--- In [email protected], "n0uyx" <n0...@...> wrote: > > [Moderator: Simple answer "Yes"]
Actually, moderator, the simple answer is "no". The front panel "message" is not a message but a comment that is repeated as long as you are transmitting and is -not- passed to the Icom serial port. It is also not part of the D-STAR protocol but an Icom extended use of the data portion of the digital voice frame. The inclusion of the front panel "message" in the Icom GPS strings is also an Icom extension and is not part of the D-STAR protocol. That is also repeated continuously while a person is tranmitting voice if GPS mode is enabled (GPS-A mode uses a different comment field). It is very misleading to claim that the Icom radios do messaging. They don't. GPS mode includes a fixed message that is repeated with the GPS information that can be retrieved via the serial port, period. Unlike AX.25, this information is not protected, is not modifiable while transmitting, and is repeated as long as the radio is keyed down. It is a mistake to look at the D-STAR digital voice protocol as a data protocol like AX.25. It isn't. They are completely different animals. I understand N0UYX's consternation over this discussion. Because Icom called the front panel pre-programmed comment a "message", everyone assumes (bad word, especially in this case) that the radios are messaging capable or that the protocol has messaging built-in. They aren't and it doesn't. D-STAR is purely a digital bit-streaming transport protocol which does it jobs (DV and DD) very well. Programs like D-RATS, D-Chat, D-PRS, etc. make use of the Icom serial port extension for their transport mechanism (very well, also) but the serial port extension or the protocols those programs used should not be confused with the programmable radio capabilities or the D-STAR protocol. 73, Pete AE5PL
