How It Works
D-STAR was published by the Japan Amateur Radio League in 2001. It sends voice and a small amount of data together in a narrow 6.25 kHz channel. Most D-STAR radios are made by Icom; Kenwood makes some handhelds.
Unlike DMR, D-STAR uses callsigns, not ID numbers. Your call goes out with every transmission, so other stations see who you are.
The Callsign Fields
Older D-STAR radios make you fill in four fields; newer Icom radios fill them for you from a repeater list (“DR mode”).
- MY: your callsign.
- UR: who you’re calling. CQCQCQ means anyone. A reflector command or a station’s callsign goes here to route your call further.
- RPT1: the repeater you’re talking through.
- RPT2: that repeater’s gateway to the internet, when you want to go beyond it.
Reflectors
A reflector is a meeting place on the internet that many D-STAR repeaters and hotspots can link to, rather like a DMR talkgroup. Each has a name and a letter (for example a regional net on one module). Your repeater may already be linked to one; listen first.
Callsign routing lets you reach a station by callsign wherever they last used a D-STAR gateway. To use it, register your callsign on the D-STAR gateway system; your local repeater owner can tell you how.
Getting On
Find a D-STAR repeater near you in a repeater directory, or use a hotspot. Load the repeater list into your radio, pick the repeater, leave UR as CQCQCQ, listen, then give your call.
- RepeaterBook ↗ — filter by D-STAR.
- Hotspots