DMR radio

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Ok so I am intrigued by DMR now and I am looking into a decent portable for DMR what all do you recommend and why?
 
I have a few, TYT MD 380 upgraded with MD380 tools, Anytone 868 and 878

The 868/878 is by far my favorite, dual band, interface is a lot more user friendly than my md380 IMO.

You looking to use this with a local repeater or a hotspot?
 
I have a few, TYT MD 380 upgraded with MD380 tools, Anytone 868 and 878

The 868/878 is by far my favorite, dual band, interface is a lot more user friendly than my md380 IMO.

You looking to use this with a local repeater or a hotspot?

I have a local repeater just under 10 miles from me. But, either works for me
 
I have a local repeater just under 10 miles from me. But, either works for me

A hotspot will give you more flexibility and access to more talk groups to use at your will, I have both a nanospot and my other is a generic zooomspot clone IIRC. I don't have a DMR repeater within range of my qth so hotspots are my only option right now. I like the 868/878 for hotspot and analog use, talkgroup selection is much easier than the MD380 and there are less menus to fiddle through once your code plug is set up. Biggest plus for me is the 2m/70cm capability as I use 2m analog more than 70cm d/a. The 878 also beacons analog APRS and does a pretty good job once its set up correctly. Don't get me wrong the MD380 is a fine little rig and does well, the anytone just has far more features.

I wish it lived up to the hype for me. You need a hotspot for sure.

I'll be honest, I don't play with DMR a whole lot. IMO the audio quality sucks and wears on my ears after listening for a while. I much prefer analog comms.
 
I'll be honest, I don't play with DMR a whole lot. IMO the audio quality sucks and wears on my ears after listening for a while. I much prefer analog comms.
I’ve had a few conversations regarding this. Apparently all the ham modes use the same proprietary licensed codec and have this problem as a result.

what’s interesting is that I haven’t noticed the roboticized voice I o the digital systems like VIPER which makes me wonder if there is a different issue.
 
I monitor/use VIPER and another stand alone P25 system on a daily basis. They also suffer from terrible audio at times, it's just not as "tinney" to my ear as DMR. Some say the Motorola DMR radios have better audio than their asian counterparts but I don't have much experience with them. Not to mention I have absolutely no love for the batwing folks and their overpriced products/software (another rant in itself). Kenwood really needs to get into the DMR game.

Admittedly, I do not know the specifics of what the technical differences are between DMR and P25 that affect the audio of each, compressed digital audio just sucks IMO. Nothing beats the audio quality of a good analog FM transciever.
 
Admittedly, I do not know the specifics of what the technical differences are between DMR and P25 that affect the audio of each, compressed digital audio just sucks IMO.
I believe they are different vocoders. The one used in all the ham radios is licensed / patented (?) by some company and everyone buys it. It may effect the bit rate or band width which could be why it sounds less tinny or robotic. DDG of “p25” or project 25 brings up a wiki page with a lot of tech info for the curious.
 
Off topic however my favorite SHTF handie-talkie is the ICOM ID-51A (or variants of). Many useful features such as easy keypad programming, GPS navigation (with direction and distance to received signal), IPX7 waterproof rating, and of course D-Star (which can be used simplex for more secure comms). I'm not frequent user of repeaters so the lack of D-Star repeaters in my area is of no concern to me. Using the D-Star mode on simplex, several of us have hiked in the South Mtn State Park trail system, and by using the printed maps, along with the GPS navigation features we can pinpoint each others location, as long as we can establish contact. Downside, drop this thing from a tower climb, and you're not going to be a happy camper...
 
Off topic however my favorite SHTF handie-talkie is the ICOM ID-51A (or variants of). . Downside, drop this thing from a tower climb, and you're not going to be a happy camper...

I have a couple friends with those and they like them a lot. I haven't played with D-Star yet, no repeaters near by and haven't taken the time to learn my ID800 enough to hotspot it.

I use simplex DMR when working at the repeater site or when i'm up on the tower. Its nice to be able to talk to the ground guys and not worry about someone else jumpin in wanting to rag chew. If I go up with anything more than a UV5R or 888, it gets zip tied to my harness shoulder strap, no reason to chance it lol.
 
I have a couple friends with those and they like them a lot. I haven't played with D-Star yet, no repeaters near by and haven't taken the time to learn my ID800 enough to hotspot it.

I use simplex DMR when working at the repeater site or when i'm up on the tower. Its nice to be able to talk to the ground guys and not worry about someone else jumpin in wanting to rag chew. If I go up with anything more than a UV5R or 888, it gets zip tied to my harness shoulder strap, no reason to chance it lol.

Main reason we prefer them is having the ability to communicate in a semi-private mode. Which would be a huge tactical advantage in a SHTF situation.
 
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