A hotspot is a small, low-power digital voice station, often a Raspberry Pi with a radio board running software such as Pi-Star, that links your digital handheld to internet networks. This guide covers where to put it in the band, the rules that definitely apply and the points that aren't settled.
1The rules that definitely apply
Unattended operation: a hotspot left running must meet section 13(4) of the class licence: automatic or computer-controlled mode, plus a timer that shuts it down if a malfunction causes an unintended transmission longer than 10 minutes.
Internet access control: ACMA requires internet-connected stations to have "measures in place to ensure that it cannot be operated by unlicensed persons" (ACMA: Operating procedures).
Power: stay within your qualification's Schedule 2 limit (Foundation: 10 W pX).
2The legal position: hedged
There's no ACMA statement on hotspots. The WIA TAC News of 15 September 2024 reports that at a meeting with ACMA, "It was agreed that it was not the intention for the Amateur RALI documents to capture home station-based low power (<1 Watt) hotspots, and that these activities were covered by the existing provisions of the Class Licence." That's the WIA's account of ACMA's view, not an ACMA publication, and no matching ACMA page exists. The same report says questions should in the first instance be referred to ACMA.
Duplex hotspots, which receive and retransmit, also raise the unresolved "amateur repeater station" question covered in the iGate and digipeater tutorial. If in doubt, check with ACMA.
3Choose a frequency from the band plan
The WIA band plan sets aside:
70cm simplex: 441.800–442.000 MHz.
70cm duplex: input 434.500–434.790 MHz paired with output 441.500–441.790 MHz. The input sits in the LIPD band, with no protection.
2m: 144.700–144.8875 MHz digital voice hotspot sub-band, with 144.750 MHz for "high-power hotspot area coverage" (the plan doesn't define high power).
4Frequencies to avoid
Satellite: 144.000–144.025, 145.800–146.000, 435.000–438.000 MHz.
APRS: 145.175 and 439.100 MHz. WICEN: 145.200 and 438.950 MHz.
Calling channels: 146.500, 439.000 and 439.200 MHz.
2m repeater segments: 146.0–146.4125, 146.6125–148.0, 144.8875–145.0625, 145.4875–145.6625 MHz.
70cm repeater segments: 431–431.9375, 432.6–433.05, 434.79–435.0, 438.0–438.9375, 439.6125–440.0 MHz.
Links: 430–431, 434–434.5, 440–441, 449–450 MHz. Beacons: 144.4–144.6, 432.4–432.6 MHz.
Many hotspot guides written for other countries suggest frequencies around 438 MHz. In Australia, 438.0–438.9375 MHz is Block A repeater outputs, so don't use them. Don't rely on software defaults either: check the frequency yourself before you transmit. This guide doesn't list Pi-Star default frequencies, timeout settings or board power levels, because those couldn't be verified.
5About DVMEGA
DVMEGA describes its Raspberry Pi board as "a complete D-Star, DMR and Fusion compatible hotspot with an output power of 10mW", available in "Single band UHF and Dual band VHF / UHF" versions (DVMEGA).
6Keep an eye on the band plan
The WIA's Technical Advisory Committee has noted concerns about insufficient 70cm hotspot channels and planned further review, so check the current band plan revision before you settle on a frequency.