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 Previous: The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler |  Next: ISS 12 Commander Shooting for WAC, WAS and Maybe DXCC from Space |
 ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ (left), accepts a donation of Icom D-Star equipment on behalf of ARRL from Icom's Ray Novak, N9JA. |
 W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, with the installed Icom D-Star voice and digital repeaters and repeater controller. |
 Matt Strelow, KC1XX, installs the donated MFJ-1532N Pulsar transmitting antenna for the 1.2 GHz D-Star system. |
 Carcia checks out the ID-1 D-Star transceiver in his vehicle. |
 Using copper tubing, Carcia fashioned his own mag-mount mobile antenna for 1.2 GHz for use with the Icom ID-1 D-Star transceiver. |
NEWINGTON, CT, Dec 14, 2005--Thanks to the generosity of Icom, MFJ and NCG (Comet), the ARRL has embarked on a project to learn firsthand what D-Star digital technology has to offer and to assess its capabilities in a real-world Amateur Radio environment. Icom, so far the only ham radio manufacturer offering D-Star equipment, has donated a D-Star voice repeater (model ID-RP2V), data repeater (model ID-RP2D) and controller (model ID-RP2C) to W1AW. Eight model ID-1 D-Star 10 W mobile transceivers are on loan from the manufacturer.
"We appreciate Icom's cooperation and support as we explore D-Star's capabilities and learn more about digital radio systems," ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ, said in expressing the League's gratitude.
MFJ donated an MFJ-1532N Pulsar, which is serving as the transmitting antenna, while NCG contributed a pair of Comet GP21 antennas for receiving digital data and voice for the 1.2 GHz (23 cm) multipurpose D-Star system. The antennas have been installed on two of the W1AW antenna support structures.
Although still in the early phase, the project plans to exercise the technology's digital voice and data capabilities as well as its capability to become part of a wider D-Star digital repeater network via an Internet gateway.
Icom Amateur Products Division Manager Ray Novak, N9JA, says the D-Star standard, first published four years ago, resulted from government-funded research in Japan administered by the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) to investigate Amateur Radio digital technologies. Novak emphasizes that D-Star is an open protocol that's available for implementation by anyone, and Icom is working with other manufacturers to get more D-Star compatible gear on the market.
"Amateur Radio is again out there in the forefront of technology," Novak says. Although he concedes there's a steep learning curve ahead, he predicts Amateur Radio users will invent new ways to put D-Star technology to work as they get better acquainted with its possibilities.
At this stage, the D-Star 23-cm repeater is up and running in digital voice mode, and W1AW Station Manager Joe Carcia, NJ1Q, and ARRL Web and Software Development Manager Jon Bloom, KE3Z, enjoyed the first contact through the repeater on November 30. In the meantime, Bloom has been working to interface the D-Star system with a Linux server, which will serve as an Internet gateway, to check out that aspect of the system.
Novak says the digital voice stream can simultaneously handle voice at 3600 bps with error correction and data at up to 1200 bps. Since a D-Star voice signal occupies only 6.25 kHz, Novak says, the potential is there to make more efficient use of available spectrum on 2 meters by squeezing up to four D-Star repeaters into the same space as two analog channels. New repeater modules are in development for 2 meters and 70 cm, he said.
Working through a D-Star repeater is a bit different than using an analog repeater. While the basic "repeater" concept is the same, some aspects are altogether new. Your call sign is the key to a D-Star system since it's incorporated into every transmission you make, Novak explains. "Because of D-Star's call sign-routed system, registered users are able to cross-communicate with stations registered on another network's D-Star repeater, wherever it may be."
This means that if a user calls a station registered elsewhere, the voice transmission would be routed to the appropriate repeater where it would be heard just as though both stations were using the same repeater.
Novak says the 1.2 GHz D-Star system's high-speed data capability is another exciting feature. "The high-speed data stream has a data rate of 128 kbps and a maximum occupied bandwidth of 130 kHz. "With the Ethernet jack on the Icom ID-1 transceiver, you now have the functionality of an ISDN (integrated services digital network) line available in your vehicle."
Icom has VHF and UHF D-Star user radios are available now, Novak says, and repeaters are in the prototype phase. He expects these to be on the market before Dayton Hamvention in May.
"We'll have to find new ways of using this technology," he said. "That will be where ham radio changes. This opens up an unbelievable array of features for repeater systems--including graphics, schedules, tables, photos, you name it!"
A D-Star Last Heard Report page on the Web lists
stations heard, their location and the date and time and, sometimes, type of
transmission. The K5TIT Dallas D-Star Web
site includes a repeater listing and a discussion forum, and a promise of more
to come.
| Previous: The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler | Next: ISS 12 Commander Shooting for WAC, WAS and Maybe DXCC from Space |
