Frequently Asked Questions

 

What is it?


  1. When a DV Access Point Dongle is connected to a PC or Mac and used with DVAPTool software, an amateur radio operator can connect to the international D-STAR gateway network using a D-STAR radio.  It is just like having a local repeater.

How does it work?


  1. The DV Access Point Dongle is basically a GMSK modem.  It transmits and receives bits encoded in the D-STAR packet format using GMSK modulation.   When connected to a computer with DVAPTool software, a user can connect to and communicate with users on gateways and repeaters around the world.

What kind of computer is needed (what ports)?


  1. A minimum suggested configuration includes a PC or Mac with 1.6GHz processor with 1GB of RAM and a USB 2.0 full speed port.

What software is needed?


  1. The DVAPTool software runs with Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later, or most Linux distributions.


  1. Operating system notes:


  1. Ubuntu Linux distributions include a braille terminal package, brltty, that must be removed for proper use.  Newer Ubuntu distributions may include a Modem Manager that will have to be disabled.


  1. Windows and Mac OS X users must download an FTDI USB device driver.  Linux includes a native driver that is compatible with the DV Access Point Dongle.

How does one get started and who does the authorization? If you are already registered on the international D-STAR gateway network, you are ready to go. If not, please contact your local D-STAR repeater manager for registration. If you don’t know where your closest D-STAR repeater system is located, use a web browser and go to http://www.dstarusers.org/repeaters.php for repeater locations. Once you have found a repeater, use the instructions at http://www.dstargateway.org to register.http://www.dstarusers.org/repeaters.phphttp://www.dstargateway.orghttp://www.dstarusers.org/repeaters.phpshapeimage_2_link_0shapeimage_2_link_1

Is there a cost to register?


  1. No, there is no fee.

Can Non Licensed Operators use it?


  1. Users must be licensed and registered in the gateway system. 

Are there limitations as to how many gateways you can access?


  1. Local gateway administrators must permit the connections from DV Access Point Dongle users.  There are currently hundreds of gateways and reflectors around the world that allow connections from dongle users.

What radio should I use?


  1. You will need a D-STAR capable radio to use the DV Access Point Dongle.  Check out the D-STAR radios from ICOM.

Where do I buy the DV Dongle?


  1. The DV Dongle is distributed and sold by the following authorized dealers:

  2.         Ham Radio Outlet                   - US -    http://www.hamradio.com

  3.         Amateur Electronic Supply     - US -    http://www.aesham.com

  4.         DX Engineering                      - US -    http://www.dxengineering.com

  5.         R&L Electronics                      - US -    http://www.randl.com

  6.         Gigaparts                                - US -    http://www.gigaparts.com

  7.         Waters & Stanton                   - UK -    http://www.wsplc.com

  8.         Martin Lynch & Sons              - UK -    http://www.hamradio.co.uk

I plug in the DV Access Point Dongle but DVAPTool doesn’t show the device name/serial number when I click “Open”.


  1. The number one reason for this is that the FTDI device drivers may not be installed properly.  The next potential reason is that you have selected another FTDI device com port in the Device selection box.

It doesn’t work on my Apple Mac.


  1. Only Intel based Macs running 10.5 (Leopard) or later are supported.  Make sure you have downloaded and installed the FTDI drivers as described in the Installation section of this site.

I receive choppy audio or it disconnects from the gateway.


  1. The DVAPTool program is a near real-time application.  If you have programs running at the same time or have others on your networking accessing the Internet, you might not get packets to/from the Internet at the rate that is required.  Also, some gateways don’t have sufficient internet bandwidth to handle several dongle users.  Try a different gateway to make sure the problem isn’t on their side.  Reflector 001 has a large internet pipe so that is a good place to test your dongle.  Remember that the suggested minimum configuration for a PC is 1.6GHz CPU with 1 GB RAM.

What are the gateways REF001, REF002, etc? These are “reflectors” that work in a similar fashion to the reflectors on IRLP/echolink. A large number of gateways and dongle users may connect to a reflector at the same time. This makes for a nice conference of users. Reflectors 001, 002, and 004 are in the US, 003 is in Australia, and 005/006 are in London (with 005 usually linking UK gateways and 006 linking German gateways). Reflector 001 module C has become the popular “chat” location for multiple gateways and dongle users in the US. Check out http://www.opendstar.org/tools/readme.txt for a current list of reflectors and their locations.http://www.opendstar.org/tools/readme.txthttp://www.opendstar.org/tools/readme.txthttp://www.opendstar.org/tools/readme.txtshapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1

What should my radio programming look like?


  1. Here is a screenshot of a typical ICOM IC-92 programming session: