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Re: BNSF To Begin Digital Radio Frequency Testing
Author: FresnoSub
Date: 08-23-2011 - 08:54
P.kepler Wrote:
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> With an analog receiver all you will hear is white
> noise. Icom has D-star as a mode for amateur
> radio. I wonder if the protocol for D-star is the
> same as what the railroads are using . As for
> digital scanners or receivers for the general
> public there are none available other than the
> radios being used by the Railroads.
Digital transmissions indeed sound like "white noise." If you have never heard it before, you might think that the squelch is not set high enough or your scanner is malfuntioning. As for the Icom D-STAR digital radio format: The D-STAR stands for Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio. It is an open standard digital communication protocol established by the Japan Amateur Radio League. D-STAR uses 4.8 kbps digital voice (DV) mode and 128 kbps data.
One of the BNSF-approved radio manufacturers, Kenwood, refers to their format as "NXDN." I haven't taken the time to break down the algorithm used for generating its digital modulation but it can't be too proprietary since ICOM is the other radio manufacturer approved for use.
Would be interesting to find out from someone in the Barstow area on that date that uses an ICOM D-STAR equipped 2-meter radio whether or not there is compatibility. Just program one of the receive channels to AAR 71 and see what happens.
FS
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> With an analog receiver all you will hear is white
> noise. Icom has D-star as a mode for amateur
> radio. I wonder if the protocol for D-star is the
> same as what the railroads are using . As for
> digital scanners or receivers for the general
> public there are none available other than the
> radios being used by the Railroads.
Digital transmissions indeed sound like "white noise." If you have never heard it before, you might think that the squelch is not set high enough or your scanner is malfuntioning. As for the Icom D-STAR digital radio format: The D-STAR stands for Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio. It is an open standard digital communication protocol established by the Japan Amateur Radio League. D-STAR uses 4.8 kbps digital voice (DV) mode and 128 kbps data.
One of the BNSF-approved radio manufacturers, Kenwood, refers to their format as "NXDN." I haven't taken the time to break down the algorithm used for generating its digital modulation but it can't be too proprietary since ICOM is the other radio manufacturer approved for use.
Would be interesting to find out from someone in the Barstow area on that date that uses an ICOM D-STAR equipped 2-meter radio whether or not there is compatibility. Just program one of the receive channels to AAR 71 and see what happens.
FS
