Last night the Fairlawn NJ radio club hosted a D-Star presentation which was fantastic. The presentation was given by WA2EPI (Sam), WA2RMZ (Randy), NI2O (Mark) & N2KTO (Dave). All 4 are active with D-Star though there currently aren’t any D-Star repeaters (or hotspots) in Bergen County. Sam (WA2EPI) kicked off the session with a general intro.

We got an overview of the technology and history behind D-Star by Randy (WA2RMZ) as well as the components (repeaters, gateways, reflectors, trust servers, etc) that make up the D-Star network. Mark, (NI2O) who makes a hotspot board that allows you to relatively inexpensively pop up a D-Star node reviewed the HW and software that would be used. Dave (N2KTO) then discussed what he setup in his county to provide D-Star access.

The session was extremely interactive and though I am sure some folks got a bit glassy eyed at the architecture and capabilities, it all made sense to me. All 4 are extemely enthusiastic about the technology and capabilities of the new platform. The more folks that get involved, the better it is for everyone as it expands the D-Star network.

There are 2 big factors in why I haven’t tried D-Star. The first is the cost as there is no entry level radios so you are looking at $450-700 for a D-Star radio be it a HT or mobile rig. Second is there aren’t any D-Star repeaters in my area so even if I purchased a radio I might not be able to hit a repeater. The hotspot that Mark’s board provides seems to help make the 2nd issue a bit less of a roadblock. For maybe $250 or so you can create a D-Star access point. Since I can’t do everything at once, I think it makes the most sense to get the AP up and running first to provide access to any other D-Star user and then provide access for when I purchase a radio.

Let’s see how this starts to pan out.

73,
K2DSL