When I say "a non-standard add-on", I'm referring to the process which
standards go through (I have served on a few standards committees
through the years, from distributed computing - NCS, to printer
languages - PCL, to bank check standards - ANSI X9B (now X9AB)). D-STAR
as a protocol, went through a standardization process (though fairly
limited, since the JARL didn't seek broad input and consensus). To
"extend" the protocol, would require a review by the recognized standard
setting body for the protocol, which to this point is exclusively the
JARL, to become formalized. DPLUS (and DEXTRA) linking have not gone
through that process and are the result of a single person's efforts
(and copying of the same), who retains full design and architectural
control. This doesn't discount the hard work performed, nor the general
acceptance of that work, even to the point that it has become a "de
facto" standard on most gateways. However, it is not an extension of
the protocol, but rather an application built upon and adjunct to the
JARL protocol standard.
It would be good for the hobby, to put the "ownership" of the standard
into a larger, international forum, with key contributors from the
larger community, then the standard could be extended for universal
acceptance, following discussion and balloting. This could be started
by publishing the full specification in internationally recognized
languages, including English.
In the absence of this pragmatic disclosure, people will invent things
that may or more likely may not comply with the D-STAR standard
specification as original codified by the JARL. I have been told that
the JARL has specified the controller to gateway, and gateway through
Internet protocols as well as the on air protocol (which we do have
translated documentation for), but it is unreadable by the majority of
the international community. If what Icom has created in their gateway
is truly in the JARL specification, then it demonstrates the total lack
of knowledge of distributed, real time systems (not to mention japanese
centric aspects) and cries out even more for a broader oversight. If
not, then it could be cleared up and cleaned up by a committee made up
of experts in the field, who are also active D-STAR community members.
john_ke5c wrote:
> Just to be clear, routed calls are not "Icom routed" calls, they are
native to the D-STAR protocol. The Icom gateway implements them. DPLUS
linking is a non-standard add-on, widely deployed and accepted by the
users, but not native to the protocol.
>
> DE K7VE
More later, but just to be really clear, dplus is a DStar extension,
not an add-on. Nothing in the DStar protocol prohibits extensions, so
to say dplus is "non-standard" is a non sequitur. Dplus adds features
to the DStar environment which overall are "accepted",
--
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]>
