| DSTAR | Digital Smart Technology for Amateur Radio is Icom’s name for their digital radio technology. |
| Gateway | A DSTAR Gateway is a Linux based computer system that runs the Icom Gateway software, called “G3”. The gateway software provides multiple functions, the most important of which is to route digital voice and data communications to other gateway servers in the system. The gateway software is also responsible for registering users to allow them to use the gateway functions. Non-Icom add-on software such as “dplus” and “DstarMonitor” runs on the gateway server and provides additional functionality. |
| Module | Repeaters in the DSTAR system are also referred to as “modules”. A module has a letter identifier of A, B, or C. Module A = 23cm, B = 70cm, C = 2m. |
| Hot Spot | A standalone single board computer, e.g raspberry Pi, with a radio module capable of transmitting and receiving digital voice traffic over the Internet. A hotspot functions much like a gateway-enabled repeater. Pi-Star is a popular hotspot software package that supports different Digital voice systems such as DSTAR, P25, NXDN, C4FM, and DMR. |
| dplus | A software application written by Robin Cutshaw, AA4RC that runs on the Linux gateway server. dplus provides the ability to connect (link) a gateway module (e.g. K6SOA C) with reflectors and other gateways. |
| DStarMonitor | A software application written by Pete Lovell, AE5PL that sends information about who is using our gateway system to dstarusers.org. |
| Reflector | A third-party software application that runs under Linux much like a G3 gateway server. Reflectors provide a connection point for many repeater modules and Hot spots. All transmissions on a given reflector module are heard by all gateway and hotspot users that are connected. |
| Callsign Routing | The ability to specify where to route your voice transmission. For example, entering a URCall of “AE6H” would tell the system to route the current digital voice transmission to the last gateway module AE6H was heard on. |
| URcall | This is the callsign entered into a radio to tell the radio WHO or WHAT you would like to communicate with. CQCQCQ is what you enter when talking on a repeater to anyone who might be listening. dplus uses URcall to send linking commands. For example, a URCall set to “REF030CL” would tell the hotspot or gateway module to link to Reflector REF030 module “C”. Once the command is successful, you would switch back to CQCQCQ. Callsign routing is also configured through URCall. |
| MyCall | This is where you configure your own callsign into a radio. |
| RPT1 | This is the callsign and module identifier (ABC or G) of the repeater module you are talking to. If you’re using the “C” (2m VHF) module of the K6SOA system, you would enter K6SOA followed by two spaces and then the letter “C”. The letter “C” typically designates the VHF module in a multi-band repeater stack. |
| RPT2 | This is where you configure the gateway module call sign. All of the K6SOA repeater modules share the RPT2 designator of “K6SOA^^G” That’s K6SOA followed by two spaces and the letter G for “Gateway”. |