Trevor,
It is true that a change like this would require clear communication with users.? The only trick is to remember to glance at the radio to see if the repeater is already transmitting.?
The K6PUW repeater on Oat Mountain, north of Los Angeles and with very wide coverage over the greater LA area, is enabled for D-STAR, DMR, P25 and Fusion.? It has been running several years now and the owner tells me he has not had complaints about other modes.
Partly, as we know, most repeaters are not all that active (except during nets), and partly, the LA users of this repeater quickly figured out to glance at their radio before hitting PTT.
You do bring up an important issue.? If any given mode is ¡°linked¡± to a reflector, talkgroup or room, it should be one that is not constantly busy.? The above-mentioned K6PUW in LA has the following defaults:
¡¤?????? D-STAR is linked to XRF002A, which from my own experience, is not terribly busy most of the time.
¡¤?????? DMR is linked to talkgroup 31620, which again, is not all that busy most of the time.
¡¤?????? Fusion is linked to room FCS00370.
¡¤?????? P-25 is linked to talkgroup 10200.
Apparently there have not been problems, so that means these must reflectors etc. must not be jabbering all the time or one of them and its mode would take over the repeater. But it does make it easier to find someone to talk to.
In the case of D-Star REF014C, I have found it is usually not busy, but often when I grab the mike and do a shout-out, someone does come back.? Those, to me, are the ideal reflectors.
The good news is it is easy to change or stop having default reflectors if one of them is hogging the airwaves.? So you make an excellent point.
??? Jim ¨C K6JMl
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of plcchief via Groups.Io
Sent: Monday, December 16, 2019 8:42 PM
To: [email protected]
Cc: Mike Warren, W6MEW <mwarren2@...>
Subject: Re: [w6cx-dstar] Any interest in adding support for other DV modes?
Michael
Operating a multi mode digital voice repeater is very confusing to the users. Unless a DMR user notices that there is a carrier light on, they will not?know that there is a user on D-Star or Fusion.
At the present time our D-Star node is always?linked to reflector 14C. If we go to multi-mode operation, that link will have to be shut down.
I recommend talking to another multi mode DV owner before going ahead with this project.
Sincerely
Trevor
On Monday, December 16, 2019, 8:12 PM, Tim via Groups.Io <k6biv@...> wrote:
Hello Jim:
Sounds like a solid platform..
Thanks,
Tim
K6BIV
On Dec 16, 2019, at 6:23 PM, Tim via Groups.Io <k6biv@...> wrote:
Hello Mike:
Neither NorCal DMR or BrandMeister has anything to do with the decision to move the W6CX D-Star repeater to a ¡°full service¡± Digital repeater. The only issue is that it stays Narrowband in order to keep the NCDCC Coordination.
My best guess is MDARC should look to see how much D-Star traffic is using the W6CX D-Dtar Repeater and make the decision based on a usage study.
As I understand the ¡°multi-mode¡± model, it can only use one mode at a time.
Tim
K6BIV
On Dec 16, 2019, at 5:58 PM, Michael Warren <mwarren2@...> wrote:
Hi Jim,
I have been using DMR from my base station for a little over 2 years. Originally via K6MDD and then switching to a Shark openSPOT which gives me more reliable DV coverage here in east county. I also use the openSPOT for System Fusion via my FT-991 as there are no C4FM repeaters available in our area. I for one would definitely like to see another DV ¡°full service¡± repeater on the mountain. I don¡¯t have any experience using our current North Peak machines from south county, but I have heard a number of complaints from those in the shadow of the main Mt. Diablo peak. Having said that, I think it would also be prudent to include DMR in the mix on South Peak, as those wishing to use DMR in south county surely have? more trouble with K6MDD than I out here in God¡¯s country. If we have the funding and the go ahead from Brandmeister, NORCAL-DMR and/or C-Bridge, I say GO FOR IT. I personally would love to talk with more NORCAL HAMS!
73
Mike
W6MEW
?
From:?[email protected]?<[email protected]>?On Behalf Of?Jim - K6JM
Sent:?Monday, December 16, 2019 3:31 PM
To:?[email protected]
Subject:?[w6cx-dstar] Any interest in adding support for other DV modes?
?
We are indeed fortunate to have a digital voice repeater up on the South Peak of Mt Diablo.? Our current repeater was set up in 2012 and consists of ICOM radios, an ICOM controller and an intel PC running ICOM gateway software.
The DV/digital voice segment of our hobby has been hard at work creating multi-mode hardware and software.? The best software is open source and free.? The most popular is written by Jonathan Naylor, G4KLX.? He actually came out to the Bay Area for Pacificon 2018 and made a couple of presentations about multi-mode.
I would like feedback on whether there is interest in upgrading our equipment to support not only D-STAR, but Yaesu Fusion and P25.? The solution could also support DMR, but given that the K6MDD DMR repeater is on North Peak, DMR would not be necessary for W6CX.? Basically, the current D-Star equipment and software on South Peak would be replaced with multi-.mode equipment.??
The objective would be two-fold -- better utilize the frequency pair used by the current W6CX-DStar repeater? by getting more users to use it, and provide a high-quality capability on Mt Diablo that supports a variety of DV modes, possibly encouraging more hams to give DV a try.??
Any decision to move forward would be made by the club, with focus on the Technical Committee.? But before I make any proposal to them, I am interested in member and user input.
I am aware I'm posting on a D-Star group.? If you know people who have Fusion or P25 radios who might be interested in this issue, please either have them contact me directly and I will post their thoughts here, or perhaps have them join this?list.
Thanks!
? ? Jim - K6JM??jim@...?
? ? W6CX D-STAR Gateway Admin
PS:? The Los Angeles basin has a multi-mode DV repeater -- K6PUW on Oat Mountain.? It currently handles D-STAR, DMR, P25 and Fusion.? It has been quite successful.? ???
