Doug, you have my sympathy and admiration.......... for hanging in there to marry those two worlds. I follow one of the yahoo groups hoping the little module becomes more user friendly for installation into a motorola 5000 or micor. The reluctance is the module, I want it working and bullet proof before tackling the varables of installation. The hardware (and firmware) seems only now taking the quantum leaf out of betaville. I am watching with baited breath...... . Bill Atlanta w4oo . .
--- In Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com, "Doug Bade" <k...@...> wrote: > > I would be glad to elaborate about D-Star Repeater conversions as there are > multiple ways to do it now and Any EDACS capable or Smartnet Capable > repeater would do D-Star as both fundamentally have the parts to transmit > and receive GMSK type waveforms > > > > There are several Yahoogroups that are focused on alternate D-Star hardware > and software devices. > > > > Doug > > KD8B > > > > > > From: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com > [mailto:repeater-buil...@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Scott Zimmerman > Sent: Friday, April 02, 2010 8:54 AM > To: Repeater-Builder@yahoogroups.com > Subject: Re: [Repeater-Builder] D-Star Was: Molotora Gontor > > > > > > My biggest problem with the D-Star repeaters is that they didn't make > them analog compatible. Knowing as little as I do about the D-star > hardware, it would seem easy enough for Icom to have done so. All they > would have needed to do would have been to look at the incoming signal, > see if it was analog or digital, and process it correctly. > > While you'll pry my analog repeater pairs from my cold dead hands; if > D-Star machines were analog capable, I'd swap every pair I have to that > format tomorrow. As RB (the company) I have been asked about D-star more > times than I can count. I tell people it's nice to play with, but what > happens in an emergency? > > If Icom would have made the D-star machines analog capable, those that > wanted to (and had D-star radios) could play with it all they wanted to. > When an emergency arose and you had 10x as many people out there with > analog rigs, the machine would *still* be useful. As it is at present, > if an emergency arises, only those with D-star rigs can use a D-star > machine. That concept is fine, as long as ALL of your volunteers have > D-Star radios! (How many places is this the case?) > > Around here (Western PA) the governments bought Icom D-Star radios for > RACES. I had no objection to that since those radios can be used in > analog modes with analog repeaters. Now they are wanting to get D-Star > repeaters for RACES and emergency use. I *strongly* object to that since > they CANNOT be used in analog modes for emergencies. In my view, you'd > be alienating much of your volunteer base that doesn't have the correct > equipment right at the point where you need all the help you can get! Of > course with the government in the mentality that they have been in the > past few years, maybe that's their way of "thinning the heard." > > I *think* I remember someone saying that some other company had made an > analog capable D-Star controller? Do any of you list members know > anything about that? > > Scott > > Scott Zimmerman > Amateur Radio Call N3XCC > 474 Barnett Road > Boswell, PA 15531 > > Nate Duehr wrote: > > On 4/1/2010 9:57 PM, George Henry wrote: > >> I suppose I should clarify: I don't do D-STAR, either. Moral objection to > >> their use of a proprietary codec. > > > > You're going to be a while on that soap box. CODECs are almost > > literally the only way to make any money in the audio streaming, video > > streaming, and related technology worlds these days... mixed with > > Patents, you won't see any high-quality free CODECs that can properly > > encode voice at 4800 bps any time soon. > > > > DVSI has ALL of that market locked up until someone hires a pile of > > PhD's in math and goes after them. And even then, they'd have to make a > > significant impact on bandwidth utilized or voice quality over either > > AMBE/AMBE2, or IMBE... to have a chance of dislodging the first player > > to market... the only player to be written into multiple standards (P25, > > D-STAR, even the TDMA-based things from Kenwood/Icom... all using DVSI > > chipsets.) > > > > Brilliant of them really... heavily patent-encumbered CODEC, super-high > > price on using the CODEC in software, sell a $20 (in low-quantity, > > slightly cheaper in high-quanity) chipset, in a market as small as 2-way > > radio... they're making a bloody killing. I'd love to know what the > > development costs of the CODECs were... to see just how lucrative their > > lock on the market(s) is. > > > > But anyway... good luck finding a commercial product that doesn't use > > their chipset anytime soon. The next CODEC chipset maker is going to be > > an "also-ran" forever, unless their mathematicians and algorithms are > > uber-brilliant. > > > > Nate WY0X > > > > > > ------------------------------------ > > > > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > > > > > > > >
