"I just gotta D-Star radio. Now what?"

As a new user, you should know (and the Icom owner's manual doesn't mention this) that you will not be able to communicate across the gateway with other systems, unless you are registered in a gateway. Being registered on any gateway on the US_Trust Server will be valid on any other gateway on the US_Trust Server. The US_Trust server is the common bond, so to speak, between all the gateways that are linked together.

Generally, just about any system you see reporting to DStar Monitor
is on the US_Trust Server. There are a few that are on the US_Trust Server that do not show up on DStar Monitor.

Use of the K7RST and KR7ST systems is open. Using gateway services requires being registered on a gateway. This is also true of those using a DVDongle.

The K7RST system is located on Mt Lemmon, and the KR7ST system is on the Bank of America Building in Downtown Tucson. The systems are-

K7RST
A 1.2 DV Voice 1284.250 Mhz, -12Mhz input
AD 1.2 DD Data 1298.250 Mhz 128Kbps
B 440 DV Voice 445.900 Mhz -5 Mhz input
C 2m DV Voice 145.115 Mhz -.600 Mhz input

KR7ST
A 1.2 DV Voice 1284.750 Mhz, -12Mhz input
AD 1.2 DD Data 1298.750 Mhz 128Kbps
B 440 DV Voice 445.950 Mhz -5 Mhz input
C 2m DV Voice 147.410 Mhz -1.000 Mhz input

(Please note the ODD input on the KR7ST VHF Repeater)

"DV Voice" includes low speed data (text) capability

There are no charges for registering on either of the systems. For info about our systems, see http://www.rstclub.org

Some clubs that sponsor D-Star systems require payment of dues to get access to gateway services, and that is very understandable, especially considering the costs involved in purchasing, installing and maintaining a system. It ain't free. It is probably best to register with your "home" system. That is, the system that you will be using the most when you are not transient. For those users here in Tucson we are doing registrations on the Mt Lemmon site.

Technically, this is not required, but is a suggestion. You should, and only need to register once, and on one system. Once you are registered, your registration is propagated to all the other gateways, and becomes valid on all the other gateways within the same trust network.

To get registered on a gateway, go to http://dsync.dstarusers.org/GW2Status.pl and select the appropriate gateway. Some club sponsored systems may ask you to become a member and support the club and it's efforts.

Registering is a two step process. First of all, you will register and create your Login. PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR PASSWORD! The password you select is encrypted and stored in the system. THE ADMINISTRATORS CAN NOT RECOVER IT IF YOU FORGET IT, WE CAN ONLY CHANGE IT!

Once this step is complete, a gateway administrator has to approve your
registration. Then you need to return, login and enter your information in the "Personal Information" tab. And that is it. If you have any questions regarding the K7RST or the KR7ST system, you can send an email to kb7lmi@qrz.com or randy@kf0x.com

We try to post system status messages, when needed, on the clubs website.

Setting up your radio

1. Mycall: Enter YOUR call sign in this field. Since call routing is by call sign, if you append ANYthing to your call sign, or in anyway make it different than your registration, D-Star call routing for your call sign will not work. Unless there is more than one user using your radio, you should be able to set this field and forget it.

2. URcall: This field can be the call sign of a specific ham you want to talk to. Many people set this to "CQCQCQ" if they are talking to anyone on the local system, or the callsign of a distant repeater with a "/" in front, if talking to anyone on a distant repeater through the gateway. The slash designates you are calling anyone on the distant repeater, rather than an individual ham.

Example: "/K5TIT B" if you were talking to anyone on the K5TIT Dallas, TX 440 Dstar repeater.

3. R1 & R2: R1 is the repeater you are accessing or going in on. If you going in on the K7RST 440 repeater, this field would be set to “K7RST B". R2 would be left blank, unless you are cross-banding or using the gateway. We recommend that you place either “K7RST G” or “KR7ST G” (depending on what system your accessing) in the R2 field; that way dongle users can hear the local traffic and your traffic will be heard thru any reflectors that the repeater is connected to. If you are crossbanding to the K7RST 2 meter repeater, this field would be set to "K7RST C". If you are using the gateway, it would be set to "K7RST G" Crossbanding means going in on one band (say 2m) and coming out on another band (say 440) within the same site. If you are on the K7RST UHF repeater and want to come out on the KR7ST VHF downtown you would use the “/” slash routing described in the URCall section.

4. What is the "A, B, or C" after the repeater call sign, you ask? The
letter is a band designator.
A = 1.2GHz (23cm)
B = 440MHz (70cm)
C = 146MHz (2m)
G = Gateway

The band designator MUST be in the eighth position of the field.
Example- "K7RST G" Sixth and Seventh position is a space. If you were calling to K7RST from a distant gateway, and were calling for anyone (using the / ) in the URcall field you would enter "/K7RST B"

Some things to keep in mind: If you are attempting communications via a
distant gateway/repeater, local communications take priority over gateway communications. This means, if someone is talking locally at the distant system when you make your call, you will not be heard there. If you beacon DPRS position information, your position transmissions will preempt anyone trying to make an inbound gateway call. For that reason, it is not desirable to have frequent automatic DPRS reports going on.

If you are setup to talk to a ham, even if you have their call sign in the UR field, this does not mean this is a "private call". Anyone listening to the repeater you are going in on, and coming out on, can hear your call.

If you decide to try D*Chat, keep in mind that while you can send keyboard text messages concurrently while YOU are talking to someone, you CANNOT send text messages concurrently while someone else is talking.

This should help get you started. The Icom manuals don't describe this stuff very well. If you have any questions, just ask. Also, the
az_dstar@yahoogroups mail list is a good place to ask questions. It is highly suggested that you join this mail list.

Remember, it's a hobby. Learning is good. This is a relatively new mode of operation, and is developing as we speak. All of us are always learning new things about it, almost on a daily basis.

There is a wealth of information available on the DStar Monitor website-

including a "last heard report". This shows anyone/everyone who has been heard on any system that reports to DStar Monitor. Don't forget, there are some systems that are on the network that don't report to DStar Monitor, for whatever reason. The "call signs" and "Reporting nodes" are hypertext links, and clicking on them will give you more information. There is lots of good information at the links in the upper left margin.