NE-FL D-STAR System

The Journal of the North East Florida D-Star Repeater Network

Archive for category Dongles and DVAPs

DSTAR Demo at Philippine National Hamfest

May 3

Posted by mikelee in ARES Events, Contesting, D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs, Hamfests | No Comments

 

This coming weekend (May 4-5) will be the Philippine National Hamfest, where amateurs from across the country converge for technical discussions, a bit of operating and the ability to eye-ball-QSO with long-time and new friends. This will be my first time at this event, which is being held at Olongapo City, near the old Subic Bay Naval Base which was maintained by the US Navy for over 25 years. I’ll arrive a day early to escape the heat of the Metro area (the venue is about 3 hours by bus from Manila) – and be taking my Elecraft K2 along with the BuddiStick Deluxe and the AlexLoop antenna for some casual operating.

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While the Philippines is generally a less economically developed country than the US or the EU, it is not without it’s share of honorable mentions – in this country of almost 92-million (most below the poverty line), Philippine hams are one of the most active in emergency services – primarily due to significant weather events that regularly visit this country. Philippine hams are also very active in DX’ing, with a solid hand-full who are currently on the Honor Role. The more affluent hams have antenna farms that would rival any multi-multi stations in the states.

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I was blown away yesterday morning when I joined the DU-Traffic Net (at 07:00 and again at 19:00 on 7.095 LSB) – sitting and listening while Net Control (Ali – 4F1AR) called the net with a broadcaster’s voice, greeting each person by name in English and Tagalog – by my count, there were over 30 check-ins on the net. My small-signal (QRP on a EFHW) was heard, but just barely, but even so – Ali spent the time to inquire about my name, location and greeted me with very typical Filipino warmth.

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There has been talk of a DSTAR repeater here in the Philippines – probably on one of the mountain tops that overlooks the city of Manila and surrounds – typically with about 75-miles radius coverage. In light of that, I will be giving an impromptu DSTAR demo at the Hamfest, using my DVAP and IC-92AD. Assuming the internet connection holds-up, I’ll try to do it from either the meeting room, or one of the recreation venues.

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Tentative schedule for the demo will be on Friday evening and Saturday morning locally (in Manila) – which would translate to FRIDAY morning and evening Eastern  - targeting for 08:00-10:00 and 20:00-22:00 EASTERN TIME on Friday, 4-May.

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If all goes as planned – and the internet connection is sufficient – I will connect to REF034C for both demo sessions. It would be greatly appreciated (and most helpful) if a number of you could be available during the above timeslots to join in the demo. It’s always more impactful when we use familiar voices to participate – giving a sense of “connecting with friends half way around the world”.

 

Reminder – DSTAR Academy on July-30

Jul 22

Posted by mikelee in ARES Training, D-RATS Data, D-Star Radio Programming, D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs, DSTAR Projects, NET Operations | 1 Comment

In Mt. Dora – don’t miss it, as this should be the best Academy to date. We have invited a number of the Emergency Managers in the immediate region to participate in an ID-1 Network demonstration. This will be a first, since we’re planning on networking over 8 ID-1 units together to create a Wide-Area-Network (WAN) using just ID-1′s.

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Registration at the door is $45.

There are three separate areas of instruction and demonstration planned for this event:

  1. The D-Starter session is for the newer D-Star users and will focus on the basics of programming the radios, Dongles / DVAPS, and D-Rats.
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  2. The ID1 demonstration session is for county emergency management, EOC, Red Cross, hospital communications, and other non-governmental officials. There will be an extensive network of ID1 high speed data/voice Radios in place to demonstrate the effectiveness of this equipment during emergency situations.
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  3. The SysOp session is for the more advanced D-Star users to meet with other users and have a question and answer session with the presenters as well as ICOM company officials that will be at the event. This group will also have the afternoon to work with the ID1 radios and networks that will be in place.

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Some of the presenters who will be at the Academy are Ray Novak, N9JA of ICOM, Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC ( who will go over what’s new with Dongles and DVAPS ), John Davis, WB4ZDD and ED Woodrick, WA4YIH from Georgia D-Star ( www.dstarinfo.com ), Bob Jones, N6USP from North Brevard ARC, Paul Eakin, KJ4G, Donna Barker, WQ4M, Mike Lee,WB6RTH ( with his communications van ), and more.

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There will be several communications vehicles set up in the parking lot that will be part of the ID1 demonstrations you can go through. Ray Novak is bringing his “ refrigerator” with all the ICOM D-Star equipment and we are planning to have portable repeater setups as well as go-kits available for you to examine.

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A more detailed explanation of the D-Star Academy and what is planned is on line atwww.cfldsg.com . We will accept checks or cash at the door the day of the event but the price at that time will be $ 45.00 and no lunch or refreshments will be provided

Ray Novak, National Amateur Marketing Manager for ICOM America is providing an IC-80 AD and the HM-168 GPS speaker microphone for our GRAND PRIZE.

To register , go to the Academy Registration :

( www.cfldsg.org/Registration.htm )

July 30th – DStar Academy

Jul 14

Posted by mikelee in D-RATS Data, D-Star Radio Programming, D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs, DSTAR Projects | No Comments

planning is been fast and furious – this is intended to be the best DSTAR event yet. If you’re even remotely interested in DSTAR, or what DIGITAL Data via radio can do for Emergency Manages, plan on attending. The flyer is below – click to enlarge.

 

Central Florida D-Star Academy

Jun 17

Posted by mikelee in D-RATS Data, D-Star Radio Programming, D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs, DSTAR Projects, Work Party | No Comments

 

Central Florida D-Star Academy

The Central Florida D-STAR Group is hosting a D-Star Academy on July 30th in the central part of Florida at Mt Dora.  The academy will give operators – new and experienced – more knowledge on the operation of and new applications used with D-Star.  It WILL be a learning experience!  Click HERE for more information on the academy. We have leased a large convention facility whose main room will be divided into three sections for this event.  Here’s some of what we have planned for you:

We will begin registration at 0730 followed by introductions at 0815.    Ray Novak, N9JA, National Amateur Marketing Manager for Icom America will be there and give us an update on what’s new at Icom (He is also bringing the “refrigerator”*).  We will then take a short break while the room dividers are put in place with the classes starting at 0900.  There are refreshments (coffee, iced tea, water) provided all day.  There is also a buffet lunch between 1200 and 1330.  For a detailed class schedule, click HERE. 

There will be lots of things for you to look at during the breaks and at lunch.  There will be representatives from vendors on hand, like AES from Orlando and RT System software.  They will not have any wares to sell at the event, but they will answer your questions and help you in deciding on equipment.  And, there will be equipment set up in the parking lot, some of which will be used during the classroom demonstrations.
Class 1: D-Starters
The “D-Starter Session” will instruct operators on the basics of the Icom radios, programming with computer software, programming without software from the keypad, D-rats, reflectors, and dongles.  

  • John, WB4QDX, and Ed, WA4YIH, from the Georgia D-Star Group have an excellent presentation for beginners and the slightly more experienced users that will take you step by step through the D-Star maze.  If you are just starting out, or if you have had a D-Star radio for a while and just can’t figure out the manual, this class is for you.  If you are just thinking about buying one, this class will answer any questions you have.  Check out their website at http://www.dstarinfo.com/ .
  • Bob, N6USP and his group from North Brevard County will take you step-by-step through D-Rats.  We have planned two hours for D-Rats that will include hands-on training to transfer text and forms.  This is not only a useful program, it is an important tool in the toolbox during emergency events.  (Get a head start on D-Rats! Go to the North Brevard Countywebsite – Click HERE.)  Paul Eakin, KJ4G, North Florida Section Manager, will also show you how to use the “Ratflector” in Tallahassee.
  • Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC, will be there and will show you how to use his Dongles, DV AP’s, and more.
  • Many “Elmers” will be there to help with some hands-on training.
 

Class 2:  SysOp
When we first decided to have a D-Star academy, we were only targeting new and somewhat knowledgeable operators to help them gain more insight and experience using the Icom equipment.  After we started accepting reservations, we quickly learned that many of the more advanced users of the system were interested in a class like the Repeater System Administrators part of the Georgia InfoCon held in Atlanta last April.
Ed, W5TWR, has taken on the responsibility for this class.  We are still in the process of inviting some very D-Star experienced operators to this academy to assist in the classroom.  Ed wants this experience to not only be in the classroom, but the QSO possibilities to advance everyone’s capabilities.
Some of the areas to be covered include:
  • Repeater basics

  • Repeater setup and programming
  • Gateway setup Trust Server registration
  • User registration
  • Repeater operation and maintenance
  • Repeater administration
  • Gateway utilities and add-ons
  • Hotspots
  • 1.2 GHz high speed data
Keep checking the All About The Academy page on this website for up-to-date information on presenters and other activities and exhibits planned.
 

Class 3:  ID-1 Demonstrations
This is called the ID-1 Demonstrations class, but it is so much more than that.  Paul Eakin, KJ4G, is inviting the emergency managers, DEC’s, EC’s, hospital administrators, NGO’s like the Red Cross, and more to attend.  The first part of this class is in the morning and will demonstrate what D-Star can do during emergencies.  There will be live connections to various agencies, the EOC in Tallahassee, and mobile units to see outside in the parking areas that will also be part of the demonstrations.
With the assistance of Donna, WQ4M, Bob, N6USP, Robin, AA4RC, Ray, N9JA, and others, the attendees for this class are going to see a wide range of services that amateur radio operators can provide using D-Star; in the EOC, shelters, or in the field.  They will also be showing how D-Star worked during the recent tornado disasters in Alabama and Georgia.
In the afternoon, the attendees will be part of the D-Starters Class and will get a look at how the types of radios most D-Star operators have work in shelters and in the field.
The support of these elected, appointed, and administrative people will go a long way to get the funding for and installation of D-Star systems in many areas.  This, as you know, is another very important tool in the toolbox during emergencies.  If you know people who work in these areas, contact them and encourage them to attend.
* The refrigerator is a very large black double-doored cabinet on wheels.  It is as big as a refrigerator, but when opened it is full of “candy” – ICOM candy. For more information, go to http://www.cfldsg.org/Academy.htm

 

Reflector REF034 – Status Update

Sep 10

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs, NET Operations | No Comments

We’re now 3 months into having our own D-Star Reflector. REF034 was created specifically for the NEFL-Dstar network, but then the idea of the Hurricane Net arose, so we had  the opportunity to use the reflector for another great purpose.

Reflector REF034 is owned and operated by the  NEFL-Dstar Network, but all repeaters and dongle users are welcome to participate. Any groups or clubs that would like to schedule regular Nets on any of the REF034 reflectors are asked to contact first at WB6RTH@ARRL.NET. Following is the “normal” configuration of the reflectors:

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  • REF034A – reserved for FL Statewide ARES purposes – primarily the FL Hurricane Net which is scheduled for Monday evenings at 21:00. At all other times, it can be allocated to ARES related training, subject to being pre-empted if a Directed Net needs to be in operation in support of the Hurricane Net (or Fire Nets, etc as may be appropriate).
  • REF034B – open for us during non-Net timeframes by any users – this is a great testing ground for D-Rats testing and training. If a Hurricane Net is in operation (not just a scheduled net, but a real potential emergency), please vacate this reflector so that a TACTICAL Net can be held on REF034B. The intent would be that affected areas could link together on REF034B in order to have an area-wide communications network, while larger-scale coordination would continue on REF034A.
  • REF034C – is reserved for interconnect of the NEFL-Dstar machines (from Daytona Beach to the Georgia State Line). Other stations are always welcome to connect to this reflector – we always welcome our friends from Orlando, Winter Park, Lake County and Brevard to connect at any time, since this creates a virtual network of repeaters along the I-4 and I-95 corridors from west of Orlando to Jacksonville. During Hurricane Net, this reflector would be reserved for Tactical Nets and traffic.

D-Star from Manila

Aug 6

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs | 2 Comments

I’ve been wanting to get on the radio for the last few days, but work has been sucking-up my time (getting in the way of fun AGAIN..!!). In Manila today and decided to try some D-Star contacts, so I got on REF034C where the NEFL D-star repeaters are. Also noticed that KJ4OVA in Winter Park, FL has also been “hanging-out” with us..!!

Thus far, have made contacts with a number of folks (probably their first DX contact on D-Star..!!).

Icom Commercial Mobile – External Connect

Aug 3

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, Dongles and DVAPs | 5 Comments

For any of you who might be thinking of using the excellent Icom commercial VHF/UHF mobile units (F121/221)  for D-Star hotspots, the following cable is what you will need to interface to the hotspot card. The cable is called an Icom OPC-617 and it costs about $45 if purchased from Icom – kind of expensive. But you can make one from a DB9 Female connector, a piece of multi-conductor shielded wire and a special connector which is available from Mouser (I have a bunch, if you’d like to get from me). The connector wires are VERY SMALL, so this project is not for the faint-of-heart. See the diagram for more details.

Received the NQSMHS Hot-Spot Kits from NI2O

Jul 12

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs | No Comments

We received the Not-Quite-So-Mini-Hot-Spot kits  from Mark Phillips today. Wow – what a beautiful kit..!! We ordered four kits – originally 2 batches of 2 each, but Mark shipped all 4 of them to us on Friday of last week, so we received the entire lot today.

I will be building one of the units in the next couple of days and recording video in the process. Construction is only supposed to take about an hour, so it should be an easy project to complete in a single evening. Interfacing to your radio (depending on Make/Model) will probably take another hour. We will try to document the settings and all interface process for each radio that we test, so that you have instructions that are KNOWN-TO-WORK (no guessing) – we’ll make it as cook-book as possible. The goal is a less than $100 HOTSPOT (excluding the radio).

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D-STAR Hotspot for Less than $100..??!!

Jul 10

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, Dongles and DVAPs | 2 Comments

We’ve received (correction: ARE WAITING FOR) a shipment of D-Star Hotspot cards, manufactured here in the States by Mark Philipps (NI2O/G7LTT). The board is named the Not-Quite-So-Mini-Hot-Spot (NQSMHS) is a beautiful piece of work. All thru-hole technology (no surface mount), it comes in either Kit form, or fully assembled for $80 or $110 respectively. We purchased four KITS, so that we could see how difficult it is to assemble and get working for the group. This would be an excellent alternative to the DVAP that is sold by AA4RC, but only IF you already have a radio which might be compatible (Kenwood TM-271, most current generation Yaesu and Icom units). It requires a computer to run the hotspot software (but so does the DVAP).

We will assemble a few of these boards and give you a report on our progress – and assuming it’s successful, we will document the results so that it can be replicated by all.

Component density is not very high, so construction should be relatively straightforward. Anticipated build-time is about 60-minutes with minimal tools and no special test equipment. We will document the unpacking, build, calibration and interfacing process once we start construction. Following is the component placement diagram for your inspection

(click to enlarge)

D-Star Hotspot Update

Jul 6

Posted by mikelee in D-Star Repeaters, D-Star Users, Dongles and DVAPs | No Comments

Steve Finger (KB4DNQ) spent some time with a group of us on Monday to review progress on the D-STAR Hotspot project. The hotspot is fully operational in simplex mode, with frequent connections to both KA4RES/R and to REF034C. If you hear Steve, it’s likely that he’s on his HT, but talking thru the hotspot.

The project was a work of beauty -Steve mounted the system on a sturdy wood plank. It’s a very simple system – Radio, Node Adapter, Fan and a cable to the laptop for running the hotspot software. It is currently using a single Kenwood TM-271A, 2-meter mobile radio – with the power turned-down to about 15 watts. Although simple, there was significant research, development and some trial-and-error to get it working in its current state.

The next phase of the project is to implement a 2nd Node Adapter and interface 2 Icom-221 Mobile radios into a FULL-DUPLEX Hotspot with Gateway capability. This will be functionally equivalent to a single-stack UHF repeater system with gateway – but the cost comparison is very favorable – less than $500 for the Full-Duplex (FD) Hotspot, versus almost $3,000 for the Icom solution. We’re not saying that the FD Hotspot solution is applicable in every case, but where we only intend to run a single band-module, it looks to be very favorable. As an example, the Jacksonville Beach site will likely only be a single band, so usage of the Hotspot technology is probably the right choice. The system in Daytona Beach would probably NOT be best suited to hotspot, since we are implementing both VHF and UHF modules along with a single gateway. Nothing decided in concrete, but we are continuing to experiment and expand the system. Our objective is to reduce the cost of repeater implementation, so that we can install MORE REPEATERS and provide saturated coverage in those areas where we have users.

Monday’s session was important for us, in that it was our cross-training session, so although Steve is the Subject Matter Expert (SME), both Doug, Phil and I are now also able to support the technology and implementations – a goal that we’ve had from the very beginning. If you’d like to participate, please contact any one of us and we’ll put you on the technical team for cross training and project work.