There is no question Dplus makes contacts possible for more people, in large due to the obtuse nature of setting up radios that you likened to MSDOS vs Windows as a user interface in an earlier post. Many average hams find setting up a radio and using the features of say, and IC91, far too complex. Set UR=CQCQCQ and RPT2 to G and you can make contacts, provided the repeater is linked to something.
DSTAR continues to emerge. That said, I believe the long range solution to more fully utilize DSTAR lies in a sensible user interface that integrates all of the features of DSTAR (G2 and Dplus) in a user friendly format. Also making system statue available on demand through the low speed data capabilities will be a tremendous asset. Picture adding a $300 PC to your radio and getting a GUI interface where the PC gets a daily or weekly update of the state of DSTAR, and uses that info to communicate with and control your radio. I would not go so far to liken G2 Dstar alone to HF Digital because HF Digital has functional difficulties like the AOR format being too unreliable, and other sound card formats being difficult to set up. Dstar saw a lot of growth before Dplus and Dplus continues to be a tremendous stimulus for continued growth. Just my thoughts on a Sunday afternoon, 73, Steve nu5d. john_ke5c wrote: >> Source routing to an individual callsign (native D-STAR) has its purpose > Callsign routing to a long haul truck driver who is in range of a DStar > repeater say 5% of the time, and whose whereabouts even then would be known > only if he remembered to key up? Without dplus and reflectors, DStar would > be on its way to join HF digital. I agree 100% with Ed. > > 73 -- John > > -- A Decibel saved is a Decibel Earned...
