k7ve wrote: > This is kind of a moving target. From your radio, you currently do not. > The linking is not like analog, IRLP or Echolink. A transmitting > station can address their transmission to a remote repeater or to a > specific station through the gateway, stations on the other end have to > setup a return path to the local repeater or station -- it is not one > repeater linked to another. The repeater/gateway operators can create a > link up that ties two (or more up to 10) repeater/gateway systems > together for nets, etc. Also there is software for creating reflectors > that the gateways can connect to -- Lastly there is a device called the > DV-Dongle (http://dvdongle.com <http://dvdongle.com>) that allows you to > connect to gateways > or reflectors (or other dongles) with a computer and soundcard to > accomplish what you are describing -- but all transmitting stations need > to include gateway routing for this to work.
The Dplus add-on to the Gateway makes the linking JUST like analog linking (smarter really - Dongles connected to the local Gateway are also "carried" via the link), and it really is a GREAT way to link systems either temporarily or full-time. It also makes things REALLY easy for newbies or those confused by the "Icom style" point to point linking. However, it does add some minor problems... you do want to instruct your users to NEVER copy the UR route automatically in their radios (an Icom rig feature -- the rig will copy the last heard callsign and then transmit it the next time you key up in your UR field) or strange things can happen with both a link up, and a standard "Icom route". (Both Dplus and the Gateway try to send your packet stream to the far-end Gateway with very strange -- usually sounds garbled like a "double" sounds on the local repeater) results. Since some of the rigs come with this feature ON by default, the local users "in the know" often have to help newbies turn it off when Dplus linking is in use. A number of us had a "cry in our beer" session as the "We're the people who couldn't go to Dayton" session on REF001C (Reflector 1, port C) on Friday night. Everyone just chatted with "CQCQCQ" in their UR fields, like we were all locals, and a number of Dongle users (including one from their Dayton hotel room) joined in. If your Gateway operator hasn't installed or used Dplus, they really should give it a try. It's just another tool in the amazing D-STAR toolbox! (The choice as to whether or not to allow local users to COMMAND the links is the admin's choice in the dplus.conf configuration file... so you can test it out locally and see how you like it, how disruptive to local traffic such links might be, etc... without having to teach all the users the linking and unlinking commands.) Dplus also adds other features to your Gateway including everything in the README file: http://www.opendstar.org/tools/readme.txt (The command structure is in there too, but is often limited to local admins and/or control operators, depending on how the folks running things locally feel about it... control ops need to have a decent "clue" about how their rigs work -- especially the auto callsign copy stuff ALL turned off. Unsuspecting users who's rigs see a "command" callsign go by in the UR field from a control op might "auto-copy" that into something, and cause a little havok... not good... so... lots of Gateway admins are keeping these commands "locked down" for the moment. As the behavior gets better over time with links versus "Icom routes" I suspect it'll open up more.) Nate WY0X
