Introduction

I like command line control of things - particularly for scripting actions to respond to events. Fortunately, both Pi-Star and WPSD are controllable via command line binaries and scripts via an SSH shell. I happen to prefer Yaesu's System Fusion over other digital modes but found the pistar-ysflink command could never connect me to my reflector.

Solution

Apparently it's a bug and until its fixed (which is unlikely given the recent deprecation of the Pi-Star project) I only found this solution in one place, a FaceBook post by Fernando Ortiz-Rivera. Basically, you have to edit the /usr/local/sbin/pistar-ysflink script file to correct a string length check. Then you have to issue the actual command with an additional zero.

Change line 51 of /usr/local/sbin/pistar-ysflink such that the 8 becomes a 9. First, enable the filesystem as read-write. Then make the change with a sed command. Last, set the file system back to read-only.

rpi-rw
sudo sed -i '51s/ne 8/ne 9/' /usr/local/sbin/pistar-ysflink
rpi-ro

Now to use the pistar-ysflink command properly. First issue and unlink directive. Second, issue the link directive with an extra 0 inserted between the YSF or FCS and the reflector number. For example, YSF01337 becomes YSF001337.

sudo pistar-ysflink unlink
sudo pistar-ysflink YSF001337

Conclusion

The Pi-Star package is almost completely deprecated for WPSD as the developers are finished with the project. That said, it largely still "just works" for getting connected with your radio and serves as an old alternative to its modern fork - WPSD. My own experience with WPSD was largely positive until recent modifications in the 2025 summer when my Raspberry Pis just stopped connecting, staying connected, or even properly booting. Other than this pistar-link bug, reverting to the old Pi-Star was flawless, though the UI now seems very dated.