Bridgecom Systems REVEALS the Skybridge Hotspot | EASY Pi-star Setup

[@gregsmith1116]

Thanks! I purchased the SkyBridge Hotspot and set it up no problems after watching your video and the Bridgecom vids as well. Thanks again!

[@nelsonlinkousii5174]

Thanks! Great Video. Just got my SkyBridge a few days ago.

[@wassman27]

Looks like a decent unit, but that price point ouch...kinda hard to justify when I can get one from China for 1/3 the price. I guess your paying for higher quality RF board and the accessories. Personally at that price point I would get the openspot3, smaller and better features/interface.

[@HamRadio2]

Yes this unit is going to be better than most anything from China

[@Texas1FlyBoy]

Yep. Too rich for my budget. That's the price of a decent mobile or HT. $75 for plug-and-play setup (only when purchased with a bundle)? Just put the info in yourself (it's not rocket surgery - LOL) and put the savings in your pocket or toward more equipment. Maybe I got lucky, but the Chinese version I got works well and has a nice, clean signal.

[@pedrocatalan9814]

Agreed. Even the Zumspot from HRO is less money than this.

[@daveycrockett9447]

If you have the skills build one yourself and save yourself $150-$200. I put one together with a Rasp PI 3 B+, Jumbo Spot and Nextion 3.5 Screen with C4Labs Case for about $150. China or not it has been solid for almost 6month no issues.

[@hypnosiscenternyc]

@@pedrocatalan9814 and the best screen

[@one-of-us9939]

I did just order an AT D878 UVII. I'm not yet a Tech, but before I go digital I wanna be more familiar with the radio. One step at a time wins my race. Soon my friends at BridgeCom might make one for me! Thanks much for showing it!

[@paulaubuchon2336]

Just getting back I to ham radio after a10yr absence and decided DMR is the way to go here in SW Florida. Waiting for my BridgeCom system to arrive...73's K1YOU

[@one-of-us9939]

I'm waiting too as I write this. Gonna be a while before I go digital. I gotta get FCC legal first!🤞🤣👍 Northern lower Michigan here.

[@phroto1]

just watched your video I have a pi-star already but I will probably will get the skybridge as well it looks great but will need to wait till my retirement money comes in at the beginning of the month as my funds are limited so thanks for the video

[@ffirstllast3328]

You did a great video a few weeks back that explained HotSpots...surprised you did not mention it at the beginning of this video.

[@HamRadio2]

Thanks, I will see about linking it from this video

[@mattw5ltz579]

Jason, do you have a video that compares some of the top hotspot’s features, or explains why one might be better than another for specific needs? I’m planning to buy a hot spot soon, but other than cheap vs. expensive, which features should I be looking for? I’m guessing error rate, digital mode variety, ease of interface navigation? What else should I be looking for as I narrow down my shopping list? I have Fusion and D-Star capability, along with DMR, but I have yet to make that work even with a repeater nearby, so the digital stuff is still very new to me.

[@vincentdenich5034]

Would get an Openspot 3 at that price, also the spot has a good battery and can be used without being powered by a/c adapter. I've also had experiences on 2 occasions where they didn't stand by what they sold. My two cents. 73.

[@williamlowry9585]

Bridgecom jacks the prices up on everything.

[@donaldhiles_k9sgz428]

Just Bought the SkyBridge and the 878 version II from BridgeCom. Should be here by Saturday. Should be fun.

[@billfrankowski2041]

Nice review Jason, but the price $$$, not. It’s a zum spot dual band board, pi zero wh, and a c4 labs case with some inexpensive accessories. HRO sells the board kit for $155 and case for $21 and can probably source the extras on Amazon for cheap... Just saying

[@One-Eyed-Willly]

for 150 you can put together a rpi3 duelplex hot spot. but you are inline what I am thinking

[@mikepasquale71]

For comparison, the RFinder HCP1 is a dual slot hotspot with a 2 inch Nextion Display and a 3000 maH battery built in (and yes, also built on aPi Zero) for $269 from Gigaparts.

[@HamRadio2]

This hotspot came out first and I received it first. I have an HCP video coming though.

[@mikepasquale71]

Thanks, Jason, I posted my first impressions of the HCP1 in the RFinder Android DMR radio group on Facebook. Looking forward to your review

[@norm_sueb122]

Also interested in the 900mhz hotspot!

[@jeffw2338]

FWIW, my $19 Chinese single timeslot MMDVM boards on a Pi Zero W do 900mhz just fine.

[@Jody_VE5SAR]

Nothing like doing a review on a hot spot and getting a lead on an even cooler hot spot. :-)

[@tygoodystradingpost743]

Hey Jay great video as always.... But I would like to know more when you get the info on the 900Mhz Pi-star please.... KJ7PPI AZ-USA 73

[@daveward1484]

Crazy Horse was a Sioux Lakota war chief in the Oglala band. Maybe his great great great grandchild is a ham.

[@HamRadio2]

Yes I am familiar with the Native American, just not the network :D

[@JustLearning]

Thanks for the review! The one thing I would have them change is to flip the image 180 degrees so that the power cable and the ethernet cable come off the top and not the bottom. I don't know what they put the connectors on the bottom of the image and why they do not flip the image. I have a NexGen Hotspot with the same issue.

[@HamRadio2]

Yes that makes sense.

[@mikepasquale71]

The price could only be justified if a Raspberry Pi 3 b+ or Pi 4 was used. The Pi zero is very slow to boot and update config changes with Pi-Star 4.1.2

[@rangersmith4652]

For those of us new to DMR, it would be nice to see exactly how you've tuned the radio and set the Brandmeister page. In other words, how to make then match so the connection gets made at xmit. Yeah, a total noob concept, but one everybody doing these tutorials seems to assume we know.

[@michaeledmonds3027]

Thanks Jason.... Just bought 878 plus 2. Which hotspot as of June 2021, please? Openspot 3? Skybridge plus? Something more current? Hope to see you July 17.

[@davidstephens1098]

good work Jason

[@jamiecook5066]

Is that dual band hot spot or only UHF? I use a cheap eBay dual band board on a raspberry pi 3. Works great and I got the error rate down to .1. Thanks for the video. Also cool to see the new stuff!!!

[@HamRadio2]

This one is dual band

[@rossen_nikov]

It is "great" to see, how these days people can make the thinks crazy complicated when the HMIs have reached great levels of perfection. SharkRF for example is the way how to make things right, in any direction!

[@davidkimball9942]

So I have a Icom 2730a, is there a bridge from this FM system to digital on the web?

[@HamRadio2]

No, that radio is analog only. You could use it with an Allstar node to connect over the internet, but not in a digital mode.

[@wb6anp]

I am just re starting into DMR and hotspots, in your opinion what would be a good fairly easy setup hot spot to get, the Openspot 3 seems complex to set up to me. I have an older TYT md380

[@HamRadio2]

In my opinion, the Openspot OS is easier to setup than Pi-star - however, neither one of them are really complicated. Bridgecom will set the hotspot up for you, so that all you have to do is plug it in. Then you can login to the dashboard, see how they set it up, and learn what all of the settings are used for.

[@pwalkin]

Seems to me it’s an off the shelf pi-star mmdvm hotspot. What’s the difference between the Skybridge and ZUMSpot?

[@MidFiMan]

Sorry to be negative, but for $299.99 when compared to TGIF, I've got to be asking VDF? That's just based on the whole IP situation alone.

[@MidFiMan]

And I know how to find IP addresses too. It's just way out of the way.

[@m3uec]

Great video! :-)

[@HamRadio2]

Thanks for the visit

[@mauriceaustin3442]

guess I need to do some catching up. Been out of radio for about 20 years. I had a IRLP system back then. Looks like this might be about the same idea?? Thank you

[@ertonyrn]

Maurice Austin except for digital... not analog fm

[@Tump2010]

get a 90 degree USB cable adapter if you can get one that bends the right direction.

[@jaysonwilliams1278]

Jason, did you notice that the word NOT is crossed out on the box. So is a toy. !?!??!

[@HamRadio2]

Lol good point

[@coctailer]

Do you like this one better than the TGIF one?

[@walteredwards544]

I don't have a wireless Lan at home. Could I do this set-up process using only my phone, that had tether capability? Thank you in advance

[@HamRadio2]

Yes, for sure

[@walteredwards544]

@@HamRadio2 I do like this one so I was hoping you'd answer yes. Now let the saving up begin 🙏🙏🙏

[@gilbertcarrascojr558]

Hey Jason, KM6DAK Gilbert; Do you know of a way to modify the OLED screen to fit C4 labs zebra case JRZ-1S. I ended up getting the legs (I call them legs) on the OLED screen cut off but now the screen won’t turn on. What would have done?

[@423tech]

Have you tried this unit on P25? I have several Motorola XTS series radios. I just ordered an MMDVM but I'm not sure how that will work with talkgroups.

[@seasley2004]

Get the diamond version of that antenna. I have the comet version and to me it's not very good.

[@HamRadio2]

I didn't know Comet made one. Only seen the Diamond and the MFJ

[@ptyndall757]

Stay FAR away from Diamond. Great products when they work, but they will not stand behind them when they don't. Been there, done that. Never again. Comet works great for me.

[@davidray4128]

So basically you are paying $300 for a chinese MMDVM hotspot with some cables and a $10 battery. I'll stick with my $60 unit that works exactly the same...

[@HamRadio2]

The Zumspot isn't Chinese, but otherwise yes.

[@NightNemesis]

Hi David. Please share info of your hotspot. Thanks

[@davidray4128]

@@NightNemesis Just a generic off of aliexpress. Works fine.

[@waltsnyder886]

jason i have had mine for about a year and now for some reason it will not let me log in. it works just fine i just can't log in to get into the configuration part of the hotspot and the same for admin .when i put the info in pi-star raspberry and hit sign in it goes plank as far as where it typed in pi-star and raspberry. got any suggestions ? thanks walt n2wjr

[@gregcarpenter4335]

What is the range Hotspot to handheld?

[@HamRadio2]

There isn't a simple answer to that question, just like asking the range of a radio. It depends on your area, terrain, and other factors.

[@joshl5003]

What do you get when you plug in the hdmi

[@BeaglerBassFishingOutdoors]

Looking to get a hotspot. But honestly what’s the difference between the one in your vid @ $299 and others online at 65-100$ ? Besides doing the same thing is the more expensive one faster? Or paying for name and better case?

[@stevefe8522]

Looks to me like the not is lined out. So it would read, this is a toy. :)

[@bob76451]

If I remember correctly, the battery is 3000mAh

[@JeffHochberg]

Such a dramatically overpriced piece of hardware! The components to build this are probably worth half of the price tag, if not less. Do yourselves a favor and buy the components - build your own. Don’t spend that kind of money on a hotspot!

[@DrDiff952]

Watching KD9PUZ

[@sonarmb]

Watching....73 VK6MMB

[@KG4JYS]

"not" is crossed out. It is a toy.

[@dennisthrush2835]

It's a big boy toy.

[@nz0z134]

$85 worth of Chinese hot spot for $300

[@HamRadio2]

Once again, the Zumspot boards are not Chinese.

[@Taras-Nabad]

The days of the $300 hot spot are over. This is made in China just like the $50 one you buy on ebay which works fantastic BTW. PASS

[@HamRadio2]

This information is incorrect. The Zumspots are NOT, in fact, made in China. Please check your information sources. The part about the $50 ebay ones is likely correct, but you take a chance on those too. Sometimes they will work and sometimes not

[@Taras-Nabad]

@@HamRadio2 I know you are getting paid by the vendor but are you representing the ham radio community or the vendor, you can't represent both.

[@HamRadio2]

@@Taras-Nabad Again, your information is incorrect. The vendor didn't pay me. To date, I have never been paid to review any product on this show - ever. I plan to keep it that way. Not once did the video say that you should or should not buy this device, either. It was providing information on what the device can do, what it looks like, how to set it up, etc. It is up to you to decide if you like it or not.

[@Taras-Nabad]

Jason, you are just being argumentative now with the very fans that support you. Let people have their own opinions even if they are different than yours.

[@HamRadio2]

@@Taras-Nabad Oh I totally agree that everyone should have their own opinion. But your statements about my being paid to make the video or somehow suggesting that the video said everyone should go out and buy one right now, were completely off. If you don't find value in this device, or the company who sells them, that is your right. But making up stories about why you don't like it doesn't really enforce your opinion. Several other comments on this video have just said it is out of their price range, and the commenter moved on. Had you originally done that, I would have just given you the thumbs up

[@jameshall5314]

Overpriced just build one

[@HamRadio2]

Nope

[@jameshall5314]

@@HamRadio2 I can build three for what they charge for one

[@HamRadio2]

@@jameshall5314 Then do that. Nothing wrong with either choice. QQing about the price doesn't help anyone.

[@jameshall5314]

@@HamRadio2 it’s a rip off

[@HamRadio2]

@@jameshall5314 Nope

[@che59v]

Yes, it is an internet-dependent TOY and yes, its sad to see our "once-proud wireless" hobby going wires and phone dependent. Many just cut the B.S and are going Zoom or Skype. sad.

[@Connor-vw6yi]

Folks, this is what happens when you get old and senile.

[@HamRadio2]

The hotspot is dependent on the internet, the mode is not

[@che59v]

@@HamRadio2 Did we talk about the mode ?? go wireless anyway you like, go digital analog, but WIRES and the INTERNET ?? really ?? is this what the hobby is about? wired communication?? why have the license in the first place. lol Sad some here fail to see where it is taking us.

[@HamRadio2]

Yes you brought up "wired" which the mode isn't. So yes...you talked about mode. LOL what's really sad is that Ham Radio used to be on the forefront of technology and now we've got luddites trying to turn us back to the stone age

[@che59v]

@@Connor-vw6yi Those who write this are in their 30's, so not sure what are you on about, anyway putting down people as senile due to their age or views should never be compatible with this hobby ( just like the internet itself). H Have we all forgotten what wireless means? sadly it looks this way, again digital got its place on the air, and it's great, no one doubt this BUT having a hotspot connected to the internet with 20mw playing make-believe is nothing short of a joke. In this situation, you better go on your wireless phone and leave the spectrum for those who still enjoy and are true to our wireless hobby.