D-Star
From K8ARW
This is my collection of information about D-Star.
Contents |
[edit] What is D-Star?
If you're not familiar with D-Star, here are some links.
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-STAR
- This is the Wikipedia article on D-Star. It is very incomplete right now.
- http://www.icomamerica.com/amateur/dstar/
- This is Icom's promo website. It provides a little bit of useful information.
- http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/techchar/D-STAR.pdf
- The JARL's technical specification for D-Star. This provides very good reading if you want to know how the protocol works.
[edit] Audio Tests
These files were recorded by me to demonstrate the D-Star audio for those who may not be familiar with it. I plan to do more tests in nosier environments to compare the digital signal processing and codec with analog radios. All files are in OGG Vorbis format.
- Clean D-Star audio sample (no background noise)
- Another clean sample
- Audio sample with a noisy water pump in the background
[edit] General Comments and Suggestions
A collection of information that I have gleaned from around the Internet that may aid other D-Star users.
[edit] False Decodes
It was suggested in a thread on Icom's D-Star forum that D-Star users program their radios for CSQL code 00 instead of carrier squelch mode to eliminate false decodes. False decodes are occasions when the decoder is fooled (usually by interference) into thinking that there is something to decode. This causes unpleasant, gibberish noises to belch forth from the speaker.
Update on this subject: After using my U82 for about five months in digital carrier squelch mode (the local repeater users don't use CSQL), I have only experienced false decodes on, at most, a couple of different occasions. Both times the radio was next to a noise source (a computer). I seem to recall someone on the Internet suggesting that the false decode problem is more common on the 2m radios. This makes sense, since I tend to get more interference on my analog 2m radios. I don't have a 2m D-Star radio to test this idea.
Further update: I have had an IC-91AD for some time now, and have found that the radio is much more susceptible to false decodes on the 2m side. Unfortunately, the CSQL code idea never really caught on, so I guess I'll have to live with my radio sounding like R2D2 all the time.
[edit] Links
- D-Star Forums (from Icom)
- K5TIT D-Star forums
- Northern VA D-Star Group Wiki
- Message about a pass-through repeater in Temple, TX
- This link was posted in a thread on Icom's D-Star forums, but the post disappeared within a day or so. I'm posting it here so it doesn't get lost forever.
