D-STAR - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

D-STAR is a digital voice and data protocol specification developed as the result of research by the Japan Amateur Radio League

Japan Amateur Radio League

The Japan Amateur Radio League is a national non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in Japan. JARL was founded in 1926 by Japanese radio communication enthusiasts whose stated aim was to promote the development and utilization of radio wave technology as a medium...

to investigate digital technologies for amateur radio

Amateur radio

Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...

. While there are other digital on-air technologies being used by amateurs that have come from other services, D-Star is one of the first on-air and packet-based standards to be widely deployed and sold by a major radio manufacturer that is designed specifically for amateur service use.

Other non-digital voice modes such as amplitude modulation

Amplitude modulation

Amplitude modulation is a technique used in electronic communication, most commonly for transmitting information via a radio carrier wave. AM works by varying the strength of the transmitted signal in relation to the information being sent...

, frequency modulation

Frequency modulation

In telecommunications and signal processing, frequency modulation conveys information over a carrier wave by varying its instantaneous frequency. This contrasts with amplitude modulation, in which the amplitude of the carrier is varied while its frequency remains constant...

, and single sideband have been widely used since the first half of the 20th century. By comparison, digital D-STAR signals offer clearer signals and use less bandwidth than their non-digital counterparts. As long as the signal strength

Signal strength

In telecommunications, particularly in radio, signal strength refers to the magnitude of the electric field at a reference point that is a significant distance from the transmitting antenna. It may also be referred to as received signal level or field strength. Typically, it is expressed in...

is above a minimum threshold, and no multi-path is occurring, the quality of the data received is better than an analog signal at the same strength.

D-Star compatible radios are available on VHF

Very high frequency

Very high frequency is the radio frequency range from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. Frequencies immediately below VHF are denoted High frequency , and the next higher frequencies are known as Ultra high frequency...

, UHF

Ultra high frequency

Ultra-High Frequency designates the ITU Radio frequency range of electromagnetic waves between 300 MHz and 3 GHz , also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decimetres...

, and microwave amateur radio bands. In addition to the over-the-air protocol, D-Star also provides specifications for network connectivity, enabling D-Star radios to be connected to the Internet or other networks and provisions for routing data streams of voice or packet data via amateur radio callsigns.

The first manufacturer to offer D-Star compatible radios is Icom. As of July 06, 2011, no other amateur radio equipment manufacturer has chosen to include D-Star technology in their radios. The technology requires the use of a proprietary AMBE Codec

Advanced Multi-Band Excitation

Advanced Multi-Band Excitation is a proprietary speech coding standard developed by Digital Voice Systems, Inc.- Overview :AMBE is a codebook-based vocoder that operates at bitrates of between 2 and 9.6 kbit/s, and at a sampling rate of 8 kHz in 20-ms frames...

that is owned by Digital Voice Systems, Inc. and is only licensed to Icom at this time.

History

In 1999 an investigation was put into finding a new way of bringing digital technology to amateur radio. The process was funded by the Japanese government and administered by the Japan Amateur Radio League

Japan Amateur Radio League

. In 2001, D-Star was published as the result of the research and Icom entered the construction of the new digital technology by offering the hardware necessary to create this technology.

In September 2003 Icom named Matt Yellen, KB7TSE (now K7DN), to lead its US D-Star development program.

Starting in April 2004 Icom began releasing new "D-Star optional" hardware. The first to be released commercially was a 2-meter mobile unit designated IC-2200H. Icom followed up with 2 meter and 440Mhz handheld transceivers the next year. However, the yet to be released UT-118 add-on card was required for these radios to operate in D-Star mode. Eventually Icom began selling the card and once installed into the radios it provided D-Star connectivity for each of the transceivers. The June 2005 edition of the ARRL's QST magazine reviewed the Icom IC-V82.

JARL released significant changes to the existing D-Star standard in late 2004. Icom, aware that the changes were coming, had placed the release of their hardware on hold for a period of as much as a year while they awaited the changes. As soon as the changes were out, Icom announced they would be able to finish up and release equipment.

The Icom ID-1 1.2 GHz mobile radio was released in late 2004. This was to have been the first D-Star radio, providing full Digital Data (DD) functionality.

The first D-Star over satellite

Satellite

In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....

QSO

Amateur radio contact

An amateur radio contact, more commonly referred to as simply a "contact", is an exchange of information between two amateur radio stations. The exchange usually consists of an initial call, a response by another amateur radio operator at an amateur radio station, and possibly a signal report. A...

occurred between Michael, N3UC, FM-18 in Haymarket, Virginia

Haymarket, Virginia

Haymarket is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 879 at the 2000 census, but the 2009 is 1,252. Haymarket is home to the Haymarket Senators of the Valley Baseball League...

and Robin, AA4RC, EM-73 in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

while working AMSAT's AO-27 microsatellite (Miniaturized satellite

Miniaturized satellite

Miniaturized satellites or small satellites are artificial satellites of unusually low weights and small sizes, usually under . While all such satellites can be referred to as small satellites, different classifications are used to categorize them based on mass .One reason for miniaturizing...

) in 2007. The two operators used a variety of Icom gear to make the contact and experienced slight difficulty with doppler shift during the QSO.

As of late 2009 there are around 10,800 D-Star users talking through D-Star repeaters which have connectivity to the Internet via the G2 Gateway. There are around 550 G2 enabled repeaters now active. Note, these numbers do not include the scores of users with D-Star capabilities but not within range of a repeater, or working through D-Star repeaters that do not have Internet connectivity.

The first D-Star capable microsatellite is scheduled for launch during early 2012. OUFTI-1 is a CubeSat

CubeSat

A CubeSat is a type of miniaturized satellite for space research that usually has a volume of exactly one liter , has a mass of no more than 1.33 kilograms, and typically uses commercial off-the-shelf electronics components...

and is built by Belgian students at the University of Liège

University of Liège

The University of Liège , in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium, is a major public university in the French Community of Belgium. Its official language is French.-History:...

and I.S.I.L (Haute École de la Province de Liège

Haute École de la Province de Liège

In 2007, the three Belgian Hautes Ecoles of the Province of Liège came together in a single large ensemble called Haute Ecole de la Province de Liège ....

). The name is an acronym for Orbital Utility For Telecommunication Innovation. The goal of the project is to develop experience in the different aspects of satellite design and operation. The satellite weighs just 1 kilogram and will utilize a UHF uplink and a VHF downlink.

Technical details

The system today is capable of linking repeater

Amateur radio repeater

An amateur radio repeater is an electronic device that receives a weak or low-level amateur radio signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, so that the signal can cover longer distances without degradation...

s together locally and through the Internet utilizing callsigns for routing of traffic. Servers are linked via TCP/IP utilizing proprietary "gateway" software, available from Icom. This allows amateur radio operators to talk to any other amateur participating in a particular gateway "trust" environment. The current master gateway in the United States is operated by the K5TIT group in Texas, who were the first to install a D-Star repeater system in the U.S.

D-STAR transfers both voice and data via digital encoding over the 2 m

2 meters

The 2-meter amateur radio band is a portion of the VHF radio spectrum, comprising frequencies stretching from 144.000 MHz to 148.000 MHz in International Telecommunication Union region Regions 2 and 3 and from 144.000 MHz to 146.000 MHz in ITU Region 1...

(VHF), 70 cm

70 centimeters

The 70-centimeter amateur radio band is a portion of the UHF radio spectrum. This band is used by amateurs engaged in emergency communications where portable and mobile radios are frequently used. Many such radios have dual-band capabilities, operating on both the 70-centimeter and 2-meter bands.-...

(UHF), and 23 cm

23 centimeters

The 23 centimeter, 1200 MHz or 1.2 GHz band is a portion of the UHF radio spectrum internationally allocated to amateur radio and amateur satellite use on a secondary basis. The amateur radio band is between 1240 MHz and 1300 MHz...

(1.2 GHz) amateur radio bands. There is also an interlinking radio system for creating links between systems in a local area on 10 GHz, which is valuable to allow emergency communications oriented networks to continue to link in the event of internet access failure or overload.

Within the D-Star Digital Voice protocol standards (DV), voice audio is encoded as a 3600 bit/s data stream using proprietary AMBE

Advanced Multi-Band Excitation

encoding, with 1200 bit/s FEC, leaving 1200 bit/s for an additional data "path" between radios utilizing DV mode. On air bit rates for DV mode are 4800 bit/s over the 2 m, 70 cm and 23 cm bands.

In addition to DV mode, a high speed Digital Data (DD) mode can be sent at 128 kbit/s only on the 23 cm band. A higher-rate proprietary data protocol, currently believed to be much like ATM, is used in the 10 GHz "link" radios for site-to-site links.

Radios providing DV data service within the low-speed voice protocol variant typically use an RS-232

RS-232

In telecommunications, RS-232 is the traditional name for a series of standards for serial binary single-ended data and control signals connecting between a DTE and a DCE . It is commonly used in computer serial ports...

or USB

Universal Serial Bus

USB is an industry standard developed in the mid-1990s that defines the cables, connectors and protocols used in a bus for connection, communication and power supply between computers and electronic devices....

connection for low speed data (1200 bit/s), while the Icom ID-1 23 cm band radio offers a standard Ethernet

Ethernet

Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....

connection for high speed (128 kbit/s) connections, to allow easy interfacing with computer equipment.

Gateway server

The current gateway control software rs-rp2c version 2.0, more commonly called "Gateway 2.0", runs on virtually any distribution of Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

, but the Icom-supported and -recommended configuration is CentOS

CentOS

CentOS is a free operating system based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux . It exists to provide a free enterprise class computing platform and strives to maintain 100% binary compatibility with its upstream distribution...

5.1 on a Pentium IV 2.4 GHz or faster machine.

The recommended configuration uses Linux CentOS 5.1 with the latest updates, typically running (kernel

Linux kernel

The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by the Linux family of Unix-like operating systems. It is one of the most prominent examples of free and open source software....

2.4.20. glibc 2.3.2 and BIND

BIND

BIND , or named , is the most widely used DNS software on the Internet.On Unix-like operating systems it is the de facto standard.Originally written by four graduate students at the Computer Systems Research Group at the University of California, Berkeley , the name originates as an acronym from...

9.2.1 or later). The CPU should be 2.4 GHz or faster and the memory should at least be 512 MB or greater. There should be two network interface cards and at least 10 GB free of hard drive space which includes the OS install. Finally for middleware, Apache

Apache HTTP Server

The Apache HTTP Server, commonly referred to as Apache , is web server software notable for playing a key role in the initial growth of the World Wide Web. In 2009 it became the first web server software to surpass the 100 million website milestone...

2.0.59, Tomcat

Apache Tomcat

Apache Tomcat is an open source web server and servlet container developed by the Apache Software Foundation...

5.5.20, mod_jk2 2.0.4, OpenSSL

OpenSSL

OpenSSL is an open source implementation of the SSL and TLS protocols. The core library implements the basic cryptographic functions and provides various utility functions...

0.9.8d, Java SE 5.0 and postgreSQL

PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL, often simply Postgres, is an object-relational database management system available for many platforms including Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris, MS Windows and Mac OS X. It is released under the PostgreSQL License, which is an MIT-style license, and is thus free and open source software...

8.2.3 are utilized, but these can be different as updates occur.

Along with the open-source tools, the Icom proprietary dsipsvd or "D-Star IP Service Daemon" and a variety of crontab entries utilize a mixture of the local PostgreSQL and BIND servers to look up callsigns and "pcname" fields (stored in BIND) which are mapped to individual 10.x.x.x internal-only addresses for routing

Routing

Routing is the process of selecting paths in a network along which to send network traffic. Routing is performed for many kinds of networks, including the telephone network , electronic data networks , and transportation networks...

of both voice and data traffic between participating gateways.

During installation, the Gateway 2.0 software installation script

Scripting language

A scripting language, script language, or extension language is a programming language that allows control of one or more applications. "Scripts" are distinct from the core code of the application, as they are usually written in a different language and are often created or at least modified by the...

builds most of the Web-based open-source tools from source for standardization purposes, while utilizing some of the package

Software package (installation)

In package management systems, which are commonly used with Linux-based operating systems, a package is a specific piece of software which the system can install and uninstall....

s of the host Linux OS, thus making CentOS 5.1 the common way to deploy a system, to keep incompatibilities from occurring in both package versions and configuration.

Additionally, gateways operating on the U.S. trust server are asked during initial setup to install DStarMonitor which is an add-on tool that allows the overall system administrators to see the status of each Gateway's local clock and other processes and PID

Process identifier

In computing, the process identifier is a number used by most operating system kernels to uniquely identify a process...

s needed for normal system operation, and also sends traffic and other data to servers operated under the domain name of "dstarusers.org". By this means a complete tracking of user behaviour is technically possible. Installation of this software also includes JavaAPRSd, a Java-based APRS interface which is utilized on Gateway 2.0 systems to interface between the Icom/D-Star GPS tracking system called DPRS to the more widely known and utilized amateur radio APRS system.

How Gateway 2.0 works

Each participating amateur station wanting to use repeaters/gateways attached to a particular trust server domain must "register" with a gateway as their "home" system, which also populates their information into the trust server—a specialized central gateway system—which allows for lookup

Lookup

In computing, lookup usually refers to searching a data structure for an item that satisfies some specified property. For example, variable lookup performed by a language interpreter, virtual machine or other similar engine usually consists of performing certain...

s across a particular trust server domain. Only one "registration" per trust domain is required. Each amateur is set aside eight 10.x.x.x internal IP address

IP address

An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label assigned to each device participating in a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. An IP address serves two principal functions: host or network interface identification and location addressing...

es for use with their callsign or radios, and various naming conventions are available to utilize these addresses if needed for specialized callsign routing

Routing

. Most amateurs will need only a handful of these "registered" IP addresses, because the system maps these to callsigns, and the callsign can be entered into multiple radios.

The gateway machine controls two network interface controllers, the "external" one being on a real 10.x.x.x network behind a router. A router that can perform network address translation

Network address translation

In computer networking, network address translation is the process of modifying IP address information in IP packet headers while in transit across a traffic routing device....

on a single public IP address (can be static or dynamic in Gateway 2.0 systems) to a full 10.x.x.x/8 network is required. From there, the Gateway has another NIC connected directly to the D-Star repeater controller via 10BaseT and the typical configuration is a 172.16.x.x (/24) pair of addresses between the gateway and the controller.

Differences between Gateway 1.0 and 2.0

The main differences between Gateway 1.0 and 2.0 are the addition of a relational database

Relational database

A relational database is a database that conforms to relational model theory. The software used in a relational database is called a relational database management system . Colloquial use of the term "relational database" may refer to the RDBMS software, or the relational database itself...

(PostgreSQL

PostgreSQL

) for more flexibility and control of updates, versus the previous use of only BIND

BIND

for "database" activities, the addition of both an administrative and end-user Web interface for registration which was previously handled via command-line commands by the Gateway 1.0 system administrators, dropping the requirement for static public IP address

IP address

es for gateway

Gateway (telecommunications)

In telecommunications, the term gateway has the following meaning:*In a communications network, a network node equipped for interfacing with another network that uses different protocols....

s, and the ability of the software to use a fully qualified domain name to find and communicate with the trust server, allowing for redundancy/failover options for the trust server administrators. Finally, a feature called "multicast" has been added for administrators to be able to provide users with a special "name" they can route calls to which will send their transmissions to up to ten other D-Star repeaters at the same time. With cooperation between administrators a "multicast group" can be created for multiple repeater networks or other events.

Another additional feature of Gateway 2.0 is the ability to use callsign "suffixes" appended to the user's callsign in a similar fashion to the repeaters and gateways in the original system, which allow for direct routing to a particular user's radio or between two user radios with the same base callsign, by utilizing the 8th most significant field of the callsign and adding a letter to that location, both in the gateway registration process on the web interface, and in the radios themselves.

Gateway 1.0 control software

The Gateway 1.0 software was similar to Gateway 2.0, and utilized Fedora Core 2+ or Red Hat Linux 9+ OS on a Pentium-grade 2.4 GHz or faster machine.

Add-on software

Various projects exist for gateway administrators to add "add-on" software to their gateways, including the most popular package called "dplus" created by Robin Cutshaw AA4RC. A large number of Gateway 2.0 systems are offering services added by this software package to their end-users, and users are getting used to having these features. Features include the ability to link systems directly, "voice mail" (a single inbox today), ability to play/record audio to and from the repeaters connected to the Gateway and the most important, the ability for DV-Dongle users to communicate from the Internet to the radio users on the repeaters.

There is often a misconception by users and system administrators alike that the Gateway 2.0 systems have these add-on features from dplus by default, a testament to the popularity of this add-on software. Software development on dplus is very active right now, and features such as multiple repeater/system connections similar to the type of linking done by other popular repeater-linking systems (IRLP and EchoLink

Echolink

EchoLink is a free computer-based Amateur Radio system that allows radio amateurs to communicate with other amateur radio operators using Voice over IP technology on the Internet for at least part of the path between them...

) are being worked on.

D-RATS

Another aspect of D-STAR technology is its ability to send large quantities of data to emergency responders in the event of a disaster. Served agencies can relate to sending e-mail

E-mail

Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...

or Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word is a word processor designed by Microsoft. It was first released in 1983 under the name Multi-Tool Word for Xenix systems. Subsequent versions were later written for several other platforms including IBM PCs running DOS , the Apple Macintosh , the AT&T Unix PC , Atari ST , SCO UNIX,...

files to someone. The quantity of data sent can be high-volume compared to traditional amateur modes. Voice and even CW

Continuous wave

A continuous wave or continuous waveform is an electromagnetic wave of constant amplitude and frequency; and in mathematical analysis, of infinite duration. Continuous wave is also the name given to an early method of radio transmission, in which a carrier wave is switched on and off...

are capable of getting a message through albeit slowly, but D-STAR can transfer documents, images, and spreadsheet

Spreadsheet

A spreadsheet is a computer application that simulates a paper accounting worksheet. It displays multiple cells usually in a two-dimensional matrix or grid consisting of rows and columns. Each cell contains alphanumeric text, numeric values or formulas...

s in reasonable time periods.

D-RATS is a D-STAR communications tool that supports text chat, TCP/IP forwarding, file transfer

File transfer

File transfer is a generic term for the act of transmitting files over a computer network or the Internet. There are numerous ways and protocols to transfer files over a network. Computers which provide a file transfer service are often called file servers. Depending on the client's perspective the...

s, and can act as an e-mail gateway. There is also the ability to map user's positions using the D’PRS function of D-STAR. The application is written in Python

Python (programming language)

Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...

/GTK and is cross-platform

Cross-platform

In computing, cross-platform, or multi-platform, is an attribute conferred to computer software or computing methods and concepts that are implemented and inter-operate on multiple computer platforms...

. It runs on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. The application was developed by Dan Smith (KK7DS) for the Washington County Amateur Radio Emergency Service in Oregon.

It was in the Great Coastal Gale of 2007

Great Coastal Gale of 2007

The Great Coastal Gale of 2007 was a series of powerful Pacific storms that affected the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington and the Canadian province of British Columbia between December 1, 2007 and December 3, 2007....

the Washington County ARES group was able to test D-STAR during this series of several strong Pacific storms that interrupted conventional communication systems for up to one week. Primary emergency traffic for the American Red Cross

American Red Cross

The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...

and the Vernonia, Oregon

Vernonia, Oregon

Vernonia is a city in Columbia County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on the Nehalem River, in a valley on the eastern side of the Northern Oregon Coast Range. It is located the heart of the most important timber-producing areas of the state, and logging has played an important role in...

Fire Department was handled by the group using traditional FM voice because the group had no D-STAR repeater equipment available. Once the situation's communication needs became established the D*Chat communication tool was used to send small text transmissions via D-STAR simplex

Simplex communication

Simplex communication refers to communication that occurs in one direction only. Two definitions have arisen over time: a common definition, which is used in ANSI standard and elsewhere, and an ITU-T definition...

at distances of up to seventeen miles.

An ability for amateurs to send files during this weather event would have greatly increased the capacity for ARES to help during the emergency. Although D*Chat was a useful means of communication D-RATS was developed to help fill the gaps that may have been lacking. Another improvement over D*Chat that D-RATS provides is form support. Users can set up frequently used forms well before they're necessary and when the need comes all that's required is to fill in the fields. In this way, for example, emergency forms from the Red Cross, National Traffic System

National Traffic System

The National Traffic System is an organized network of amateur radio operators sponsored by the American Radio Relay League for the purpose of relaying messages throughout the US and Canada....

, or the Incident Command System

Incident Command System

The Incident Command System is "a systematic tool used for the command, control, and coordination of emergency response" according to the United States Federal Highway Administration...

, such as the FEMA standard ICS-213, can be generated and quickly sent.

Criticisms

Proprietary codec
D-STAR uses a patented, closed-source proprietary voice codec (AMBE). Hams do not have access to the detailed specification of this codec or the rights to implement it on their own without buying a licensed product. Hams have a long tradition of building, improving upon and experimenting with their own radio designs. The modern digital age equivalent of this would be designing and/or implementing codecs in software. Critics say the proprietary nature of AMBE and its availability only in hardware form (as ICs) discourages innovation. Even critics praise the openness of the rest of the D-STAR standard which can be implemented freely. An open-source replacement for the AMBE codec would resolve this issue.

Bruce Perens

Bruce Perens

Bruce Perens is a computer programmer and advocate in the open source community. He created the Open Source Definition and published the first formal announcement and manifesto of open source. He co-founded the Open Source Initiative with Eric S...

, K6BP, amateur radio and open source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

advocate, evangelized the need for an open source codec for amateur radio. David Rowe, VK5DGR, has implemented an Alpha-test replacement codec under the LGPL and is continuing in its development.

Trademarked name
Despite many protestations from the Pro-D-Star lobby that the standard was developed by the JARL, and D-Star is not only an Icom system, the term 'D-Star' is itself a registered trademark of Icom.

Usable range compared to FM
D-STAR has comparable usable range to FM but degrades differently. While the quality of FM progressively degrades the further a user moves away from the source, D-Star maintains a constant voice quality up to a point, then essentially "falls off a cliff". This behavior is inherent in any digital data system, and demonstrates the threshold at which the signal is no longer correctable.

Emergency Communications Concerns
D-Star's performance envelope relies heavily on internet connections. During widespread disasters that compromise commercial telecommunications infrastructure, D-Star systems (and other modes that rely on the internet such as WinLink) may suffer outages or performance degradation that severely impacts operations. Without simulating such outages during drills, it is difficult to assess the impact or establish D-Star service recovery procedures. As of the fall of 2011, there has been almost no discussion in the ham radio literature regarding actual drills where D-Star systems were tested with failed or even intermittent telecommunications infrastructure. Comprehensive emergency communications plans used by ARES and other such organizations should address the possibility that such systems may not function as intended during major disasters.

Cost
D-STAR does add to the cost of a radio and is a barrier to the adoption of the technology. In 2006 the cost of a D-STAR radio was compared to that of a standard analog radio and the price difference was nearly double. This is due partly to the per-unit cost for the voice codec hardware and/or license, and partly to manufacturer research and development costs that need to be amortized. As is the case with any product, as more units are sold the R&D portion of the cost will decrease over time. The D-Star capable radios also cost most than their equivalents from other brands, even before the D-Star options boards are added (in the UK as of April 2011, Martin Lynch & Sons' website lists the Icom 2820 (without D-Star) at £489, while the equivalent Yaesu, the FT8800, is listed at just £337).

Other available digital standards
Amateur radio operators have been using the more widely available Project 25 (P25) standard for some time and that digital mode offers features that are comparable to DSTAR. P25 was developed by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International

Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International

The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International was founded in 1935 and is the world's largest organization dedicated to public safety telecommunications.APCO has developed several standards that bear its name...

for use by federal, state/province and local public safety agencies, and has been around since 1995. The P25 suite of standards is firmly established and has proven itself in multiple public service agencies. Equipment is available from multiple manufacturers rather than from just one with DSTAR. A drawback is that P25 is not manufactured for amateur use and commercial grade equipment must be used, and the cost of commercial radios that employ the P25 technology were even more expensive than that of off-the-shelf D-STAR radios. However, as of mid-2011, there is an ample supply of used P25 equipment at prices comparable to or less than that of new, mid-range ham gear. Motorola Astro Saber and Astro Spectra P25 transceivers can be found on eBay

EBay

eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...

for $200 or less, well below the price of D-STAR equipment.

In addition, there are small pockets of amateurs in Europe experimenting with TETRA

Tetra

on the 70cm band. However, the largest growth as of June 2011 was seen in Digital Mobile Radio

Digital Mobile Radio

Digital mobile radio is an open digital radio standard for professional mobile radio users specified in the European Telecommunications Standards Institute Standards TS 102 361 parts 1 to 4 and used in products sold in all regions of the world. The applicable ETSI compliance standards are EN 300...

and specifically Motorola's DMR product called MOTOTRBO. DMR is manufactured by nearly a half dozen manufacturers including Motorola. Since DMR is a worldwide standard, the radios from different manufacturers are interoperable on almost all features. DMR offers 2 digital voice channels from one repeater in 12.5 kHz channel bandwidth (also referred to as "6.25 equivalent").

Questionable legality

Many anti D-Star amateurs have argued that the proprietary codec constitutes a form of encryption, which is prohibited by almost every country's amateur radio licence conditions. For the most part, regulators have ignored these claims, and allowed unbridled D-Star use as with any other mode. However, the French regulators, in April 2010, have issued a statement that rules D-Star illegal in France, due to the ability to create a connection to the internet with it, and because the codec used is proprietary. The French Amateur Radio society, Réseau des Émetteurs Français

Réseau des Émetteurs Français

The Réseau des Émetteurs Français is a national non-profit organization for amateur radio enthusiasts in France...

have an online petition against this ruling, calling for the government to allow the mode as to ban it would deny them 'fundamental rights'

A non-Icom D-Star repeater

The world's first non-Icom D-Star repeater GB7MH, fully linked to the K5TIT G2 network and D-Plus, went live on 10 September 2009, in West Sussex, England.
Whilst waiting for the DSL line installation, the repeater is connected to the Internet via a 3G dongle from network operator "Three".
The system is built around Satoshi Yasuda's GMSK Node Adapter, a Mini-ITX system running CentOS 4, a Tait T800 repeater and G2 code written by G4ULF.
All the usual G2 features such as callsign routing, D-Plus linkage and DPRS via D-Star Monitor are supported.

Compatible programs and projects

D-StarLet
A Web-based text messaging application using D-Star digital data technology.

D-StarLet is an open source client-server solution that allows content creation and modification from certain persons. D-StarLet interfaces with a D-Star radio through the serial port. It works with Windows (98+), Linux (Red Hat 7.3+), Apple Mac OS X

Mac OS X

Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...

, and others.

D-PRS interface
D-PRS is GPS for ham radio. Includes DStarTNC2, javAPRSSrvr, DStarInterface, and TNC-X

DStarMonitor
A Java application run on the repeater gateway PC which logs activity on the attached repeaters. Additional features include APRS object representation of each repeater.

DStarQuery
DStarQuery monitors the low-speed data stream of a D-STAR radio looking for queries sent from a remote station. When a valid query is received, a predefined sequence is executed and the results transmitted from the station running DStarQuery. For example, a station transmits "?D*rptrs?" and it is received by a DStarQuery station which responds with a list of local repeaters.

The program D-PRS Interface includes a "Query" entry field that streamlines this process allowing the user to simply enter the desired command. Most DStarQuery systems will respond with a list of available commands when "?D*info?" is received.

Dstar Comms PRO
An advanced software application for use with DStar enabled radios. Supports advanced text chat, personal messaging with auto-reply and inbox, e-mail gateway and a beacon mode. GPS Tracking / Logging and a GPS Beacon emulator and Internet linking. New features are added weekly and users can suggest new features through the Dstar Comms forum. www.dstarcomms.com

DStar TV
Slow Scan TV for DStar radios and video streaming for Icom ID-1 by GM7HHB. Runs on Windows XP and Vista.

Home-brew D-Star radio

The first presumed D-Star radio including pictures and diagrams can be found at Moetronix.com's Digital Voice Transceiver Project. This page includes the schematic, source, and whitepaper.

Another project is Satoshi Yasuda's (7M3TJZ/AD6GZ) experiments with a UT-118 DV adapter. This project involves interfacing Icom's UT-118 with other manufacturer's amateur radio tranceivers. With this project some VHF/UHF/SHF amateur radio tranceivers are capable of being adapted for D-STAR operation. This requires access to the receiver's discriminator and to the direct FM modulator of the radio, sometimes available at a 9600 bit/s packet interface. Satoshi's product is no longer available. There is an alternative available at www.dutch-star.nl

Antoni Navarro (EA3CNO) also has designed another interface based on a PIC microprocessor and UT-118 module.

Equipment

Homebrew
- Repeater equipment:
  - GMSK Node Adapter - these devices are hardware GMSK modems with firmware to take D-STAR protocol frames over a USB cable and provide the necessary logic and GMSK modulation to control a simplex node or a full duplex repeater. One repeater that is easily adaptable is the Kenwood TKR-820 as documented by K7VE.
  - GMSK using a sound card - this method uses a computer sound card to generate GMSK modulation and de-modulation. The primary software for this method is developed by Jonathan Naylor.
Icom D-STAR equipment
- Transceivers—D-STAR and Analog FM Capable:
  - Icom ID-1: 23 cm digital voice and digital data mobile transceiver. Power is selectable at 1 W or 10 W. USB control port and Ethernet connection for data.
  - Icom IC-2820H/IC-E2820: 2 m / 70 cm twin band digital voice mobile transceiver. Power up to 50 W on each band. May be purchased with or without D-STAR module. The D-STAR module includes a built-in GPS receiver with accompanying antenna.
  - Icom ID-800H: 2 m / 70 cm dual band digital voice mobile transceiver. Power up to 55 W on 2 m and 50 W on 70 cm.
  - Icom ID-880H: 3rd gen 2 m / 70 cm digital voice mobile transceiver (50W).
  - Icom IC-80AD: 3rd gen 2m / 70 cm digital voice hand held transceiver (5W).
  - Icom IC-92AD: 2 m / 70 cm twin band digital voice hand held transceiver. Four power settings up to 5 W on each band. Rugged and submersible design, optional microphone with embedded GPS.
  - Icom IC-91AD/IC-E91 + D-STAR: 2 m / 70 cm twin band digital voice hand held transceiver. Power is selectable at 0.5 W or 5 W on each band.
  - Icom IC-2200H: 2 m single band digital voice mobile transceiver. Power up to 65 W. Must purchase optional D-STAR module.
  - Icom IC-V82: 2 m single band digital voice hand held transceiver. Power up to 7 W. Must purchase optional D-STAR module.
  - Icom IC-U82: 70 cm single band digital voice hand held transceiver. Power up to 5 W. Must purchase optional D-STAR module.
- Repeater equipment:
  - Icom ID-RP2000V: 2 m digital voice repeater.
  - Icom ID-RP4000V: 70 cm digital voice repeater.
  - Icom ID-RP2V: 23 cm digital voice repeater.
  - Icom ID-RP2D: 23 cm digital data access point.
  - Icom ID-RP2C: Repeater controller. Can support up to four digital voice repeaters and digital data access points. Required to operate any Icom D-STAR digital voice repeater or digital data access point.
Inet Labs
- Computer accessory:
  - DV-Dongle: The dongle is a USB device with the AMBE
    Advanced Multi-Band Excitation
    Advanced Multi-Band Excitation is a proprietary speech coding standard developed by Digital Voice Systems, Inc.- Overview :AMBE is a codebook-based vocoder that operates at bitrates of between 2 and 9.6 kbit/s, and at a sampling rate of 8 kHz in 20-ms frames...
    
    codec built in. Amateurs can use this with a personal computer which can be used to generate D-STAR packets over the Internet. This is a good option for experiencing D-STAR if there isn't a local D-STAR repeater or if there is a repeater but it's not associated with an Internet gateway. The dongle works along with the DVTOOL software which is a java-based application that mimics the controls on a D-STAR radio, although the interface doesn't actually look like a radio panel. A non-java based executable is also now available in beta form for windows based platforms. Note: Now available from a number of amateur radio dealers or by homebrew using documentation at Moetronix.
  - DV-AP: A DVAP Dongle is a unit which plugs into a computer and uses functionality similar to the DV Dongle to connect to the D-STAR network across the Internet. The AP (Access Point) bit is because the device also has a 10 mW transmitter built in. The Access Point is set to a particular frequency and then it can used with a D-STAR handheld around the house or the near vicinity of the access point
Kenwood D-STAR equipment
- Transceivers:
  - Kenwood TMW-706S: 2 m / 70 cm dual band digital voice mobile transceiver. Power up to 50 W.
  - Kenwood TMW-706: 2 m / 70 cm dual band digital voice mobile transceiver. Power up to 20 W.

Note: These transceivers are not available in North America and appear to be OEM versions of the Icom ID-800H

Manufacturers of D-STAR equipment
Manufacturer	Radio(s)	Repeater(s)	More Information
Icom	Yes	Yes	(ID-1, ID-800H, ID-880H, IC-2200H, IC-2820H, IC-80D, IC-91AD, IC-92AD, ID-RP200V, ID-RP400V)
Kenwood	Yes	Yes	(Kenwood "re-badges" an Icom radio in Japan which is not for sale outside Japan.)
Moetronix	DV Dongle & DVAP	No	(Available through multiple amateur radio dealers.)
MicroWalt Corporation DUTCH*Star	Mini Hotspot & Node Adaptor	Yes	Hotspot / Node Adaptors give D-Star users access to remote D-Star systems using over-the-air interface. Can be used as a simplex node or repeater.

Journal

ARRL: QST Icom IC 2820H Dual Band FM Transceiver Vol 91 No 11 November 2007 Page 74, by Steve Ford, WB8IMY does a review on the IC 2820H Dual Band FM Transceiver.
RSGB
RSGB
-Organizations:* Radio Society of Great Britain, a radio operators organization established in 1913* Russian Soviet Government Bureau, informal diplomatic organization in the USA from 1919 to 1921-Videogames:...

: RadCom
Radcom
RadCom is the monthly magazine published by the Radio Society of Great Britain and is provided free to all corporate members of the society. Typically 100 pages, it includes a mixture of news, theory, construction and technical articles of interest to the amateur radio community...

March 2008 (Vol 83 No 03) review of Icom IC-E2820 transceiver and overview of D-Star.
CQ-VHF: D-STAR in the Southeastern U.S., Greg Sarratt, W4OZK, (partial), http://www.cq-vhf.com/D-StarWin08.html

External links

Alabama D-STAR Information
D-STAR FAQ and Information
Icom D-STAR information
opendstar.org
The Rain Report by J. Maynard, K5ZC
dstarusers.org
D-STAR video by the Washington County ARES group

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.