FLORIDA DSTAR NEWS SUBMITTED: AUGUST 24, 2009 AT 0800 ZULU BY: EVANS M.; KD4EFM
<W4PLB, CALLSIGN CHECKING, WELCOME TO:, WEB SITE INFORMATION> W4PLB, N. ORLANDO, FL. "IT'S ALIVE!!!" A note from Louis C.; KG4QPQ on Sunday states W4PLB is ON, awaiting USROOT "OK". Once this is done, we will have I-4 coverage by DSTAR from St. Petersburg, Fla. to Daytona, Fla. (I-95 & I-4 area). W4PLB has been having internet issues, which are now fixed and resolved. The repeater has been on the air since late June, and the gateway was being assembled and worked on up till July 27th. Finishing touches will take place during the next couple of weeks to work out any bugs, but for the most part, it will be ready for DSTAR NETWORK use! NEVER BEEN COMPLETED IN FLORIDA BEFORE: This has been something that has not been done, even before days of VOIP! Florida, effectively has a user supported, "linked" network that will now allow travelers from the East Coast to the West Coast, and abroad, traveling along Interstate FOUR (4), using D-Star technology, stay in communication from one side of the state to the other. Various ways of doing so would be by use of Robin Cutshaw's Dplus auxiliary Dstar Program, or use of the current ICOM gateway software using Call Sign Routing. What does this do for Emergency Communications? This will be a first in the state where this type of Digital Communications will be put to it's test, being able to effective communicate state wide during an emergency such as a hurricane or an area wide forest fire communications support call. We are HAMS, we can make it happen, WE COMMUNICATE! What is the WOW factor? Simple, Florida has NEVER had this kind of communications linking EVER. NOT EVEN WITH RF LINKS.. And with the help of the Orlando Amateur Radio Club, W4PLB and K1XC, THAT GAP has been bridged! Who is the biggest help in Florida with DSTAR? ORLANDO AMATEUR RADIO CLUB and it's members! With 10 key personnel leading the pack, they put their time into teaching about D-Star. Along with the help of the North Florida Section Manager, Paul Eakin, KJ4G... They are on a ROLL! Orlando Amateur Radio Club can be found at: http://www.oarc.org OARC and WRITERS NOTE: ######################################### ## PLEASE TAKE NOTE TO THIS NOTICE!!! ## IF YOU ARE ALREADY REGISTERED ON A DSTAR GATEWAY, YOU DO NOT NEED TO REGISTER FOR THIS ONE, YOU ARE ALREADY ON THE NETWORK! ALSO, W4PLB WILL NOT BE A REGISTRATION SITE, YOU WILL BE DIRECTED TO THE K1XC IF YOU ARE A NEW USER. Please see the note below on checking your callsign on the network for dupes. ######################################### Our sincere thanks goes to Louis C. KG4QPQ, who has learned the admin ways of D-Star, and who put several months of his time into building the W4PLB gateway. Thank You Louis! Look for the W4PLB gateway to be joining the regular weekly nets on the S.E. DSTAR Weather Net on Sunday nights on REFLECTOR 002 A, and the Florida State Wide Weekly Net on REFLECTOR 004 B. NEW FLA GATEWAY ALERT; COCOA, FLA. (BREVARD COUNTY) In other news, We are also proud to announce that there will be another Fla. D-Star Port B (UHF DECK) coming on line in the next few months covering SURF BOARD HAVEN known as Cocoa Beach, Florida. It is currently under construction and the callsign will be announced when it is obtained. The information on this site will be added to the Florida-dstar.info website once it is available. WELCOME TO OUR RECENTLY ADDED GATEWAY, and ADMIN. Also like to announce another Dstar System to Florida, N4CLL, located in Plant City Florida, admin is Chuck L.; W4CLL. This system had been on since mid June of this year. Welcome aboard the DSTAR TRAIN Chuck. RUMOR??? We have been hearing for a while now, Ft. Myers, Fla. might be getting a gateway, still trying to find out if there is a module or two on the air down there. No word as of yet. We are also hearing something coming out of Panama City, Fla. that there will be a gateway coming as well.... (not firm) CALLSIGN DUPES: A new site has be created to assist with checking for duplicated registrations. All ADMINS/users can/will check this site to make sure you are not duplicating your registrations on the USROOT dstar network. The site is located at: http://query.ki4swy.org If you are already registered on another "HOME" system, you could have your new registration rejected. Please understand, the ADMINS and owners of these systems are cooperatively working together to maintain a unified network that is very efficient for your use as well as theirs. And as always, please remember to support your local gateway, they have put a lot of time and money into making this work WORLD WIDE!. WEB INFORMATION: For other happenings around Florida, visit our website at: http://www.florida-dstar.info For the South Eastern States and help programming your radio: http://www.dstarinfo.com For the World Wide Dstar Network: http://www.DstarUsers.org 73's Evans F. Mitchell KD4EFM / AFA4TH FL / WQFK-894 Fla. D-Star Tech Support Group http://www.florida-dstar.info
