What the heck is DMR good for?

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ab5r

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Yep, I know that DMR is "Digital Mobile Radio," but it is new to me and I do not understand WHO or WHAT services are available. I've looked at the complicated Wiki explanation and still confused.

Personally, I do not want to monitor taxi cabs, miscellaneous private businesses, and etc.. Are the public services (police, fire and medical) gravitating to DMR? Is amateur radio changing over too? I realize this may be a local or regional thing and not a common occurrence.

Sorry friends, I am completely lost with the furor over being able to receive DMR. Please explain for a simple minded ancient scanner addict.

Regards,
Jerry
 

SCPD

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DMR is not really intended for public safety use but there are some agencies using it. As for ham radio, it is very popular here in the Carolinas. There are talkgroups that allow local, regional, national and world wide communication. As an example these are the talkgroups on the Ft. Worth repeater:

Assignment TS TG
Worldwide 1 1 1
North America 1 3
WW English 1 13
Local 2 2
DCI Bridge 2 3100
TX Statewide 2 3148

In your case I don't think I would spend the money on a DMR capable scanner, I would just buy a MD380 transceiver for $110
 
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marksmith

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Unless you have a local specific DMR user that you have an interest in, it's not something you want to spend any $ to be able to monitor.

Mark
WS1095/536/436/996P2/HP1e/HP2e/996XT/325P2/396XT/PRO668/PSR800/PRO652
 

SCPD

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I noticed you have amateur radio call sign. DMR would be another good choice, for you, if you ever wanted to try the digital world in ham radio. You might be familiar with DSTAR, a ham radio only digital protocol. DMR is just another digital standard that seems to be growing in the ham radio world though it was originally intended to be a standard for other users. Do some Google searching and you'll find a lot of ham radio use in the DMR world.

Some public safety, taxis, etc., use that protocol so it's not locked in to any one particular service. In my area there are a a few public safety agencies using it as well as an ambulance service.

I'm still getting my feet wet with DMR so it's still new to me as well. I invested in some Tytera MD-380's so that I could start with something inexpensive. Do another Google search for those radios and you'll find lot's of info in it, code plugs, hacks, etc.

Take a look at dmr-marc.net and you'll see how vast of a network DMR has become in ham radio.
 

gewecke

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Yep, I know that DMR is "Digital Mobile Radio," but it is new to me and I do not understand WHO or WHAT services are available. I've looked at the complicated Wiki explanation and still confused.

Personally, I do not want to monitor taxi cabs, miscellaneous private businesses, and etc.. Are the public services (police, fire and medical) gravitating to DMR? Is amateur radio changing over too? I realize this may be a local or regional thing and not a common occurrence.

Sorry friends, I am completely lost with the furor over being able to receive DMR. Please explain for a simple minded ancient scanner addict.

Regards,
Jerry
Decades ago, I remember our local hams arguing whether to put a PL board in their radio! They didn't think it would help lol. I know, not the same thing at all, as Dmr. But Jerry if you had one of the little CS 750 Dmr portables, you'd probably not put it down once you got the hang of it. Look at some the You Tube videos available and you'll learn a lot! As said, Dmr is becoming pretty mainstream with many hams! Even a few of our OM's have them. :). 73, n9zas
 

gewecke

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Unless you have a local specific DMR user that you have an interest in, it's not something you want to spend any $ to be able to monitor.

Mark
WS1095/536/436/996P2/HP1e/HP2e/996XT/325P2/396XT/PRO668/PSR800/PRO652
. Not exactly true, as we don't just monitor with it, since its not a scanner! WE can transmit using DMR. Big difference Mark. :). 73, n9zas
 

K5MPH

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Dont waste your time or money on a over priced scanner radio your an ham buy you an MD-380 and get on DMR,DMR here in the Rio Grand Valley is catching on really fast we have an repeater in Mcallen and Brownsville with our own talk group for the Valley......
 

gewecke

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Dont waste your time or money on a over priced scanner radio your an ham buy you an MD-380 and get on DMR,DMR here in the Rio Grand Valley is catching on really fast we have an repeater in Mcallen and Brownsville with our own talk group for the Valley......
. MY thoughts exactly! There are more advancements being made in Dmr all the time. :wink: 73, n9zas
 

marksmith

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. Not exactly true, as we don't just monitor with it, since its not a scanner! WE can transmit using DMR. Big difference Mark. :). 73, n9zas
Maybe I am wrong but I got the impression from the OP that he was talking about monitoring. That is what I was responding to. He also referred to himself as a scanner addict. As such, I thought my response was on point to the OP.

Sent from my LG-V410 using Tapatalk
 

gewecke

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Maybe I am wrong but I got the impression from the OP that he was talking about monitoring. That is what I was responding to. He also referred to himself as a scanner addict. As such, I thought my response was on point to the OP.

Sent from my LG-V410 using Tapatalk
Point taken Mark, but the Op is also a ham and can transmit and receive on Dmr for FAR less money than if he paid $500+ for just a scanner. :wink: 73, n9zas
 

Voyager

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Dont waste your time or money on a over priced scanner radio your an ham buy you an MD-380 and get on DMR,DMR here in the Rio Grand Valley is catching on really fast we have an repeater in Mcallen and Brownsville with our own talk group for the Valley......

Please post the locations to get a 380 for less than $60. Even if you can, you are severely limited to how much you can scan using one.

As for DMR, it's the mode many businesses are moving to from analog. Some hams are also using it, and as was stated a few PS groups are using it even though it is not recommended. As was also stated, if you have no interest in any of these, it likely won't do you any good. But if there are users you want to monitor using it, you may want to purchase the upgrade.
 

gewecke

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Please post the locations to get a 380 for less than $60. Even if you can, you are severely limited to how much you can scan using one.

As for DMR, it's the mode many businesses are moving to from analog. Some hams are also using it, and as was stated a few PS groups are using it even though it is not recommended. As was also stated, if you have no interest in any of these, it likely won't do you any good. But if there are users you want to monitor using it, you may want to purchase the upgrade.
. MD 380's are currently about $110-130 MD 390's are at $180 and CS 750's are around $220 - $250. Yes you can scan with them somewhat, but not in the normal sense everyone is used to. :wink: 73, n9zas
 

Darkstar350

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Ever since the introduction of DMR i really have not been a fan of it
But i think the idea is a kind of unwritten rule that its basically the digital voice solution for businesses or anyone who wants to "be different" from using P25...

The appeal is more to say small businesses or villages where they can have multiple talkgroups on a single frequency or 2 rather then spending money on a big trunk system...
 

jaspence

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DMR

Maybe I read through the messages too quickly, but my reason for liking DMR is because it allows two conversations on the same frequency simultaneously. I have a D-Star and a P25 radio, but they have the same limit as analog, one frequency, one conversation. It is also far cheaper to get into DMR than any other digital format. Even a used D-Star costs more than a new DMR, and new P25 radios can really stretch the budget. The big DMR problem for hams is that you need two radios because there are no dual banders available. It is also a tedious job to create a new code plug, but that goes for other digital formats also.
 

natedawg1604

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Ever since the introduction of DMR i really have not been a fan of it
But i think the idea is a kind of unwritten rule that its basically the digital voice solution for businesses or anyone who wants to "be different" from using P25...

The appeal is more to say small businesses or villages where they can have multiple talkgroups on a single frequency or 2 rather then spending money on a big trunk system...

DMR is certainly cheaper than P-25 products; if you look at the long-term cost of P-25 systems over 10 or 15 years (including high- $$$ maintenance, console firmware upgrades and a host of other stuff), it adds up to a LOT of money.
 

ab5r

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There aren't many VHF ham DMR systems out there, but there will be dual-band DMR radios out soon.

Thanks to everyone, great answers. Yes, Voyager, that IS a pertinent question. I live about 40-50 south of the Dallas/Fort worth metroplex and is very doubtful reception of any DMR down here, much less a need for transmitting. Furthermore, I do not know who or what "might" be available in my area.

As I said, nine comments were great. Yes, I am familiar with D-Star and the Yaesu digital format (name escapes me right now.) I haven't got excited about digital due mostly to the costs and my remote QTH.

Thanks again & 73
 

ab5r

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There aren't many VHF ham DMR systems out there, but there will be dual-band DMR radios out soon.

Thanks to everyone, great answers. Yes, Voyager, that IS a pertinent question. I live about 40-50 south of the Dallas/Fort worth metroplex and is very doubtful reception of any DMR down here, much less a need for transmitting. Furthermore, I do not know who or what "might" be available in my area.

As I said, nine comments were great. Yes, I am familiar with D-Star and the Yaesu digital format (name escapes me right now.) I haven't got excited about digital due mostly to the costs and my remote QTH.

Thanks again & 73
 
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