Wait til you get a load of Motorola commercial CPS.My second DMR radio is a Wouxun KG-UVN1. I got it right before I got a deal on an AnyTone 878. I struggled with the Wouxun for a year before I got it programmed. The AnyTone was a breeze! IMHO, if you can program a Wouxun DMR, you can program anything! Plus, once programmed, it is a good ECR (Expensive Chinese Radio, LOL!).
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What I've learned after 26 days as a ham...
- Thread starter KE9BXE
- Start date
I think I was banned twice.
The prior post has a good point about that limitation in DMR. I think the solution to making DMR a practical global radio that doesn't require extensive reprogramming when one travels is an auto-updating codebook of nationwide repeaters, grouped in to scan groups, associated with roaming groups. Thus you could be three States away, tune to the group, scan, and make QSOs.
The above is honestly quite simple coding and the radios are nearing the memory capacities to "hold the entire database" whatever database we may be referring to.
But yes, it is annoying to imagine me buying a DMR mobile for my truck and then running outside with a laptop all the time to maintain codeplugs.
MTS2000des
5B2_BEE00 Czar
One has to remember that amateur repeaters/infrastructure while documented on crowd sourced sites such as RepeaterBook, are not always 100 percent accurate. As amateur systems are put up by volunteers, private owners and clubs, they can change in availability, coverage, functions, digital voice types, etc.
When traveling, there is no better way of finding unknown repeaters than a good quality radio with a fast band scan capability. Sadly, most of the commercial Chicom radios plainly suck at this. A Yaesu FT-60 for example, blows any Chinese radio off the map when it comes to scanning the 2m and 440MHz band. Fast scan rate, superb sensitivity, and doesn't get wiped out from out of band nearby RF. As a new ham, finding ACTIVE repeaters can be challenging, having equipment purpose built for use on the ham bands and by hams should not be overlooked.
Even a basic analog scanner made in the last 40 years can do a much better job of finding active local repeaters than most "CCRs"
When traveling, there is no better way of finding unknown repeaters than a good quality radio with a fast band scan capability. Sadly, most of the commercial Chicom radios plainly suck at this. A Yaesu FT-60 for example, blows any Chinese radio off the map when it comes to scanning the 2m and 440MHz band. Fast scan rate, superb sensitivity, and doesn't get wiped out from out of band nearby RF. As a new ham, finding ACTIVE repeaters can be challenging, having equipment purpose built for use on the ham bands and by hams should not be overlooked.
Even a basic analog scanner made in the last 40 years can do a much better job of finding active local repeaters than most "CCRs"
I dunno I use XPR's for most my DMR stuff and frankly it isn't that big of a deal or at least wasn't to me. Frankly it's about like programming the Anytone's less the contact imports which I don't do anyway. I used my own contact list and if I need to know who anyone else is, they're supposed to use callsigns anyway. Frankly when they went from CPS 16 to 2.0 I had to re-find some things but at that, didn't seem much different than some other programming I had done. I don't do all that much anyway on DMR I spend most my time simplex and we don't have a lot of simplex digital voice in my area other than a few times a year some event's we have going on.
A few points:
Yes, amateur radio has a learning curve.
Yes, most amateur radio software is written by people who are not professional software authors with a team of UX designers or an extensive testing regimen.
I think RT Systems was first when it comes to readily available radio programming software. Chirp may have copied RT Systems to an extent, but not enough to trigger any copyright issues.
I always advocate learning how to program your radio without a computer. In the middle of a public service event when the net control station has to switch to a different repeater due to system failure or interference is not the time to grab your laptop to reprogram your radio. Of course, any amateur radio public service organizer should pre-plan for this situation and inform the operators of primary and secondary frequencies that might be used AND the operators should pre-program all of those frequencies into their radios.
The Wisconsin Association of Repeaters is the amateur radio repeater coordinator for Wisconsin. They maintain a pretty good list of coordinated repeaters and that list may be more accurate than what you find elsewhere. Repeater Directory Listing
Yes, amateur radio has a learning curve.
Yes, most amateur radio software is written by people who are not professional software authors with a team of UX designers or an extensive testing regimen.
I think RT Systems was first when it comes to readily available radio programming software. Chirp may have copied RT Systems to an extent, but not enough to trigger any copyright issues.
I always advocate learning how to program your radio without a computer. In the middle of a public service event when the net control station has to switch to a different repeater due to system failure or interference is not the time to grab your laptop to reprogram your radio. Of course, any amateur radio public service organizer should pre-plan for this situation and inform the operators of primary and secondary frequencies that might be used AND the operators should pre-program all of those frequencies into their radios.
The Wisconsin Association of Repeaters is the amateur radio repeater coordinator for Wisconsin. They maintain a pretty good list of coordinated repeaters and that list may be more accurate than what you find elsewhere. Repeater Directory Listing
kayn1n32008
ØÆSØ Say it, say 'ENCRYPTION'
At one time I extensively traveled for work and pleasure, by vehicle. Rarely, because I knew where I was going, did I have to program on the fly. But because I knew where I was going I could pre-program my TM-V71a. I got a VHF XPR5550, and at its maximum, had about 500ch programmed and It got to the point were I didn't need to program on the road any more.
I am now almost exclusively using XTS2500 portables, none of them have FPP provisioned. My XPR portables do not have FPP, and I've never used the FPP feature on my anytone 878 either.
I honestly think FPP is over rated. I just don't change the programming enough to need or want it.
N1EXA
FT8 Huntin Mudd Duck on the deep end of the pond !
I looked at that SDR Dongle and said I dont know what your problem is but your not going to win I WILL MAKE YOU WORK !
And im not spending a dime more ! It was all about USB Drivers, DLL Files and Just learning how to do it !
It was rewarding to get it to function and Pull in those signals in the mudd but i did have to pay $40 for the Up converter
because the thing was not designed for Short Wave no matter what the Description Says !
Pete N1EXA
That may be true for analog FM but for DMR? It's a PIA to program a DMR HT with software but to try and do it manually - I think a trip to the dentist and getting some teeth pulled would be more fun ;-)
Digital is so fragmented as well, it seems nearly unworkable in at least my area of the country. A couple DSTAR repeaters within 1.5 hours having no consistent coverage, same for system fusion, even worse for DMR.
Being naive and new to ham, I had expected standardization of technologies and I had expected agreed upon methodologies, taxonomies, and naming conventions. I had also anticipated that talkgroups would be standardized as well and that they would follow a logical hierarchy like zip codes or phone prefixes...but they don't.
It truly is the wild west. Best way I can describe ham to anyone with a technical background is "everything you assume to be logical is not, it is a universe that is experimental as though a million Doc Brown's were designing their own stuff".
Being naive and new to ham, I had expected standardization of technologies and I had expected agreed upon methodologies, taxonomies, and naming conventions. I had also anticipated that talkgroups would be standardized as well and that they would follow a logical hierarchy like zip codes or phone prefixes...but they don't.
It truly is the wild west. Best way I can describe ham to anyone with a technical background is "everything you assume to be logical is not, it is a universe that is experimental as though a million Doc Brown's were designing their own stuff".
When I got into HF radio in 1979 the entry level license was NOVICE. My first day (night actually) on the air I learned to love CW and I still do. Check my QRZ.com page.
Ken - N0VA
mmckenna
I ♥ Ø
There's no central body to make standards for amateur radio.
That's a double edged sword.
-With no standardization, hams can experiment however they want without someone deciding that the standards prevent it*. Even without that, you'll eventually find that there are hams that feel they are the self appointed enforcers of whatever they think everyone else should be doing. Not having standards makes it OK to tell them to take a flying leap. Since amateur radio is about experimentation, less rules/regulations/standards is kind of a good thing.
-on the other hand, hams/manufacturers have shot themselves in the proverbial foot by having so many options/self chosen "standards" that there isn't really any standard when it comes to digital voice. What you'll hear is plenty of hams making broad statements about what they think is "best", or what they think the standard should be. Not having some agreed upon digital standard has kind of helped fragment whats left of the VHF/UHF ham bands even more than they are. LMR industry standards like CTCSS/DCS codes have been helpful. Unfortunately hams and ham manufacturers have released non-LMR type digital modes (d*star and fusion) to the hobby that makes using used commercial LMR gear/repeaters a non-option.
Not saying either of those is right or wrong, they both have their issues.
Or you can use the old statement of: "The nice thing about standards is that there are so many to choose from.".
Welcome to ham radio.
*not to be confused with the existing and valid FCC regulations that are there for a good reason.
kayn1n32008
ØÆSØ Say it, say 'ENCRYPTION'
Welcome to Standards. The best part? There are soooooo many to choose from.
k6cpo
Member
It's nice to hear some positive comments about the RT Systems software for AnyTone DMR rasios. I've been thinking about it for my AT-868 handheld. The only drawback is spending the money for a radio I very seldom use. I've invested more in Yaesu Fusion digital radios because my club has four Fusion repeaters and there are a number of others around town. The implementation of Fusion is sooooo much more user-friendly than DMR that I've pretty much given up on DMR. It's my opinion that the only DMR became so popular in the ham community so quickly was the flood of cheap and mostly not so good Chinese-made radios coming into the US. If hams had to keep using expensive Motorola radios for DMR this wouldn't have happened. We all know how parsimonious hams are.
John_S
Member
My recommendation for new Techs is definitely not an HT, unless you live in a fairly rich repeater area. Your early experiences make a difference. Basic repeater ops should be simple and straight forward. I tend to tell newer folks to get a basic 2m or 2m/440 mobile, a power supply, and a basic antenna. The ease of operation and extra power add to the usability. Using an HT for more fringe type work is not easy because you depend on high power setting which heats up the radio and sucks the battery down. I'm emphasizing simplicity to get started and get your foot in the door.
K3YGX
Member
I got one of those 'ccr dmr' toy radios --- no repeaters here and the hotspots cost more than the radio
I was not impressed.
I was not impressed.
Which could consist of a roll-up J-pole tacked to a wall in the house. I think a lot of new hams get wrapped around the axle about how to install outdoor antennas. It doesn't take much to put up an antenna that performs better than a rubber duck and doesn't move around as you talk like the antenna on a handheld radio does.
While in military housing, I had enough length in the attic to run a dipole for 20 meters that worked perfectly.
I agree, I have seen many people come and go from the hobby due to only getting an HT to start and figuring out "hey this won't work". I spent a brief time messing with "Internet HF" (as my son liked to call it) only to learn about it and honestly I did it cause a couple friends were interested in it and I needed to put together a couple of hotspots for them. My time there lasted about 30 days and I found out that wasn't for me. I guess if I was ever confined to a nursing home or something maybe I'd have a different answer but not at this time.
You said you have an extra license. Use those privileges, get away from the hotspot stuff and set up an HF station. Talk to those places without the internet. Perhaps we'll hear from you in 90 more days with new experiences and stories. Good luck, welcome to ham radio.
While the audio on DMR is quite poor setting up a hotspot does not need to be expensive. Search for "MMDVM hat" should find them for less then $40 USD. You would also need a Raspberry Pi Zero but they are not expensive and have a thousand other uses in the shack. That's what I did and other then the poor audio it worked great and was a fun project. I don't use DMR much anymore but it can be a good option for hams with no local repeaters.
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