Build a Central N3FJP Field Day Log Server With Local DHCP and GPS Time

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Centralized Field Day logging is one of those things that looks simple until the network hiccups, the generator burps, Windows decides it is “helping,” or one laptop thinks it is 2019 and another thinks it is next Tuesday. My club was looking for an easy-to-use solution for FD 2026 that would tie all the logging computers in our main tent together to simplify log submission and track our total progress during the event. But past attempts with a logging server brought to light many issues, especially individual station computers locking up when there were server or network issues. The goal is simple: all operators log to one reliable N3FJP server with consistent local IPs and accurate time without internet access. Here is a practical way to build a central N3FJP Field Day logging server that does not depend on the internet: One Windows server laptop or mini-PC that runs the N3FJP master FD log. The server also hands out local IP addresses using a local DHCP Server for Windows. All Field...
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Your Own Portable POTA Callsign Database

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Have you ever wanted to search the FCC database outside the shack on a POTA or at Field Day? It's easy when you have cell coverage, but what if you are in the middle of nowhere? Or what if you want to see all the amateurs around you, search by last name or even who have a callsign like yours?

K3NG's has come up with a powerful command line tool called HamDB that let's you have the entire FCC database available locally on your Raspberry Pi.  One thing I thought was missing was an easy to use UI, so I have put something together called HamDB GUI.

With it you can search by call, name, zip code or callsign wildcard, right in your web browser.





It's easy to get installed and up and running. All you need is a Raspberry Pi 3B or better and a 32GB SD card.

If you are looking to power you Raspberry Pi in the field there are a number of <$10 converters like this one on Amazon that will allow you to run the Pi off 12 volts easily. 

First you'll need to setup your Pi.

1.Preparing the Raspberry Pi SD card

a. Put your SD card in your reader and plug this into your computer’s usb port.
b. Download and install Raspberry Pi card management software.

Go to https://www.raspberrypi.org/software/ and download and install Raspberry Pi Imager.
Follow the illustrations below to install the base lite image on your SD card:










Pick your computer model.

















Name your system, the default instructions below reference the computer being named as “raspberrypi” with a user of “pi” and a password of “raspberry”. So it is easiest to use that name and password, and then enter your wifi network name and password.

Then scroll down and select your time zone. Then continue on like the pictures below.














2. Connect the hardware and SD card.

Insert the SD card into your Raspberry Pi, connect your CAT interface (USB cable) and (optional) connect your ethernet cable. Wifi is not recommended because it can introduce issues but we have it set up with your network on the previous step if you’d like to try it.

3. Connect via SSH to your Raspberry Pi

Wait a minute or two for the Raspberry Pi to boot up and then connect to it with the steps below in Putty.




If you have a "Putty Security Alert" window click "yes".

A black window will open. On the line "login as:" put "pi" On the line "pi@raspberrypi.local's password:" put "raspberry" (Warning, it is normal that nothing is displayed on the password line, in fact your password is hidden for discretion).

You should then see this: 


4. Software Installation

At the pi@raspberry prompt enter (type this command as one line – it is best if you copy/paste it).

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/n3bkv/hamdb-gui/main/Ham_DB_Gui.sh | bash

Then at the next prompt type (to make it executable):

chmod +x Ham_DB_Gui.sh

then run the installer and make sure you select the option to download the FCC database.  This is take a little time so allow about 15-30 for the install to finish.

./Ham_DB_Gui.sh

After the installation completes, just go to http://raspberrypi.local and you'll see the system webpage. Initial lookups will be slow while the system indexes the FCC data.  After an hour or so, they should be much faster.  At 2:30AM daily, the system will download updates for you so you'll always have the latest call information.

73 and happy POTAing.



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