Cyprus Amateur Radio Society

What is D-Star?

The D-STAR system provides digitally modulated voice/data communication and high-speed data access over the air. This project has been developed in collaboration with JARL (Japan Amateur Radio League) and is supported by the Japanese Telecommunications Administration.

D-STAR is an exciting new form of Amateur Radio that compliments other parts of the hobby including VHF, HF operation, Contesting and Satellite communications etc. Utilising digital communication and the Internet, D-STAR allows you to communicate worldwide with other operators who are connected to D-STAR repeaters.

Reference: Icom America

An Overview

D-STAR, a standard published in 2001, is the result of years of research funded by the Japanese government and administered by the JARL to investigate digital technologies for amateur radio. D-STAR is an open protocol - published by JARL, it is available to be implemented by anyone. Whilst Icom is the only company to date that manufactures D-STAR compatible radios, any equipment or software that supports the D-STAR protocol will work with a D-STAR system.

In a D-STAR system, the air link portion of the protocol applies to signals travelling directly between radios or between radios via a repeater. D-STAR radios can talk directly to each other without any intermediate equipment or through a repeater using D-STAR voice or data transceivers.

The gateway portion of the protocol applies to the digital interface between D-STAR repeaters. D-STAR also specifies how a voice signal is converted to and from the stream of digital data. The D-STAR codec is known as AMBE® (Advanced Multiband Excitation) and the voice signal is transmitted in the D-STAR system at 3600 bits/second (3.6 kbps).

D-Star Features

D-Star is constantly developing and lends itself to continual improvement both in the ability to display information from over the Internet and in the control of the radios connected to the system. We have only scratched the surface with what has currently been provided. D-Star is capable of carrying both digital voice and data. Already there has been developed a number of utilities, a mail client that uses the data messaging for the mail messages, a statistical program for showing current users, GPS positioning and many more. To find out more of the features of this exciting new protocol click the links below.

Reference: http://www.gb3ok.com