[d-star] Article making the rounds

[Erik Westgard]

D-Star in the Twin Cities 

by

Erik Westgard, NY9D


If you have been wondering what is really new in Amateur Radio, I have
simple answer for you- D-Star.  Developed after years of research by the
Japan Amateur Radio League, D-Star is a series of VHF/UHF/Microwave repeater
based systems that provide advanced digital voice and data capabilities.
Patterned a little like the APCO-25 set of standards being used for public
safety radio services from companies like Motorola, D-Star provides digital,
narrow band transmission.  It currently supports 128 kbps high speed data on
the 23 cm band, digital voice on the same band, and combined digital voice
and 1200 bps data at the same time on 2 meters and 440 MHz.

My personal interest in D-Star is for the high speed data capability.  Right
now, we have a conflict between the data requirements of many of our public
service partners such as the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon, the Red Cross
and the Minnesota Department of Health.  Each of these groups has web based
applications they need for their operations, and to support health and
safety.  Our vintage packet technology, while reliable, cannot support web
based data applications, as we are limited by analog FM modulation.

So the idea behind D-Star is to put up some repeaters, and tie these into
our Linux databases and packet gateway systems that we have been using for
the Marathon, which provides links to a database of race participants and
their locations in our medical system.  The same could be true for the Red
Cross and their missing persons database.  We can deploy operators and
laptops anywhere in range, and have access to those (and any other)
applications.  This could be very helpful in a local incident or an event
like pandemic flu, where we would need a lot of data volumes.

The digital voice bring us something we have not had in amateur radio for
many years- a chance for hams, especially younger hams, to work with the
type of radio technology that has applications in the job market.  There are
no new jobs for experts in AM, Sideband or even FM- all the new radio
technology is digital.  In the case of D-Star we have one of the most
advanced digital systems out there.  It also can attach to the Internet, and
all the repeaters on all the bands can link together.  

I am not arguing we need to replace our more than 200 FM repeaters in the
state with D-Star, but this is something new and interesting, and in the
case of the high-speed data, represents a new capability beyond what even
the Government has available in their newest systems.  Advancing the state
of the radio art is what we are supposed to be all about.  

If you want to help, contact me, as we are raising funds (like we did for
the Statewide Packet Network almost five years ago) to put in a system
serving our area.  The basic repeater is about $3000, which is about what it
took for Phase One of the Packet Network, which is in full operation today,
and will benefit from a Twin Cites high speed gateway and applications hub
via D-Star.


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