At 01:05 AM 9/6/2009, you wrote: >So, if I have this straight, with this callsign routed network I can >call my buddy wherever he is. Let's say he's on a trip and happens >to be driving through Atlanta. > >Now, IF he talks on the Atlanta repeater so it knows he's there, >then IF I master all the callsign programming in my radio, I can >call him and the network might find him, assuming he hasn't driven >out of the coverage area of the Atlanta repeater by the time the >network propogates his whereabouts back to the gateway on my local >repeater which could be some unspecified number of minutes or hours.
That's correct. You also correctly guessed that there were some delays, which are usually in the order of several minutes. >Cool. > >And two D-Star repeaters can be linked with Icom software except >when they can't. Or maybe they can be linked with D-Plus, except >when they can't. And maybe end users can control the linking or >maybe only the admins can, and maybe a D-Star repeater can be >connected to some unspecified number of other D-Star repeaters >through a reflector - or maybe not. Repeaters can only be linked (in the sense of IRLP or Echolink) using DPlus. >So I get it. It's all about the adventure! Sort of like calling >CQ. You're never quite sure if you'll talk to anybody. That's it. The adventure of making it work, whether it will work (the paint is still a bit wet ;) ), and whether the person you're looking for is out there. >With this marvelous new addition to the range of amateur radio modes >we're sure to attract hoards of new young operators. After all, >they have to be getting bored with their computers and >cellphones. All of that technology is too easy. You text your >buddy and he gets the message instantly no matter where he is. Same >for a phone call. > >Where's the fun in that? No uncertainty. No adventure! Agree. Besides, there's plenty of room to tinker under the hood. :) 73 de VK3JED / VK3IRL http://vkradio.com
