What is on your mind?

What questions do you have about DMR (Digital Mobile Radio)?

What are your comments on digital radio?

That’s what we want to discuss on the next DMR Tech Net with Tom N8TJ, Stan WB8QJZ, and Steve KC8WXM.

Join us Monday, August 7th on Brandmeister talk group 3126 from 7:45pm ET – 8:30pm ET for the DMR Tech Net.

We’d like to hear from you, your comments, and questions, about Digital Mobile Radio.

Tom N8TJ, Stan WB8QJZ, Steve KC8WXM, and Dana KC0MYP.

The DMR Tech Net starts at 7:45pm ET on Brandmeister Talk Group 3126, statewide Michigan and runs until 8:30pm ET.

Stay on TG-3126 to join the Michigan One DMR net (the longest running Michigan DMR net) at 8:30pm, hosted by the DMR Tech Net team & a few volunteers.
Monday night, Tom N8TJ and Rick AD8KN, will be the Net Controls for the Michigan One DMR net with Stan WB8QJZ operating Net Logger.

When the Michigan One DMR net is done, stay on BM talk group 3126 for an informal after-net chat.

We are branching out to the TGIF network. The DMR Tech Net team has our own TGIF talk group 31268, that you are welcome to use. We’ll be on it and best of all, there is no 10-minute limit!

https://tgif.network/talkgroups.php

Upcoming DMR Tech Net topics

Monday, August 7, 2023 from 7:45pm ET – 8:30pm ET on Brandmeister’s DMR Talk Group 3126:

We want to hear your comments and questions about digital mobile radio. What’s on your mind? How did you get started? What was beneficial? What tips or hints would you share with people interested in digital mobile radio?

Here are some details about amateur radio digital mobile radio (DMR):

DMR works between 30 MHz and 1 GHz
The frequencies are divided into Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF)
DMR uses Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), which allows two users to share a single frequency
Ham radios come in three modes: base stations, handhelds, and mobile
To use DMR, you need to be a licensed amateur radio operator or licensed ham
You can listen to certain DMR broadcasts online
DMR is not allowed on the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS) band
One review says battery life is an important factor when buying a DMR radio

D-STAR, which stands for “Digital Smart Technology for Amateur Radio”, is an open digital amateur radio standard that allows users to connect with other users globally.

Digital mobile radios (DMR) have several advantages over analog radios, including:

Sound quality: Digital radios have better sound quality, eliminating static, background noise, and distortion
Features: Digital radios have additional features, such as GPS, text messaging, and voice recognition
Range: Digital radios perform better at the edge of coverage
Battery life: Digital radios have longer battery life and are more power efficient
Channel capacity: Digital radios have double the channel capacity
Interference: Digital radios are more robust to interference in noisy environments
Range: DMR radio systems can have any range if the correct infrastructure is installed

Digital radios also support both analog and digital modes, making it easy to migrate.

Here are some reasons why you might want a DMR radio:

Digital audio

DMR provides digital quality audio, which can eliminate external noise and provide better audio quality

Data applications

DMR can enable data applications such as text messaging, GPS, SCADA, and telemetry

Open standard

DMR is an open standard, which means any company can manufacture a compatible product

More bandwidth

DMR was designed to allow for more bandwidth on a particular frequency

Two time slots

DMR has two time slots per channel, which allows for two different conversations to happen simultaneously

Low cost

The aim of the DMR standard was to create a digital radio system with low complexity and low cost

You can also link a DMR repeater into one of the different DMR networks.

What is a DMR Ham Radio? – Learn Everything About DMR

By John Draper March 16, 2022

DMR ham radio users are the fastest growing network of amateur radio enthusiasts. On the surface, digital mobile radio is a radio that is linked to the internet. However, as we dig into the layers of DMR ham radio, you’ll discover there’s a lot more to it.

DMR Ham Radio

DMR ham radio is an open standard radio network optimized through efficient bandwidth use via Time-Division Multiple Access. TDMA divides communication into time slots, which ensures the senders and receivers can communicate uninterrupted in two separate conversations without changing the frequency.

DMR is an open standard, which means any company can manufacture a compatible product. This makes the DMR radio market more competitive, which leads to better hardware and lower prices for consumers. This makes the DMR ham radio community easy to join. Follow along to learn the basics and get started in the DMR ham radio world.

Learn more about the Best DMR Radios.

What is DMR Ham Radio and Why Use It?

DMR was developed to provide easy and inexpensive access to a public radio network. Produced by the European Telecommunications standard Institute (ETSI) in the mid-1980s, DMR soon became the global preference of many radio enthusiasts.

Although there are a few other radio modes (some you can connect with through the DMR network), DMR remains the largest and fastest growing radio network.

Other radio modes include:

P25 ( Police Scanner)
Yaesu System Fusion
D-Star
NXDN4800
POCSAG

How Do I Get Started in DMR Ham Radio?

Before you get started with DMR you’ll need to get a DMR ID and to do that you’ll need to be a licensed amateur radio operator or licensed ham. You can listen in on certain DMR broadcasts online, but to access the DMR network you’ll have to connect a DMR ID programmed radio.

Attempting to use an unregistered device or tampering can result in sanctions from the FCC so make sure to follow this protocol.

How do I get my Ham License?

Getting your ham radio license is step one for being able to communicate with other amateurs locally and within North America, with limited international ability. The test involves 35 questions pertaining to regulations, radio functions, and radio theory.

Visit the Ham Radio License page for more information on how to get your amateur radio license.
Cost to get a Ham Radio License

After you pass your test you can register for your DMR ID using your amateur radio license

Get your DMR ID here.

What is a DMR network?

The main access point of a DMR ham radio is through the DMR network. Imagine a network of radios connected through the internet.

Now imagine that your internet service provider has its own network, and you can still communicate with other ISPs, but you can also communicate solely within that network as well, almost like Xbox and Playstation standalone games and/or the inclusion of cross-platform games.

There are two ways to connect to a DMR Network:

Repeater network/Multimedia Digital Voice Modem (MMDVM)
Stand-alone repeater/Simplex (one to one correspondence)

Repeaters and Hotspots communicate through a digital networking interface called TCP/IP, commonly associated with the internet. This interface transfers encoded information between two points, either privately or publicly. This includes the transmission of text, email, and GPS functionality. Your radio must have an AMBE +2 Vocoder to transmit the encoded signal.

What is an AMBE +2 Vocoder and How Does it Work?

The AMBE +2 Vocoder is a DMR standard. With the vocoder, your analog voice is encoded into a digital signal, where a radio with a matching digital signal can decode it back into analog sound. This step ensures a higher audio quality than a plain old voice transmission through FM.

What is Simplex?

Simplex can be likened to walkie-talkies. This interface has two-way functionality and is most commonly used in Tier I communications (explained below). Both sender and receiver operate on one frequency and take turns sending messages back and forth.

What is a Repeater?

Repeaters are used by both the receiver and transmitter to increase the signal’s range. You have most likely seen a repeater with blinking lights and an antenna system at a higher elevation. The elevation helps the signal travel a greater distance. However, repeaters don’t have to be on a mountain top. They can be portable handheld devices as well.

List of Repeaters

Blackbox
Sainsonic
Powerwerx
BridgeCom Systems

What is a Hotspot?

Hotspots in DMR are similar to the cellular hotspots that most of us are already familiar with. You would use it in a pinch or for lack of service. Radio hotspots work the same way, if you lack repeater access, you can use a hotspot to access a specific DMR network.

List of Hotspots

Zum Spot
Jumbo Spot
SharkRF Open Spot
MMDVM Hotspots

Which DMR Network Should I Use?

There are many DMR Networks to choose from, the three most common being DMR-Marc, DMR+, and Brandmeister. These networks have worldwide availability. However, you may only have limited access to international networks depending on your license.

Check out this link for a comprehensive list of local and international networks.

What is a Codeplug?

Codeplugs contains the information used to program your radio on the DMR network. This information will vary from radio to radio and specifies information like frequency and accessible Talkgroups. A Codeplug is essentially access software that you “plug” in manually.

What is a Talkgroup?

Talkgroups are chat rooms where you can send out a signal via a DMR Network and other users linked to that Talkgroup can reply to your message from that same channel. You can select from the over 1500 Talkgroups manually from all over the world. Some of these Talkgroups include:

Local Repeater Talkgroups
Statewide
Regional
Country Specific
Special Interests Groups ie, Public Safety.
General Amateur Radio Groups

Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III Explained

Tier I is the lowest tier of communication and certain products can be purchased specifically for each tier. Tier I products operate under 446Mhz and cannot use repeaters, they are simplex only.

Tier II allows for normal DMR processes and is used by all amateur DMR networks. They are not limited to any frequency. Allows for use of repeaters.

Tier III has all the functionality of Tier II plus trunking. Tier III optimizes the transmission of voice, text, and data messaging.

What is Trunking?

A trunked radio system allows for the connectivity of multiple users on the same frequency and is most commonly used for business and P25 (Police Scanner). Users do not select the specific channel and as a result, there are multiple users designated to channels by a computer for efficiency.

What DMR Radio should I buy?

You have two choices here, either a DMR Portable or a DMR Mobile. The DMR Portable is a low-power device and resembles a walkie-talkie. The DMR Mobile is a high power device, but since DMR operates so efficiently, these models are generally reserved for use in commercial radio and look much like the radios police cars have in them.

Below is a list of popular radios from each type.

Best DMR Radios Brands.

Anytone
Motorola
Hytera
Baofeng
Connect Systems
Ailunce
Btech

DMR Mobile Radios

Kenwood
Anytone
Motorola
Kydera
Vertex
Yaesu
Whistler

DMR Ham Radio Explained

Consider this article your introduction into the world of DMR ham radio.

There is much more to explore and learn within this awesome hobby. Now that you understand some of these terms, it might be helpful to check out this video.

There, you can see a DMR ham radio in action and help reinforce the information learned in this article.

Citations

https://www.savenetradio.org/what-is-dmr-ham-radio/

Topics for future DMR Tech Nets:

Go back over the Digimon feature to explain what it is, how and why to use it.
Hot Keys. What are they, why use them, and how to set them up.
DMR tips. Like what Steve KC8WXM mentioned to better (and faster) utilize DMR features.
Adding or changing DMR channels via keypad programming.
How to update your DMR contacts via RadioID.net.
Asking check-ins what they know now that they didn’t know when they started with DMR that would be helpful to other beginners (Elmering)
A timeline to get started of essential things to do with DMR and why.
Which DMR radio do you use the most & why?
Proper DMR practices & procedures to use on-air
DMR text messaging
Advanced features of the Anytone 878 handheld and 578 mobile radio
Going over the different DMR networks (Brandmeister, TGIF, DMR+, YSF, etc)
Useful radio accessories to use with your DMR equipment
Unique names used instead of the amateur radio alpha codes
Antennas for handheld, mobile, and home radios
Logging software
QSL cards Do you send them out?