I do this across 56 cities for my current employer. Bringing DMR XPR series Motorola audio into an Astro core via both Motorola Conventional Channel Gate-Way (CCGW) and Zetron 6300 series (6301 single link and 6302 dual link) IP interface devices. It has worked for a dozen years now, and as mentioned above, does not sound too bad audio wise. MotoTrbo mobiles are connected to the Zetron IP interface or CCGW, which then allows a console resource to be placed on the screen to transmit back to a site.
Our biggest issue is MDC1200 and aliasing, DMR has to go through the CCGW in analog mode to alias via Provisioning Manager, or have some conversion outside of our system core (via The Genesis Group GENSAC3 for Trbo converter). Another similar issue is I have been licensing and expanding TalkGroups that do not need to be analog (they do not need MDC1200/aliasing at the MCC7500 console) to digital. End users then complain that MDC1200 channels sound terrible compared to "other" (digital) channels.
FWIW, Motorola says none of this can be done, and I used to be an engineer at Zetron. This is what got me the job....and mission to expand the network across the nation, supporting private fire departments across the country, with a central dispatch location already in place using Motorola Astro infrastructure.
For the post about Telex IP224, prior to me being hired, Telex IP 223/224 interface devices were used, but Zetron was eventually chosen, as they can be configured via the network and web interface built into each 6300 interface. I had extensive experience with Telex/C-Soft/IP-1616/Bosch Communications before Zetron, and while they work, if changes need to be made to them, you will need some sort of network connection (RS-232 to Ethernet, SCADA interface, etc.) to connect to them for changes to be made. Or, be willing to travel to each site and connect to them for making changes. Having a web GUI interface on the network was beneficial, company saves money on travel to these 56 cities, and network can be remotely administrated. By the end of 2024, I add three more cities to the fold, and MCC7500 dispatch consoles.
Keep your network hops to less than 200 milliseconds and do not put security cameras that sense motion (also Internet traffic, VoIP phones, or anything else that sucks bandwidth) on the same VLAN as your radio traffic. Do not set Zetron/CCGW or related network hardware to auto-negotiate, give them dedicated bandwidth 100/Full/no negotiation!
