The WIA Board had asked David VK3RU to provide an update on the handover of WIA held DSTAR repeaters and he advised the following:

Back in May I wrote to clubs known at the time to be custodians of the equipment with a view to hand over ownership. This came about because the DSTAR agreement between WIA (Wireless Institute Of Australia) and ICOM had expired and to maintain a DSTAR service in Australia, a new arrangement was required.

The original agreement was signed with ICOM in November 2007 to support the establishment of a DSTAR network for a period of not less than 6 years. This agreement included the donation of six repeater systems to the WIA supported technically by ICOM with full equipment warranty for the term. As part of this agreement the WIA was to establish equipment into each state through interested amateur radio clubs and by supporting the process together with licence and broadband costs. During the course of this agreement, some changes in interest occurred with some equipment being transferred between clubs and additional equipment being offered to clubs who had expressed interest to the WIA and ICOM direct.

The WIA Board has now agreed to hand over the WIA DSTAR equipment to respective clubs on the proviso they take up associated costs including licensing, power and broadband access. For their part, ICOM have kindly offered to extend existing warranty on the equipment for a further 5 years with back to base equipment repairs as part of this arrangement.

A letter has been forwarded to known custodians of original DSTAR equipment informing that the proposed handover date will be 30th September this year. It is therefore important that clubs confirm they can meet this target or let us know if they are encountering difficulties.

It is certainly not the intention of the WIA to cut off any DSTAR installations.

DSTAR enthusiasts might be interested in developments currently underway in Victoria where a DSTAR user group is coming together. This group has a website http://www.vk3.dstar.org.au

Not much there right now but keep an eye out as things are starting to evolve.

David VK3RU on behalf of the WIA Board