HBlink3

HBlink3 is an open-source implementation of the DMR HomeBrew Repeater Protocol (HBP) in Python 3. It acts as an HBP master and/or peer and routes calls between MMDVM-based DMR systems, working as a transit / conference-bridge router — traffic is selectively routed from ingress systems to egress systems according to a rules file. It can also link to Brandmeister and DMR+ (IPSC2) via OpenBridge.

Which HBlink? HBlink3 is system-oriented and built for transit routing and conference bridging between networks. Its companion, HBlink4 (by the same author), is a repeater-oriented endpoint server for running a single regional network. Pick the one that matches your role.

Applications

Program	Purpose
bridge.py	The main application: a configurable conference-bridge call router with dynamic on/off triggering, timeouts, and private (unit) call routing.
bridge_all.py	A simple proxy that forwards all traffic between every configured system — makes several repeaters appear as one.
hblink.py	The protocol core. Runs standalone as a master/peer for testing, and is the module the applications are built on.

Features

• HBP master and peer modes for MMDVM repeaters and hotspots
• OpenBridge connectivity to Brandmeister / DMR+ (IPSC2)
• Rules-based conference-bridge routing with dynamic ON/OFF/RESET talkgroup triggers and timeouts
• Private (unit) call routing using a learned subscriber-to-system map
• Layered access control lists — registration, subscriber, and per-timeslot talkgroup
• TCP reporting feed for external dashboards
• Built on Python asyncio — no external networking framework

Quick start

git clone https://github.com/n0mjs710/hblink3.git
cd hblink3
python3 -m venv venv && source venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt
cp hblink-SAMPLE.cfg hblink.cfg      # edit for your systems
cp rules_SAMPLE.py  rules.py         # edit your bridges (bridge.py only)
python bridge.py -c hblink.cfg -r rules.py

See INSTALL.md for full setup, configuration, and running as a systemd service.

Configuration

• hblink.cfg — global settings, reporting, logging, alias downloads, and one stanza per system (MASTER, PEER, or OPENBRIDGE). Start from hblink-SAMPLE.cfg.
• rules.py — (bridge.py only) defines the conference bridges, the systems/talkgroups/timeslots that belong to each, and the systems permitted to pass unit calls. Start from rules_SAMPLE.py.

Your hblink.cfg and rules.py are git-ignored, so git pull won't overwrite them.

Dashboard

A real-time web dashboard lives in dashboard/ — a separate program with a modern dark UI showing master/peer/OpenBridge systems, conference-bridge state, and a live call log. Enable HBlink3's reporting feed ([REPORTS] in hblink.cfg) and see dashboard/README.md to run it.

Requirements

• Python 3.8+ (Linux recommended)
• bitarray, dmr_utils3 — see requirements.txt

License

Copyright (C) 2016-2026 Cortney T. Buffington, N0MJS — n0mjs@me.com

Licensed under the GNU GPLv3; see LICENSE.txt. You may use this software freely, but please credit the project somewhere public (club, organization, or project site) so we can see where it's in use.

Support & contributing

Maintained by one person with limited resources. Genuine bug reports are welcome; please don't open issues for configuration help or feature requests. Discuss new features first and submit pull requests on a feature branch.

Acknowledgments

The HomeBrew Repeater Protocol is the work of Jonathan Naylor (G4KLX), Hans Barthen (DL5DI), and Torsten Schultze (DG1HT). This project is the author's clean-room interpretation of that protocol.