We are happy to announce The Online Radio Club has a UK based D-Star reflector running and available for use. It uses the XLX multi-protocol reflector software allowing further expansion to include cross-mode communications in the future.
What is it?
XLX944 is a multimode reflector (essentially a digital repeater) currently configured for D-Star access only. It has two modules set up: module A for international communications; module B for regional communications. Module A is currently linked to two Japanese reflectors, so any communication taking place on module A will also route to these Japanese reflectors.
How can I access?
There are two entry points to XLX994: the XRF994A/B reflectors and TORC1/2 SmartGroups.
XRF994 reflector
To access the reflectors from your hotspot you will need to first link to the reflector. Set the UR field to XRF994AL or XRF994BL and hit the PTT. Once linked, change the UR field to CQCQCQ and all transmission will be routed through the connected reflector. Unlink from the reflector using “______U” in the UR field (where _ is a space).
When using the reflector in this way you have the limitation of being connected only to the chosen reflector until unlinked – this is similar to connecting to your local repeater.
You may also connect to the XRF994 reflector via your local D-Star repeater but remember you will be connecting the repeater to XRF994 so please seek permission from the repeater owner before doing so.
SmartGroups
The XLX994 reflector may also be connected via SmartGroups. The benefit of using a SmartGroup is that you can “log in” (connect) to multiple SmartGroups simultaneously allowing you to monitor various reflectors without the requirement of linking and unlinking repeatedly.
To log in to the smart group set the UR field to “TORC1” or “TORC2” and hit the PTT key. Your hotspot will respond after a few seconds with “Logged in”. You can connect to other SmartGroups too allowing you to log in to multiple SmartGroups simultaneously.
To transmit to a specific SmartGroup just ensure TORC1 or TORC2 is in the UR field and PTT as usual – the audio will be routed to the SmartGroup defined in the UR field.
To log off (disconnect) a SmartGroup set the UR field to “TORC1__T” or “TORC2__T” and PTT, this will send the disconnect message to the SmartGroup and your hotspot will respond with “Logged off”.
You can view the status of the SmartGroups and a list of other groups to join on our website here or on the QuadNet website here.
We hope you enjoy using the reflector and/or SmartGroups and look forward to communicating with you there in the near future.
Andy M0VVA