Icom: ID51/31 and Dstar, real world results?

[mparkes]

Hello to the forum, new here but been a ham since 1979.

I am interested in trying out Dstar (considering the ID-51A plus), but before I pony up for a radio, was interested in getting some feedback from others on Dstar real world usage experiences. I am wondering if there is really much "CQ CQ CQ" on some distant repeater that actually results in a QSO going on? I have tried Echo link which sounds a lot like Dstar to me, and my experiences trying to scare up a contact on other repeaters is dismal. Is the "dstar crowd" actually a friendly bunch and want to talk?
thanks for any thoughts. Maybe you just have to buy a radio to find out! But I thought I would ask first.
Mike AB7RU / DN17gp

 

[edweirdFL]

Using D Star you can also connect to reflectors, which instead of being a physical repeater somewhere, are more like a conference call bridge that is hosted online. Others who are connected to the same reflector can hear and talk to everyone else on the reflector. REF001C and REF030C are two popular reflectors that people over a wide area connect to. The first one is more international, and the second is more US based although both are used by amateurs everywhere.

I think it's about 10x easier to get a QSO going on either one of them than it is on a repeater local to me. There's more traffic, more listeners, and more willingness to talk to someone you don't already know.

If you can find a online stream of a D Star connected repeater to listen to, you could get a feel for this prior to buying. I know that I did this via my premium subscription here, and the Broadcastify service, amateur radio section.

This feed's status say's it's currently connected to REF030C.
https://www.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/26910

 

[mparkes]

Thank you for your reply edweirdFL, that sounded pretty encouraging as regards Dstar. Are these reflectors basically then serving as places to hold nets? Echolink has nets that I have checked into and seems to work well for what it is. I will try as you suggested to see what I can hear online that is dstar related. I have been monitoring a local Dstar repeater on 440mhz here in Spokane using analog and hear occasional noise which I guess is the digital signals. Thanks again for your help! 73's

 

[jwt873]

I've got an ID-51 (the original, not the plus) and a Kenwood TH-D74. Both work OK.

Our VE4WDR D-Star system is fairly well used.

We leave the UHF port of our local system connected through the gateway to REF001C for most of the day. As edweirdFL points out, it's not unusual to hear people from around the world check in and talk. When it's quiet, you just announce your call and someone will usually reply for a chat.

 

[edweirdFL]

Reflectors commonly have both QSOs and nets on them. There are some regulars on REF030C that ragchew daily.

 

[AK9R]

A handful of guys have been ragchewing on REF030C for the past 20 minutes (0735-0755 EDT).

 

[K5MPH]

I own a Id -51 and Icom 880 and hang out on 004B the Texas permalink,they have a net on tuesday nights at 8 pm central time people from all over the world check in......

 

[AI7PM]

I've been on DSTAR for over 9 years. I'm not on the reflectors or internet ties much anymore, but use the mode directly often along the Front Range in Colorado. IC-92 HT and ID-5100 mobiles/base.

 

[cmjonesinc]

Not to take away from the dstar discussion, but if you're looking for something new there is also DMR. Pacific Northwest seems to have a decent sized network and they tie back into brandmeister according to their website. Pacific Northwest DMR - Homepage