The latest to have a re-think on connecting amateur radio to the internet is the New Zealand regular, Ministry of Economic Development (MED), which is questioning whether such facility is permitted under its amateur licence conditions.
In April the French regulators declared that D-Star illegal in France, due to the ability to create a connection to the internet with it, and because the codec used by it is proprietory.
Now the MED has concerns about not only D-STAR, but IRLP, Echloink, APRS and other similar modes because they do not fit within the current licence conditions. Perhaps this is simply a case of the NZ regulations having not kept up with technology?
While the New Zealand Amateur Radio Transmitters (NZART) is to make a submission to the MED on the matters it raises, the IARU member society in France, Réseau des Émetteurs Français (REF) has an online petition calling for an end to the D-STAR ban.
The DV Access Point Dongle (DVAP) just released by Internet Labs is a GMSK modem with an in-built 2m band transceiver which when USB connected to a PC running Windows XP/Vista/7 or Linux, or an Intel
Following on from the achievements of the Weston Super Mare Repeater Group GB7WB comes news that David Lake G4ULF and members of the Ashdown Forest Repeater Group in England have put on air a home-bre
The D-STAR repeaters on Mt Macedon north-west of Melbourne are now connected to the D-STAR internet gateway enabling it to be linked to many other similar repeaters.
It had to happen sooner of later, an on air contest using Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio D-STAR.
A niche range of pocket sized publications called the Nifty E-Z Guide has now produced an easy to understand edition that describes how the D-STAR system works.
The 2-metre D-STAR VK3RMM repeater on Mt Macedon is currently being site-tested with the initial contacts through it reporting perfect copy over a wide area.
A month-long test by the Shepparton and District Amateur Radio Club has demonstrated D-STAR capability and is encouraging it to plan a permanent installation.
A portable D-STAR repeater VK3RWW is operating as a trial for six weeks from the VK3RGV site at Mt Wombat in north-central Victoria that also have coverage into southern New South Wales.
Being marketed as ideal starter transceivers for any radio amateur or those wanting to get into D-STAR, are ICOM’s latest models the IC-E80D & ID-E880.
DSTAR
