Hi - I have been lurking here since I am very much a newbie - but here is the Wikipedia article on DSTAR
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-STAR and http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=12005 DSTAR is an open standard, although Icom has been the first to include it with their radios. DSTAR is promoted by Icom, Yaesu has WIRES - http://www.vxstd.com/en/wiresinfo-en/ DSTAR currently has the largest installed user base from what I have heard. My 0.02 worth - Thanks, Bruce KC8VEB
