D-STAR -TM ( Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio ) is a digital voice and data protocol specification developed as the result of research by the Japan Amateur Radio League to investigate digital technologies for amateur radio. While there are other digital on-air technologies being used by amateurs that have come from other services, D-Star is one of the first on-air standards to be widely deployed and sold by a major radio manufacturer that is designed specifically for amateur service use.
D-Star compatible radios are available on VHF and UHF and microwave amateur radio bands. In addition to the over-the-air protocol, D-Star also provides specifications for network connectivity, enabling D-Star radios to be connected to the Internet or other networks and provisions for routing data streams of voice or packet data via amateur radio callsigns.
The first manufacturer to offer D-Star compatible radios is Icom. As of December 30, 2008, no other amateur radio equipment manufacturer has chosen to include D-Star technology in their radios. Kenwood re-brands an Icom radio and distributes it in Japan only.
History
1999 – Funded by the Japanese government and administrated by the JARL, investigation was put into finding a new way of bringing digital technology to amateur radio.
2001 – D-Star is published as the result of the research.
Unknown Date – Icom enters the construction of the new digital technology by offering the hardware necessary to create this technology.
September 10, 2003 - Icom names Matt Yellen, KB7TSE, to lead its US D-Star development program.
December 2, 2003 - First Echolink over D-Star QSO is made between Matt Yellen, KB7TSE in Bellevue, WA, and Sheldon Kane, KE8VO of Urbana, OH
April 2004 - Icom IC-2200H is released. This is a 2-meter mobile, and the first "D-Star Optional" radio to be released commercially. However, a yet to be released D-Star add-on card is required for this radio to operate in D-Star mode.
November 2004 - JARL releases significant changes to the existing D-Star standard. Icom, aware that the changes were coming, had placed the release of their hardware on hold for a period of as much as a year while they awaited the changes. Now that the changes are out, Icom announces they will be able to finish up and release equipment
December 29, 2004 - The Icom UT-118 is shipping this week This is the add-on card that once installed to "D-Star Optional" radios, will provide D-Star connectivity. With this card added to the IC-2200H, the market now has its first D-Star radio!
December 2004 - The Icom ID-1 1.2GHz mobile radio is released. This was to have been the first D-Star radio, providing full DD functionality. However, its release was delayed from its original date of September 2003.
February 28, 2005 - Icom ID-800 is announced with an expected release date of 28 February 2005 This is the first dual-band 2-meter/70-centimeter mobile radio that is "D-Star Optional". It will use the optional UT-118 add-on card to provide D-Star digital voice.
April 2005 - People are reviewing their Icom IC-V82 2-meter handheld transceiver on EHam.net . The June 2005 edition of the ARRL's QST magazine also reviews the Icom IC-V82. They also mention the IC-U82, which is the 70-centimeter version of this HT. These rigs require the purchase and installation of the UT-118 add-on card to make them D-Star functional. These are the first commercial D-Star handhelds.
July 1, 2007 - First D-Star over satellite QSO occurs between Michael, N3UC, FM-18 in Haymarket VA and Robin, AA4RC, EM-73 in Atlanta GA while working AO-27.
February 1, 2008 - Icom announces the availability of Gateway 2.0 software.
April 23, 2008 - Icom and US trust server administration announce the shutdown of the Gateway 1.0 U.S. trust server will occur at 00:00 UTC on June 1, 2008, at which time all systems should have transitioned to Gateway 2.0 software and the new U.S. trust server.
November 22, 2009 - It's been about five years since D-Star made it to market with products for people to buy. As of the time of this writing, there are now around 10,800 D-Star users talking through D-Star repeaters which have connectivity to the Internet via the G2 Gateway. There are around 550 G2 enabled repeaters now active. . Note, these numbers do not include the scores of users with D-Star capabilities but not within range of a repeater, or working through D-Star repeaters that do not have Internet connectivity.
October 2010 - The first D-Star capable satellite Oufti-1 is scheduled for launch.
Technical details
D-STAR transfers both voice and data via digital encoding over the 2 m (VHF), 70 cm (UHF), and 23 cm (1.2 GHz) amateur radio bands. There is also an interlinking radio system for creating links between systems in a local area on 10 GHz.
Within the D-Star Digital Voice protocol standards (DV), voice audio is encoded as a 3600 bit/s data stream using proprietary AMBE encoding, with 1200 bit/s FEC, leaving 1200 bit/s for an additional data "path" between radios utilizing DV mode. On air bit rates for DV mode are 4800 bit/s over the 2 m, 70 cm and 23 cm bands.
In addition to DV mode, a high speed Digital Data (DD) mode can be sent at 128 kbit/s only on the 23 cm band. A higher-rate proprietary data protocol, currently believed to be much like ATM, is used in the 10 GHz "link" radios for site-to-site links.
Radios providing DV data service within the low-speed voice protocol variant typically use an RS-232 or USB connection for low speed data (1200 bit/s), while the Icom ID-1 23 cm band radio offers a standard Ethernet connection for high speed (128 kbit/s) connections, to allow easy interfacing with computer equipment.
Importance of digital technology and D-STAR
As long as the signal strength is above a minimum threshold, and no multi-path is occurring, the quality of the data received is better than an analog signal at the same strength.
The system today is capable of linking repeaters together locally and through the Internet utilizing callsigns for routing of traffic. Servers are linked via TCP/IP utilizing proprietary "gateway" software, available from Icom. This allows amateur radio operators to talk to any other amateur participating in a particular gateway "trust" environment. The current master gateway in the United States is operated by the K5TIT group in Texas, who were the first to install a D-Star repeater system in the U.S.
Another important aspect of D-STAR technology is its ability to send large quantities of data to emergency responders in the event of a disaster. Served agencies can instantly relate to sending "email" or "word files" to someone. The data sent can be high-volume, where traditional amateur radio "modes" are capable of getting a message through albeit slowly, D-STAR can place documents into the hands of those that need them most—fast image, text and document data exchanges.
Criticism
As is usually the case with any new technology, there will be critics. Just as there were people that showed disdain when SSB was introduced, referring to it as "Duck Talk", there are people that express borderline fanatical hatred for D-Star. The problem is compounded by the fact that since D-Star started in Japan, original historical information is hard to come by when you can't speak or read the language of the source. What's worse are the mistranslations, rumors, and assumptions that come with a new technology as people look to justify either for or against the new technology.
Criticism 1 - "D-Star uses a proprietary CODEC." True... However, the question should be asked, "What was the alternative at the time the standard was developed?" The talk of using an open source codec over a proprietary one is a valid one. However, at the time the standard was developed, what was available? Was waiting for an open source CODEC feasible? How long has the amateur radio community waited for someone to step up and develop a codec that would become widely accepted and utilized? A good argument could be made that if the JARL had decided to wait for an open source CODEC, the Amateur Radio community would still be waiting, and Amateur Radio in Japan would have missed a golden opportunity to prove its viability to the Japanese government.
For a decent primer into the thought processes that must have gone on in the development of this standard, Here's a report of the ARRL's Digital Voice Working Group as provided to the Technology Task Force in January 2003. . Please note, the reference is not related to the JARL's development of D-Star. Rather, it is a different group discussing much of the same things the JARL must have when they were creating the D-Star standard. It provides some insight into thought processes and comparisons of various voice digitizing technologies that were available at the time.
It should be noted that a standard is just that. It is a document establishing guidelines anyone interested in joining in must follow. Standards are meant to be reviewed, changed, and modified over time. Now that the baseline has been established, the Amateur Radio community should be excited and thinking about where to go next with this new stan
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