already be plugged directly into the Fusion radio without the need of a seperate box (the HRI-200).

So what actually is the HRI-200's role in all this, what is it actually doing that the Fusion radio and PC alone couldn't already do as a pair ?
Answer ::

The HRI-200 does several things.
1. It provides the function of a USB sound card for the WiRES-X software. That way you don't need to use the computer's sound card when running in analog mode.
2. It provides a USB to serial conversion which allows the WiRES-X software to communicate with the radio.
3. It includes a USB hub to support both #1 and #2.
4. It contains a programmable microcontroller. Besides setting up and running the USB ports, the controller is responsible for the interface to and control of the radio. When the radio is put into WiRES-X mode, all radio functions are handled externally. When connected to a repeater, this microcontroller also becomes the controller for the repeater.

I'm sure they chose Windows since that is a common operating system. Probably 90% of the current WiRES-X users would not have used it since they don't have a Linux computer and are not comfortable working with Linux.

I'm not a Windows fan, but you can get it to run reliably and I understand the marketing logic that drove that decision. If you really want to run it under Linux, you can help the community by porting it. It should be possible using Codeweaver.

The HRI-200 also provides a gateway to the Yaesu WiRES-X servers. It's a way of keeping user and room #'s straight.

Look at it this way. Icom would just charge you $99 for the software and never ever update it again. With Yaesu you get the software for free (and it is being updated) and you don't have to buy a USB sound interface and/or a USB to serial converter that may or may not work depending on which counterfeit Chinese chip it uses.

Quite frankly I like the idea of a business running the network. No politics. The ability to throw resources at it because the better it works, the more equipment and network access equipment they will sell. The home-grown solutions are nice, but they take a tremendous amount of dedication from a few people who will eventually loose interest in it.

Now can we stop the complaining about the HRI-200 costing more than $0 and that our free software doesn't run on the OS we want and move on to doing something that actually adds value?

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous2/16/2016

    It's at least partly a combined audio and serial interface, and I think they also use it to trigger an AMBE to PCM conversion for the network.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous2/16/2016

    That doesn't bode well really, I've worked with raw PCM/AMBE+2 de/coding a lot recently, and the trigger to convert AMBE to PCM is started automatically as soon as the AMBE chip receives each AMBE coded block off air. I can only assume it's the same for the DSP doing the AMBE de/coding in the radios.

    We don't have a HRI-200 so we can't delve deep into one to see what's in there and what's going on.

    We're just struggling to see why Yaesu have gone to all the trouble in forcing it's customers to buy and use a dedicated hardware box without a lan/network port to enable direct internet linking. Instead they've made it so that you have to have both the extra hardware box AND a full blown Windows OS PC (aarrgghh) in the chain.

    It's a setup that doesn't make good sense or good use of dedicated hardware. It's not a very efficient or reliable design that they have decided to go with. I'd hate to think it was being relied upon for any kind of important and/or emergency use.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2/16/2016

    The HRI-200 does several things.
    1. It provides the function of a USB sound card for the WiRES-X software. That way you don't need to use the computer's sound card when running in analog mode.
    2. It provides a USB to serial conversion which allows the WiRES-X software to communicate with the radio.
    3. It includes a USB hub to support both #1 and #2.
    4. It contains a programmable microcontroller. Besides setting up and running the USB ports, the controller is responsible for the interface to and control of the radio. When the radio is put into WiRES-X mode, all radio functions are handled externally. When connected to a repeater, this microcontroller also becomes the controller for the repeater.

    I'm sure they chose Windows since that is a common operating system. Probably 90% of the current WiRES-X users would not have used it since they don't have a Linux computer and are not comfortable working with Linux.

    I'm not a Windows fan, but you can get it to run reliably and I understand the marketing logic that drove that decision. If you really want to run it under Linux, you can help the community by porting it. It should be possible using Codeweaver.

    The HRI-200 also provides a gateway to the Yaesu WiRES-X servers. It's a way of keeping user and room #'s straight.

    Look at it this way. Icom would just charge you $99 for the software and never ever update it again. With Yaesu you get the software for free (and it is being updated) and you don't have to buy a USB sound interface and/or a USB to serial converter that may or may not work depending on which counterfeit Chinese chip it uses.

    Quite frankly I like the idea of a business running the network. No politics. The ability to throw resources at it because the better it works, the more equipment and network access equipment they will sell. The home-grown solutions are nice, but they take a tremendous amount of dedication from a few people who will eventually loose interest in it.

    Now can we stop the complaining about the HRI-200 costing more than $0 and that our free software doesn't run on the OS we want and move on to doing something that actually adds value?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous2/16/2016

    I'm not saying you shouldn't have the HRI-200, we're just asking questions, like why the need for the HRI-200 AND a PC in the chain ?

    By all means use whatever PC you like with whatever OS you like to configure the extra hardware, that's not a problem. The weak link in all this is having to ALSO put a PC directly in the chain along with the extra hardware, it's a totally unnecessary additional point of failure.

    Always try to Keep It Simple .. We know the marketing guys never want that, but it's a rule that most any good designer at some point in their lives eventually learns.

    I would ALWAYS encourage everyone who has any curiosity or concerns about what they are using or are thinking about using to ask any and all questions they like. It really isn't a good idea to try to put them off asking such questions.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous2/16/2016

    I believe COST and Tech Support are reasons why they didn't make the HRI-200 with built-in PC. Below are several things that would add cost:
    - Tech support to now help troubleshoot a complete PC and Windows (and we all know that people would try to run more programs on the "computer"!). And then what about upgrading to Windows 11, 12, etc. ?
    - MS Windows OS license
    - Remote desktop software license (although some are available free, but that would require even more tech support)
    - Microprocessor, RAM, storage memory
    - Monitor / screen
    - Keyboard, touchscreen, and/or mouse input.
    - Wifi (optional)

    Many people already have a PC at the repeater location. I am already running several other programs on my repeater's PC, therefore it would be a slight inconvenience to have to remote desktop into another system just to monitor my WiRES-X.

    To purchase a complete ready-to-go EchoIRLP system running the cheap Raspberry Pi and free OS costs around $350-$450. People may not have been willing to spend that much or more on WiRES-X.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous2/16/2016

    It's simple. Wires-X provides the integrated (as in designed into the hardware/software combination) option to communicate with users, no matter what mode (Fusion Digital or Analog FM) they are using, plus digital users have the ability to send images from their radios as well as short messages.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous2/16/2016

    It's simple. Wires-X provides the integrated (as in designed into the hardware/software combination) option to communicate with users, no matter what mode (Fusion Digital or Analog FM) they are using, plus digital users have the ability to send images from their radios as well as short messages.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Does Wires-X/HRI-200 use the computer's sound card in Digital Mode only on a Node?
    If so, can one select what sound card it uses in a machine that has more than one sound card?

    I have a nice high speed HP Quad Core that runs Wires-X in digital mode on my Node perfectly, but when I run other programs that use the sound card on that machine, I run into problems. Should that be the case, and is their a way around it?

    I'd like to avoid having to get a dedicated machine just for Wires-X, but I need to know if that is going to be the case before early December, because I can get a pentium quad core laptop 2.13 gHz for about $225 during this time slot. (work discount).

    TIA for any ideas. 73, N0AN

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm new to Wires-X but it occurred to me that the HRI-200 improves the certainty of control over who uses the wires-X network. Each HRI-200, it seems, reports it's serial number to the network servers when it initializes. Isn't this so?

    ReplyDelete

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