In this paper, we generalize the construction of distributed space–time block codes (DSTBCs) using amicable orthogonal designs which are originally applied to co-located multiple-antenna systems. We also derive the closed-form expression of average symbol error probability (SEP). The result is obtained in the form of single finite-range integral whose integrand contains only the trigonometric functions. Using the asymptotic (high signal-to-noise ratio) SEP formulas we show that the orthogonal DSTBCs achieve full diversity order. We also perform Monte-Carlo simulation to validate the analysis.