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Operating the VE6KM D-STAR Repeater (updated 2009-11-22)

D-Star technology allows Amateur Radio Operators to communicate using Digital Voice and transfer Digital Data simultaneously. D-Star gives Amateurs the ability to contact a specific station without knowing what city or even country that station is currently in.

D-Star's DPlus features allow you to access and link to other repeaters, link and use reflectors, run Echo tests, check the status of the repeater and simulcast on all local D-Star repeaters. This page will outline the operation of each of these features.

D-Star Terminology:

There are several terms I will use throughout this document. They are:

• Mycall – This is your call sign. Generally you will only need to enter this once.
• RPT1 – This is the repeater and node you are going to access (in Edmonton VE6KM A, B or C)
• RPT2 –
  • Blank if you want to talk only on the RPT1 node
  • The call sign of the destination node (VE6KM A, B or C)
  • The gateway on the repeater (VE6KM G)
• URCALL – The call sign you want to reach (or /VE6KM [A,B,OR C]) Generally you would leave
  this as /VE6KM [A, B, OR C]
• Nodes – The A (23cm band), B (70cm band) , C (2 meter band), G (The internet) It is important
  to note that node designations are ALWAYS at the 8th position.

General Use:

Mycall – This is very straight forward. You simply put in your call sign

RPT1 (on some radios Repeater1) - This is ALWAYS the repeater AND node you are going into.

Example: I am wanting to chat with someone and the repeater I am going to enter is VE6KM and I am on
the 23CM Band, I would enter into RPT1 VE6KM A (with the A at the 8th position).

RPT2 (on some radios Repeater2) – This one controls where you are going on the D-STAR system. If you
want to only be heard on the repeater node you entered in RTP1 then leave this blank. If you are
looking for someone on another node within our repeater then you would enter the repeater call sign
and node as you did in RPT2 but this time keep in mind this is the output node.

Example: I want to talk to David VE6DXX on the 2 meter node and I am on the 23cm node I would configure my radio as follows:

MYCALL: VE6KGA
RPT1: VE6KM A (the node I am on)
RPT2: VE6KM C (the node that David is on)
URCALL: /VE6KM A (or VE6DXX)

This will allow my signal to repeat through the repeater system and be heard by David.

Example: If I want to chat with Bill VE2LLM and I do not know what repeater he is on I can reach him by allowing the D-Star system to locate and route my call. I would program my radio as follows:

MYCALL: VE6KGA
RPT1: VE6KM A (the node that I am on)
RPT2: VE6KM G (The internet gateway)
URCALL:VE2LLM

This would push my signal out to the Internet, D-Star would locate VE2LLM’s repeater and node, and
push my signal to that location.

Here is the tricky part. In the FM World when you call even on multiple linked repeaters no one really
needs to know where you are. With the D-Star system, this is not the case. In order for David or Bill to
answer me they need to know where I am calling from. So when I put out my call I call as follows
“VE2LLM – VE6KGA on VE6KM Node A, Edmonton, Alberta”. Now bill knows that I am coming in via the
gateway and can program his path appropriately. In the case of David he needs to know that I am on
Node A so that he can set his RPT2 to VE6KM A.

Reflectors:

Reflectors are a part of the DPLUS add on to the D-Star system. Linking to one reflector is not difficult and follows the exact same process as calling a station.

Example: I want to link to Reflector 001 Node C what do I do? I set the 4 items in my radio as
follows:

MYCALL: VE6KGA
RPT1: VE6KM A (The node I am on)
RPT2: VE6KM G (The internet)
URCALL:REF001CL

Key up your radio for 2 seconds or more. You will hear a voice that says “Remote system linked”

Here is the real trick here. Once you have heard the message you MUST change the URCALL to /VE6KM [A,B OR C]. If you don’t, your transmissions will not go out to the reflector and you will hear “Remote system already linked”.

Once you are done with the reflector it is important to remember to unlink the repeater. To do this you
do exactly as you did to link but in the URCALL you enter seven spaces and U ( U)

MYCALL: VE6KGA
RPT1: VE6KM A (The node I am on)
RPT2: VE6KM G (The internet)
URCALL: U

Key up your radio for 2 seconds or more. You will hear a message saying “Remote system Unlinked”. A
list of reflectors and their use can be found at http://www.dstar.org.au/reflectors.htm.

Echo Test:

The echo test is accomplished by putting in VE6KM E in the URCALL.

MYCALL: VE6KGA
RPT1: VE6KM A (The node I am on)
RPT2: VE6KM G (The internet)
URCALL:VE6KM E

Now whatever you say will be echoed back to you.

Check link status:

To find out if a node is linked or not you put in VE6KM I (the letter i)

MYCALL: VE6KGA
RPT1: VE6KM A (The node I am on)
RPT2: VE6KM G (The internet)
URCALL: VE6KM I

Key up your radio for 2 seconds or more. If you hear nothing then the repeater is not linked, If it is
linked you will hear “Remote System Linked”.

Simulcast:

Simulcast (This is generally for emergencies only but we can set our own policy as it takes a lot of Internet bandwidth).

Set URCALL to VE6KM with no other items
MYCALL: VE6KGA
RPT1: VE6KM A (The node I am on)
RPT2: VE6KM G (The internet)
URCALL: VE6KM

Now transmit and all nodes will hear you.

I hope that this helps you get started. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to email me at
katkinson [at] keratel [dot] com or I am generally monitoring VE6HM or VE6KM Node A or B.

Kerry Atkinson
VE6KGA