--- In [email protected], John Hays <j...@...> wrote:
> For me, the callsign of the station is the registration, no other
registration of RF units should be required.
John, I believe that it is OK in your area.
But you should agree that any pirate can visit well known web site and
monitor all call signs on any D-Star repeater. Then use any callsign for
programming of pirate radio.
Reality is that in Russia we lost a battle with pirates in analog
repeater network in big cities like Moscow.
> If the database is not available at all repeaters, then the user
mustre-register at each repeater they want to use. Some users travel
bothfrequently and randomly between repeaters (Today I am in
Moscow,tomorrow in Paris, the next day in Atlanta) - pre-registration
becomesburdensome to the point of making the system unusable.
I am not sure that it will be many HAMs visited Moscow with D-Star
radios. When in 1993-2004 I was sysop of Moscow AMPR gateway similar
process took place about 10 times per year.
> Current radios have no way of storing or modifying the K value,
sowould require an external device. How is the K value communicated
tothe repeater? If on air, then it is no longer secret and can be used
bythe "man-in-the-middle" pirating the callsign.
I am not sure that with software upgrade of even current D-Star radio
unpossible to write a unique secret key K in hidden memory of radio. If
you have this K in radio - no need any external device.
K never send over the air - K used only for verification of response of
radio in authentication database.
As we not need mutual authentication - the process will consists of the
next steps:
1. radio switch on
2. find DS network
3. local repeater determines access rights of radio and prepares
authentication request
4. authentication challenge to radio
5. radio authentication response to local repeater
6. local repeater make verification against local user's
authentication database
7. all is OK? radio now ready to use
73 de Karen, RA3APW
