I love new gadgets and D-STAR is my latest. I have the radio working with local repeater and on simplex in FM mode. I also have it working digital voice through K4CO a D-STAR repeater located in Erlanger, Ky. K4CO is the closest repeater but I can work a few others at a further distance in Cincinnati and Hamilton Ohio. There is much to learn to take advantage of all the features of the radio I have
(ID-5100a) and the D-STAR network. One of the very neat things about D-STAR is you can connect via a reflector to most parts of the world. It is very common to hear a station in the UK or Japan. Any one you hear you can also talk to. This is great for the belt clipper boys that do not have HF privileges. There are a few bad things about D-STAR, one being the cost. These compatible radios are state of the art and are still at the top of the price range. If you are some distance from the repeater as I am you will need a Yagi (beam) antenna to get your signal into the repeater. K4CO repeater is 40 miles from my QTH. If you want to find out more look at
http://www.dstarinfo.com/ and
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D-STAR
UP Date:
I wanted to listen to two reflectors at the same time - So I put a DV Dongle on reflector 01C the ID-5100 is kept on reflector 30C. I have the DV Dongle installed on a netbook and it works perfectly, although it is a little under specks, it works great. It did take an hour of hair pulling and screaming to get the audio and mic working. This is a cheap way to enter D-STAR. Read
MORE HERE
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