DStar GMSK Node Adapter Hotspot Setup

If you have an ICOM D-Star radio but are not near a D-Star repeater, a Hotspot allows your radio to access DPlus-connected DStar repeaters and reflectors. You can use any analog radio that has a 9600 data port, or gives access to the FM discriminator and modulator. I put up the Hotspot because I already had a spare analog radio with Data port, as well as a spare laptop, so this option was incrementally less expensive than the popular DV Access Point or DVAP. In addition, I set my analog radio to 5 watts, giving me somewhat more range. A simplex (one radio) Hotspot can later be converted to a full duplex repeater, which I did a year later. There are several GMSK modem boards available, and reports on the internet indicate they all are good choices. Be sure to subscribe to the gmsk_dv_node Yahoo Group for information and help with Hotspots.

Here is how I set up and configured my Mini Hotspot. There's nothing new here -- it was all learned from the primary documentation available. This just assembles what I did in one place in case I or others need to do the same thing again. I will do my best to keep this up to date as new boards and software come out, but if you see that I'm missing something, please let me know.

Here is all it takes to get the Hotspot up and running:

Step 1 - registers the Hotspot callsigns on the DStar network.

Step 2 - installs tools used to configure and test the hotspot board, and for Windows XP, a special USB driver that's needed.

Step 3 - sets jumpers and optionally loads firmware onto the MHS board's computer chip.

Step 4 - configures and tests the board using NAWinCFG and NAWinTEST.

Step 5 - downloads the DVAR Hot Spot software, installs and configures it.

Step 1 - Registering the Hotspot on the D-Star network

You need to register at least one "terminal-id" at a D-Star repeater. Depending on how you decide to configure your Hotspot, you may need to register up to three terminal-ids. While the following terms won't make sense until you've made it through Step 5 of this document, I'll lay the rules out here. Note that what most of us call "Band Module" or "Port" is called "initial" on the registration screens.

Node Callsign with Band Module must be registered as a terminal. If you call your Hotspot K1ABC with Band Module C, then "K1ABC C" must be registered as a terminal.
Gateway Auth Callsign with trailing band module must be registered, for example "K1ABC N".
The MyCall in your D-Star HT or other radio must be registered. Usually people use their callsign with a blank band module.
There are no hard and fast rules about what to use for Band Module, and blank is allowed.
All three can be the same, e.g. "K1ABC ", or different, as long as each one is a registered terminal-id.

Since it can take up to 24 hours for a callsign to propagate through the network, try to do this step before your board is ready for use.

Registration is a two step process. If you've never registered, read D-Star Self Registration Instructions and perform steps 1 through 6 of that document. Go to the Registration page of the D-Star repeater closest to you. Typically, if that repeater is KA6XXX, then it will have a DPlus Dashboard page (at http://ka6xxx.dstargateway.org/) with a link to its Registration page. When you receive the confirmation email, you can proceed.
Log on using your callsign (upper case) and password.
Click on the Personal Information tab (upper right of the main page). Shown below this section is what my entry looks like after I completed the updates.
You need one entry with a blank "Initial" column. If you've registered with a gateway in the past, that will already be there.
If you've never registered, do the following steps:
- Click the check-box on the left of the 1st line.
- Enter a blank (press the space bar) in the Initial box.
- Do NOT click the RPT box.
- Enter your callsign in the pcname box.
Next create a "terminal" to be used as your Gateway Auth Callsign when you configure DVAR in Step 5. There is no standard, but many people use a node extension ("Initial" box on this update page) of "N" for simplex hotspots, or "R" for full duplex/repeater hotspots.
- Click on the check-box on the left of the next line.
- Assuming simplex, enter an UPPER CASE "N" in the Initial column.
- Do NOT click the RPT box.
- Enter a unique pcname, for example <callsign>-dvar-s.
Click the Update button.
Here is an example of having entered several terminals. For simplex Hotspots, the "R" terminal isn't needed.