andykirby
Hi Guys,
Lucky enough to be one of the first in the UK to get hold of the new Kenwood TH-D74 D-Star HT, so far very impressed.
However, i've found something interesting/annoying when testing it with the Openspot.
Firstly in D-Star mode there appears to be no confirmation TX from the Openspot to indicate to the user/transceiver that the call has made it to the Openspot... This is a bit annoying because the only way you can see if the openspot is receiving the TX is to request repeater information using the repeater status "I" call.
Which then brings be onto the next problem...
Normally D-Star radios will show callsign, text message and GPS information on the screen as they receive calls. On the Kenwood TH-D74 it does not receive any text/data information from the Openspot. Now, my ID-51 shows this information which would then lead you to the conclusion that the problem is with the Radio itself BUT when using the TH-D74 back to back with the ID-51 it shows the information just fine... I have also tested the TH-D74 with real Icom repeaters and it works as expected. I should point out that Audio works perfectly, no problems there at all.
I have seen videos online with the TH-D74 working with a DVAP and it seems to show callsigns, data etc just fine.
So there is something weird happening (or not happening) between the TH-D74 and the Openspot and it would be interesting to investigate this further.
So Openspot team, what do you think?
--- on the technical side, when the TH-D74 operates with a real Icom DStar repeater it appears to only display the Data information when the transceiver receives the second transmission from the Icom repeater, to clarify:
1. Transmit kerchunk from TH-D74
2. Repeater opens
3. Repeater closes
4. Repeater opens briefly
5. Radio displays Data information.
I appreciate its a new radio and their might be some teething issues but thought you might like to know.
Thanks,
Andy
M6JKA
HA2NON
Hello,
Thank you for the feedback! Which connector do you use?
Also you can use openSPOT's local echo service to test if openSPOT is reachable.
andykirby
Hi,
I've tested both the DCS and REF connectors on DSTAR.
I understand I can test using the local echo service, that works fine, but no data (callsign info) shows on the radio like it does on the ID-51
Is it possible for the openspot to send a confirmation transmission when they receive a call, a bit like the other hotspots out there, its much easier to see if you can access the hotspot when on the fly without having to change UR Call.
Also any ideas about the data and callsigns not showing on the TH-D74 radio, I would be happy to help test any ideas/fixes you have as I can see this being an issue for owners with this radio, potentially this is a general problem with the TH-D74 itself but I need to experiment further.
HA2NON
Maybe the radio expects some flags set in the D-STAR header. Does messages show up on your radio?
andykirby
No messages at all with openspot, but with a real icom repeater the callsigns and text messages show fine.
Kenwood released a firmware update today, but made no difference.
HA2NON
I'll try to experiment with different D-STAR flag settings for the ID51 and send you firmwares to test in 2 weeks (I'll be out of office for a week starting tomorrow).
andykirby
That's excellent thanks for the support... I will look forward to it... enjoy your trip/vacation etc.
HA2NON
Can you please try it with the new beta fw. 60?
https://www.sharkrf.com/products/openspot/fw-beta/
I've found a GCC optimization error which caused invalid transmitted D-STAR headers. As optimization is turned off on my debug setup, I didn't notice the error... Maybe the TH-D74 needs a valid D-STAR header in order to display the received message.
andykirby
Ok I'll try it... standby
andykirby
It works, thanks.
The screenshot is an echo reply from the openspot.
I'll test some more and let you know.
andykirby
Did more testing today and this seems to have completely solved the issue.
Thanks for the support!
Bob_K6UDA
I'm having the same issue here using a DV Mega Hotspot. Two thing I've noticed:
1. When using another radio (ID-5100 or 51A) on the same hotspot, The green information screen works fine. This is because it's receiving the other radio in simplex mode.
2. If I put my D74 on a local dStar repeater & use the 5100 from my hotspot, I get the green screen and everything is fine.
3. I use the D74 on the hotspot and get no data from the remote station.
Anybody have a fix or a solution?
Bob - K6UDA
Bob_K6UDA
Did more testing today and this seems to have completely solved the issue.
Thanks for the support!
How did You fix it?
HA2NON
Please try with the latest beta fw.
Bob_K6UDA
I just ordered two openspot units to review on my YouTube channel. Any idea when they will ship? I'll be sure to upgrade the firmware.
Bob k6uda
andykirby
Hi Bob,
That's interesting it doesn't work correctly with the DVMega. It appears the TH-D74 handles things slightly different from the other radios.
I can confirm it works perfectly with the openspot now as of the latest beta firmware which Norbert confirmed actually fixes some problems with the DSTAR data header.
Thanks,
Andy
Bob_K6UDA
Great. I ordered a couple of open spots and can't wait to try it out. I'm looking forward to getting the data back when operating on a hotspot.
kg6eid
I Just bought a th-d74a and want to use it with my openspot. I'm having the same issues with the other station's call and data not coming through on the d74 while I rx through the openspot. This never happens with my id-51a. My firmware for the openspot is pretty recent. Any suggestions? Thanks and 73. Charles KG6EID
kg6eid
Update: I think I got it working with a different FW update. Thanks for the info - 73s -KG6EID
