Hi Mathew, If you are going to replace the 2 meter analog repeater you have one of the toughest resources, a 2 meter pair. If you are going to put your DSTAR repeater on that frequency, you should be able to reuse your duplexer and antenna system. If you add 70 cm/23 cm it is generally advisable to add separate antennas for those bands.
As far as buying your controller and first module, unless you can find one on the used market (rare), its like shopping any other piece of Ham gear. I'm not aware of major price differences between the major dealers, but a few calls/emails should get you the answer. Example prices (AES): RP2C - Controller (up to four RF modules) $1329.99 RP2000V - 2 Meter Repeater $1299.99 RSRP2G2 - Gateway Software $299.99 A good (used?) server box P4/1GB/10GB abt. $200.00 (I like rack mounted units) A good router that can handle Class A on the LAN - Check out http://www.roc-noc.com/home.php?cat=4 (They handle MikroTik, a very good router - though takes some familiarity to setup.) If you are going on the gateway system, you will need a club callsign (if you use your personal call, then the gateway software gets confused when someone wants to call you). Save yourself a hassle and get the callsign before you put up the gateway. Follow the instructions here: http://dsyncg2.dstarusers.org/JoiningTheNetwork2.pdf Join the dstar-gateway Yahoo! group for advice. Goto http://dstarusers.org/repeaters.php?repeatersort=5 and you should find references to other Indiana / Illinois D-STAR repeaters for "local" advice. Welcome to D-STAR. If you can, visit the D-STAR booths and D-STAR night at Dayton Hamvention. n9lv wrote: > > I currently have a 2 mtr analog repeater and have been kicking around > the idea of installing a D-Star repeater system. I have several > questions, and really need someone to work with me on an individual > basis for just the beginning. > > First off, I realize the Controller and at least one module is needed > to get started, and the gateway software, where do I go from there? > > What is the best place to purchase the equipment, the price? > > Appreciate your assistance. > > Mathew > N9LV > > __._,_ > .___ -- John D. Hays Amateur Radio Station K7VE <http://k7ve.ampr.org> PO Box 1223 Edmonds, WA 98020-1223 VOIP/SIP: j...@hays.org <sip:j...@hays.org> Email: j...@hays.org <mailto:j...@hays.org> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
