DX Engineering Converts Repeater from Analog to D-STAR

The DX Engineering employee radio club, N8DXE, has completed converting its analog repeater on 146.985 to D-STAR. 

Developed in the late 1990s specifically for Amateur Radio, D-STAR is a system that offers voice and digital data communication by connecting repeater sites over microwave links and the Internet, forming a wide area Ham Radio network. Advantages over analog systems include the need for less bandwidth and improved quality of received data. D-STAR stands for Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio.

Cory Gibson, W3CDG, DX Engineering Operations Manager, headed the D-STAR project. He explained that the goal of the conversion was to shore up the lack of local D-STAR connectivity. The D-STAR system was installed at Summit Racing Equipment/DX Engineering headquarters in Tallmadge, Ohio near Akron.

“We upgraded the N8DXE repeater from analog to D-STAR because the area already had multiple analog, Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), and Yaesu System Fusion repeaters,” Gibson said. “DX Engineering wanted to give radio operators in the local area the ability to use their D-STAR radios.”

An added benefit will be that Hams visiting the DX Engineering showroom, located inside the Summit Racing Retail Store, can use the repeater to try out the D-STAR radios for sale. It will also allow sales staff in the showroom to work with customers who have issues programming their radios. 

The conversion entailed installing an ICOM ID-RP2000V DV repeater module and ICOM ID-RP2C controller, along with a new D-STAR gateway (PC) for Internet access to the repeater site. A 24GHz microwave link brings Internet to the repeater site, and allows the D-STAR repeater to transfer received data to other repeater sites. The repeater module, controller, and a network switch are housed in an enclosure by the tower. The N8DXE analog repeater is still available in case of emergencies or special events.

“We have many radio operators who have registered for D-STAR on the N8DXE gateway,” Gibson said. “These are local hams who are using the N8DXE gateway to access the D-STAR network. People have been linking to different reflectors and talking to other hams all over the country and the world!”

If you’re not in the Akron, Ohio, area, you can still use the N8DXE repeater by linking your local repeater or hotspot to N8DXE Node C. You can see the repeater link status and who was last heard, or register for D-STAR at https://dstar.n8dxe.net/.