Explain DMR and ultra cheap radio for occasional use?

[scanmanmi]

I am not exactly clear on what DMR is. There are different Tiers, there's Motorola, there's ham radio, etc. If DMR means Digital Mobile Radio then it seems like it's just digital but there are all these extra things. My scanner gets P25 but I guess not DMR. I see there is a school listed as DMR but how do I know what it is? One is 152 MHZ and the other is 461 MHZ. I would like a super cheap DMR radio to occasionally, if ever, monitor.
I ran across some threads in specific forums but not general. It seems like some have tried a Baofeng DR-1801 with no luck and I'm wondering if it's a different kind of DMR that it is incapable of decoding.

DMR - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

 

[RaleighGuy]

I am not exactly clear on what DMR is. There are different Tiers, there's Motorola, there's ham radio, etc. If DMR means Digital Mobile Radio then it seems like it's just digital but there are all these extra things.

Yes DMR is a digital mode, however various manufacturers (like Motorola) while using the DMR protocol as the base have added extra things to it, like CAP+ CON+ etc. Many of the cheaper brands are limited in what they can follow or hear.

 

[StoliRaz]

"Super cheap" usually means hours wasted trying to get it to work, device issues, issues trying to get it to play nice with your computer, etc. It might be cheap money-wise but it'll cost you some gray hair and maybe a few broken items from being launched across the room. I'd search the classifieds for a 325P2.

Just my experience

 

[DJBio]

What scanner do you have and what program are you using to program it Freescan does not work with DMR but Proscan does
If your scanner has not had the DMR upgrade code put in you will have to pay to get the code

 

[merlin]

My primary scanning, I use DSD+ fastlane. Incorporates a USB SDR like RTL and Airspy.
This will cover analog and most of the modern DMR protocols. and any band your SDR will cover. The most cost effective way to go.

Hardly any two scanners are alike with features and limitations so you need to determine WHAT/WHERE you want to listen.
Then process of elimination, narrow down to a choice or few.
Never saw a scanner that mandated programming with Freescan or Proscan, but those do take a lot of work out of the programming mix.
My only real scanner is a BCT-15X. Analog only, no trunking.
Everything else is industrial LMR radio. A short list and notes:
Motorola XTS/XTL5000s .Single 700/800 Mhz. P25 trunking, I use to listen to local public safety
Harris XG-100. 4 band. Same as Moto's plus amateur, Marine, weather etc.
Motorola XPR6550. UHF, does analog, DMR, Moto TIII, CAP+, many local businesses, GMRS
Kenwood NX-3320. UHF, does DMR and Nexedge. The rest of local businesses.
A LOT of money here but accumulated over the last two decades.
If I were going a scanner route, it would likely be SDS 100 or 200 and add everything I could.

 

[IC-R20]

My primary scanning, I use DSD+ fastlane. Incorporates a USB SDR like RTL and Airspy.
This will cover analog and most of the modern DMR protocols. and any band your SDR will cover. The most cost effective way to go.

Hardly any two scanners are alike with features and limitations so you need to determine WHAT/WHERE you want to listen.
Then process of elimination, narrow down to a choice or few.
Never saw a scanner that mandated programming with Freescan or Proscan, but those do take a lot of work out of the programming mix.
My only real scanner is a BCT-15X. Analog only, no trunking.
Everything else is industrial LMR radio. A short list and notes:
Motorola XTS/XTL5000s .Single 700/800 Mhz. P25 trunking, I use to listen to local public safety
Harris XG-100. 4 band. Same as Moto's plus amateur, Marine, weather etc.
Motorola XPR6550. UHF, does analog, DMR, Moto TIII, CAP+, many local businesses, GMRS
Kenwood NX-3320. UHF, does DMR and Nexedge. The rest of local businesses.
A LOT of money here but accumulated over the last two decades.
If I were going a scanner route, it would likely be SDS 100 or 200 and add everything I could.

The BCT-15x actually does have trunking. It's nice for LTR systems those bigger communication companies rent out talkgroups on. I also used to listen to a Motorola Type Ii with mixed system voice. At the time most was P25 system voice but the fire department was analog.

 

[scanmanmi]

I am primarily looking for ultra cheap Handheld for my wife to hear the school buses. Just wondering if anyone had success. Could I buy something and find out DMR actually meas MotoTurbo or something that won't work? Would a ham DMR like TYT work?

 

[buddrousa]

Its not that easy just buy a Uniden 325p2 or Whistler WS-1080 or WS-1088 SCANNER.