Ho

me

bre

w D

-ST

AR

Jim

Moen –

K6JM

12 October 2013

Pacificon

Santa Clara, CA

Artwork by

"Gil"Gildersleeve

W1CJD

Buy “Gil -A Collection

of Classic Cartoons

from QST” at the ARRL

store

Wh

at

I’ll t

alk

ab

ou

t

•Digital Voice and D-STAR

•DV and CODECs

•Linking repeaters and reflectors

•Hotspots

•What are they and what can they do?

•Homebrew: Set up your own Hotspot

•What’s new in D-Star?

•Tiny computers like Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone Black

•Various D-Star boards to work with these tiny PCs

•New Software and hardware approaches

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Wh

at

is D

-ST

AR

?

�Digital Smart Technology for Amateur Radio

�Protocol standard for Digital Voice & Data

�Open standard facilitated by JARL

�ICOMhas built D-STAR radios

�Most radios use 144MHz/440MHz/1.2 GHz

�ICOM 7100 & 9100 add D-Star to HF bands

�Uses GMSK(Gaussian Minimum Shift Keying)

with FEC (Forward Error Correction)

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Dig

ita

l V

oic

e R

ad

ios

Usin

g D

-ST

AR

as a

n e

xam

ple

Analo

g

to

Dig

ital

Com

pre

ss

CO

DE

C*

(AM

BE

chip

)

Genera

te t

ones

(GM

SK

modem

)

FM

M

odula

tor

FM

D

iscri

min

ato

r

Speaker

Convert

tones t

o

dig

ital data

Decom

pre

ss

*(A

MB

E c

hip

)

Dig

ital

to

Analo

g

An

alo

g

FM

R

ad

io

*CODEC: Compression/DECompression algorithm

•D-STAR uses the most popular proprietary CODEC: AMBE

•High quality, low bit-rate algorithm -Adds $25 to cost of radio

•Used for serious DV: commercial, military, P25-II

•CODEC2 is Open Source, used by FreeDV –freedv.org

•CODEC2 is becoming popular for HF DV

•Hopefully will become popular for VHF/UHF Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Wh

at’s g

oo

d a

bo

ut

D-S

tar?

•C

lea

n a

ud

io, n

o s

tatic

•C

alls

ign

s &

me

ssa

ge

s o

n r

ad

io s

cre

en

•D

-ST

AR

ne

two

rk lin

ks r

ep

ea

ters

an

d

refle

cto

rs a

rou

nd

th

e w

orl

d

•L

et

the

sys

tem

fin

d a

no

the

r h

am

(ca

llsig

n)

•C

an

se

nd

sm

all

da

ta f

iles (

sp

rea

dsh

ee

ts,

“em

ails

” &

fo

rms f

or

Em

Co

mm

, e

tc.)

–O

n 1

.2 g

Hz, can s

end larg

er

file

s

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Wh

at’s fu

n a

bo

ut

D-S

TA

R?

An

sw

er:

Th

e D

-ST

AR

Ne

two

rk

�Y

ou c

an c

onnect re

peate

rs to o

ther

repeate

rs

Or

to “

Re

fle

cto

rs”

(Co

nfe

ren

ce

Se

rve

rs)

�A

ccess h

undre

ds o

f re

flecto

rs, 1000s o

f re

peate

rs a

nd h

ots

pots

�Y

ou c

an b

uild

your

ow

n inexp

ensiv

e D

-Sta

r com

patible

Hots

pot or

Repeate

r

An

d th

at ca

n c

on

ne

ct to

re

fle

cto

rs a

rou

nd

th

e g

lob

e

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Is I

CO

M t

he o

nly

D-S

tar

Su

pp

lier

•IC

OM

makes g

reat D

-Sta

r ra

dio

s for

DV

/DD

–In

clu

din

g 2

82

0, 3

1A

, 5

1A

as w

ell

as 7

10

0 &

91

00

HF

/VH

F/U

HF

•In

tern

et Labs o

ffers

DV

Dongle

, D

VA

P &

much

more

, lik

e the n

ew

ly a

nnounced D

V P

i

•H

am

s a

re e

xtendin

g D

-Sta

r w

ith D

IY p

roje

cts

–G

MS

K M

odem

s to c

reate

inexpensiv

e H

otS

pots

& R

epeate

rs

usin

g a

nalo

g F

M r

adio

s

–S

oft

ware

(m

ostly

fre

e)

to e

xte

nd D

-Sta

r fu

nctio

ns

–D

-Sta

r A

dapte

rs t

o a

dd D

-Sta

r com

patib

le D

V t

o a

nalo

g r

adio

s

•T

his

is n

ow

a h

ighly

active

and c

reative

are

a

•M

ultip

le v

endors

are

ext

endin

g D

-Sta

r

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Wh

at’s a

Ho

tSp

ot?

Note: Architecturally sim

ilar to the

DVAP, but with your own analog

radio of any power output

More info at

www.k6jm.com/dstar

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Wh

y H

otS

po

ts?

•B

rin

gs

D-S

TA

R n

etw

ork

to

yo

ur

ne

igh

bo

rho

od

–If

yo

ur

QT

H h

as n

o R

F a

ccess t

o a

D-S

tar

rep

eate

r

–O

r (l

ike m

y Q

TH

) is

in

a m

ult

ipath

sh

ad

ow

–O

r yo

u w

an

t to

lin

k t

o w

hate

ver

rep

eate

r w

hen

ever

yo

u w

an

t

–O

r yo

u n

eed

extr

a p

ow

er

for

extr

a r

an

ge

•It

’s a

n in

tere

sti

ng

Do

It

Yo

urs

elf

pro

jec

t

•W

ha

t is

ne

ed

ed

?–

Mo

dem

(m

an

y a

vailab

le f

or

D-S

TA

R)

–C

om

pu

ter

(e.g

. R

asp

berr

y P

i co

mp

ute

r fo

r <

$50)

–A

nalo

g F

M t

ran

sceiv

er

that

su

pp

ort

s 9

600 P

acket

–S

oft

ware

(fr

ee)

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Ju

st w

ha

t is

a G

MS

K M

od

em

?

•C

on

vert

s d

igit

al sig

nals

to

to

nes f

or

tran

sm

itte

r•

Co

nv

ert

s r

eceiv

ed

to

nes t

o

dig

ital ag

ain

•D

eco

des t

he g

msk p

roto

co

l (h

ead

ers

, ro

uti

ng

in

fo)

•D

oes N

OT

deco

de o

r g

en

era

te D

igit

al V

oic

e

str

eam

•C

an

be u

sed

wit

h D

V D

on

gle

an

d P

C m

ike/s

peakers

to

ad

d D

V t

o a

nalo

g r

ad

io

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

GM

SK

Mo

de

m S

ou

rce

s•

Fre

d v

an

Kem

pen

PA

4Y

BR

–w

ww

.du

tch

-sta

r.eu

Pro

vid

es “

min

i h

ots

po

t” b

oa

rds, firm

wa

re a

nd

so

ftw

are

.

•M

atr

ix C

ircu

its &

Mo

en

Co

mm

–w

ww

.mo

en

co

mm

.co

md

istr

ibu

tes b

oa

rds b

ase

d o

n P

A4

YB

R’s

de

sig

n, co

me

s w

ith

DU

TC

H*S

tar

firm

wa

re a

nd

to

ols

.

•S

ato

sh

i Y

asu

da

7M

3T

JZ

/AD

6G

Z

–d

-sta

r.d

yn

dn

s.o

rg/

De

sig

ne

d th

e fir

st N

od

e A

da

pte

r. A

lso

pro

du

ce

s

firm

wa

re a

nd

to

ols

.

•D

VR

PT

R P

roje

ct

–sh

op

.dvrp

tr.d

e/

Use

s D

SP

fir

mw

are

fo

r G

MS

K m

od

em

fu

nctio

n.

Pro

vid

es s

oft

wa

re. T

he

y p

lan

to

off

er

ne

w b

oa

rds w

ith

em

be

dd

ed

AM

BE

ch

ip.

–w

ww

.dvrp

tr.n

et/

Off

ers

DV

RP

TR

Ve

rsio

n 1

bo

ard

•P

AP

A S

yste

m (

co

min

g s

oo

n)

–w

ww

.pap

asys.c

om

/in

dex.p

hp

?p

ag

eid

=g

mskb

oard

sG

MS

K b

oa

rds to

wo

rk w

ith

Ra

sp

be

rry P

i a

nd

Ad

uin

o m

icro

co

mp

ute

rs

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Ho

tSp

ot/

Re

pe

ate

r S

oft

wa

re•

DVAR Hot Spot –Mark McGregor KB9KHM

•First and still most popular

•Easy to configure

•Supports DPlus linking

•WinDV –

DUTCH*Star –

Fred van Kempen PA4YBR

•DPlus, Dextra, DCS linking, ircDDB Gateway & Callsign Routing

•DPRS-APRS interface

•Works with GMSK Modem, DVAP, DV Dongle

•DTMF commands over RF and more…

•GMSK Repeater & ircDDBGateway –

Jonathan Naylor GK4LKX

•Windows and Linux

•DPlus, DExtra & DCS, ircDDB and CCS Callsign Routing

•STARnet Digital

•Full function, yet fits on a small Linux pc like Raspberry Pi

•DVRPTR Control Center

•Works with DVRPTR boards

•DPlus, DExtra, DCS, ircDDB Gateway & CCS Callsign Routing

•G4ULF NI-Star –

David Lake G4ULF

•Creates Repeater compatible with ICOM Repeater/Gateway

•Works with all G2 Gateway Add-on Apps

•Learn more from Rich Timpa –KC6OBJ –the next presenter

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Wh

at’s n

ew

in

D-S

tar?

•S

mall,

or

eve

n t

iny

com

pute

rs to r

un n

etw

ork

ing

soft

ware

–R

aspberr

y P

i has b

ecom

e s

uper

popula

r –deve

loped a

s e

ducational t

ool

–$35 p

lus S

D c

ard

, pow

er

supply

& c

able

s

–A

noth

er

ste

p im

pro

vem

ent in

low

ering c

ost of D

IY p

roje

cts

–R

uns L

inux

•B

oard

s that plu

g into

the P

i–

DV

Pi –

Inte

rne

t L

ab

s (

DV

AP

, D

V D

on

gle

). B

asic

ally

a A

MB

E c

hip

on

a b

oa

rd, w

ith

co

ntr

ol a

nd

RX

/TX

au

dio

fr

om

An

dro

id d

evic

e (

tab

let,

sm

art

ph

on

e)

–D

UT

CH

*Sta

r P

i G

MS

K b

oa

rd

–P

AP

A S

yste

m G

MS

K B

oa

rds

•F

or

Ard

uin

o, lik

e n

orm

al G

MS

K b

oa

rd, b

ut le

ss e

xpe

nsiv

e

•F

or

Pi, a

n in

exp

en

siv

e a

dd

-on

GM

SK

bo

ard

(u

nd

er

de

ve

lop

me

nt)

•D

SP

-based m

odem

s (

DV

RP

TR

pro

ject)

•M

ore

Open S

ourc

e s

oft

ware

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Raspberr

y P

i

•Credit-card sized single board Linux computer

•$35, $50 with extras

•Hams are using for Hotspots and Repeaters

•G4KLX and FreeStar software

•DUTCH*Star DV Node for Linux/Mac under development

•Easy to setup:

•SD card images –burn, configure and go

•Use right away, then begin to learn more Linux

•I have installation notes that I’ll share

�Email me: jim@k6jm.com

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

DU

TC

H*S

tar

Pi G

MS

K M

od

em

•Tiny, fits on Raspberry Pi’s GPIO pins (SPI bus)

•Runs on 3.3v, won’t overload Pi’s power system

•Stackable (e.g. 2 boards for multiple radios)

•Has GMSK chip & DUTCH*Star firmware

•Can add micro RF transceiver board

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

DU

TC

H*S

tar

Pi T

ran

sce

ive

r B

oa

rd

•Fits on Pi GMSK Modem board

•Creates tiny, low power full-featured Hotspot

•No cables

•Under development

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

DV

RP

TR

Pro

ject

•G

erm

an

te

am

led

by

Ja

n D

O1

FJN

de

sig

ne

d D

SP

sty

le

bo

ard

an

d O

pe

n S

ou

rce

firm

wa

re

•F

ew

er

de

dic

ate

d c

hip

s, so

ftw

are

do

es th

e w

ork

•V

1 b

oa

rd h

ad

GM

SK

Mo

de

m fu

nctio

ns

•A

dd

-on

bo

ard

ha

d A

MB

E c

od

e c

hip

fo

r D

-Sta

r

•C

on

tro

l C

en

ter

pc s

oft

wa

re

•Ja

n le

ft te

am

–V

2 b

oa

rd s

imila

r b

ut n

ot w

ide

ly a

vaila

ble

•V

3 b

oa

rd la

un

ch

ing n

ow

fro

m G

erm

an

y

•V

1 b

oa

rd s

till

ava

ilab

le,

no

w f

rom

Ca

na

da

•P

ow

erf

ul i

de

a, b

ut lo

w-c

ost

Pi p

ulls

de

sig

n in

ne

w

dire

ctio

n

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Sh

am

ele

ss P

lug

•w

ww

.moencom

m.c

om

•I sell

the S

tar*

Board

GM

SK

Modem

–B

uild

your

ow

n H

ots

pot or

D-S

tar

com

patible

Repeate

r

–In

clu

des D

UT

CH

*Sta

r firm

ware

–N

orm

ally

$119 p

lus S

&H

–G

reat

support

•C

heck o

ut booth

(acro

ss fro

m A

RR

L)

–S

pecia

l show

prices

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Wh

en

I W

ish

Up

on

a S

tar…

•D

-Sta

r h

as tra

ctio

n/in

fra

str

uctu

re a

nd

will

sta

y a

s a

po

pu

lar

DV

te

ch

no

log

y.

DM

R

will

to

o.

•W

he

re s

ho

uld

Ha

m D

igita

l V

oic

e g

o n

ext?

•M

y a

nsw

er:

CO

DE

C2

–O

pen S

ourc

e, easy

to e

mbed in p

roje

cts

–If

one m

anufa

ctu

rer

made C

OD

EC

2 D

V

radio

s, th

ere

’d b

e a

n e

xplo

sio

n o

f cre

ative

add-o

n f

unctions

–T

hese thin

gs take tim

e. E

njo

y D

-Sta

r now

!Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM

Su

mm

ary

•D

-Sta

r is

mo

vin

g b

eyo

nd

origin

al IC

OM

vis

ion

•T

his

stu

ff is

fu

n a

nd

we

ca

n a

ll d

o it

•L

ots

of su

pp

ort

ava

ilab

le–

Ge

ttin

g S

tart

ed

: w

ww

.k6

jm.c

om

/dsta

r

–Y

ah

oo

Gro

up

s:

•gm

sk_dv_

node

•dsta

r_deve

lopm

ent, p

cre

peate

rcontr

olle

r, irc

ddbgate

wa

y•

gm

sk_dv_

modem

•D

VR

PT

R

–V

en

do

rs’ s

ite

s:

•M

oenC

om

m K

6JM

w

ww

.moencom

m.c

om

•F

red v

an K

em

pen P

A4Y

BR

w

ww

.dutc

h-s

tar.

eu

•S

ato

shi Y

asuda 7

M3T

JZ

/AD

6G

Z d

-sta

r.dyn

dns.o

rg/

•D

VR

PT

R:

shop.d

vrptr

.de

and w

ww

.dvr

ptr

.net

Pacificon –

12 Oct 2013 –

K6JM