Hampton Beach Amateur Radio - HBAR - Configured as a DStar Repeater -

HBAR is located at a Publicsafety tower on Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. This provides a implementation of DStar to Amateur Radio Operators and a Emergency Communications capability along the New Hampshire Seacoast.

In order to use the system you must be a licensed Amateur Radio Operator with your call sign registered on the DStar network. You'll also need a DStar capable radio. Program your radio as outlined in the table below to access the system. This is an "Open" system.

Our experience is that there is about a 10-15 mile working radius around Hampton depending upon conditions, power levels and antenna. Please give the B Port a try and let us know what your experience is with it.

The repater offers DStar gateway and linking capability. It also incorporates the DPRS Interface so your GPS location data is passed to the APRS-IS system. Call sign routing directly to other operators is fully implemented including the use of IRCDDB.

Radio Setup and Information -

A Little About DStar -
DStar radios digitally encode and decode information for exchange via RF. Commercially sold DStar repeaters are usually situated as multiple radios known as "Stacks". A "Stack" most often consists of a C Port 2m(145Mhz), B Port 70cm(440Mhz), and A Port 23cm(1240Mhz) radios.

Digital encoding allows the use of voice or data over RF. Effectively each time the radio is keyed to transmit, data such as Call Signs and Message Data are also passed in the data packets. That means things like GPS coordinates of the radio can be plotted or tracked on a map. Data files can be exchanged with one or many other users.

DStar by it's nature and design interfaces it's users over RF and the Internet. So a User talking to a local DStar system broadcasts to their local RF area and can also be connected via an internet gateway to a remote DStar Repeater in another part of the world. Additionally many local repeaters can also connect to what's known as a Reflector. The Reflector is a Computer Gateway on the internet that acts like a local RF Repeater passing everything it "hears" back out to everyone that's connected to it.

Call Sign routing enables DStar users to find one another without having to know what repeater their contact maybe on. The DStar network "knows" where it "Last Heard" a particular Call Sign. So in theory and practice by simply programming only the Call Sign of your desired contact into the "UrCall" field your transmission will be routed to the repeater which "Last Heard" that station. So in analogy when you dial a friends cell phone(Call Sign) you don't need to know what cell site they're on.just the cell number(Call Sign).

A DStar radio setup to operate in an emergency configuration would be connected to a laptop with a software interface such as D-Rats. This enables the passing of electronic messages and files without the use of an internet backbone. Essentially DStar provides it's own backbone to pass data and voice traffic along to other users in the local RF area. The effective limitation is the range of RF Transmitter.

DStar by the nature of it's digital design has many branches to achieve the same result. Some of these are known as:

• DV-Dongle - Interfaces to a PC with an internet connection. World-wide DStar access. (Dongle and PC required).
• DVAP - Very short range RF repeater that interfaces to a PC with an internet connection. World-wide DStar access. (DStar radio, DVAP, and PC required).
• Hotspot - Establishes a "Point of Presence" to the DStar network. (DStar, Analog radio, GMSK Modem and PC required).

DStar is an evolving mode of operation that is continuously changing. The nature of Amateur Radio drives the development in new and exciting directions. It can probably be compared to the movement from AM Voice to SSB Voice. SSB is now pretty much a standard on today's radios. It was a new mode once upon a time.

Tom - W1TG