Configure CHAT service

This document discusses how to access the CHAT service web page to set the neighbor configurations.

After your node is up and linked via point to point radio links to your neighbors, investigate the nodes list by using the N (nodes) command.

The pattern of CHAT node names is predictable: They start with "Z", followed by the last 3 characters of the node's callsign, and end in a 2-digit SSID matching their Chat service setup, (usually "09").

Nodes which start with a letter Z are the CHAT nodes. The Z nodes are automatically created on every TARPN node after July 2018.

You need to inquire to your neighbor or otherwise figure out the callsign of the neighbor's CHAT service and note that in addition to noting the associated nodename.

By convention, most CHAT service nodes will be -9, so you'd use "09".

This images shows thre Z-Nodes. The two highlighted in yellow are the neighbors, those are the ones you need. The un-highlighted one (ZIRZ09:N2IRZ-9) is this node's OWN Chat server, and is not used in Chat Config

7777 Web site

On the Raspberry PI you can launch the web browser, or on your workstation you can do so.
On the Raspberry PI web browser, type in http://127.0.1.1:7777
If using your workstation, type in http://<ipaddressofPI>:7777
Use the IP address of your Raspberry PI followed by colon and 7777

Click on Chat Server Pages

chat_config_1

chat_config_2

Click on the Configuration link.

chat_config_3

After your node is up and linked via point to point radio links to your neighbors (And ONLY your Neighbors: Not yourself, not everyone in the network. ONLY those you have a Direct link to!), you must type in the neignbor node info as follows:

Nodes which start with a letter Z are the CHAT nodes. The Z nodes are automatically created on every TARPN node after July 2018.

The format of the Z nodename is special and important:

It will be:

The letter Z, followed by
The LAST THREE letters of the neighbor's callsign
followed by the digits "09" (or 2-digit SSID asisgned to the Chat service)

By convention, most CHAT service nodes will be -9, so you'd use "09".

Make sure you set the Map Position as degrees and decimal degrees for the node's proper position. 33.123, -73.567 There is actually a chat map on the Internet and the map coordinates as well as the Map Popup text are sent to that map. The link to the map is down below.

For the Welcome message, you are likely the only one who will ever see that, so it doesn't matter what you type in.

chat_config_4

Map for Chat Servers

VE9SC maintains a map which displays the CHAT servers at their configured grid square coordinates. Note that the coordinates might not be set on some of these and that most of these CHAT servers are not on ham radio. Generally speaking they are entirely populated by hams. The links represent connections specified on the 7777 web page for each server, just as you have done above.
Map service for CHAT servers
You'll have to do some zooming to find your CHAT servers. There sure are a lot of the servers linked via Internet!

builders ➜ Chat Service ➜ Configure Chat Service