[Dstar] Australian D-Star Network News

Mon Apr 6 21:10:49 EST 2009

G'day,

There has been some discussion on the use of multiple callsign suffixes.
Many operators use a different suffix for each radio, M for mobile P for
portable etc.. ( e.g. VK3UR M or VK3UR P ) This can be confusing for remote
stations and friends when they callsign route to you. They may not know
which radio or callsign you are using at the time and will probably use your
base callsign ( VK3UR ) to contact you.

Hint; Use the same callsign on all radios unless you are using 2 radios at
the same time.

Here is the current status of the Australian National D-Star Network.

VK2RDS & VK2RWN

ADSL uplink issues are causing some jitter (poor audio) on the Gateway
output to the International D-Star Network. To give the RF uses the best
possible experience and minimise the effects, direct DV-Dongle connectivity
has been temporarily removed. If any DV-Dongle user wishes to talk to an
operator they need to go via reflector 3 B, which is connected to VK2RDS B &
VK2RWN B.

VK2RWN

The Gateway at VK2RWN experienced a few short outages again in March. This
is being investigated.

VK3RWN Maintenance

Repairs to the Gateway server have been completed and the server installed
back on site. The Gateway is now back on line.

VK4RWN

Modules A & B have been removed for maintenance.  A duplicate IP address /
Callsign problem which was thought to have been fixed has returned. This
affects linking and DV-Dongle access to the VK4RWN Gateway. The issue is an
international one that is out of the local control. . The International
Trust Server team are aware of the issue and have indicated they will
investigate it.

VK5RWN

The Gateway has experienced problems and been removed from site for
maintenance.

D-Star Repeater Status Summary

VK2RWN - Operational on all bands except 23cm DD & DV. 

-         Gateway operational.

VK2RDS - Operational on all bands except 23cm DD. 

-         Gateway operational. 

-         No DV-Dongle access

VK3RBA - Operational 

-         Currently No gateway connection

VK3RDK - Commissioning. 

-         Currently no gateway connection

VK3RWN - Operational

VK3RMM -Operational on 70cm 

-         Currently no gateway connection

VK4RWN - Operational

-         70cm DV& 23cm DV off air

VK4RDS - Not Operational

VK4RBX - Not Operational

VK5REX - Operational

-         Experimentation continues with Home Brew equipment

VK5RWN - Operational on all bands except 23cm DD & DV

-         Gateway not operational

VK6RWN - Operational on all bands except 23cm DV

-         There are known issues with incoming audio from remote station
becoming intermittently choppy. This is being investigated.

VK8RAD - Check with local repeater operators.

For more details visit www.dstar.org.au <http://www.dstar.org.au/>  or
http://www.wia.org.au/members/repeaters/data/

Weekly Nets

The WIA D-Star repeaters port C connect to the following nets each week:

EMDRC Net

 <http://www.emdrc.com.au/> www.emdrc.com.au

Thursday 8pm ESST (10:00 UTC)

VK3RWN C

REF003 C

Ozark Mountain D-STAR Net

http://www.w0omd.org/

Monday 12noon ESST  (02:00 UTC)

W0OMD C

REF001 C

If you would like your local D-Star repeater to participate in other D-Star
nets please email me.

A list of D-Star nets can be found at http://www.dstar.org.au/reflectors.htm
and http://www.dstarinfo.com/Nets/Nets.htm

Reflector Connections.

The following connections are established on Reflector 003

VK2RDS Port B is connected to Reflector 003 B

VK2RWN Port B is connected to Reflector 003 B

VK3RWN Port B is connected to Reflector 003 B

VK4RDS Port C is connected to Reflector 003 C

VK5REX Port B is connected to Reflector 003 B or VK5RWN C

VK6RWN Port B is connected to Reflector 003 B

Reflector REF003 port B is the Australian National D-Star connection port.

NOTE: The D-Star linking application occasionally has problems. If you are
taking on a link (such as port B) and getting no response it is possible
that the linking system may need to be reset. Please place an email
notification of the problem on this list for assistance.

DPRS Beacons

Remember to set your Auto transmit beacon rate for DPRS to 10 Minutes for
mobiles and 30 Minutes for home stations. If your station is unattended turn
off all DPRS beacons.

Linking (Dplus)

The Linking and Unlink functions on Ports A & C of all WIA D-Star repeaters
is available to operators.

Linking allows operators on the local D-Star repeater port to link to a
remote D-Star reflector or repeater port without the operator needing to
program anything special in their URCALL field. This enables a virtual
repeater to be set up between the local port and one or more (if using a
reflector) remote D-Star repeater ports around the world.

Operational hints;

-                   The local WIA repeater systems are configured to
automatically unlink the connection in 15 minutes if there is no local RF
activity.

-                   At selected times when nets are scheduled the repeater
system will automatically drop any links, temporarily disable operator
linking on the port and set the system up for the net. After the net is
completed operations will be restored to normal.

-                   The local WIA repeater will transmit a link status text
message to all radios on the RF port every 10 minutes.

-                   An voice announcement indicating the port you are on is
linked will be played every 15 minutes.

For details on how to use D-Star linking please read the Guide at
http://www.dstar.org.au/Australian_D-Star_Repeater_Linking_User_Guide_V1.1.p
df

WIA D-Star repeater Port Bs are not enabled for operator link control.

Non WIA D-Star repeaters may or may not have operator linking available.

Multicasting.

A Multicast group has been set up on all VK D-Star repeaters port C to allow
you to call multiple VK remote repeaters.

By placing /VKC in URCall of your radio you enable Multicast for the VKC
Multicast group.

The VK Multicast group currently has VK2RDS C, VK2RWN C, VK3RWN C, VK4RWN C,
VK5RWN C, VK5REX B, VK6RWN C and VK3RWW B as group members.

All operators taking part in a Multicast group net must have /VKC in their
URCall. After you have completed the Multicast group net you must 'Hang up'
by placing CQCQCQ in URCall.

You can use Callsign Routing, Node Linking or Multicasting when you wish to
call any remote operators. For help with radio configurations for Routing
visit the D-Star Calculator at
<http://www.dstarinfo.com/Calculator/Default.htm>
www.dstarinfo.com/Calculator/Default.htm

More information on D-Star is at www.dstar.org.au <http://www.dstar.org.au/>

Cheers,

Richard

VK3JFK

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