Steve is correct. It has more to do with the user interface than with the protocol(s) involved. One of the problems with D-STAR (and amateur radio design in general) is that radios are designed by engineers, usually without any benefit of a user interaction designer. The popularity of the iPhone, for example, tells us a lot about how people would interact with a communication device and associated applications.
What I would like to see is a radio platform for D-STAR that is integrated with something like Android (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Android), with a touch screen as well as other controls. By using an open platform like Android, applications could be written by the community that talk to the underlying DV (and DD) mechanisms, as well as controlling frequency and other operating parameters. I don't currently see Icom or other major amateur radio manufacturers adopting this approach (Icom just started providing free access to programming software for newer D-STAR radios) - but one can hope. Maybe something can be built on top of Fred's (PA3YBR) platform. The same is true for the gateway. If OpenDSTAR ever comes out, there is a lot that can be done to create a much more friendly user interaction with the network, though simpler controllers need to be built and leave routing/gateway functions to the gateway (The whole module "G" in RPT2 is stupid and redundant if the controller would just pass all traffic to the gateway.) Steve S. Bosshard (NU5D) wrote: > > > 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. > -- John D. Hays Amateur Radio Station K7VE <http://k7ve.org> PO Box 1223 Edmonds, WA 98020-1223 VOIP/SIP: [email protected] <sip:[email protected]> Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
