Is DMR Actually REAL Ham Radio!? | Let’s Get REAL!

[@TheAnnoDomini]

I've been a ham for 19 years. I was out of it for about 15 years and as I've come back to it, digital repeaters are certainly more popular than they were 20 years ago. I recently bought a DMR hotspot and and an Anytone AT-D878UVII Plus. They work well together. The audio quality leaves a lot to be desired but it works (when the audio isn't choppy). I have two DXCCs from 2005 (CW and SSB); I have monitored the Brandmeister worldwide talkgroup and find it extremely weird that other hams log the QSOs and exchange QSLs on DMR international contacts. Let's get real! Is it really DX when you are using a .5W HT to a hotspot 20 feet away, with the remainder of the QSO going over the internet? It seems lazy and superfluous to think you have really made an DX contact, like taking a shower with a raincoat. I really don't want to sound like a cranky old bastard, but what have you really accomplished? Years ago I lived in an HOA that forbade antennas. I am not technical by any means, but I made an inverted vee fan dipole with 28AWG wirewrap wire that the HOA never discovered. With it I was able to work Peter I island (3Y0X) from San Diego. It was very exciting because it was very far and accomplished with an antenna that the HOA nazis forbade. Was it an amazing feat? No, but it was an actual radio contact between two stations 7,141 miles away using only RF.

[@jasonacg]

I agree. Working "DX" on digital is akin to shooting fish in a barrel. I'm also in a neighborhood under HOA rule, and I've stashed HF antennas in the attic. Some DXCC and WAS achievements later, I'd say it does well enough. Sure, it may be exciting to talk to someone on the other side of a planet with an HT (and a hotspot, and good internet, etc.), but it doesn't beat the sense of accomplishment when you make that same contact, thousands of miles away, with nothing but air between you and the other station. Those are the ones you remember. But sure, DMR is a great convenience, and it's much easier to travel with a hotspot and an HT, than an HF rig and an antenna. So, there's a time and a place for everything.

[@chucke.9733]

I heard the same biases when I was licensed in the 70"s before repeaters! Older hams bleat out how CW was superior when AM came in, the same when SSB was adopted. Anything new to many hams is "not ham radio"! This is why Ham Radio is so splintered these days. Everyone has to say their way is best and they isolate themselves and their cronies to a small corner of knowledge. Ham Radio is very diversified and discovery of new and exciting means is what keeps it alive! Imagine if we only had HF and CW, sure many die hards would love it, but you would stifle growth! It's hard enough to entice a high school kid in todays environment to accept that narrow-minded thinking. Wake up or our hobby dies! 73's

[@TheAnnoDomini]

@@chucke.9733 Dude! I'm not knocking DMR. I think DMR is excellent, although it sounds like crap, it is more intelligible than most of my HF DX contacts. I am articulating shock that other hams are logging DMR contacts. It's the same as logging analog repeater contacts in the same county, or logging cellular telephone calls to Africa. I hope the ARRL isn't awarding DXCC's for DMR QSOs; that would be assinine. It's a very false sense of accomplishment... By the way... It's "73", not "73's". 73 means "best regards". Saying "73's" would be the same as saying "best regardsesses". Is your real name Sméagol(Golem)? Also, CW is superior to AM and SSB! My longest distance QSOs were made is CW, because CW usually gets through where SSB can't. I do have to admit that FT-8 seems to work far better than CW...

[@chucke.9733]

​@@TheAnnoDomini No real name is Chuck E., I don't know why it showed up incorrect.

[@TheAnnoDomini]

@@chucke.9733 Chuck... The name "Sméagol" comes from a character in the book and movie, "The Lord of the Rings". I made a reference to Sméagol because he said silly things like "regardsesses"... Do you normally say "best regardsesses" when you talk to non-hams? Why would you say 73's on the air? All Q-signals and prosigns in ham radio come from CW communications, in order to decrease the time necessary to send *_intelligible_* messages. Although not necessary on phone, it's a wonderful tradition that is more than 100 years old. There has never been a prosign called "73's". It's one of the ways you can discern a ham from an appliance operator.

[@RKingis]

From the FCC...... The amateur and amateur-satellite services are for qualified persons of any age who are interested in radio technique solely with a personal aim and without pecuniary interest. These services present an opportunity for self-training, intercommunication, and technical investigations. After all, hams have been linking analog repeaters with the internet as well, and I don't recall complants about that.

[@garymcbrien2288]

If you haven't heard that then your repeater must not be connected to EchoLink.

[@fevo69]

My experience with DMR, it has a bittersweet taste. In a 'Home make', repeater of analogue FM, we were about 15 fixed radio amateurs speaking daily with another 15 more occasionally. Then the idea of making a digital repeater was born. One group opted for C4FM, another for DMR, and the other one hate the idea; in the end, this created division and rivalry as to which mode was the best. Now I have to have access to 3 different systems, to talk about what I used to talk in just one, with friends spread in every mode. Now there are friends who only speak in their mode that they support and say is the best and they no longer want to speak in FM analogue because it is outdated and sometimes noisy.

[@markr.1984]

I listen to DMR and P25 (yes, some hams operate on that in my area) and it sounds terrible. Miss a few digits or packets here and there and you get a few words garbled that you can't make out!! And even without no digits or packets lost, it still sounds mushy! Lack or readability only happens with analog if you're out of range a bit, talk to far away from your mic (or set mic gain too low) or just have a crappy Chinese pile of $25.00 junk. I have to listen to DMR and P25 hams on my SDS200 scanner, as I have no ham rigs that do digital at all!! Don't care to get any either. But really I don't listen to either very often any more, tired of straining my ears to understand. Analog repeaters in my area sound fine most of the time though.

[@fevo69]

. @markr.1984 I lost hearing in my right ear and I have more difficulty understanding conversations in digital mode than with analog ones. When the signals are good and I'm at home, there are no problems, but otherwise, I have to raise the audio level and pay more attention and if I'm mobile, things get complicated with noises from the street and my car

[@K4RRC]

It sounds real to me. I hear lots of conversations on what day your garbage is picked up in your neighborhood. Frost on the car window, you can't see in the car. What pill you need to take and you medicine schedule. So yeah , I say it's real.

[@ke6igz]

Your not required to use Internet on DMR. Its just a added bonus.

[@K0LWC]

You got it!

[@TeologiaArtesanal]

Simple this way!

[@southtxblues]

How do you get a DMR ID without using the Internet?

[@BrayJaythe2nd]

Depends on what you are using them for. I have two MD 380s set up peer to peer. They make decent secure coms that way. Being able to send and receive text messages keeps your transmit time really short so your chance of being DFd is low. In that sort of application just make up an ID. ​😁@@southtxblues

[@specialed6357]

@southtxblues you don't need a DMR ID if only talking local or through a repeater. Just ID as you would normally on analog. I'm not getting a DMR ID. I just like listening, having the capability, many local DMR repeaters around me, ETC... Many local businesses, local government, the ambulance service here, etc... have switched to DMR. I have a older digital scanner that doesn't get DMR. So instead of getting another digital scanner I decided to just get a DMR HT that has digital monitor mode where it automatically decodes all the code plug stuff so you can listen in without programming ahead of time. It gives you all the info so you can then program it into memory. Also you can listen to at least the brand brandmeister talkgroups through the internet. I listen through my smart phone when I'm bored so I'm not going to be getting one of those DMR hotspots either.

[@LouiseBrooksBob]

Where does the scope for creative technical input come with DMR? Obviously there is scope for a bit of antenna building as there always is but for the most part, it's the repeater builders and systems integration tinkerers who are doing the Ham radio, and the users are mostly just selecting equipment and operating with it.

[@K0LWC]

Can the same logic be applied to analog? Are only repeater owners “doing ham radio?”

[@LouiseBrooksBob]

@@K0LWC Not really because analogue equipment is a lot easier to home-brew and modify.

[@MentalWhiplash]

@@K0LWC not even remotely...there are a plethora of home radio builders and experimenters in the analog world.

[@wonderingworld119]

@@LouiseBrooksBob I think your argument sort of falls flat on DMR itself because a lot, if not most, are using either hotspots they built from parts they have had to obtain from various places, programmed a pi and customised it with whatever front end they prefer. Or they are making antennas to reach DMR repeaters. The most important thing for me, is that it is pulling new hams into the hobby. You know, the sort of folks that like to tinker with raspberry pi's and stuff. Now you might not look at a tiny computer and think its ham radio, and I get that, but some look at ham radio and think it makes their pi's cool and we should embrace that. The next move for those guys is probably going to be some sort of digital mode on a qrp hf set, and although I love qrp I am not into digital, but I can't say it isn't ham radio. DMR is ham radio and digital modes on hf is ham radio. No matter if me, you or anyone else thinks so or not.

[@ieaEH]

I remember when Echo link came out and all of the old hams at the local club said if it's connected to the internet it's not ham radio and they opted out of the nodes for the club and all of the young hams decided not to join the club or renew.

[@M0JSX]

I'll agree that DMR is ham radio, but I wouldn't say it is any better (or worse) than analogue. I've recently got into AllStarLink and am enjoying FM audio quality (which is better than any digital mode) with an internet back end. 73

[@RussellThomas]

Spot on. I also hear this all the time and for all the digital modes not just DMR. It's like folks don't understand it's just a repeater and some repeaters happen to have an internet connection for quick linking. If the internet goes down, you have a still have a repeater and in the case of DMR 2 repeaters because of timeslots. -KV4S

[@K0LWC]

Exactly Russ. So many people that haven't used DMR just equate DMR to mean VoIP linked -- and that's simply not true. DMR has many advantages that have nothing to do with networking them via the Internet.

[@specialed6357]

Agreed, but for me I never seen the point of bothering to get into any of those non analog modes. Until DMR since businesses, local government, our ambulance company, etc... have switched to DMR. Also many DMR Amateur repeaters near me, the other digital modes have always been rare around me. Also I have an older digital scanner that doesn't get DMR. So instead of buying a new digital scanner, I decided to get a DMR HT with digital monitor, so it's similar to a digital scanner where it automatically decodes all the code plug information.

[@turbo2ltr]

So you are saying DMR repeaters can handle two completely separate conversations (one in each timeslot) at the same time? So two people could be transmitting at the same time, on the same frequency, but in different timeslots, and the repeater would be able to receive the two simultaneous signals and repeat those two conversations in their respective timeslots? Also yeah, I find the sound of every vocoder with maybe the exception of Yaesu Digital WIde setting, to be like someone using a cheese grater on my eardrums. I absolutely refuse to listen to it.

[@K0LWC]

Yes! Time slots are what makes DMR unique. Your transmitted signal is broken into 30ms digital packets and the transmitter switches on and off rapidly. Doing this allows two signals to share the same channel at the same time. One on Time Slot 1 and one on Time Slot 2. DMR uses the same vocoder as Yaesu C4FM - though more narrow. Where people get the wrong idea about DMR audio quality is the plethora of cheap radios and cheap hotspot hardware on networks like Brandmeister gives people exposure to bad audio quality. When you have commercial-grade gear the audio is quite good.

[@mikekendzierski6349]

DMR has it's place just like any other mode, the "problem" is when numbskulls think that making a "DX contact" via the internet is an accomplishment of some sort. That's where I fall out laughing.

[@K0LWC]

I enjoyed the conversation with other countries, but by no means does it provide any kind of thrill like HF. I could take to them on other forms of VoIP just as well.

[@pilotmedic]

Can you talk on the same frequencies from a digital radio to an analog radio?

[@K0LWC]

Digital radios also have analog typically, so yes. But an analog radio will not be able to decode digital voice transmissions. It will sound like garbled data.

[@mikkosport2300]

Digital voice radios (DMR, C4FM, D-Star etc) with a hot spot is not ham radio in its conventional sese. The HT is rather a cordless mic/speaker for internet voice network. You can connect to the net with a device which has NO Radio at all (i.e. your desktop computer). However, of you use a digital repeater it is a bit different.

[@JHunt1009]

How is it not ham radio? Using a hotspot and digital voice radio still requires RF and communication. Quite literally amateur radio if on the ham bands.

[@fc1133]

Hi, I have a few Baofeng UV-5R radios that I’ve been experimenting with. Recently, I decided to upgrade and got a pair of Quansheng UV-K5's, which I really like. Then, I felt the need for digital radios and purchased a Baofeng DM-1701, hoping to catch some local digital chatter. However, I haven’t been able to pick up anything at all. It seems like I might be doing something wrong, or maybe there’s simply no one talking. Thanks. P.S. I got the digital radio because whenever I scan the area and hear chatter, it’s just static. I know this is because they’re transmitting digitally. After googling digital ham radios, I found the DM-1701 and decided to try it.

[@user-oj3gb8nh2q]

Ham radio has HUGE disadvantages compared to many other types of communication. But that's not the point. The point is that Ham Radio is completely decentralized, anonymous, and independent. You just need power in order to use it. I watched your video and I've considered your arguments in favor of DMR, but every argument you have used in your video could also be used in favor of mobile telephones, Facebook audio calls, etc. It's true, you can have a vastly superior audio quality if you use your mobile phone instead of your ham radio but that's not the point... The point is not audio quality or voice capacity or battery life. I can get all those things by using my phone or my Facebook account or DMR. Also, it seems you forgot to address the main argument against DMR; you don't have DMR if you don't have an internet connection.

[@sekibulja-fu3bv]

Absolutely correct!!!!

[@munchh2007]

Nicely put. Has anyone ever told you even with the great microphone you have, your audio is not great my friend?

[@ZiggleFingers]

Yeah but DMR uses AMBE+2 proprietary voice vocoder. A current question from the general pool G1C13 states that digital protocols need to be documented, if you key up using AMBE+2 and I ask you for the protocol definition documentation in voice can you provide me with it?

[@K0LWC]

But DMR isn't alone in using AMBE+2, C4FM Fusion uses it as well and D-Star with AMBE+. I hope M17 takes off as having a true open source option would be great -- but it's going to be an uphill climb for a variety of reasons.

[@ZiggleFingers]

This video is about DMR though so I wanted to keep it to that topic about it being "DMR being ham radio"

[@K0LWC]

@@ZiggleFingers I think that the technical argument about the vocoder is different than what most feel. It's a very detailed, but fair, point -- but most hams don't talk about the ABME vocoder. The assumption is always that DMR = Zello (or something similar) -- but that's not that case.

[@K0LWC]

@@ZiggleFingers This may be a whopper of a question. If the way your interpreting the question is correct why doesn't the FCC prohibit amateur radio manufacturers from selling gear that uses AMBE? DMR is another beast given its been shoehorned in from the commercial world, but Yaesu for C4FM Wires-X and others that produce radios for D-Star?

[@dxvenezuela-yy5rvc]

Hello there. Mi name is Carlos YY5RVC, from Caracas, Venezuela. Here also exists that misconception that DMR isn't Ham Radio. I say it is. I have an AnyTone 878UVII Plus hitting a digital repeater that is almost 15 miles from my QTH. I'm using the 2m band at 147.249 MHz, and I've been talking with fellow hams from all over the world. So, who said that DMR isn't ham radio? The same goes with hotspots. Thx and 73...

[@markr.1984]

Ah, Venezuela! Do DMR while eating out of garbage dumpster! I have been to Venezuela many times, and once after the Hugo Chavez "revolution to ruin" and it was a far better place before the Socialist destruction. They ruined a beautiful country.

[@machrider2333]

Digital is just another modulation scheme. It is NOT new either. Motorola demoed digital walkie talkies in Chicago back in the early 1980s. They sounded terrible, but they did work. As far as internet connectivity goes, wanna use your HT as a microphone for “ham FaceTime audio”, who cares? I can use my android TV as a ham “radio” as well. It is all fun. So what if the internet goes away, I know how to use HF to talk completely around the world with just some AA batteries for power. Am I going to just forget how to do that if I connect my walkie to the net and pop out in DMR in Malaysia? No. Shit just gets harder without the internet. As hams, we can do whatever it takes to get the messages through. It’s WHAT we do. Please, don’t put up artificial barriers to entry. HAM RADIO FOR ALL. …who pass the license tests. ;)

[@OnTheRoadInMaine]

That was about as straight forward as possible. I have had this argument with people myself. I have also had the argument that even repeaters are no good because in an emergency they go down. The only DMR repeater close to me is supposed to be connected to the NEDECN network and for some reason it has been offline for a long time now. It only gets used once a week on Tuesday nights on the local talk group and from what I know, they use it perfectly fine with it standing alone off the network. I have used DMR simplex plenty of times. I think Hams should do their research before they go yapping ha ha. In the event of things going down, the network will go down, repeaters could even go down, but you will always have the ability of digital AND analog simplex communication and it works perfectly fine.

[@rafaelhelel3595]

Thank you for this video

[@K0LWC]

You’re welcome!

[@radscot]

I've heard it on amateur equipment a couple of times and I thought that the audio quality was utter garbage (that being said, a lot of the amateur analogue audio is pretty poor, too). I've also performed few PMR surveys (and installations) and I was surprised to hear the magnitude of the difference (using the same Motorola handsets) with the analogue sounding significantly more intelligible (particularly noticeable when outdoors in a noisy, windy environment). Okay, for PMR the digital is a necessary evil as it provides two virtual channels, so two teams can use it at the same time (and it has encryption) and yes, you don't get analogue noise on the fringes of coverage area (though the chopping is just as irritating; possibly more so) but the big price that you pay is poorer sound quality. Okay, to answer your question it is 'ham radio', but personally, I'd not touch it with a well-tarred barge pole! 😀😀😀

[@K0LWC]

DMR sound quality issues often are due to cheap hardware whether radio or hotspot/repeater. And there is plenty of that out there. Motorola gear on a Motorola repeater sounds buttery smooth.

[@HOAHamRadio]

Completely agree on all points!!

[@justinvernal]

What about when you text a phone# to a non licensed person and they message you back it's not ham then

[@briankendall1978]

Is it on ham frequencies? then it is ham radio? Ham radio is about experimentation with radio. If folks want to experiment with the implementation of a DMR radio network it fits into ham radio. Talking with other hams about your experiences with that experimentation is just a benefit of the hobby. :o) DMR on and tell the DXers to stay down on HF ;o)

[@GreyGhost-r4z]

Yaesu and their talk groups are the same thing as DMR really. The thing that would make it all better for everybody is if all these channels talk groups whatever are joined so we can all chat together no matter what hardware you possess.

[@kjjosker]

I have to completely disagree about your assesment of sound quality. DMR sounds horrible. I realize that you said you get used to it sounding horrible but I would rather have something that sounds good out of the box. I live on the edge of the coverage area for a busy local repeater and I wanted to set up some sort of hotspot so I can use an HT. The repeater is Connected to a DMR talk group and also Allstar and echolink. I set up a DMR hotspot and conected it to the talk group of the repeater and the sound is very robotic. I thought I might have set something up wrong but then watched some youtube videos of DMR traffic and it sounded the same. I ended up building an Allstar node hotspot and the voice quality is excellent. At least the DMR HT I bought can still do analog so that wasn't a total waste.

[@garyclark4930]

Ham Radio is about communicating and there is a verity of ways we can communicate. I view DMR as just another method of communication we as Amateur Radio Operators have available to us. I look into DMR but decided it wasn't something I wanted to do. My location there isn't any DMR repeater, and the learning curve was more than I wanted to deal with. For those who like DMR Radio, I am glad you found what you like to do in Ham Radio. There are to many things to explore in the hobby then to argue about what is and isn't Ham Radio. It's like saying if it isn't a spark gap station it isn't Ham Radio. Nice video Gary KF6EWO

[@evocati6523]

Do you log contacts from these youtube comments? I mean it's communication by various means, including wireless transmissions...

[@GreyGhost-r4z]

Love DMR radios that do Analog Repeaters. It’s the best of both Worlds. Now Kenwood needs a Mobile Radio that has a detachable face DMR Mobile. Winner.

[@GreyGhost-r4z]

I don’t really care what people think of DMR. I like it and it’s fun and gets people talking. If people don’t like it, then they can do whatever makes them happy. 😊

[@alaingoyette7103]

While DMR is considered as real Ham by its adopters, I can't help but wrap the discussion around mass adoption status and purpose. I served as a communication specialist in the military for 20 years and have operated HF short and long range, satellite and digital comms. While they each have their purpose, benefits and limitations, in a doomsday scenario I want to rely on the simplest thing readily available "airways" and my ability to reach anybody listening (analog radio mass adopted solution) in case of emergency. My thoughts are that for HAM to be worth my time as a hobby or necessity it has to offer me something other than just being a fancy replacement for cell phone using WiFi calling over internet. 🤔

[@K0LWC]

If you want to prepare for a global meltdown then DMR indeed is not a good choice. Not because of the Internet since it’s not reliant on it. But rather because the mode is structured where radios must be programmed the same to make things work. However, I don’t judge various modes of communications based on the .0000000001% likelihood of a worldwide disaster some day. So we come at it with different perspectives.

[@chucke.9733]

Where did you serve? I was with USASTRATCOM, 1st SIg BDE in Vietnam and Korea.

[@Eric-W0EDG]

We are operating our DMR radios in amateur radio frequency space.

[@K0LWC]

That is some strong logic there, Eric! You would think that would be the bar.

[@alvarogaitan2529]

great point

[@SteveH-TN]

Yes DMR is definitely Amateur Radio but maybe not “ HAM Radio “ all in the eye of the beholder 😜😄👍. There so many aspects of our hobby we each get to select what we wish ! When first licensed I focused on Satellites. I volunteered at local Nashua High School NH coordinating contacts with MIR and Space Shuttle. I attended MIT Hamfests and became involved with experiments using TCIP over TNC on 2M. Now I am about to enter the realm of DMR, YSF my Amateur Radio Hotspot is scheduled for delivery today. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and ideas in excellent video. de AA4SH

[@jasonacg]

I've also been a DMR user since the CS700 (and since converted to the 750). I also built, and still use, a MMDVM repeater made from an Arduino MMDVM board, a Raspberry Pi, and two Motorola CDM mobiles. I built that kit when the hotspot market was still yet to come, and the DV4Mini or the DVMega were the extent of the "hotspot" world. Nevertheless, I have my reservations about DMR. For one, it's become very fragmented, and one can argue that it's been that way since its inception, since the use of a C-Bridge didn't mean that it was connected to DMR-MARC. Now that Brandmeister, TGIF, and other networks have been added to the mix, the user base is now spread so thin. This, coupled with the general lack of front-panel programming capability on most DMR radios, make the mode very unfriendly for travelers. Having taken a recent multi-state trip myself, I found that it's easy to find a repeater frequency and color code, but nearly impossible to always know the network affiliation, or talkgroup availability, on those repeaters. It takes a lot of research, and in the end, I've just decided it's easier to use my own hotspot and cellular Wi-Fi. Less programming, but also less opportunity to support a local repeater, or meet local users along the way. Each of these DMR networks seem to have been born out of protest for the policies of the network(s) that came before them. Brandmeister was an escape from the heavy hands and Motorola-only policy of DMR-MARC, and for better or worse, it sparked a ton of innovation. However, BM has also started to rule with an iron fist, and that resulted in the creation of TGIF. The "I'll take my ball and go home" mindset has made DMR probably the most complex digital mode in all of amateur radio. I don't think that can ever be changed at this point. All digital modes seem to suffer from something similar, but to a far lesser extent. Fusion repeaters can have one of two network affiliations (WiresX or YSF), or no networking at all. Having been away from D-Star for 15 years, I don't know the current state of that mode. The smaller modes, such as NXDN and P25, suffer from small footprints and slower adoption rates, thanks to the high cost of gear. Consequently, their networks are much less developed. Regarding the "What if the Internet goes down?" argument, the same can be made for analog repeaters that utilize Echolink or IRLP, or even AllStar. The way I see it, is there is some RF component at all within Part 97 spectrum, then it's Amateur Radio. The hobby takes hundreds of forms. This is just one of them. de KD4ACG

[@K0LWC]

DMR isn't without challenges/frustrations.

[@arupian666]

With regard to audio quality, DMR is pretty bad. I have an Icom ID-52, a Yaesu FT3DR and an Ailunce HD-1 (GPS), so using my hotspot, I have fun with D-Star, YSF and DMR, dependant on mood. DMR is the worst sounding mode, with YSF being far superior and D-Star nestled somewhere in the middle.

[@natewelch6490]

"Better Audio Quality" is a far stretch. Sure it has a better SNR because there is no static. But it sounds like you're talking to a Robot. And many people don't consider the "you're there or you're not" effect to be a good quality. Often when an analog signal is on the verge of coverage a human can still pick out enough of the audio to know what the person said. Or at least get the jist of it. With Digital you don't even get that option

[@Macjohn1419]

Digital voice radio is vastly superior to analog except for one aspect. In case of emergency or rescue, analog can still get through even though you’re fighting static and fading. Digital will just drop out until you get enough packets to make sense of the message. Best to have both.

[@keithhart6196]

The people arguing about dmr radio needs to consider the elderly that's in a nursing home or what not that can't have an antenna with 10 years left to there license and alls they have to there name is dmr radio

[@Al_Dente1]

I largely agreed with your points until the very end. However, I strongly disagree that the conversation should be shut down. Settled science is not science. And the conversation should continue, not be censored or shut down. Persuade, not coerce.

[@norrinradd8952]

I agree with your perspective, I just don't think that is what was said in the video. He didn't say "the conversation", he specifically said "the argument" of "is DMR ham radio", of which the answer is a very clear, YES, DMR IS ham radio. What you are claiming to disagree with is not voiced in this video. Not only that, it was an open-ended question inviting discussion on the topic, so clearly he is VERY open to "the conversation".

[@Al_Dente1]

@@norrinradd8952 Of course, DMR is a mode available for use in ham radio. And I believe that it is a very valuable one. Those who may disagree remind me of the old Donald Duck descriptions of SSB by the AM traditionalists. To quote him precisely, he said, "...so is this thing put to bed? Are we done now? Is it over? Can we shut down the argument?" He never said "the argument" of "is DMR ham radio", although I will grant you that it was implied. From that, I inferred "conversation" but however we parse his words, I think that the meaning was clear. And I think that our positions are in agreement. I simply chafed at the notion of communicators ending communication, read conversation (argument). 🙂

[@norrinradd8952]

@@Al_Dente1 Yes, we are in agreement. To clarify my earlier statement, I was attempting to say that when he said "the argument" he was referring to the argument of "Is DMR ham radio". That is how my comment was intended, but perhaps not how it was read.

[@user-pg5yy5he9m]

DMR is not a SHTF radio. It is just a tech gadget. As fancy as a smartphone.

[@lifeisabeach-by2gm]

DMR handsets will be perfectly fine for SHTF, last thing i will care about is talking to other people who are not my family. Create your own private group and thats all you need

[@derek45auto23]

I'm working on my DMR HOTSPOT DXCC. I'm so proud of my accomplishment 🤡

[@sharetherisk7647]

Can you cite credible examples, by a non-Amateur source, within the past (5) five years where Amateur Radio DMR "saved lives" when "all else failed?" Example would be a post event report from an agency such as FEMA, NOAA, National Guard, Red Cross, Salvation Army, etc. If necessary, any report since 2013 might work for the article I'm writing - so far, I'm coming up empty for DMR, NTS, and ARES unless I go back to Katrina...and that is too far back. I am having no problem finding credible reports of Zello saving lives along with Cisco NERV and Verizon THOR as well as AT&T FirstNet which btw, I am finding very few Hams that know anything about these heavily used affected area communications systems. The Hams that are familiar seem to feel threatened as if these are somehow rival Comms but my interview with FEMA officials paints a very different picture - they rely on these non-Ham comms systems along with the advent of StarLink LEO internet nodes all the way from encrypted, image rich graphical content all the way to plain text "213" messaging. I look forward to your reply...thanks!

[@EddieVfgi]

DMR is not DXing, HF is DXing, what is nice about DMR is HT to HT encrypted, the military uses DMR.

[@Tnfirefighter9249]

DMR Is Awesome I also like c4fm and Dstar

[@markr.1984]

I don't plan on getting on DMR, don't need it. I'm a ham, pretty inactive but still have my license updated every ten years. I mostly just listen but could talk any time I want to, if needed. I have heard both commercial and ham radio DMR traffic because my Uniden SDS200 scanner can decode it. I also listen to a local guy that gets on a nationwide P25 ham radio net on a local repeater because the SDS200 can decode that too. Both of them (both DMR and P25) sound really bad, sounds like people are talking with a mouthful of mashed potatoes or something!! The sound quality is truly abysmal. And recently I heard an older gentleman talk about DMR is so great because he "can work the world" and it's so much greater than analog, yada, yada, yada, blah, blah blah!! But his conversations are probably 2,000 miles through the internet but only a few miles on true radio. So he's not a "ham radio operator"! He's mostly an "internet operator"!! I don't care about the extra bandwidth that this guy doing the video talks about or the battery saving either. To me it's just not real ham radio. Sorry, I'll never change my mind. None of us have to switch to digital if we don't want to and all the power to you folks that like to do digital. Talk away!! I don't look down on you guys if you like it and are having fun. But I'm sick of being looked down on by you digital heads and being treated like a fuddy-duddy. You do your thing, we'll do ours. Too bad if you think we're old-fashioned. Leave us alone. Thank you. done with my ranting. :)

[@richb.4374]

I have nothing against digital modes in amateur radio. To me, they are just other modes available to us. The bickering about digital not being ham radio is silly. I prefer old school SSB, but I've tinkered with digital modes in the past and enjoyed them. That's what makes ham radio great, there's something in the hobby for everyone.

[@brocious77]

I'm a little ticked to have invested time and money in an analog rig, HTs, Tech license, etc only to realize it's all going to digital. Not sure I got into this thing just to play in the internet. I'm trying to get away from that beast. I suppose I was overly optimistic about returning to the good ole days of RF.

[@KA9DSL]

To use RF as a way to communicate is Ham Radio. Using the internet is not, my non-ham friend next door can talk to someone in let's say Germany with his VOIP phone or his cellphone which uses RF without a license. Nothing new. Talking on the low bands, using satellites, EME and so on is true Ham Radio operation. The true art of Ham Radio is going down the tubes, to use the internet is cheating. And I've been licensed 45yrs, the thrill is almost gone.

[@K0LWC]

DMR still uses RF in nearly all circumstances - and it’s just a mode - the only actual difference from analog is the modulation scheme.

[@daveN2MXX]

DMR using a radio is obviously ham radio. Is using a computer application or phone app like "droidstar" to connect to brandmeister ham radio? Not necessarily.

[@michaelbayless5691]

What do you think about the rdr2500

[@mattewmackes]

If the Internet does "goes down", We will need two levels of Radio. Wide Area and "Last Mile" Salty Hams are only interested in Wide. Talking with Europe or South America. For some reason, 2 - 15 miles is almost always shunned by Salty Hams. They attack GMRS (almost daily), DRM (which as no distance limit, but typically is shorter range without a repeater network). My guess is that "if the internet goes down" these hams will run up and down the streets yelling updates they heard from Europe, instead of what might be gleamed from others shorter distances away. 7 years from now those bands will be more empty then they are today! Lets clean house and Modernize!

[@pyreneesfarm7818]

Can I say that my Baofeng is a good little radio LOLOLOL

[@LearningFromYou]

Yes, DMR has superior advantages to analog, but you made no arguments supporting DMR as being ham radio other than the assertion that it is ham radio. Yes, I've heard the negative characterizations, too, about DMR not being ham radio and was hoping to hear arguments that address DMR and its internet dependence that would directly answer the negative view, but you didn't offer any, except to say digital has advantages over analog which is not the same thing. If one has a broad definition of "ham radio" as simply a means to communicate over long distances, then sure DMR has to be another example of that. But if we define ham radio more narrowly as distant communication utilizing radio waves transmitted through Earth's atmosphere, then DMR is not fully "ham radio" when one contacts a DMR repeater that passes on the signal to the Internet to forward the signal to another repeater elsewhere using standard Internet protocols. In this instance, it is "bridged radio" at best. I'm not knocking DMR at all (I use DMR on several units, with and w/o hotspots) but if people are going to keep trying to denigrate it along these lines, we need more to work with to answer the criticisms than just assertions... Or we simply need to stop worrying about someone else making such distinctions and move on... 73

[@K0LWC]

You've mostly touched on the conclusion presented in the video. DMR is not dependent on the Internet. DMR can function independent of network access and still provide the benefits over analog. Do many DMR users utilize networks that bridge together systems? Sure. But that's really not different than Echolink, Asterisk/AllStar, etc., which have been around for many years. The general argument is that DMR "isn't real ham radio" because it relies on the Internet. That's simply false, and comes from a place of ignorance. DMR is just a mode and one that doesn't *require* Internet access to function.

[@jaybarr3307]

Good arguments but no way does it get put to bed. Hams love to argue about stuff like this.

[@pyreneesfarm7818]

If you have three hams using the exact same radio at the same time (mobile or HT) someone will say theirs is the ONLY true one) learn to smile and wave as you leave the argument. The arguments about FT8 and ASPRS rival the CW is the only true format, the rest are (insert offensive comment here) WW3 will get less disagreeable than that I almost forgot about COLLEGE FOOTBALL.

[@coreygood796]

If you like analog, GREAT! If you like digital, GREAT! If you like both, GREAT! If you think DMR is ham radio, watch me enjoy the hobby! If you think DMR is NOT ham radio, then watch me enjoy TWO hobbies! 🎉🫡🎉

[@londo776]

You are completely wrong It is like using a mobile phone So I will not use them

[@straightkey]

It's laughable to think someone could earn a dxcc award using dmr.

[@Briluvsu4ever]

Anonymous?

[@cdburgess75]

DMR does NOT have better quality voice. Cons outweighs the pros

[@BogusBolloks-mf4wq]

Dont like DMR - lot more work to set up, low volume, sounds like people talk through their noses

[@dontaskmeforusername]

why do people use ham at all? have to pay servitude to the man for something that should be covered under free speech and liberty. and what's there to say?

[@lisocampos8080]

Dmr contaminates the ham bands with annoying machine gun noise.

[@wattsupdave]

🤣

[@liminal27]

TLDR; No.

[@WR3ND]

Playing devils advocate... the problem with digital modes isn't that they're digital modes, its that they aren't analog and primarily only serve to cause interference to real ham radio, even though they are real ham radio. Like weapons, digital modes could definitely be handy should the need arise, but 9 times out of 10, they're like shooting yourself in the foot and aren't necessary. 😏 🍻

[@charleswoods2996]

"What if the Internet goes down?" My reply was, "Why do you bother at all to use the Internet then?" The look on their face, you can almost see the porn images flashing through their small minds. KD8EFQ/73

[@K0LWC]

There's always SSTV. 🤣