DMR logging...

[rjvalenta]

i got my no-code tech license in 1993... i felt like i was cheating a little, would i ever be able to learn morse like the real hams that could build their own amps and pass the advanced test... everything they did happened in amazing ways over the air...

then a few weeks ago i was listening to an elmer on dmr who got his license in the 70s and had just gotten in to dmr, he was amazed by it and said that if they had dmr in the 70s he probably wouldn't have gone past novice... what??

his logic was simply that all the DX he did over the last many decades can be accomplished from a simple HT and a hotspot now.

i heard this... and i guess he's right... yes, you could talk to people across the world with dmr... but is it the same?

so i've been logging a lot of FT8 lately, having some issues getting in to parts of asia and africa, tracking my QRZ Awards just to keep an eye on what i've accomplished, and realizing that i'm not getting some places... and thought... i could use dmr to reach out to those place and log a phone contact...

but is it a phone contact or a data contact or a digital contact? what applies to C4FM or DStar? and... wait, would that be UHF DX?

i'm not trying to start an argument here, and i'm sure this topic easily could... but i want to keep the best logs, and i'd like to be as true to radio as possible with them. i realize that times change and with times technology, there was an era when tuners and ssb were crazy new technology... but... they were still radio and only radio.

so... what's best practices on logging DMR contacts?

thanks & 73,

Richard
N0TZC

 

[SA4MDN]

I dont log any contact on DMR/D-Star/WiresX,Fusion when i use a hotspot, the contact is made a few feet from my radio to the hotspot, the rest is internet, no achieviment in that, even through an internet linked repeater i feel the same.

Mick SA4MDN

 

[popnokick]

Logging is customarily done for simplex QSOs... that is contacts with no repeaters, relays, or other non-RF end-to-end communication. The one exception to this is satellite contacts facilitated by an orbiting or geostationary repeater used to make an earth station to earth station contact. Based on this, DMR simplex... which is seldom used... would be eligible for logging. My guess is that unless unusual distance or other circumstances are involved in the DMR QSO... it is usually not logged.
Regarding using relays, repeaters, or non-RF means to complete "awards" QSOs.... those contacts are not legitimate for that purpose. Certainly you could attempt WAS (Worked All States) via DMR but I don't know of any "award" given for doing so. I think some hams forget that there are multiple reasons to get into and enjoy Amateur Radio... including both technical and simply the desire to communicate with others. Your interest may lie solely with the former, the latter... or both!

 

[AK9R]

How you log contacts is primarily determined by whatever contests you are participating in or whatever awards you are chasing.

The Amateur Data Interchange Format is a common data standard used across many applications for amateur radio contact logging. ADIF has fields for "Mode" and "Submode".

DIGITALVOICE is a Mode, DMR is a Submode. C4FM and DSTAR are also Submodes of DIGITALVOICE.

FT8 is a Mode.

 

[rjvalenta]

How you log contacts is primarily determined by whatever contests you are participating in or whatever awards you are chasing.

The Amateur Data Interchange Format is a common data standard used across many applications for amateur radio contact logging. ADIF has fields for "Mode" and "Submode".

DIGITALVOICE is a Mode, DMR is a Submode. C4FM and DSTAR are also Submodes of DIGITALVOICE.

FT8 is a Mode.

THANK YOU!

I am just now seeing this via the QRZ logging system - seriously, thank you. Now I may try a few DMR or other digital logs and see how they fall into the system overall.

rjv

 

[alcahuete]

Do whatever you want. A lot of people log every contact they make including over repeaters or DMR. They just like to log who they talked to. Don't do it for awards though or anything, because that's just silly. But if you just want a record of who you talked to, sure. I personally don't log anything above 6m.

 

[iowabassplayer]

I personally do not log any Internet assisted QSO's. Just a personal preference. I state that on my QRZ page as well in case someone wonders why I rejected their DMR contact on Brandmeister Worldwide 91.

Like has been stated in some of the other comments, it's all personal preference - it's your logbook - your rules, just be aware that not everyone will accept or confirm that type of entry.