D-Star and D-Rats for mert Why and how do we plan to use them

Mert USING D-Star AND D-Rats This class is about D-Star and D-Rats getting traffic into and out of the EOC during an emergency. When would they be used? When MERT Is Activated And The EOC Is Operational

What Are We Trying To Accomplish? Operator at a shelter fills out a 213 with this message and passes it to the EOC by voice: The operator at the EOC hears the 213 voice message and writes this down: What Are We Trying To Accomplish? ~~~~~~~~~~~ The Principal needs an antibiotic. The principal needs an antipsychotic. NO ERRORS

Message Received At The EOC With No Mistakes What Are We Trying To Accomplish? ~~~~~~~~~~~ The Principal needs an antibiotic. The Principal needs an antibiotic. Message Received At The EOC With No Mistakes We Want An Operator To Exactly Transcribe What Is Written Here Enter It And Check It Here Before Sending It To The EOC

D-Star radios can transmit data and voice MERT can be called upon to provide communications to and from the EOC during various events to include, but not limited to:  Shelter Activations  Tropical Storms or Hurricanes  Special Events (Political Rallies, Concerts, Parades, etc.)  Wildfires D-Star radios can transmit data and voice Equipment required is minimal Why D-Star? MERT wanted both voice and data capability in the field

there Are Many different icom D-Star Radios THEY ALL HAVE TO BE PROGRAMMED CORRECTLY

The D-Star radios should be programmed for Marion county EOC, other area repeaters, and simplex Frequency Name 146.61 SSRC 145.27 HOSPITAL 444.025 SAR Net 146.97 Anthony KK4DFC D-Star FOR MAIN VOICE NOT ON ANY REFLECTOR KG4NXO VHF D-Star FOR D-Rats NOT ON ANY REFLECTOR KG4NXO UHF D-Star FOR VOICE / BACKUP CONNECTED TO REF037C KJ4CLL ANALOG VOICE FOR EOC AND CERT USE

D-Star PROGRAM DO NOT CHANGE ANY REPEATER TO A REFLECTOR DURING A MERT 145.170 DV KG4NXO V Skip CQCQCQ KG4NXO C KG4NXO G A: 3 NXO V I I C: 1 NXO V U U 2 NXO V E E NXOV37A REF037AL 4 YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW TO USE THESE COMMANDS FOR THE D-Star REPEATERS PRACTICE ON KG4NXO UHF REF037, REF030, AND REF004 ARE AN IMPORTANT RESOURCE DURING EMERGENCIES REF004 IS THE EASTERN US WEATHER NET REF030 IS THE SE (GEORGIA) EMERGENCY NET REF037 IS THE CENTRAL FLORIDA EMERGENCY NET TALLAHASSEE CAN WORK THESE REFLECTORS DO NOT CHANGE ANY REPEATER TO A REFLECTOR DURING A MERT ACTIVATION

And now, FOR the D-Rats data setup on your D-Star radio IF YOU DON’T DO THIS… IT WON’T WORK! And now, FOR the D-Rats data setup on your D-Star radio

Set up your radio for D-Rats program This is in the “getting started with d-rats.pdf” file to download on www.kg4nxo.com in the D-Star-D-rats section.

Set up your radio for D-Rats program The Radio Must Be set Up Correctly Fred Is Here Today To Help You Do That

questions? ? We have more to cover today – setting up D-Rats on your PC so everything works as planned. Take a 10 minute break and we will get back into it.

We Will Be Back… We Are Back…

Getting Started With D-RATS - A Quick Start Guide Step 1 – Download and Install   Download the latest version of D-RATS at http://www.dstarinfo.com/Data/Sites/1/media/d-rats-daily- 04172014- installer.zip for your operating system and install to your computer. Use the PC’s system explorer – go to C:/Program Files (x86)/D-RATS/d-rats.exe and Send It To The Desktop Go to the Desktop and start D-Rats Step 2 – Set Preferences Prior to using D-RATS there are several preferences that must be configured. These can be accessed by selecting File > Preferences:

Getting Started With D-RATS - A Quick Start Guide A list of configurable item groups will appear in the left hand column. The following subsections describe the options contained in each group.

Getting Started With D-RATS - A Quick Start Guide Callsign: Normally, your FCC callsign is entered. Optionally, a tactical callsign may be used. The callsign will identify the station for chat, messaging and file transfer. When sending to this station the callsign entered above is used to address the station.   Name: Enter your name or location (ex. KG4NXO, EOC) For a quick start, leave all other information at its default value.

Getting Started With D-RATS - A Quick Start Guide Set Paths   Under Paths, you may leave these at their default value or define a different folder. The important one is the File Transfer Path. This folder is used in File Transfers as your local location for remote stations to view and download your files. Files uploaded to your station are placed here.

Getting Started With D-RATS - A Quick Start Guide To use D-RATS with a D-STAR radio, it must be defined in the Radio section of the Preferences. From the Config > Radio screen, click “Add” and select Type as Serial if connection to the radio with a serial cable. This is the normal connection type for a radio. Select the Serial Port that your data cable connects to on the computer. If you are using a USB to Serial adapter or a serial cable with a USB connection, you must locate the COM port number. In Windows, select START, Control Panel, System and Device Manager. You may add a Name to add a unique name to this radio. Click Add to save the configuration.   On the Config > Radio screen, ensure that the box is checked for the radio you have defined and wish to use. You should only have one box checked at a time.

Getting Started With D-RATS - A Quick Start Guide To connect to the Internet (without a D-STAR radio), you will define and use a Repeater Proxy also known as a Ratflector. These are used to connect D-RATS Internet users together and may also connect to a D-STAR radio to link RF users as well. The Ratflector you use is determined by the D-RATS Administrators in your area. A default Ratflector is usually defined in D-RATS, but you may configure one just as you configure a radio. From the Config > Radio screen, click Add and select Network. Under Host, add the address of the Ratflector you intend to use. “ref.d-rats.com” is a public ratflector available for general use by Internet users and generally has activity anytime. Port 9000 is the default port used by most all ratflectors. Click Add to save your configuration. On the Config > Radio screen, ensure that the box is checked for the radio you have defined and wish to use.

Getting Started With D-RATS - A Quick Start Guide

Getting Started With D-RATS - A Quick Start Guide Transfers   This section defines the parameters used for communicating between D-RATS stations. Under Block Size, the larger the value, the more efficient the transfer is on a good connection. On a bad connection, setting this to be smaller reduces the amount of data that must be re-sent in the event of a bit of corruption. Normally, the default value of 512 is good. Normally the default values for the other settings are good for most situations. Make sure the “Remote file transfers” box is checked.

Getting Started With D-RATS - A Quick Start Guide Step 6– Messages   This section defines how messages are handled in D-RATS. NOW… Let’s try it out.

The Thursday night net is a TRAINING NET to practice EMERGENCY PROCEDURES! When called please give your call sign (using Amateur Radio phonetic alphabet), name, and location. Phonetic Alphabet     A   Alpha     N   November     B   Bravo     O   Oscar     C   Charlie     P   Papa     D   Delta     Q   Quebec     E   Echo     R   Romeo     F   Foxtrot     S   Sierra     G   Golf     T   Tango     H   Hotel     U   Uniform     I   India     V   Victor     J   Juliet     W   Whiskey     K   Kilo     X   X-ray     L   Lima     Y   Yankee     M   Mike     Z   Zulu THURSDAY NIGHT NET

BE PATIENT THURSDAY NIGHT NET The Thursday night net is a TRAINING NET to practice EMERGENCY PROCEDURES! When called please give your call sign (using Amateur Radio phonetic alphabet), name, and location. There will be an NCO for both voice and D-Rats Please pay attention and follow the instructions of the NCO Wait ONE SECOND after the ending beep of previous transmission before keying up your radio When starting the D-Rats program: DO NOT SEND PING until directed to do so. When connected to com port for radio, D-Rats will key the radio, but it does not send a ping Make sure your D-Rats is NOT set for radio unless directed to do so BE PATIENT This is a training net. There may be several items to cover. Don’t be in a hurry – it is not a race THURSDAY NIGHT NET

You are all now official D-Star and D-Rats Wizards! What Have We Learned? We know how to set up our D-Star radios for use with MERT We know how to set up D-Rats for use with MERT We know how to get the forms and PDF files onto our PC’s for use with MERT You are all now official D-Star and D-Rats Wizards!

Go Forth And Communicate Before we go… Fred and others will be here for a while to help and answer questions about programming your D-Star radio Ed and others will be here for a while to help set up and answer questions about D-Rats We will continue to post files for downloading on the KG4NXO website to help you Go Forth And Communicate

Marion emergency radio team MERT