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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Please redistribute this to any D-Star related
forums, mailing lists, or groups for which you may be a member. Mike Watkins,
WX4AL will also include this as part of an ARES Newsletter SET Special Edition
to be published on Thursday. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As most of you know, the successful use of the
D-Star system during a state wide event requires routing users and repeaters to
a common "reflector" through the gateway. Unfortunately, the number of these
reflectors are limited. Like an net frequency on HF, there is no such thing as
"owning" a reflector for your exclusive use. It's very much first come-first
served.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As D-Star expands with each passing year, the use
of reflectors during large scale events such as the Simulated Emergency Test
(SET) may tax it's ability to serve it's users. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>During the upcoming SET on Saturday, we propose to
use REF002-B for operations within the State of Alabama. This reflector was
chosen simply because it is the one commonly used for the Alabama D-STAR Net on
Tuesday evenings. Should this reflector be in use, or unavailable to us, we will
search for an alternative and relay that choice via the HF Net on 3965khz.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>We had also hoped to make use of slow speed data
using the D-Rats Software during SET this year, but it continues to undergo
development to address it's use on reflectors. Right now, it simply isn't stable
enough for use during the exercise. Instead, we encourage groups to take
advantage of the gateway-linking capabilities of D-Star to communicate by voice
with the Section, State EMA in Clanton, and various served agency groups.
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Here's hoping that reflector REF002-B is available
for our use during SET, and that we really get a chance to show off it's
capabilities. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>73,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Les Rayburn, N1LF<BR>ARES AL Section Emergency
Coordinator<BR>NCS-SHARES
NCS-047<BR>---------------------------------------------<BR>121 Mayfair
Park<BR>Maylene, AL 35114<BR>(205) 253-4867</FONT></DIV>
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