D-Star Call Signs Explained

It is advised t spend some time programming your requirements into memories, then work from memory locations. If you use VFO on some rigs information is lost when you return to memory usage.

There are four call signs used in D-STAR. Although the different radios have different acronyms for them, everything consistently applies these four values:

MYCALL - This is the call of the person transmitting. Normally, this is programmed statically to the owner of the radio. The Icom 2820 and 92D can hold 6 call signs

YOURCALL (URCALL in the 92D) - This is the call of the target of the transmission. (With whom do you want to talk?) The Icom 2820 and 92D can hold 60 call signs. For a general call it is CQCQCQ

RPT1 - This is the repeater you're using, along with the port (band) specifier in position 8 of the call. 
The general convention for port assignments that has been agreed on is:
             Port A 1.2Ghz (23cm), Port B UHF (70cm), Port C VHF (2m)

RPT2 - This is one of three possible values, depending on what you're doing:

1. 'Not Used' - for local calls.
2. The gateway for your local system, if you're making a call to someone not on your local repeater.The call sign of your local repeater, with a port designator of G in the 8th position, if your making a call to another station that is not on your local system. This assumes that your repeater has a gateway connection

  3. The call of your local repeater, with a different port (band) than you're using, if you're trying to
      cross-band locally. This would be the case if you want to talk to a user on the local VHF repeater, and       you're on UHF. GB7SY will only be on UHF for the forseable future.

1. Port A - 23cm (voice & data)
2. Port B - 70cm voice
3. Port C - 2m voice
4. Port G - Gateway

Now, let's look at some typical examples.
For all of the following examples, Let's use this scenario:
M0FHM - me. I'm in Shrewsbury, on UHF.
            Note: Do not use M, or P this can be announced when you are Mobile or Portable.
           
GB7SY - Our repeater system in Condover, SHREWSBURY

GB7WF - the Bewdely repeater system in Worcestershire.
G1RZN - a user in Worcestershire

Example 1 - Local call
MYCALL - M0FHM
URCALL - CQCQCQ
RPT1     - GB7SY  B (Note that the 'B' is in position 8!-- 2 spaces)
RPT2    - Not used

Example 2 - Local call plus Gateway. GB7SY can be connected to any of the reflectors, but will default to reflector 13B after 10minutes without RF signal. Also GB7WF and GB7ZI are defaulting to Ref 13B
This is known as Midstar UK
This is the most common usage. It's pretty simple, and works as you would expect.
MYCALL - M0FHM
URCALL - CQCQCQ
RPT1     - GB7SY  B (Note that the 'B' is in position 8!-- 2 spaces)
RPT2     - GB7SY  G (Note that the 'G' is in position 8!-- 2 spaces)

■ Example 3 - Gateway User-Specific Call
This is the one I use most often, to talk to a friend somewhere else. The advantage is that D-STAR will (with some interesting brief exceptions) route the call to my friend, no matter where they are!
MYCALL - M0FHM
URCALL - M0RJS
RPT1     - GB7SY  B (Note that the 'B' is in position 8!-- 2 spaces)
RPT2     - GB7SY  G (Note that the 'B' is in position 8!-- 2 spaces)

Example 4 - Gateway Location-Specific Call
This is the one I use less often, when I want to talk to a repeater somewhere else, without necessarily looking for a specific person there. This routes the call to the distant repeater and Port based on the 8th character designator), but doesn't care about any specific users.
MYCALL - M0FHM
URCALL - /GB7NM  B
               Some important notes on this one:
                      As always, the port designator MUST be in position 8
                      If omitted, the port designator will default to 'A'
                      There's no way to call all ports on a distant repeater.
RPT1    - GB7SY  B (Note that the 'B' is in position 8!-- 2 spaces)
RPT2    - GB7SY  G (Note that the 'B' is in position 8!-- 2 spaces)

In all cases, please also remember these little details:

• There are no private conversations in D-STAR. Everyone on both repeaters hears everything you say.
• To be able to respond to a call from somewhere else, you must be a registered gateway user. If you're registered anywhere in the network, you're registered everywhere. Unregistered users can use the system locally, but can't use the gateway at all.
• You have to program your radio to respond to someone calling from somewhere else. Many radios have a one-button option to do this, but not all. All of the new radios have lots of memories to facilitate storing the various call signs.