Category Archives: D-STAR

At Dayton, I picked up an ICOM IC-91AD handheld radio, with D-STAR capability. The thing is, there are no D-STAR repeaters within range of my house. Fortunately, Elliott KB0RFC also picked up a D-STAR handheld and we arranged a sked on 2M simplex. The de facto calling frequency for D-STAR is shaping up to be 145.67 MHz, so that is what we used.

I have to admit that the audio quality was better than I expected. When the radio is not dropping bits, the audio is quite clean and clear. When the Signal-to-Noise Ratio degrades, you do start to hear that digital twang as the vocoder does its best to recover the audio in the face of digital errors. Overall, I was favorably impressed.

Tonight, we did some additional testing with DV mode and were surprised at the range of the handheld on 2M. The 70 cm band seemed even better, apparently due to the improved efficiency of the handheld antennas on that band.

There is lots more stuff to play around with, so stay tuned.

Digital voice on the ham bands? Must be the 21st Century!

For more info on D-STAR, see my article from CQ VHF.

73, Bob K0NR

The Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs (CCARC) and Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) teamed up to encourage the adoption of D-STAR technology in Colorado. To date, there are no D-STAR machines on the air in the state so HRO offered to provide equipment to a suitable ham radio group to help get things started. The CCARC, the repeater coordinating body for the state, agreed to assist in the selection process. According to the letter from the CCARC and HRO, the equipment grant was awarded to the Colorado D-STAR Association, a newly-formed group of radio amateurs in Colorado. The donated gear is a “full stack” of ICOM D-STAR repeaters: 2M, 70 cm and 1.2 GHz.

The Radio Amateur Information Network (RAIN) Report has an interview with Jay Maynard, K5ZC, from the National Frequency Coordinators Council concerning the use of digital repeaters. Jay discusses the issues around the alledged FCC statement that “D-STAR systems are not repeaters” and gives a good overview of the challenges of adopting digital repeater technology.

The interview exists in two parts:

Part1: http://www.therainreport.com/rainreport_archive/rainreport-9-27-2007.mp3
Part 2: http://www.therainreport.com/rainreport_archive/rainreport-10-5-2007.mp3

If you are interested in the future of amateur radio repeaters, this is worth a listen.

73, Bob K0NR

Just in time for the Dayton Hamvention, ICOM has announced the IC-91AD 2M/70cm handheld transceiver with D-STAR capability. I’ve written some about the new digital voice standard, D-STAR. Universal Radio has this new rig priced at $525, a definite premium over equivalent FM radios. This is the first dualband handheld that supports D-STAR.

73, Bob K0NR