BridgeCom SkyBridge Plus Quick Start Guide

SkyBridge Plus

Quick Start Guide

Dear HAM,

Welcome to the BridgeCom Community! We’re so lucky to

have a customer like you!

Join our BridgeCom Facebook group to be part of an active

community with over 12,000 members that love to answer

technical questions:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BridgeComSystems

We want you to be successful, so we are including our
SkyBridge course in BridgeCom University for FREE!

https://www.bridgecomuniversity.com/

SkyBridge BridgeCom University Coupon Code:

2698663759sky

Use coupon code at checkout (no payment info required)

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(Note: If you are a Plug-n-Play customer, you may skip
ahead to “Initial Setup” on page 7.)

In order to connect your SkyBridge to BrandMeister
talkgroups, you must:

 Register for a DMR ID at https://www.radioid.net/

 Register with BrandMeister at

https://brandmeister.network/?page=register

◦ The Account type should be: Personal User Account

◦ Under “Anti Spam” the answer to the question, “What

is the wavelength of the UHF band in centimeters?” is:

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After registering with BrandMeister, you will receive an
initial confirmation email within a few minutes. This email is
sometimes flagged as spam, so be sure to check there if you
haven’t received anything in your inbox.

Note: You must click the link in the email to begin the
registering process.

It takes some time for the staff at BrandMeister to approve
your newly created account. This process may take as much
as 24-48 hours, so it’s best to register as soon as possible.
You will receive an additional email upon completion of this.

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After your BrandMeister account has been created and
approved, the next step is to setup a Hotspot Security
Password.

This is not your BrandMeister account password, but a
special one for the HotSpot which we will use later.

It's not difficult to set this up but it will take a few minutes, so
we have created a video to walk you through this process.

You can either:

 Type this address into your browser:

https://youtu.be/ekceYVgT1nE

 OR Scan this QR code

with your smartphone:

We've also included a written set of instructions below:

1. Go to the following link: https://brandmeister.network/?

page=login

2. Enter your callsign and BrandMeister account password in
the appropriate fields and click the Login button.

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3. In the upper right hand corner of the screen, click on your
CallSign. Cursor down to the "SelfCare" option and click on
it.

4. Under “Hotspot Security” enter a password to use with
your SkyBridge Plus. This is your “Hotspot Security”
password that you will use in Step 8.

Tech Tip: We recommend choosing a Hotspot Password
that’s simple and easy to remember.

5. Click the “Save” button to save your newly created
password. Your entered text will disappear, but this is normal.

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6. After following the steps to power on your SkyBridge and
connect it to your network (page 7), login to your SkyBridge
with the following link: http://pi-star.local (Figure 6a).

Alternatively, you can enter the IP address displayed on your
SkyBridge into your browser address bar (Figure 6b).

Figure 6a

Figure 6b

(Replace this with the IP address displayed on your SkyBridge)

7. Click “Configuration” at the top of the page

8. Scroll down to “DMR Configuration” and type in the
password created in step 4.

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9. Click the “Apply Changes” button.

SkyBridges that are received from us will have their HotSpot
Security Password set to “test”. If your hotspot security
password in BrandMeister is different, this must be changed to
match your password EXACTLY by following steps 6 through 9.

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Initial Setup

1. Screw the included antenna into your SkyBridge Plus and
plug the provided Ethernet cable into it to connect it to your
network switch/router (Figure 2). The SkyBridge Plus needs
an active network connection to fully boot.

Figure 2

2. Plug the power brick into the wall, plug the large end of the
micro-USB cable into the power brick, and plug the small end
of the micro-USB cable into your SkyBridge Plus (Figure 3).
Your SkyBridge will display “initializing…” for several
seconds.

Figure 3

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3. The screen on your SkyBridge Plus will now populate with
information. If you are a Plug-n-Play customer, you’re
ready to make contacts! Otherwise, continue through the
rest of these steps.

4. Once your SkyBridge Plus boots up, note the IP address
displayed in the upper-left corner (Figure 4). On a computer
or smartphone connected to the same local network as the
SkyBridge Plus, type this number into your internet browser.

Alternatively, enter http://pi-star.local into your web browser
to automatically find the device.

Figure 4

5. Navigate to BridgeCom University with this link:

https://www.bridgecomuniversity.com/users/sign_in

Sign in with your account information and there you will find
videos on setting up your SkyBridge Plus.

Watch the videos and tutorials IN ORDER to show you how
to properly set up and use your new hotspot!

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Proper Shutdown Procedure

The SkyBridge Plus is a computer with an OS running on it.

Therefore, simply pulling the power plug without properly

shutting it down may cause file corruption.

1. Follow Step 4 in the Initial Setup section (Page 8) to login

to your SkyBridge Plus.

2. Click on “Configuration” at the top of the page.

3. Click on “Power” at the top of the page.

4. Click the red button under “Shutdown”

5. Wait 30 seconds to unplug your

SkyBridge Plus

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Setting up WiFi

The SkyBridge Plus is also capable of connecting to the

Internet via 2.4GHz WiFi connection. To set this up, follow

these steps:

1. Follow Step 3 in the initial setup to login to your

SkyBridge Plus.

2. Click on “Configuration” at the top of the page.

3. Scroll down to “Wireless Configuration” and click the

“Configure WiFi” button.

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4. If there is an existing network (that you did not create),

delete it.

5. Click “Scan for Networks (10 secs)” button. After 10

seconds, a list of detected WiFi networks will appear.

Click the “Select” button next to your WiFi network.

6. Type in your WiFi password in the “PSK” field and click

the “Save (and connect)” button.

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Note: This will not actually connect to the WiFi network

until rebooting without an Ethernet connection (Outlined

in the next step).

7. Scroll to the top of the page and click “Power”.

8. Click the button under “Reboot”.

Once your SkyBridge display shows

“MMDVM STOPPED”, unplug the

Ethernet cable.

9. After rebooting, your SkyBridge Plus will now display

“wlan0:” in front of your IP address. This means it is now

connected to the Internet via WiFi. Note that this IP address

will be different than the previous wired IP address.

Note: Repeat this process for each additional WiFi network

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For further support, create a ticket on our support page at

the following link: https://support.bridgecomsystems.com/

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