Earl, It's great you are curious about this new use of Ham Radio. There's a lot of info on the internet. I've included a few links below, and I'm sure others will post some good links too.
I got my novice license in 1959, and when I upgraded the next year, my first "phone" mode was AM. Oh, I was able to listen to SSB. It was obvious some people really didn't like this "new" SSB, though it had actually been around for a while by then. Today, the new thing is digital radio. D-Star, as you probably know, sends digital information over RF. The creation of the standard was managed by the JARL (Japanese Amateur Radio Club), with participation by most of the ham equipment manufacturers. As such, all companies have the opportunity to sell D-Star gear, but only ICOM has taken the leap and offered transceivers and repeater equipment. Recently, however, some creative Hams have designed "adapters" that work with non-ICOM software and transceivers that can communicate with ICOM D-Star radios and repeaters, and this is probably just the first step. But for now, if you decide to get into D-Star, you'll get an ICOM radio. Turns out in digital voice, the hardest part is the software that compresses the voice into a digital bit stream, and at the other end, decompresses and turns that into an analog audio signal. These "codecs" are very expensive to write, particularly if it's desired to keep bandwidth down to something reasonable. So the D-Star spec includes use of a proprietary technology from a company called DVSI. This has not been much of a problem, since the codec comes on a chip that costs less than $25. Now, most people use digital voice every day, since most cell phones use that technology. But this is our first real chance to use it in Ham radio. D-Star allows both digital voice and simultaneously a low-speed digital channel that rides along with digital voice. Most people get 2 meter/70 cm D-Star transceivers, though the D- Star standard also defines a higher-speed data-only mode for higher-band radios (currently on the 1.2 gHz band). Though D-Star is great in simplex mode (totally quiet), most people work through D-Star repeaters. While talking to people in the local area over a repeater is fun, this is where D-Star's capabilities get really good. Most D-Star repeaters are connected together into a kind of D-Star network, which allows individuals to connect through a repeater to other repeaters (something like how IRLP or Echolink works, but with even more features). Often repeaters are themselves connected to reflectors, so that anyone on one repeater can talk to anyone on a bunch of other repeaters. QRZ.com says you are in Clovis, NM, and right now, I can't find a D-Star repeater near you. I have seen certain towns where several hams get D-Star gear and talk to each other on simplex, and recently, some are creating their own D-Star compatible repeaters using the above-mentioned adapter and the HotSpot software with a regular analog FM transceiver. This is significant since the cost is quite affordable that way. But the other approach is to get equipment to connect directly into the D-Star network yourself. The simplest way is to get a DV Dongle. This is a little USB dongle that plugs into your PC. You load up the associated software, and you can connect to a D-Star repeater or reflector on the D_Star network. This is a great way to really leverage D-Star from anywhere that has an internet connection. You could even go the route of setting up your own D-Star compatible access point or repeater using the adapter and Hotspot software. The access point operates in simplex mode, and would allow you to have a D-Star radio in your car, so you could access many hundreds of repeaters and reflectors while mobile. An even simpler approach will be available soon. I have heard rumors that the maker of the DV Dongle will be selling a DV Access Point -- this little dongle will have a low power fm transceiver in it so you could access the D-Star network of repeaters while roaming around on your property with a D-Star HT. And of course, D-Star radios are very capable at analog FM, so when you are out of range of a D-Star repeater, it will work great on analog. Bottom line -- if you were located near an existing D-Star repeater, you could jump into this by just getting a D-Star radio. If not, it is still pretty easy to get into digital radio, with a DV Dongle, a DVAP plus a D-Star HT, or even your own Adapter/HotSpot access point or repeater plus an ICOM D-Star radio. By the way, many people have been writing software that extends what D-Star can do. There are D-Star radios with GPS, and there is an APRS-like D-Star application called D-PRS. There's an excellent application (D-Rats) that allows text messaging or even forms-based (email-like) message handling, which is pretty powerful for the emergency communications folks. New stuff is being created every day. Good luck as you learn about D-Star, and I hope you decide to take the plunge. Jim - K6JM http://dstar.rcares.org/DSTAR_Introduction.pdf http://www.bing.com/reference/semhtml/D-STAR?fwd=1&src=abop&qpvt=d+star&q=d+star http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-STAR http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/dstar/dstar/default.aspx ----- Original Message ----- From: Earl Needham To: dstar_digital@yahoogroups.com Sent: Saturday, January 16, 2010 7:13 PM Subject: [DSTAR_DIGITAL] New guy Hi all -- I'm the new guy here. Name is Earl & I live in Clovis, NM. I've been a licensed ham for a bit over 25 years. I joined the group because -- well I'm thinking of buying a new dual band radio. I don't know the first thing about D Star so I'm hoping to learn enough to decide if I want a D Star rig or not. I drive an 18-wheeler cross country, so the presence or absence of D Star activity here in Clovis really has no bearing on my decision. So how do I start learning about D Star? Tnx Earl KD5XB -- Earl Needham http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cw_bugs
