Here's what KJ4VO would say "Don't program your radio to respond to a call. Program your radio to make calls!"
First, use repeater linking instead of callsign routing. It has just about every advantage and minimum disadvantages. When you link to a repeater, you can hear what is going on and the other users don't have to program their radio to respond. Get used to the RX-CS buttons and use them instead of programming the radio. Every repeater goes through high and lows in usage. This isn't unique to D-STAR, same thing happens on FM. And don't forget that SBA used to be one of the only repeaters that people could hit in NE Atlanta, now there are many more. There aren't many places in the world where you can talk to 6 different D-STAR systems and 13 D-STAR repeaters from a single location. That spreads users over a large number of repeaters. Is D-STAR usage dwindling? Since the DSTARUSERS site recently decreased the Last Heard to only 6 hours because of the number of users, I'd have to say that not only has it not decreased, it has significantly increased. Link the a repeater to REF001C and make a CQ. I've yet to make one and not get a response. Ed WA4YIH From: [email protected] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ferrell Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2008 5:59 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [dstar_digital] radio programming How much time is everyone spending trying to keep their radios programmed up to date with all the new repeaters coming on line. I for one notice far less activity than there once was on the air. Am I beating my head against the wall spending several hours a week changing and adjusting my program trying to be prepared in case someone decides to make a call. Please tell me dstar is not dying a slow death. I know of several local hams that have expressed to me how disappointed they have become and either have already or will be getting rid of the dstar gear. All I can say is be on the look out at Lawrenceville for the possibility of some deals. 73 KE4QDC Ferrell [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
