Continuing from my first post in this series on getting started in D-Star for dummies in this post I intend to cover programming memories for all of the VHF/UHF repeaters both analogue and D-Star. I also want to introduce reflectors and what they are and how they can be useful in making contact to different parts of the world and which one is the general all covering reflector where you will always find someone from anywhere in the world to chat with.
This post should be quite short as I will be linking you to a couple of great resources that will make your life infinitely easier than programming your radio by hand.
Firstly, make a backup of your radios SD card. Yes I know I have already said this before but it is important because you can easily mess it up, particularly when you are just starting out or even when you are a seasoned pro. SD cards have a limited lifetime and although you are not likely to ever reach that during normal operation failures do happen. If you have kept a backup or several backups like I have suggested then you will never lose too much information or time setting up your radio from scratch.
Programming your radios memories
If you have ever programmed your analogue radio for a few local repeaters you will know just how time consuming that can be. What if I told you that for each D-Star repeater there are almost double the amount of setting to input and then times that by the couple of hundred VHF repeaters and again by the same again for the UHF repeaters. Now times that by all of the repeaters worldwide and you can see why you could easily spend several months programming them and still only be part way through them. Now to make that even worse you have to program all of the reflectors which currently stands at about 150 if you include the modules (rough guesstimate). You see the enormity of the task !
What if I said you could do all of the above in just a couple of minutes ! Sounds too good to be true, but it is and here is how.
I have seen many radio shops and people on ebay charge you about £15 for a £2 SD card with exactly the same information on (often out of date or incomplete) as I am going to tell you how to get 100% legally and for FREE! (except the cost of your SD card of course).
Firstly goto this site http://downloads.d-staruk.co.uk/
Here you will find icf files and csv files for your icom radio.
icf files contain everything for your radio with one exception, your callsign which your manual will tell you how to enter.
csv can be imported into the programming software but only contain the repeater information.
Importing icf files is probably different for different icom radios, but in my case with the 7100 there is a folder on the SD card called IC-7100 and under that one called Setting. You place the icf file in that Setting folder, put the card into the radio and then from your radio menu import the settings.
Now your radio is programmed with all of the VHF/UHF analogue and D-Star repeaters, a sample (several hundreds) of the worldwide D-Star repeaters (in sections by continent) the current reflectors, their modules and a few VERY useful shortcuts to common tasks.
There is a "guide" on how to use those icf and csv files on the site listed above, but in all honesty you are better off checking in your manual. For the IC-7100 it is covered on pages 4-2 of the instruction manual for setting your callsign and 13-8 of the Advanced instruction manual for importing icf files.
Now I know that that was a very quick overview of the subject, but I can't cover every radio out there, but it should be enough to get you going or on the right track without all of the tedious days, weeks or months of basic repeater/reflector programming you would have to go through.
Reflectors, what are they ?
I guess the best way of describing a reflector is saying it's like a public chat-room where anyone on D-Star can join via their repeater (dongle etc).
This is also where the controversy about digital modes like D-Star, DMR and Fusion come into play as it's not "real radio".
What happens is you connect your repeater module (dongle etc) to a reflector and anyone else anywhere in the world does the same via their repeater or dongle. The actual connection between repeaters/dongles and other repeaters/dongles is done via the internet (hence the not real radio debate). So when you talk via your local repeater which is connecterd to a reflector you can be heard on any other repeater anywhere else in the world that is also connected to that same reflector.
It goes a bit like this in a simplified way:
(You)<->(Local repeater)<->(Reflector on the internet)<->(Distant repeaters)<->(Other Hams)
Yes that is an overly simplified version of what is happening, but it does give you the basic idea behind what is going on. There can be many repeaters connected to a reflector, so you could be talking to someone in Australia, USA, Japan, Korea in fact anyone anywhere all at the same time and almost always at high quality audio with the exception of the occasional R2-D2 (You will know what I mean when you hear it).
But what is a reflector ?
A reflector is a computer usually in a very high bandwidth server farm located at geographically strategic places across the world, the same type of computer/server that could be hosting your website, email etc somewhere remotely from you in places like London, Japan, Italy, Amsterdam etc.
Ok so now for a list of reflectors and what each is generally used for.
I'm not going to list them here as my list would soon become out of date and why replicate something that has already been done very well and is (to my knowledge) kept pretty much up to date.
http://www.dstarinfo.com/reflectors.aspx
Now the most commonly used general reflector is REF001C where you will always find someone from some far flung corner of the world or just down the road to talk to.
Well I think that that is enough for part 2 of this blog post on D-Star for dummies.
Part 3 will be on it's way fairly soon where we will be tying all this info together.
Practical advice on how to use the info you have learned and more.
73's
Paul
M0CNL
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