‰  NOW 35 WPM  ‰  TEXT IS FROM DECEMBER 2017 QST  PAGE 43‰

DR MODE OPERATING EXPERIENCE  THE D STAR SYSTEM AND PROTOCOLS HAVE EVOLVED
OVER THE YEARS, RENDERING OPERATING MORE USER FRIENDLY WHILE MAINTAINING
ITS SOPHISTICATION.  THE CURRENT DR SYSTEM SEE FIGURE 1 IS FAIRLY EASY TO
UNDERSTAND AND USE.  THE MORE OPERATORS LEARN AND USE THE SYSTEM, THE MORE
USEFUL IT WILL BE IN TERMS OF COMMUNICATIONS UTILITY.  THERE ARE A NUMBER
OF WAYS TO PROGRAM THE TO OR SO CALLED DESTINATION FIELD AND THE FROM OR
ACCESS FIELD.  TO FIND AND PROGRAM AN ACCESS REPEATER, I REALLY ENJOYED
USING THE NEAR REPEATER SEARCH FUNCTION.  THE RADIO COMPARES ITS CURRENT
GPS LOCATION WITH THE STORED FILE DIRECTORY OF REPEATER POSITIONS AND THEN
DISPLAYS THE CLOSEST MACHINES, READY FOR SELECTING/PLACING INTO THE DR
ACCESS FIELD.  I WAS ALSO ABLE TO USE THE DR SCAN FUNCTION TO SCAN NEAR
REPEATERS FOR ACTIVITY.  THE SCAN STOPS WHEN A SIGNAL IS RECEIVED.  THERE
ARE ALSO MANY WAYS TO POPULATE THE TO FIELD WITH THE VARIOUS D STAR
COMMANDS TO EFFECT REFLECTOR LINKING AND UNLINKING, ECHOING YOUR
TRANSMISSION BACK TO YOU, REPEATER STATUS INFORMATION, CALL SIGN ROUTING,
REPEATER NODE ROUTING, LOCAL CQ, AND SO ON.  I PERFORMED THIS BY SIMPLY
USING THE DIAL AND ENTER BUTTON TO SELECT AND ENTER WHAT I WANTED IN THAT
FIELD.  I COULD THEN QUICKLY CHECK THE FOUR DV/DR CALL SIGNS/PARAMETERS BY
SELECTING THE CALL SIGN MENU ITEM.  OTHER FUNCTIONS THERE ARE SEVERAL
‰  END OF 35 WPM TEXT  ‰  QST DE W1AW  ƒ