On Apr 6, 2010, at 11:16 PM, James Earl Wells wrote: > > I will only say this because I witnessed it. > > I have heard (not on the reflectors as you speak) Connies net on repeaters in > Ireland, England, Australia, Canada, Most of South American through telephone > conversations. I find it hard to believe that one would not believe that > these broadcast are not heard around the world. One time I was talking to a > friend who was at the time in a Taxi in London. He ask me at the time about > it.
All of those repeaters have chosen to connect to the Reflector server that the Net is held on at that timeframe. They can also choose NOT to. A link to the Reflector is a choice made by either the local users or the local gateway operator, depending on local rules. You'll have to check with the local gateway operator there in Kansas City to see what their rules are for control of the links. > I stay off of it mainly because For one about the only thing I can do is > listen unless I leave my apartment and get in line with the repeater in > downtown KC. Which is if I remember on a 70 cm frequency. I heard the same > conversation on a 2 meter frequency which surprised me because when all these > people talk about different reflectors I never hear one of them say that they > are on the same one. They are on different ones. The software does not allow two modules on the same Gateway to connect to the same Reflector. However to separate Gateways (if you have two or more in your local area) can each have one RF module on one band connected to a particular Reflector and sub-channel. > Now granted I will admit to you that I am just writing what I have heard > personally. Knowing what is being set by who ever has the repeaters I do not > know. Plus D-Star even after I have had it since it was made available on my > ICOM radios has been a mystery. From the information that I am able to access > about the one close to me I have no control over it or what it does. Only the > owner does as far as I know. So. I admit I know little but do know that your > voice goes a lot further than you think it does. This all depends on the configuration of the D-STAR repeater you're using and what it's linked to. > I also think there is a lot of misunderstanding about the Digital Star > Medium. I for one would say that not even those who put up the antennas know > that much about it. I have tried to get information and understand it but > none of reads to me like the 2 meter repeater here that I can change it > around where it will connect too. I have yet to see instructions on how to do > this with D-Star. D-STAR started out with a relatively "simple" system to call another station somewhere else. You program FOUR callsigns into you radio... a callsign of who you are, who you're calling, what repeater you want to talk through, and what repeater you wanted the call to go to... or alternatively you programmed a Gateway callsign as the second repeater and let the network figure it out. Early on, Robin AA4RC created a linking system that rides on top of that system which accepts commands in the "station you're calling" field to "hard-link" repeater to repeater, or repeater to a "Reflector". Think of a Reflector as a big conference call for digital repeaters. > So if you can lead me somewhere that would tell me these things I would > appreciate it. The ARRL VHF/UHF Handbook has a fairly extensive chapter on D-STAR routing, and while it has it's module letters (A, B, C are A=1.2 GHz, B=UHF, C=VHF GENERALLY here in the U.S., and the examples in the first edition of the handbook are backwards) it covers the basics pretty well. If you can find a local who has the same radio you have who also has the programming software, much of this hand-entering of callsigns can be avoided by pre-programming all this "stuff" necessary into some memory channels. You can also Google for the "D-STAR Calculator" which assumes you know a little bit about the basics, but can show you exactly what needs to be put in your rig to make any particular type of call. It's a web page written by some hams who realized how "complex" this all seems. > Also I am not trying to be a smart you know what about this but am confused > because when I hear what I hear from where I have heard it and listened to > the people tell what they are hooked up to and look at logs that are on the > internet I believe that it is world wide when you key that Mike. Just like it > would be if you key HF on a good night. I may be wrong but to many times have > I heard the nets it to many countries. Of course some are begging for D-Star > and don't have it and are using those dongle things. Which I think is great > as I believe it will take a little longer to get those places covered. Worldwide is correct if repeaters worldwide choose to join the Reflector/Conference server. If they don't, you can also find empty Reflector channels where no one is there. All depends on which one you connect to. There's at least 100 Reflector channels by now, I'm sure. All it takes to get those places covered is a volunteer team with some time, and a whole lot of money. (GRIN) > And I probably would chime in on a net if I could get to the repeater > (reflector) from my apartment. I am still trying to figure out what I need to > get around this small hill. If I walk north with my HT for about two blocks I > am right in line with the downtown repeater and it works pretty good. But it > is now raining outside and it has been to cold to stand there with my HT to > talk on D-Star if you know what I mean. It would probably help me to > understand if I was able to talk more on it. The last time I got to talk on > D-Star I talked to a Taxi Driver in Liverpool. It was so great. It sounded > like he was just across the street. Operating outdoors with an HT isn't fun. Have you considered trying to build a small do-it-yourself quad or yagi to hang from the ceiling of your room? RF Gain toward the horizon in the direction of the repeater is always a good thing... this is ham radio, and making little homebrew antennas is part of it. Try looking up some of the simple J-Pole, Quad, and Yagi designs and find an elmer in the area who can help. > Well. I am rambling because I really don't know that much about it and am > making opinions on some things that maybe I don't understand. I just know I > have heard Connie's net all over the partly all over the world. She is always > hitting the repeater in Downtown KC because it comes up on the log they have. Again, that means they're linked to her repeater or the reflector she's linked to. To not hear that Net, simply unlink the local repeater. > I just personally don't think D-Star is a place for a Net. But that is my > opinion. Of course all other bands have Nets so there you go. Correcting > myself. Ha.. Haha... Nets are as old as radio. Personally I find most of them pretty boring too, but I listen in and sometimes join. Nets used to serve a more useful purpose -- to see if propagation was good/bad during the appointed Net time to the other regular check-ins, to pass traffic, etc. Some Nets still do that. With such reliable internet linking these days, many repeater Nets are more of a social event. A time when everyone knows everyone else will be at their favorite "radio watering hole" so to speak. > I'll just read posts here print them out and try to learn more so when I > figure out if how to get on the silly thing from inside my apartment (I am > disabled so getting out is a problem) then maybe it will all make since and I > can have the fun you are talking about. The fun is in the figuring it out part, really. Just operating is fine... but if you can find an elmer in the area who'll coach you through building a better antenna system, that's what Ham Radio is all about. If you're very seriously disabled and can't operate your hands to work small tools to do such building, definitely get in touch with the local ham radio club. I've never known a club not to help someone with antennas when called-upon. > > Thank You for your reply it does help. > > James > KD0AJZ Keep learning James, you're ahead of a great many of our people in our society if you're curious and willing to ask questions. It's always nice to see someone "fearless" in their quest for knowledge. It sounds like what you need to focus on first is your antennas. Remember your training, an antenna system is designed to do two things, radiate RF energy and focus it toward your intended reciever... in this case, the repeater behind that hill. VHF and above doesn't like going through hills in general, but with enough RF energy focused that direction (or even bouncing off of something else, if you're talking UHF and higher), you can get a solid copy signal to the repeater. Since you're probably already operating at 5W of RF output and that's the maximum your HT can do, you're next best option is to use a gain antenna like a flashlight to send the RF field where you want it to go. You'll be amazed at how a little quad antenna made out of bicycle flag poles and wire can turn your weak signal from your HT's "rubber duckie" antenna into a nice big signal at a distance of 20 miles on VHF, or UHF... you've not said which band the repeater you're attempting to access is on. Even a J-Pole made out of ladder line tacked up to the ceiling near a window can make a world of difference. The magic in ham radio has ALWAYS been, "How do I get my signal from here to there?"... everyone from the smallest HT station to the largest HF contesting station is continually trying to figure out how to make their signal stronger to the places they want to contact. This is one of the places where digital makes this harder... you can't HEAR the weakness or strength of the signal until it garbles and drops out... which is why I asked if there's a co-located FM repeater at the same site as the D-STAR. If there is, it'd make a better "target" for your antenna experiments. Keep learning, and enjoy... -- Nate Duehr, WY0X [email protected]
