D-Star for Beginners

Second Edition

A Practical, What-You-Need-to-Know Guide to Getting on D-Star D-Star is a powerful system for linking the worlds of amateur radio and the Internet. You can link your handheld radio to repeaters, individuals, or reflectors located anywhere in the world, quickly and easily. And because it’s all digital, you get crystal clear, digital sound. The book covers the setup and use of three different D-Star hardware configurations:

• DV-Dongle: A small device that lets you access the entire D-Star network from your computer. No radio is required.
• Icom IC-92AD Radio: A small handheld radio that is very common. The setup for most Icom radios is very similar to this, so if you have another Icom, it’s easy to adapt these instructions.
• Icom IC-ID5100A Radio: Icom’s newest (as of this writing) Mobile D-Star radio. With touchscreen input, GPS, and a repeater/reflector database, this radio is a completely new way to program your radio.
• DVAP: A device that combines the other two methods. Use your handheld radio to transmit to a small device on your computer that encodes your digital radio signal and transmits it through the Internet.

Inside you’ll find step-by-step tutorials on how use your radio or dongle to:

• Use RT System’s programming software to program the IC-92AD radio (CHIRP is similar)
• Use the included software and tools to program the ID5100A Radio
• Connect with the optional D-RATS software to send files and text messages through a computer interface
• Connect to local D-Star Repeaters
• Connect to Reflectors
• Link to distant repeaters
• Link to individuals without knowing their location
• Use various online tools to find frequencies, command strings, Nets, and more!

New in this Second Edition, Updated for 2015, you’ll find: A chapter for Icom’s new IC-ID5100A radio, which touch-screen programming and an internal repeater database. D-Star has never been easier! All the other chapters have been revised and expanded upon. Also new is an updated list of current reflectors, modules, and their uses.

This short book gives you a simple step-by-step walkthrough of all the options to set up your D-Star station using dozens of screenshots and examples. The whole process is detailed, from registering your call sign with the D-Star network to installing the DVAP or DV-Dongle software on your PC or Mac and making your first calls to individuals, ham repeaters, or reflectors.