D-Star

D-Star is is an open standard digital voice and data protocol developed by the Japan Amateur Radio League. It is supported by numerous popular and recent ICOM, Kenwood, and Flex radios, notably excepting the ICOM IC-7300.

To begin, register your callsign with the D-Star system, if you have not already done so. It is preferable to register with your nearest D-Star repeater, but you can also register here https://regist.dstargateway.org/instructions/. There are two steps to D-Star registration:

1. Register at your local repeater or the main D-Star website
2. Activate your callsign in the D-Star system

If you have already registered with D-Star to use your other radio(s), you do not need to register again to use WPSD on D-Star.

Make sure your WPSD node is configured with your callsign:

Callsign configured

To use D-Star on WPSD, in the MMDVMHost Modem Configuration section, toggle D-Star mode on:

Toggle D-Star Mode

Apply Changes to save the configuration. After the hotspot re-starts and the page returns, scroll to Yaesu System Fusion Configuration.

If you have followed the instructions correctly, on your Dashboard in Mode Status, you should see D-Star green; in Network Status, you should see D-Star Net green. Below that, in D-Star Status, you should see that your node RPT1 as your callsign followed by the letter “B” (e.g., N0SIGN B), and RPT2 as your callsign followed by the letter “G” right-aligned (e.g., N0SIGN G). The status should also show D-Star Network as Not Linked.

Verify D-Star

The D-Star configuration parameters should be automatically configured here:

Parameter configuration for D-Star

You have completed configuring your hotspot for D-Star mode on the D-Star network. Continue to Zero to Hero for information about setting up your radio the first time.

Tip

When configuring your radio to access a single-radio (simplex) WPSD node, make sure to set DUP+ or DUP- with an offset of zero (0). Turning DUP ‘off’ does not work because ICOM radios expect D-Star to be used only on repeaters and that repeaters always use DUP+ or DUP-, even with an offset of zero. If you turn DUP ‘off’, the radio thinks you are not talking to a repeater and thus it will not use D-Star.