D-Star Refector REF001 C and streaming audio We have linked our repeater to the REF001 C reflector. As with most D-Star systems, there is a lack of activity as compared to analog. Of course, that is to be expected at this point in time. We do have a TON of hams with D-Star rigs here in Tucson. That is because of heavy promotion by our club and some high-profile publicity. BUT, WE WANT MORE!!!
Just like it is with other facets of this hobby, there are skeptics and holdouts to D-Star. To spark even more interest, I set up streaming audio of our "C" 2m repeater available for everyone on our club website: www.rstclub.org Now, they can hear for themselves what they are missing. I use a 16k mono Windows Media stream which costs a total of $6 a month for 25 simultaneous listener slots. I use www.spacialnet.com. The Windows Media encoder is free from Microsoft and it works GREAT. Best of all, at 16k, you can run it 24/7 without sucking up all of your bandwidth. Streaming D-Star is not some new concept, but thought I would mentioned as a helpful tool. By linking our 2m D-Star module to reflector REF001 C , there is nearly constant D-Star activity and frankly some very nice, knowledgeable and interesting people there. People want to go where the activity is. We are hoping by doing this, people will listen to the stream and get excited about D-Star and want to "join the party" and buy a radio. For current D-Star users in Tucson, they like the fact there are lots of people to speak with to compare notes and learn more about D-Star. We are only using one of our modules for this linking, so if they want to make a more "private" type of gateway call, they can use another module. The linking seems to be working fine for now. When the point comes when the 2m repeater is needed full-time in Tucson, we can easily drop the reflector link and go back to being a local repeater. I highly recommend others linking too. It is quite easy to set up and activate by any administrator on D-Plus. It can be brought up and brought down by keying up your radio with the right info programmed into your radio. Come join the fun on REF001 C! 73's Randy Malick, KF0X President Radio Society of Tucson (RST Club) K7RST
