DSTAR or what?

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samsat

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Here's the background.
I live in small HOA governed property. I have a stealth fan inverted V for 20/40 and run an Elecraft K1 with 5w CW only. It's my only HF rig.
I also have a new TMV71A connected to a decent dual-band vertical that gives me great VHF/UHF coverage.
I don't operate mobile but do have few non-digital dual band HTs for when I do want to take something with me.

Dstar sounds like fun for some more DX options plus all the other features it offers and I am trying to work out what the best route would be.
DV-dongle but needing a computer and internet connectivity. Not a problem in the shack.
One of the expensive Dstar HT's eg. ID-51A-PLUS2 or TH-D74A (or one of the earlier ID-51 models)
One of the mobiles ID-880H (soon to be replaced by ID-4100A) or ID-5100A
Of course all of this assumes I can access my nearest Dstar repeater. It would start becoming expensive to set up my own hot spot as well as buy the radio.
And now I see there are the DV4 products on the horizon.

OR

just forget about all of this and just stick with Echolink!

Open to suggestions.

AI6UY ex ZS6CBA
 

Aero125

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Or try Yaesu Fusion, it's very popular down in San Diego with many repeaters. The radios work out of the box with none of the online DSTAR setup headaches. You can play online with Wires-X and with a DV4 mini.
 

Astro_Spectra

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I'd look at DMR, the radios are cheaper and the system works pretty well. I travel a lot in the US and overseas and I find DMR a lot of fun from just a HT for local and back-home contacts. I prefer pre-owned Motorola but the great thing about DMR is that there is a radio at every price point. I was in your town for a recent tradeshow and there is at least one active DMR UHF machine AA4CD at Mt Oaty.
 

jonwienke

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I'd vote for DMR also, D-STAR and Fusion are proprietary and unlikely to ever gain the market share DMR has already achieved.
 

jaspence

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Which one

All of the digital modes mentioned can operate through a hotspot with the right equipment. A Raspberry Pi 3 and the DVMEGA will give you access without worrying about a local repeater. Check it out at DV MEGA.
 

N2ICV

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I use my Raspberry Pi 3 - DVMEGA with a jetpack from Verizon using a /\/\ XPR7550 in my tractor-trailer. I can talk from all over the Northeast USA on the DMR BrandMeister Network .
see you on TG 31341 De N2ICV - 3134044
 

dmaria

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I'd vote for DMR also, D-STAR and Fusion are proprietary and unlikely to ever gain the market share DMR has already achieved.

DStar is NOT proprietary! This is an urban myth that is spread by those who don't want to be bothered to look up the facts. The Japanese Amateur Radio League developed it to be used by anyone who wanted to implement it. Until recently, Icom was the only one to invest in it. Now Kenwood has also invested.

Now having said that, Fusion and DMR are very much another story.
 

samsat

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Thanks for all input so far. I checked and do have easy access to two sites here that carry DSTAR repeaters.

dmaria what do yo mean when you say that "Fusion and DMR are very much another story."
 

AK9R

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Now having said that, Fusion and DMR are very much another story.
Fusion is not proprietary either. Yaesu has made the technical standards freely available.

Some folks seem to equate "single source" with "proprietary". Just because nobody gets on the bandwagon doesn't mean that the bandwagon is locked. And, when it comes to D-Star, you can't even make the single source argument now that Kenwood is marketing the TH-D74 handheld.

DMR isn't proprietary. ETSI holds the standard and will license it to whomever wants to build a radio that follows the standard.
 

mikewazowski

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DStar is NOT proprietary! This is an urban myth that is spread by those who don't want to be bothered to look up the facts. The Japanese Amateur Radio League developed it to be used by anyone who wanted to implement it. Until recently, Icom was the only one to invest in it. Now Kenwood has also invested.

D-Star always had the illusion it was proprietary since up until recently, you were locked into one vendor.



Now having said that, Fusion and DMR are very much another story.


Actually they're not.
 

popnokick

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Among DMR, Fusion, and DStar, DMR is the only protocol that is also widely used by public safety and commercial enterprise for their communications. That drives the availability of equipment and systems. Uniden, Whistler, and others have DMR-capable scanners. Not so with Fusion or D-Star.
 

reconrider8

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The thing I like about dmr over dstar is the price of the radios. You can but a dmr radio for half of what a dstar radio costs and you can talk all over the place with that
 

Wally46

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Around here in eastern Iowa and western Illinois seems fusion repeaters are popular. Sure would be nice to have a digital standard. Buying different brands of radios for different digital modes gets ridiculous and expensive.
 

AK9R

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Neither have the market share or popularity of DMR.
Nonetheless, you asserted that D-Star and Yaesu System Fusion are proprietary when they are not. They may not be as popular as DMR and you may like them as much as you do DMR, but that does not give you carte blanche to make false claims about them.
 

bharvey2

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I'd have to second the DMR idea. I'm in the SF East Bay and DMR activity far outpaces the other digital modes in the ham arena. Take a look at the norcal-brandmeister.org and papasys.com websites. They are probably the two major systems in California and cover the bulk of the state. I'd say the choice of radios for DMR is greater too. The cost of admission is about $100 but better radios can be had for not a lot more if you're willing to research the used market.
 

KF5ZIS

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Around here in eastern Iowa and western Illinois seems fusion repeaters are popular. Sure would be nice to have a digital standard. Buying different brands of radios for different digital modes gets ridiculous and expensive.

Check out the DV4Mobile for your D*Star/YSF/DMR and soon to be a lot more mobile radio.
 
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