Kenwood: Kenwood TH-D75, can't get DSTAR to work

[mortoma61]

Hello,
I have had my Kenwood TH-D75A since later February and am really good at the analog usage. But I've been trying to run DSTAR to no avail. I have only tried the Blue DV software, one for Windows where you connect through USB and one using the Bluetooth version and my Android phone. No joy so far. Just the other night I was trying to go by the Don Arnold YouTube video where he has someone else instruct on using the Window version through USB cable. I followed along until 3:10 in the video where he hits the Up Arrow and goes to the Link Reflector menu. That menu does not come up for me when I hit the up arrow as it did for the instructor. I have registered on the DSTAR system and all that and up until that part when the up arrow did nothing it all was going well. I may do a separate thread on the Blue DV Bluetooth version not working for me. BTW, I have never understood when you register on DSTAR gateway, what the letter after your call sign means. Can it be any letter you want? I have never found any explanation on that suffix letter thing, Google was not my friend on that. Nor is it explained on that DSTAR registration portal, they might assume people just can figure that part out. But maybe that letter makes some kind of a difference and might be why my DSTAR attempts have so far has not worked? You tell me if you have used this new radio on Blue DV.

Also, I have not tried to connect to a repeater using DSTAR because I don't have one close enough to hit with a handheld. I might try driving in my car close to the one that is too far away just for kicks to see it that works on DSTAR. But of course it's no solution to have to drive away from home to hit a repeater. Will be just an experiment I guess.

 

[SA4MDN]

try holding the up arrow down for a second or 2

 

[mortoma61]

try holding the up arrow down for a second or 2

I'll try that but I think I might have held it down pretty long. Don't remember for sure now. Thanks.

 

[N1FKO]

The suffix is called the Terminal ID, it serves to differentiate between multiple radios you might own when making point-to-point calls (kind of like the cell phone network). Your first (and often only) one is registered as an ASCII space character.

 

[mortoma61]

The holding down of the up arrow down longer to get to the Link Reflector menu as suggested by SA4MDN did indeed work! But I still don't know how to make a contact. You see a zillion YT videos and instructions at various Googled sites but not one of them tell you how to make a contact after you get everything set up. They just stop at telling you how to set the radio/software or hotspot up. Same thing in this video where Don Arnold's buddy gets you set up on Blue DV for Windows.

Now, when I hit my PTT the Blue DV screen changes colors and I try going to different reflectors but I hear absolutely nothing on any reflector. Shouldn't I at least hear people QSO'ing? And the guy in the video has his name, city and country show up on his Blue DV screen but my screen only shows my call sign up at the top, that's it.

Still not understanding this DSTAR stuff at all. A little help please? Thanking SA4MDN for the suggestion that got me past another barrier!! Still need more help, I need DSTAR for Dummies!!! Is my name, city and country not showing a sign I goofed somewhere or need a setting set in the radio?

​

 

[YL3IM]

Here is a D-Star manual.

 

[mortoma61]

Thanks

Here is a D-Star manual.

Thanks!! But that did not help much as it's one of those older manuals for mostly ICOM radios and also it covers mostly just doing DSTAR through a repeater. There is a section on using a dongle but that's different also. Dongle usage entails not even using a radio at all! I'm trying to use my radio through BLUE DV software with the USB connected connected to my radio using a Windows PC or the Bluetooth BLUE DV where you hook up through your smart phone or tablet via Bluetooth. This instruction manual is so old I think they might not have even had hotspots yet. Also using DSTAR on a Kenwood radio seemingly is slightly different in some ways than with an ICOM radio. I'm thinking what the actual F, digital radio is super complicated!!

 

[mortoma61]

I just saw an old youtube video from 2020 that is about DSTAR and they said you had to register though a local DSTAR repeater, whether or not you can hit that repeater. Well, I got on DSTAR gateway and registered a while back and I show registered but I did not have anything to do with any repeater, local or distant. I just registered there, period, not through any repeater website. I still show registered on the DSTAR network though. Is that what I did wrong? Should I have gone through my local DSTAR repeater for my registration?

Another big question is I have three saved IDs. One with just my callsign. One with the letter C after it and one with the letter D. Should I have checked one of those as an access point? I sure did not do that. Maybe I should have and that's just yet another problem I have?

 

[SA4MDN]

You only need 1 registration number and if i remember right its 7 numbers, once your registered you registered across the whole D-Star/DMR networks, no need for different registrations on other repeaters

 

[mortoma61]

You only need 1 registration number and if i remember right its 7 numbers, once your registered you registered across the whole D-Star/DMR networks, no need for different registrations on other repeaters

I had already registered for DMR a few months earlier and got a number from them. But with DSTAR, I'm not talking about registration numbers I don't think. At Dstar Gateway you have a column where you put in your callsign and you can put a capital letter after your callsign. That's what I'm talking about.

 

[SA4MDN]

Did you leave a space between your call sign and letter? if not then you need to do that

 

[kg4icg]

To use it with BlueConnect, you must put the D75A in DVGateway mode. I use it thru bluetooth on my android phone. It's in the menu, just can't remember what number.

 

[Hit_Factor]

Did you leave a space between your call sign and letter? if not then you need to do that

Could be more than one space. Needs to be 8 characters total, for my call I need 2 spaces. 'K8HIT C'

 

[kg4icg]

Menu#650 to turn on dv gateway mode

 

[AK9R]

Kenwood produced an "Operating Tips" manual that was available in hard copy at the recent Dayton Hamvention. The manual is also available for download as a PDF: https://www.kenwood.com/i/products/info/amateur/pdf/TH-D75AE_IDM.pdf

There's a section in the manual on D-STAR. It may help the OP.

 

[mortoma61]

Wow, you guys are all awesome and thanks for any help.
To answer SA4MDN: Where is this space needed? In my radio or in the DSTAR gateway registration website or both? At the website you put in your callsign and then there's a box you put in any suffix capital letter. So how would you put a space in there? In the radio there are at least two places you put in your callsign, and then a slash where you can put in more after the slash. In the radio I put in "D75" after that slash as I saw folks on YouTube say to do that. So I'm not understanding exactly how or where you put in a space.

To answer both comments from kg4icg: I know about the DV gateway stuff as explained in the fairly comprehensive video on YouTube

and I did everything the teacher says to do to get setup. But there is nothing further to help troubleshooting or how to make contacts. All the Blue DV for Windows things were done carefully by me by pausing the video to do it all like he says.

To answer AK9R: Thanks, I'll get into that manual but I've not found DSTAR manuals very helpful so far. As Susan Mackay VK3ANZ succinctly put it in her instructional guide called, The Newbie’s Guide to Using D-Star:
"You must first read the manual that came with the radio. It will tell you how to use the
various features of the radio. Unfortunately the radio’s manual told me EVERYTHING the
radio can do, but not when to use a particular feature, or why, or even if using a feature
was necessary."

She's absolutely correct on this. It's very difficult to learn this type of thing from a book or guide. And quite ironically, even from her very own guide!! But thanks for showing me that.​

 

[mortoma61]

Here is a D-Star manual.

Thanks, but that manual did not help much (I've read it) because the approach is not from the use of this particular BLUE DV software or my particular Kenwood TH-D75A. And that manual also seems to address getting on through repeaters mostly, which is quite different. And all that seems to matter with DSTAR! There are a plethora of DSTAR instructions guides on the internet, (usually a decade or more old) that are based on ICOM radios and none of them helped me much. Seemingly, DSTAR is super particular in that everything has to be perfect, every setting has to be perfect, both in your radio and in any software used for interface to the internet or reflectors.

 

[SA4MDN]

i can only say using a ZumSpot, so i put the space in the D-Star settings in the ZumSpot, not sure about the radio, i set up my TH-D74 a long time ago, i had a look around in the D74 menu and i cant even find where i put my call sign in to start with

 

[mortoma61]

I have found no solution for this. If anyone wants to give me further suggestions I'll see them in my email. But seems to me you should hear some chat on one of the reflectors, I've tried dozens of them.

 

[N4DJC]

if you have not, join the TH-D75 Facebook group, there's plenty of help there. But you do need to be specific as to your settings and PC or Android device. I use BlueDV Connect with a Galaxy Tab A7 Lite via BlueTooth and BlueDV for Widows via USB. The in depth manual mentioned above is very specific on using those two applications.