My First D-STAR Repeater Contact

Here is another milestone in my D-STAR experience….my first repeater contact using the technology. (I had previously been using D-STAR on simplex.) There are no D-STAR machines within range of my house, but there is one west of Denver (the Colorado D-STAR Association, W0CDS). I was headed to the Denver airport for a business trip … Read more

Awesome June VHF Contest!

It didn’t start out all that great. First, my boss decides that I need to be in Scotland the week before the contest weekend. I have nothing against Scotland, I just preferred to not be there right before the biggest VHF contest of the year (ARRL June VHF QSO Party). I needed to be home … Read more

My First D-STAR Contact

At Dayton, I picked up an ICOM IC-91AD handheld radio, with D-STAR capability. The thing is, there are no D-STAR repeaters within range of my house. Fortunately, Elliott KB0RFC also picked up a D-STAR handheld and we arranged a sked on 2M simplex. The de facto calling frequency for D-STAR is shaping up to be … Read more

FCC Says No to Digital Repeater Subband

As reported on the ARRL web site, the FCC rejected the proposal from Ken Chafin, W6CPA, and Leon Brown, KC6JAR to create a 2M subband for digital voice repeaters. This proposal was apparently a good-intentioned approach to opening up new spectrum for digital machines (D-STAR, P25, etc.). Chafin and Brown jointly filed a PRM in … Read more

Use that New HF+6m Rig on 6 meters

Colorado just experienced a nice 6M sporadic-e opening. Phil N0KE sent out this article as encouragement to try 6 Meters. A few years ago we started seeing new HF rigs with 6 meters included, and at the 100 watt level in many cases. At the Central States VHF Conference in July 1998, it was claimed … Read more

D-STAR Equipment Grant in Colorado

The Colorado Council of Amateur Radio Clubs (CCARC) and Ham Radio Outlet (HRO) teamed up to encourage the adoption of D-STAR technology in Colorado. To date, there are no D-STAR machines on the air in the state so HRO offered to provide equipment to a suitable ham radio group to help get things started. The … Read more