There is now a DStar repeater on the air in my area.

I know 3 people who have hand held rigs for it. One of them took at least 3 
weeks to get his working properly with the repeater.

If you want to be part of the alleged DStar network, or want to contact a 
specific station via that network, you must enter your call into a 
particular menu item on your radio, and the other call into another.

You guessed it!

None of the menus talk!

The September QST has a good article about it. Of course, this article 
doesn't touch the non-accessibility of it for us at all.

My not very popular opinion with local ARRL emergency and section managers 
is that it is just one more way to force anyone with a reading disability 
out of the hobby.

Mike Duke, K5XU