1. D-STAR D-STAR Repeater Basics Icom America Inc. TSR

2. What is D-STAR? D-STAR:Digital Smart Technology for Amateur Radio Open protocol, published by the JARL (Japanese Amateur Radio League). Available to be implemented by anyone. Digital voice (DV) and Digital Data (DD) operation. Currently, Icom is the first and only radio manufacturer selling D-STAR radios in the USA. http://www.arrl.org/FandES/field/regulations/techchar/

3. TSR What is D-STAR? Icom D-STAR Digital Voice and Digital Data rates. 144 and 440 MHz data rate – 4800 bps Digital voice @ 3600 bps (including error correction) Digital data @ 1200 bps 1.2 GHz Data rate – 128 kbps High speed data @ 128 kbps (Ethernet connection) or Digital voice @ 3600 bps (including error correction) Digital data @ 1200 bps

4. TSR What’s required? Repeater Call Sign First, you need is a unique / club call for the repeater. * You can not have the same call sign in 2 different “roles” in the D-STAR network. (eg, the repeater call sign can not also be your individual call sign.) You will need a unique / club call sign for your repeater system that is not used anywhere else in the network.

5. TSR What’s required? Repeater Components Next, you need the desired repeater modules. The RP2C is REQUIRED for the D-STAR repeater system. The current D-STAR repeater modules are: RP2D1.2GHz, 128K Digital Data (DD) RP2V1.2GHz Digital Voice (DV) RP4000V440MHz Digital Voice (DV) RP2000V144MHz Digital Voice (DV)

6. TSR What’s required? Additional hardware Each physical install is different. What your install requires may vary. Examples of additional equipment: Duplexers Power Supply Antennas Window Filter

7. D-STAR RP2C Controller Icom America Inc. TSR

8. Gateway Configuration Diagram

9. TSR What’s required? Programming PC (Windows) To program the repeater controller and frequencies you need: Windows based PC with at least 1 Ethernet and 1 USB port USB A to B cable Ethernet cable (not crossover) Install the included software on the Windows PC for: ID-RP2C ID-RP2VD ID-PR2000V ID-RP4000V

10. What’s required? Before programming you must know the IP address of your RP2C controller. Default: 172.16.0.1 Recommended: 172.16.0.10

11. TSR RP2C controller The controller is programmed via the Ethernet port on the front.

12. TSR RP2C controller We must configure the PC to the same IP scheme as the controller to program.

13. TSR RP2C controller Start the RP2C software and enter the controller IP address in the “Network Setup”. Default from Icom is either 172.16.0.1 or 172.16.0.10

14. TSR RP2C controller Click the “Read” button and enter the password. (PASSWORD, all in caps, is the default password.)

15. TSR RP2C controller Now, you should see something like this 

16. TSR RP2C controller Enter the repeater call sign

17. TSR RP2C controller Select the “module configuration” from the drop down menu.

18. TSR RP2C controller Select the “active ports”

19. TSR RP2C controller And assign the proper module letter designation. Recommended designations: RP2D (1.2 GHZ)A RP4000V (UHF)B RP2000V (VHF)C

20. TSR RP2C controller The RP2V and RP2D must be “A”.

21. TSR RP2C controller Select “Use Gateway” if connecting to a gateway PC.

22. TSR RP2C controller Click “Write” to save the settings to the controller

23. Repeater Module The repeater modules are programmed via the USB ports on the front of the repeater. There is one port for TX and one port for RX.

24. Repeater Module

25. D-STAR Router / Linux Configuration Icom America Inc. TSR

26. Gateway Configuration Diagram

27. TSR What’s required? Internet Connection (Fixed IP address) The D-STAR gateway software REQUIRES a fixed IP address and, at least a DSL speed connection. You will also need a router capable of: Class “A” internal subnet (LAN) 10.0.0.1 / 255.0.0.0 Port forwarding Setting a fixed IP address, such as for PPPoE for WAN Refer to the RS-RP2C manual for additional requirements. (The Linksys WRV54G meets all the requirements)

28. TSR What’s required? Gateway server PC (Linux) This is what we are here for, right? Minimum PC requirements (per Icom) Linux OS (recommend Fedora Core 3 or 4) Pentium grade 2.4GHz or faster CPU At least 512MB RAM 2 LAN cards (NIC from Intel recommended) At least 10GB hard drive free space **These instructions are based on a Linux Fedora Core 3 install.**

29. TSR Router settings Make sure your “local IP” settings are set as shown. 

30. TSR Router settings You need to forward a few ports through the router. Data sync:20005 TCP Voice RX: 40000 UDP Data RX: 40001 TCP

31. TSR Router settings You may also want to allow additional ports like: SSH:

32. TSR Gateway server configuration Select “statically set IP” Input the settings for eth0 as shown Eth0 (LAN side) Address: 10.0.0.2 Subnet: 255.0.0.0 Def Gateway: 10.0.0.1

33. TSR Gateway server configuration Select “static IP” for eth1 as well and enter the proper settings. Eth1 (gateway / RP2C side) Address: 172.16.0.20 Subnet: 255.0.0.0 Def Gateway: none

34. TSR Gateway server configuration Select the “DNS” tab. Set the Primary DNS as shown in the manual. When complete, close and save. Primary DNS: 127.0.0.1

35. TSR Gateway server configuration Add these lines to the named.conf with your favorite Linux text editor. Syntax is VERY important here.

36. TSR Gateway server configuration Create a new folder “/var/dsipsvd” This is where the software stores the backup files.

37. TSR Gateway server configuration Next, you need to create the “dstar.local.db” database file, once again using your favorite Linux text editor. This file will reside at: /var/named/chroot/var/named/dstar.local.db

38. TSR Gateway server configuration Syntax is VERY important in this file!

39. TSR Gateway server configuration After creating the dstar.local.db file, activate and re-start the “named” service. Select and edit “runlevel 3” from the menu.

40. TSR Gateway server configuration In Runlevel 3, and Runlevel 5 click on “named” and then click “restart” * An error in the “named” configuration is a common cause for the gateway to not operate properly.

41. TSR Gateway server configuration In a terminal window, type: dig router.dstar.local You should see an answer like this  If it’s all correct, you should see the router’s IP address here (10.0.0.1)

42. D-STAR Gateway Software Icom America Inc. TSR

43. Gateway Configuration Diagram

44. TSR What’s required? D-STAR / Gateway software Icom’s Gateway software is a licensed vendor product, and can not be copied, shared or re-distributed.

45. TSR Gateway software configuration Double click the application to extract.

46. TSR Gateway software configuration Make sure to extract the program to the “root” directory. (A new folder will be created.) DO NOT create a dstar directory.

47. TSR Gateway software configuration Edit the following in the dsipsvd.conf file: TRUST_SERVER ZR_CALLSIGN IPSV_ADDR DNS_ZONE_FILE_PATH NAMED_PID_FILE NOTE: The IP address of the Icom test system is 65.102.167.146

48. TSR MAC address Type the command “arp” in a terminal window. Look for 10.0.0.1 and the MAC address connected to it. Take note of the MAC address for use in the dsgwd.conf file.

49. TSR Gateway software configuration Edit the following in the dsgwd.conf file: ZR_ADDR ZR_CALLSIGN DNS_MAC

50. TSR Gateway software configuration Add the lines here in the /etc/syslog.conf file: # for D-STAR local0.*/var/log/dsgwd.log local2.*/var/log/dsipsvd.log Make sure to type this right. It’s “local” before the number.

51. TSR Gateway software configuration Now, let’s add the command line to start the software. Insert the following in /etc/rc.d/rc.local /dstar/exec-mgsv NOTE: Some manuals are WRONG!

52. TSR Gateway software configuration Finally, change the default runlevel to “3” Locate the file: /etc/inittab Change the runlevel to “3” here.

53. D-STAR Gateway Server Setup Verification Icom America Inc. TSR

54. Setup Verification You will want to check for two services to be running. Type ps –ef | grep dstar You should see at least two programs running dsipsvd dsgwd Without both, it will not work!

55. TSR Setup Verification If the services are not running, we can check the log file at: /var/log Both logs are saved as: dsipsvd.log dsgwd.log

56. TSR Setup Verification The easiest way to see if it synchronized is to look at the dstar.local.db file. You can use the GUI by typing “startx” on the command line, if desired. Open the file: /var/named/chroot/var/named/dstar.local.db

57. D-STAR Adding Users Icom America Inc. TSR

58. Adding users First, you need to reserve IP’s for the users. Open a terminal window and type: cd /tmp Next type: Echo “reserve” > /tmp/dsipsvd-cmdin

59. TSR Adding users To see the reserved IP’s, type: cat /tmp/dsipsvd-cmdout You should see results like this  IP’s are reserved in blocks of 32. As the administrator, we recommend creating a log file to track these IP addresses.

60. TSR Adding users Now you can add the users. You will add 1 call sign user per reserved IP (fixed IP address, 10.x.x.x). The command line is shown in the guide. Syntax is VERY important!

61. TSR Adding Users From the linux command line: Change directories to tmp cd /tmp The “add user”command format is: echo "add {user_ID}|{area repeater call sign}|{zone repeater call sign}|{GW IP address}|{users assigned IP address}|{alias name for DNS} > /tmp/dsipsvd-cmdin" User ID is the users call sign it must be 8 characters. add spaces to the end

62. TSR Adding Users echo "add {user_ID}|{area repeater call sign}|{zone repeater call sign}|{GW IP address}|{users assigned IP address}|{alias name for DNS} > /tmp/dsipsvd-cmdin" Area Repeater Call Sign is the system call sign with the letter [A] in the 8th position, use spaces between the call sign and the [A] Zone Repeater Call Sign is the system call sign it must be 8 characters add spaces to the end GW IP Address is the public address of the gateway system Users Assigned IP Address is the address assigned to the user by the local address coordinator Alias Name for DNS is the users call sign, in lower case, with no spaces at the end.

63. TSR Adding Users echo "add {user_ID}|{area repeater call sign}|{zone repeater call sign}|{GW IP address}|{users assigned IP address}|{alias name for DNS} > /tmp/dsipsvd-cmdin" The following is an example. echo "add W7JRL71 |N7IH9 A|N7IH9 |65.102.167.146|10.140.194.xxx|w7jrl71" > /tmp/dsipsvd-cmdin

64. TSR Important Points! Only users added to the gateway can cross the D-STAR gateway to access the network. Once a user is added to the D-STAR gateway, they have gateway rights via any D-STAR gateway pointed to the same trust server. Any user can operate locally on the repeater, with or without a call sign.

65. TSR Adding users Once all the users are added, type: cat /tmp/dsipsvd-cmdout You should see, per the number of entries: 200 Command OK

66. D-STAR Checking GIP, RIP and MNG Tables Icom America Inc. TSR

67. Gateway server The gateway software uses 3 tables: RIP – Reserved IP addresses GIP – Gateway IP addresses MNG – Call sign manage table The backup tables are stored in the /var/dsipsvd folder The “production” files are resident in memory, downloaded from the trust server. You can “write” the tables to a text file to view, if desired. You can not edit them direct because they are in memory. All files are updated / merged automatically with the trust server and all the other gateways on the network at least once a day.

68. TSR GIP (gateway IP), RIP (reserved IP) and MNG (call sign manage) tables. All 3 “Live” tables are in memory and can not be directly edited. All 3 tables store a backup in the /var/dsipsvd folder. You must “write” the tables from memory in order to view the current files.

69. TSR “Writing” tables From a terminal window, type the command: echo “write MNG /tmp/mng.txt” > /tmp/dsipsvd-cmdin Replace “MNG” with “GIP” or “RIP”

70. TSR “Writing” tables View the files you just created by typing: cat /tmp/mng.txt Replace “MNG” with “GIP” or “RIP”

71. TSR GIP (gateway IP) and RIP (reserved IP) tables.

72. D-STAR Testing and Going “Live” Icom America Inc. TSR

73. Testing and going “Live” In order to go “live” on a D-STAR network, we recommend being 100% functional on the Icom test system first. Contact Icom D-STAR support team for testing at dstar@icomamerica.com If you have ANY questions, contact Icom before you do something. We don’t want to corrupt the network and make it bad for all the other users. Once operational on the “test” network, you need to “kill & clean” your gateway, change the TRUST_SERVER IP address, and re-boot your PC.

74. TSR Testing and going “Live” (cleaning) To “clean” your system and start fresh (on the live network): Kill all “DSTAR” services 1). Execute a 'ps -ef | grep dstar' command. This will give you the process numbers for the dsgwd & dsipsvd processes. 2). Execute a 'kill xxx' command, where 'xxx' is the process number revealed in step one, for each of the two processes.

75. TSR Testing and going “Live” (cleaning) 3). Execute a 'rm /var/dsipsvd/*.*' command. Verify the /var/dsipsvd directory is empty. 4). Edit the file /var/named/chroot/var/named/dstar.local.db with a text editor and delete any call sign entries after #DSTAR A RECORD. 5). Execute a 'cat /etc/dsipsvd.conf' command, and ensure that your TRUST_SERVER points to the proper server IP for the desired network xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx Use a text editor, such as joe or the GUI interface to change the TRUST_SERVER IP, if needed.

76. TSR Testing and going “Live” (cleaning) 6) Execute a ‘reboot’ command on your gateway. 7) The gateway will come up clean, and pull new files from the TRUST_SERVER, then re-synch with each of the other gateways.

77. TSR TRUST_SERVER A trust server, IARoot, is provided by Icom as a service to the D-STAR community. There are other trust servers around the country such as USRoot provided by K5TIT in Dallas TX. You can use your own private trust server to create your own D-STAR network or you can link to one of the other trust servers around the country, if desired. Any PC running the gateway software can be set as a trust server to create your own private network. The Gateway server MUST be located at the repeater. The 172.16.0.20 LAN segment (controller to gateway) is VERY sensitive to latency!

78. TSR Important Points! All gateways pointed to the same trust server share the same GIP, RIP and MNG tables. These tables CAN NOT be changed or “cleaned-up” on your own. It requires all connected gateways to be “killed” and “cleaned” first. Once all connected gateways are “killed”, the trust server files can be edited BEFORE any gateway is re-booted. When the gateways are “cleaned” and re-booted, they will download the new GIP, RIP and MNG tables from the TRUST_SERVER.

79. D-STAR D-STAR radios Icom America Inc. TSR

80. Icom ID-1 1.2GHz D-STAR amateur radio Digital Voice, Digital Data and Analog Voice operation. 10 watt TX power. PC control via USB or direct control via RC24 control head. USB Cable, software and RC24 control head all provided.

81. TSR Icom IC-2200 144MHz D-STAR capable* amateur radio Digital Voice, 1k Digital Data and Analog Voice operation. 65 watts TX power. *Requires optional UT118 module for D-STAR operation

82. TSR Icom ID-800 144 / 440MHz D-STAR dual band amateur radio Digital Voice, 1k Digital Data and Analog Voice operation. 55 / 50 watt TX power. Detachable control head, 1 band at a time. Same chassis as the IC-208.

83. TSR Icom IC-V82 / U82 144 or 440MHz D-STAR capable* amateur radios (mono band) Digital Voice, 1k Digital Data and Analog Voice operation. 7 / 5 watts TX power. *Requires optional UT118 module for D-STAR operation

84. TSR Icom IC-91AD 144 / 440MHz D-STAR amateur radio (dual band) Digital Voice, 1k Digital Data and Analog Voice operation. 5 watts TX power. True dual band / display operation.

85. D-STAR How it works Icom America Inc. TSR

86. Understanding how it works D-STAR utilizes call signs to “route” the radio call. Every repeater must be assigned a unique call sign (club call recommended). Every owner / operator programs their radio with their own call sign. Call sign is transmitted digitally with each transmission. No need to voice ID with D-STAR since digital ID is part of each TX.

87. TSR Understanding how it works Each radio has 4 call sign fields to be programmed. What you need to know to program a radio is: Operating frequencySimplex or Duplex frequency MyCallYour call sign (primary operator) UrCallCall sign of the person / zone being called Rpt11 st repeater Rpt22 nd repeater

88. TSR Understanding how it works (Simplex) To complete a local simplex call, program 2 fields along with the frequency in the radio. MyCallMy call sign (eg. W7JRL) UrCallYour call sign or “CQCQCQ” MyCall - N9JA UrCall – KD7DIQ MyCall - W7JRL UrCall – CQCQCQ MyCall - KD7DIQ UrCall – CQCQCQ

89. TSR Understanding how it works (Simplex) In this example, all parties in digital mode hear all the traffic on the simplex channel. MyCall - N9JA UrCall – KD7DIQ MyCall - W7JRL UrCall – CQCQCQ MyCall - KD7DIQ UrCall – CQCQCQ

90. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) To complete a local zone repeater call, program 3 fields along with the frequency in the radio. MyCallMy call sign (eg. W7JRL) UrCallYour call sign or “CQCQCQ” Rpt1Local repeater call sign

91. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) When you program your radio’s “RP1” location, and the proper frequency, your radio tells the desired repeater to activate. This is similar to PL tones in analog. Eg.MyCallW7JRL RPT1N7IH A UrCallCQCQCQ RPT2nothing N7IH Repeater

92. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) Eg.MyCallW7JRL RPT1N7IH A UrCallCQCQCQ RPT2nothing In this example, the N7IH repeater would activate on the repeater frequency you were transmitting on (1.2GHz). (In this example, we are using the ID-1 radio.) N7IH Repeater

93. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) All parties on the local repeater channel will hear all the local radio traffic on that frequency. MyCall - N9JA UrCall – CQCQCQ Rpt1 – N7IH A MyCall – W7JRL UrCall – CQCQCQ Rpt1 – N7IH A Repeater – N7IH

94. TSR Understanding how it works (Gateway) To complete a gateway repeater call, program all 4 call sign fields within the radio. Repeater must be connected to a gateway server PC. MyCallMy call sign (eg. W7JRL) UrCallYour call sign or “/ zone” and module (eg. /K5TIT A) Rpt1Local repeater call sign Rpt2Local repeater + “G” as the 8 th letter (eg. N7IH G)

95. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) Eg.MyCallW7JRL RPT1N7IH A UrCall/K5TIT RPT2N7IH G In this example, the N7IH repeater would activate on the repeater frequency you were transmitting (1.2GHz) and then… (In this example, we are using the ID-1 radio.) N7IH Repeater

96. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) Eg.MyCallW7JRL RPT1N7IH A UrCall/K5TIT RPT2N7IH G routed to the gateway and directed to the proper remote repeater through the internet. N7IH Repeater

97. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) Eg.MyCallW7JRL RPT1N7IH A UrCall/K5TIT RPT2N7IH G The gateway is told where to route the call based on what is in the “UrCall” field of the radio. /K5TIT tells the gateway to route the call to the K5TIT repeater. The “/” means “zone call”. N7IH Repeater

98. TSR Understanding how it works (Gateway) Using “/” in front of the repeater call sign in the “UrCall” field activates that “zone” (module) at the remote repeater. MyCall – W7JRL UrCall – /K5TIT Rpt1 – N7IH Rpt2 – N7IH G Repeater – N7IHRepeater – K5TIT MyCall - N9JA UrCall – /N7IH Rpt1 – K5TIT Rpt2 – K5TIT G Gateway / Internet

99. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) Eg.MyCallW7JRL RPT1N7IH A UrCall/K5TIT ? RPT2N7IH G Since we did not designate a “module” in the “UrCall” field, the system automatically routes to the “A” module of the remote repeater (K5TIT). K5TIT Repeater

100. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) Eg.MyCallW7JRL RPT1N7IH A UrCall/K5TIT C RPT2N7IH G If we add the “designator” as the 8 th letter, we can route to different modules at the remote repeater site. K5TIT Repeater

101. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) Eg.MyCallW7JRL RPT1N7IH A UrCall/K5TIT RPT2N7IH G Currently, you are not able to activate more than 1 module at the remote repeater site. K5TIT Repeater

102. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) Eg.MyCallW7JRL RPT1N7IH A UrCallN9JA RPT2N7IH G If you use the call sign of the person you wish to call, the gateway automatically routes the call to the last known location of that call sign within the repeater network. N7IH Repeater

103. TSR Understanding how it works (Gateway) Using the call sign of the desired party to be reached in the “UrCall” field automatically routes to wherever the radio was last heard. MyCall – W7JRL UrCall – N9JA Rpt1 – N7IH A Rpt2 – N7IH G Repeater – N7IHRepeater – W1AW MyCall - N9JA UrCall – W7JRL Rpt1 – W1AW A Rpt2 – W1AW G Gateway / Internet

104. TSR Understanding how it works (Gateway) In both examples, all parties on the local repeater and remote repeater hear all the radio traffic on the frequency. MyCall – W7JRL UrCall – /W1AW A Rpt1 – N7IH A Rpt2 – N7IH G Repeater – N7IHRepeater – W1AW MyCall - N9JA UrCall – /N7IH A Rpt1 – W1AW A Rpt2 – W1AW G Gateway / Internet

105. TSR Understanding how it works (Gateway) Both radios must be properly programmed to operate via the gateway in order for transmissions to be heard both directions. MyCall – W7JRL UrCall – /W1AW A Rpt1 – N7IH A Rpt2 – N7IH G Repeater – N7IHRepeater – W1AW MyCall - N9JA UrCall – /N7IH A Rpt1 – W1AW A Rpt2 – W1AW G Gateway / Internet

106. TSR Understanding how it works (Gateway) In this example, N9JA would hear W7JRL’s transmission but, W7JRL would not hear N9JA since no gateway is selected. MyCall – W7JRL UrCall – /W1AW A Rpt1 – N7IH A Rpt2 – N7IH G Repeater – N7IHRepeater – W1AW MyCall - N9JA UrCall – /N7IH A Rpt1 – W1AW A Rpt2 – none Gateway / Internet

107. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) To complete a cross-band (cross-module) repeater call, program all 4 call sign fields within the radio. Repeater must have multiple voice modules installed. MyCallMy call sign (eg. W7JRL) UrCallYour call sign or “CQCQCQ” Rpt1Local repeater input module call sign (eg. N7IH A) Rpt2Local repeater output module as the 8 th letter (eg. N7IH C) Signal is repeated on both input and output frequencies / modules locally.

108. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) Eg.MyCallW7JRL RPT1N7IH A UrCallCQCQCQ RPT2N7IH C When using the designator of another local module in the “RPT2” field, the call is routed to that module locally. N7IH Repeater

109. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) In this example, all parties listening on 1.2GHz and 440MHz would hear all radio traffic. MyCall - N9JA UrCall – CQCQCQ Rpt1 – N7IH C (440 MHz) Rpt2 – N7IH A MyCall – W7JRL UrCall – CQCQCQ Rpt1 – N7IH A (1.2 GHz) Rpt2 – N7IH C Repeater – N7IH

110. TSR Understanding how it works (Repeater) In this example, W7JRL would not hear N9JA reply because he is not properly programmed for cross-band operation. MyCall - N9JA UrCall – CQCQCQ Rpt1 – N7IH C (440 MHz) Rpt2 – none MyCall – W7JRL UrCall – CQCQCQ Rpt1 – N7IH A (1.2 GHz) Rpt2 – N7IH C Repeater – N7IH