XLXJET

What is XLXJET?

XLXJET is a D-Star gateway reflector and a single access point for exploring D-Star legacy reflectors — DCS, REF, and XRF networks, all under one roof. It is built as a D-Star gateway reflector, not a multi-protocol reflector. XLXJET has no transcoding capabilities and does not support DMR or YSF. It is only accessible via D-Star or a cross-mode device like the SharkRF openSPOT 4 Pro.

The user experience is designed to be simple once the initial reflector connection is made. Switching between modules provides ready access to various D-Star reflectors.

D-Star Reflector Types

XLXJET connects to three types of D-Star reflectors:

REF — The original D-Star reflectors. REF reflectors use the DPlus protocol and require registration in the US-Trust system. They were the first reflector system created for D-Star. REF reflectors support modules A through E.

XRF — The second generation of D-Star reflectors. XRF reflectors use the DExtra protocol and are open-source. They operate independently of the US-Trust system. XRF reflectors support 26 modules (A–Z).

DCS — Originated in Germany. DCS reflectors use their own DCS protocol, which embeds routing information in every voice packet rather than sending it in a separate header. This makes connections more reliable. DCS reflectors support 26 modules (A–Z).

All three reflector types serve the same basic purpose — they act as conference bridges that connect repeaters and hotspots together over the internet. The difference between them is the network protocol used behind the scenes. XLXJET handles all three so the user doesn't need to think about which protocol is in play.

Getting On XLXJET

If you already operate on D-STAR, you already know how to link to a reflector. Once you're linked, every destination XLXJET reaches is one module change away.

Module Map

Module	Destination	Description
A	REF001C	Mega Reflector
B	REF014C	West Coast
C	REF024C	General Use
D	REF030C	Southeast US
E	REF004C	Rag Chew
F	REF012C	Papa System
G	REF037C	Florida
H	REF058C	Alabama
I	REF056C	Kentucky
J	REF055C	New Mexico
K	REF054C	Carolina
L	REF051C	Chicago
M	REF038C	Ohio
N	REF013C	London
R	XRF002A	Constellation
S	XRF757A	QuadNet
T	XRF757B	Quad Tech
U	DCS002 Module A	Worldwide
V	DCS005 Module A	United Kingdom
W	DCS006 Module A	USA
X	DCS014 Module A	Australia
Z	Echo Test

Module Z is the built-in echo test, also known as a parrot. When you transmit on Module Z, the reflector records your transmission and immediately plays it back to you. This lets you check your audio quality and confirm that your connection to XLXJET is working without needing another operator on the other end. Module Z is a local service running on XLXJET itself — it does not link out to a remote reflector. It works for any D-Star connection regardless of whether the user connected via DPlus, DExtra, or DCS.

How It Works

XLXJET is built on N7TAE's new-xlxd, an improved open-source XLX reflector server. Each module on XLXJET is linked outbound to a specific reflector destination using one of three connector types:

xrf-con — Links to XRF reflectors using the DExtra protocol. This was the first non-XLX peer type added to xlxd, introduced in Pull Request #85 to LX3JL/xlxd by chazapis.
ref-con — Links to REF reflectors using the DPlus protocol. The original xlxd project declined to add this feature natively, so XLXJET implemented it independently.
dcs-con — Links to DCS reflectors. This connector did not exist in any xlxd fork. XLXJET improvised it by building on the ref-con and xrf-con code to create a DCS outbound linking connection.