At 08:12 AM 7/1/2008, you wrote: >So don't get your nose all out of joint Nate. >Simple question about the reliability of D-Star as I am still one of >those that are not convinced that Digital is the way to go, >eg...Cell phones are digital and now we have radio that is digital. >Soon there will be television that will not be analog anymore.
Yes, progress. While analog has its strengths (especially with regards to using the ears/brain to reconstruct weak/noisy signals), digital is generally more versatile. >Sure digital takes up less band space but still there is nothing >like an analog signal because with analog you get no R2D2. >And yes I do want to pick on D-Star a bit because it is an issue >with which mode do I choose to save a life. True, analog copes with some conditions better than D-STAR. Mobile multipath for one. >I have a D-Star radio, as a matter of fact I have 2, I also had a Dongle. >When my Icom is connected to an 8db gain antenna I still hear R2D2. >Just as much as when I had the 91AD. Sort of get tired of saying, "What?" >At the very least with the analog signal you can catch some of the >conversation. I found D-STAR to generally work well. Only time I've had trouble is when trying to access the repeater while mobile and with a relatively weak signal. Analog under those conditions results in a choppy but mostly readable signal. >Ah the infamous Dongle, was more trouble then it was worth. Got a >fast connection, but it kept timing out. >Tried it on 2 or 3 puters and poop....Not a means of reliability >although when I was in Hawaii it worked quite well. >But the local D-Star repeater on G1 couldn't make it through the >gateway to the G2 that was at my home area. >Rendered the 91AD useless for D-Star to talk home. I have a Dongle, only problem I've seen is a sound issue that causes the Dongle to disconnect occasionally. This appears to be an issue with how the software handles certain error conditions. In other words, it's a software bug could be improved over time. >So the question is reliablity. Like I said, I am on the fence but >have found it necessary to have a D-Star radio because it is another >mode that could be used. >But what do I know, probably nothing at all as I am new to ham radio. I'm of the mindset that "It's another tool, so I want to learn how I can best use it and integrate it into existing operations". Also, I've learnt there's no point trying to force people to use/not to use a particular technology. Instead, work with others and their choices. For example, in the SE of the US, there seems to be a big push to use D-STAR for SKYWARN. This will have an impact on our hurricane net operations, and I have been keeping in touch with the D-STAR net up there, so we work with them the next time a hurricane strikes the US. I have a Dongle, and I am encouraging others NCOs to get D-STAR capability. In the long term, I hope to be able to directly plug our network into the D-STAR one (initially, voice only, later, be able to access the data stream as well) for traffic handling when traffic levels are low. D-STAR isn't perfect, but it's here and it's being used, so we should familiarise ourselves with it. Besides, it's fun to play with a new mode. :) 73 de VK3JED http://vkradio.com
