Just Curious about DMR radio.

[pkveazey]

There was a major surge in DMR(Digital Mobile Radio) a while back. I personally was a hold out because I didn't like the idea of having the radio go out throught the internet from the DMR repeaters. However, it does have its place as long as the internet is available. I found a BAO FENG DMR handi-talkie for about $80 so I bought one and figured out how to program it. Programming a DMR radio is pure insanity. Anyway, I was wondering how many other folks on this forum are using DMR? I monitor it set on Virginia STATEWIDE all the time and there is a moderate amount of activity there. I still don't like DMR but I rationalized it as "Well, its nice to have it when I might need it, just in case." Its easy to tell when the Digital radio breaks the squelch because of that very annoying ROBOTIC audio.

[JohnyMac]

I have two BaoFeng DMR radios. The directions were worthless so I never got to the point of using the DMR part. I use it now as just a plan old analog FM HT. The battery only lasts for about 24-hours on just RX. 

Now DMR. Up here in the vast wilderness of NE PA. There are a handful that use it but only a handful. When it is brought up at club meetings nobody seem to be interested.

I know my response doesn't help much...Sorry.

[Jackalope]

   I've got a TYT DMR portable, never used it through the internet.  Also have D-Star (VHF/UHF/HF) and System Fusion radios.  I have used the Fusion radios through a hotspot, and it works well.  No DMR local repeaters, so DMR hasn't really interested me.  Maybe one of these rainy/snowy winter days I'll try the DMR portable through the hotspot, if I'm really bored. 

   I'd rather try to make some digital contacts on HF.  I guess one of the reasons I don't like using the hotspot is because it's dependent upon an intermediate transmission medium, i.e., the internet.  If the internet goes down, all those fancy remote repeaters, and interlinked systems are going down too.

[pkveazey]

Johnny, I got a CD with my BaoFeng DM5R and after installing the program "BF5R" I had to find a list of code plugs and insert all that information into the proper boxes. It was a pain in the ass. I'm suposed to have 2000 memory locations but for some reason I only was able to load 9 memories. There is only one DMR repeater about 15 miles north of me so I mounted a permanently fixed 440 Mhz Cubical Quad at about 30 feet up the tower and pointed it straight at the repeater. Once I get into the repeater, I'm able to pick which channel I want. LOCAL, STATEWIDE, MID ATLANTIC, SOUTHEASTERN US, US, and WORLDWIDE. All of them are programmed to the local 440 Mhz DMR repeater frequency. So far I've never had a problem getting into the repeater even though I don't get the full 5 watts out of the HT. Usually I get about 3 watts out on 440 Mhz. I refuse to go the Hot Spot route because its just too far away from being real radio. If you ever get yours programmed with all the code plugs that you need, we might be able to chat on DMR. Possibly on Mid Atlantic. I leave my DMR HT in the charger 24/7 and whenever I want to listen or talk, I just turn it on. The charger is supposed to not overcharge the battery. So far so good because I've had it hooked up for about a year and a half.

[FeedingFreedom]

I bought a DMR handheld two years ago and built a hotspot with a Raspberry Pi and a card from ebay. It's a nightmare to program until you understand the crazy way things are set up, and stuff always needs to be updated, including the contact list, which a lot of older radios won't even hold the whole thing. Once it was up and going, it worked pretty well, plus I could use my Yaesu radios with C4FM and the hotspot in Fusion>DMR mode. I can reach one DMR repeater from my house, there's not a lot of activity (like most repeaters).

I had thought that I could use the handheld in the car with the hotspot, using my phone for internet. It works fine, but 75% of my drive to work has no cell service anyway, so not useful.

It's on my list to get everything updated and running again, there's a few people I could talk to on DMR, even though it seems kind of pointless. Would be handy to have a few to use in simplex, slight improvement in COMSEC, at least tactically.

Overall, I'm not upset that I got the radio, it's a good handheld and has GPS and Bluetooth built in, and it will do APRS which might be useful to some.

[JohnyMac]

One thing I liked about the BaoFeng DMR radio is the encrypted text function. Obviously it is line of site no unlike simplex but handy.