I started out using the orange cable from RT Systems, but that cable went bad on me.? I ended up ordering data cables directly from Icom which has worked well.? I am not familiar with the older ID-2820 radio, but there seems to be several different types listed on a Google Search.? The ones I use are the Icom OPC-2350LU data cable for the ID-4100 and the OPC-2218LU data cable for the ID-5100.? Both are USB to the D-Star radio's plug-in data port.? Some of the older radios used serial connectors to connect to the radio, but if the 2820 can be programmed with the Orange RT systems cable, that should theoretically work for D-Rats.
The use of D-Rats in a high-noise atmosphere is an ideal use for this mode.? As far as ratflectors, the original RAT had been set up by Dan Smith who originally wrote the D-Rats software.? He moved on and stopped supporting the software and eventually shut down his ratflector.?? One station asked to be considered as a replacement for RAT and that is KB8PMY.net set up as a network connection on port 9000.? Looking today, he is offline.? At a guess, his computer either caught a software update or there was an issue with his IP address changing from his Internet provider.?
Right now, there probably is not one ratflector that could be considered as super reliable.? I operate StTammany.ratflector.com using a Raspberry Pi 3.? I sometimes run into problems myself with Internet or local router issues.? I recently had to move in with my sister.? I retired on disability and she is a widow now with the two of us both on Social Security.? I'm 67 and she just turned 65.? We live in the rural community of Pearl River, Louisiana, and have periodic power outages and weather issues beyond just the occasional hurricanes.? St. Tammany Parish is across Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans.? During an emergency, a ratflector is only useful so long as you have Internet access.? It can be used for practice with other guys who are just linking to the ratflector instead of going RF, or during an emergency, it can act as a bridge between stations in the field and Internet-connected stations if a radio is connected to the ratflector computer.
There are a number of ratflectors that are trying to maintain relevance for their local areas and one or two that had regional objectives when they were started.? SEWX.ratflector.com was set up for use with the Southeast D-Star Weather Net.? The net ceased operations a while back because they felt that not enough people were stepping up to volunteer to be net controls.? Because many feel that the Internet cannot be relied upon during severe storms, since power, phone and Internet services very often go down during those events, they would not even activate a net during incoming hurricanes.
Since D-Star/D-rats can operate either through the Internet, an available repeater or reflector, or simplex station-to-station with no other infrastructure, it can be used in many situations.? It just depends on what resources you still have available as to how far your reach can extend.? Any D-rats operator who has Internet available to him can bring up a ratflector since the "reflector" software is included in the package.? To allow others to connect to it, the operator would have to publish his IP address and make sure that the router or mode he is using has been configured to allow traffic through ports 9000 and 9500.? Our area is rather flat and we have been successful in running simplex connections from station-to-station over a distance of about 10 miles.? You might get more or less depending on the type of stations and the antenna heights involved.? Remember though that you can relay messages through a station you can reach if he can also contact the guy you are targeting but cannot reach.? Any station, including a ratflector that is also running the client software on the same computer, can act as a relay.
When you ask D-Rats to print a message, it will open your default browser to display it.? From there you have the browser software send it to the printer.? If no printers are immediately available, you could direct it to print the message to a PDF file for later retrieval.? A printer might be available at an EOC or a mobile command post, but would probably not be available to some field stations.
Right now, nationally, there just does not seem to be too many ratflectors worth monitoring on a full-time basis as lately there is not much activity.? Since I try to keep an eye on mine, I have seen stations from Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the U.S. periodically linking.? WX4QZ, Daryl, a ham from Little Rock, AR who calls several nets uses it on his net nights as an alternate way for some stations to check into the nets.? Other than that, you don't see much chatter unless one of them is hosting a net.? SEWX is located in Georgia near Atlanta where there is a pretty large group of D-Star users.? I am down in Louisiana.? They have one up in PA and one or two in Texas, Florida and Alabama.? I don't know how accurate the lists are but there are D-Rats ratflectors listed on dstarinfo.com and in the Database section of the 开云体育 drats group here.? As far as I can see, there is no one running a ratflector in California at present.? You might consider setting up your own ratflector for the state or local area.? The easiest would be to find a Raspberry Pi that no one is using and set that up.? You would need a location with either wifi or an ethernet connection to get the Pi on the Internet.? Instructions on installing one can be found in the files section here or I have several instruction sets in my ratflector's Shared Files folder that can be downloaded.? Hint, it's much faster to pick them up from the Group.?
Cordially,
Glen Strecker - KG5CEN
ARES Asst. Emergency Coordinator for St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana
Glen Strecker