[Dstar] Australian D-Star Network News

Wed Jan 7 13:52:28 CST 2009

G'day,

Here is an update on the status of the Australian National D-Star Network.

Operator Linking control on WIA D-Star repeaters.

I'm pleased to announce that operators can now link and unlink Ports A & C
on VK3RWN and VK4RWN.

This function will be available on VK5RWN and VK6RWN soon.

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.

This functionality has been made possible with enhancements to the Dplus
Gateway application and development of a number of supporting scripts by
various people.

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.

New D-Star repeater for Western Victoria

The Wimmera Amateur Radio Club has nearly completed construction of a new
D-Star repeater for Western Victoria.

The club started the D-Star project 6 months ago with the long term aim of
providing D-Star to its members located throughout Western Victoria. With
the help of donations from club members, equipment for a 2 meter D-Star
repeater was purchased and construction started. The club members involved
with the project are really enjoying learning about repeater construction
and the D-Star repeater system.

The repeater will initially be located in Horsham with support from the
local Horsham Council and SES. This will allow the clubs D-Star project team
to learn more about administering the D-Star repeater system as well as
experiment and fine tune the system. There are plans to relocate the
repeater to Mt William in the future, if the Wimmera Club can obtain
positive support from Amateur Radio Victoria. This would allow all Wimmera
Club members and other amateurs throughout Western Victoria access to the
exciting world of D-Star.

The Wimmera Club D-Star repeater will become operational once the callsign
licensing and frequency allocation have been completed.

VK4RWN Maintenance

The VK4RWN (Gold Coast) D-Star repeater's 70cm and 23cm DV modules have been
take off air for maintenance.

The modules are going to be retuned and their receive sensitivity improved
by Icom Australia. This will greatly increase the repeaters coverage on
these bands. It is expected that 70cm and 23cm DV will be back on the air in
about a month's time.

D-Star Digital Data Network.

Early design work is underway on providing a DD intranet system for
Australian D-Star operators.

Ideas and designs for the VK DD intranet system are being discussed and
tested with the intention of providing as much functionality as possible for
Australian D-Star DD users, including Message Boards, Intranet email,
Intranet web hosting, APRS, DX Cluster, HF predictions and other useful
amateur services.

The VK D-Star DD intranet system project will be built over time with help
from volunteer amateurs interested and knowledgeable in IT and
communications. 

D-Star Repeater Status

VK2RWN - Under construction. 

-         Testing has commenced on 70cm DV

VK2RDS - Operational on 2mtrs, 70cm & 23cm DV (Currently no gateway
connection)

VK3RBA - Operational (Currently no gateway connection)

VK3RWN - Operational

VK3RMM - Testing on 70cm (Currently no gateway connection)

Wimmera Club Repeater - Under construction.

VK4RWN - Operational

-         2mtrs Tx returned to high power (25W)

-         70cm and 23cm DV modules off air due to maintenance

VK4RDS - Operational, Testing Gateway

VK4RBX - Not Operational (Currently no gateway connection)

VK5REX - Operational

VK5RWN - Operational on all bands except 23cm DD

VK6RWN - Operational on all bands except 23cm DV

-         There were some issues with the Gateway over the past week. These
have now been fixed.

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

Ozark Mountain D-STAR Net

http://www.w0omd.org/

Monday 11am ESST  (02:00 UTC)

W0OMD 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.dstarinfo.com/Nets/Nets.htm

Reflector Connections.

The following connections are established on Reflector 003

VK3RWN Port B is connected to Reflector 003 B

VK4RGC Port B is connected to Reflector 003 B

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

VK5RWN Port B is connected to Reflector 003 B

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.

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 VK3RWN C, VK4RGC 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.

When you wish to establish a Multicast net place /VKC in URCall, announce
that you are using the /VKC Multicast group so that other local and remote
operators can configure their URCall and take part in the Multicast net.
Then see who joins in the fun.

This current VKC Multicast group has been set up as an experiment to enable
everyone to see how D-Star Multicasting works. Why not give it a go and see
what happens.

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

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.wia.org.au/pipermail/dstar/attachments/20090107/4fb79364/attachment-0001.html