?was developed in the early 2000s. The ID-1 included Icom’s D-Star Digital Data (DD) mode - data rate of 128 kbps using a 100 kHz channel on the 1240-1300 MHz band. The ID-1 had a transmit power output of 10 watts. Icom also offered a “DD mode” repeater module (also required a D-Star Repeater Controller), but in truth, it wasn’t really a repeater, but was more of a digipeater (didn’t transmit and receive full duplex).?It was a reasonable effort for the time, and the capability of Icom at the time. The ID-1 was hobbled by poor networking implementation, and very high price. Although Icom has recently discontinued the ID-1, the DD mode was continued in the??radio. There are occasional hints and rumors that Icom will release a new ID-1 / DD / 1240 - 1300 MHz repeater module.

The D-Star DD mode - ID-1 user radios and ID-1 repeaters on 1240 - 1300 MHz, are still in use in a number of areas. I put out a query to the?开云体育 D-STAR23cm mailing list?and was told that there are active D-Star DD repeaters in these areas:

• Atlanta, GA

• Dallas, TX

• Detroit, MI

• Huntsville, AL

• Las Vegas, NV

• Minneapolis / St. Paul, MN

• New Mexico (cities unstated)

• Vancouver, BC

• Walburg (Georgetown / Austin), TX

• Washington, DC

(See the list for details on these systems.)

The networking capability of the ID-1 and the ID-1 repeater was… less than optimum, even for the early 2000s. That’s perhaps understandable given that Icom is a radio company, not a networking company. We can do much better in 2021, even embedding something as “simple” as a $35 Raspberry Pi 3 (or?). The Vancouver, BC D-Star DD users implemented some?.

In researching this, I was reminded by several correspondents that the D-Star specification is open… albeit mostly written in Japanese. That’s not the same as “closed” or “proprietary to Icom”. It just means that the details of implementation are a bit harder to discern than in a specification that was developed in English. If this effort were to get some momentum, there are many Japanese Amateur Radio Operators that are, if not fluent in English, at least conversant in English. I’ve met a number of them at Digital Communications Conferences and have had delightful conversations with them. One source of contact is the?.

Using 2021 technology, it seems reasonable that an open source equivalent of the ID-1 / DD mode on 1240-1300 MHz could be developed. One primary cost reduction that could be made would be to not include a voice subsystem (no codec, no microphone, no speaker) or a front panel unit. With ample compute power, perhaps faster data speeds could be achieved (similar to New Packet Radio, which uses the same 100 kHz channel size to achieve 500 kbps) and incorporate forward error correction… and of course, much better networking.