DIGITAL MOBILE RADIO
DMR is a Digital Voice mode. There are currently three Digital Voice modes: C4FM Fusion (Yaesu). DMR (Motorola), D-Star (Icom). All are in use in this area.
DMR - Yamaha C4FM
In addition to the Yaesu C4FM repeaters in the area, such as GB7SU and GB7MT on 70cm, there are two simplex gateways.
MB6MX Fareham (144.8375 MHz) is currently linked to Wires-X room 41755 (North West Fusion).
MB6MU Southampton (144.8625) is already linked to NWF, as is GB7CG (Milton Keynes), GB7FD (Fleetwood, Lancs), GB7DH (Northwich), GB7MB (Morecambe, Lancs), GB7LA (Preston) and various simplex gateways in the Noth West.
Operation of MB6MX and MB6MX is very simple - tune your radio to the correct frequency and that's it. No special button to press, no CTCSS tone, no repeaters shifts to set. Both nodes are low power so don't expect good mobile or handheld coverage at the moment.
Pressing your PTT using with local Gateway will mean your transmission will be heard by all the repeaters mentioned above.
North West Fusion Group YouTube Video
DMR (Motorola standard)
Equipment for Motorola DMR standard equipment is the least expensive option to get into DMR. One supplier lists some here
Access to the outside world is either through a hotspot, or a DMR repeater. DMR repeaters are configured to allow access to selected “Talk Groups”. As a repeater can only have two slots, only two of these can be used at any one time.
Repeaters in this area are GB7SU (Southampton), GB7MJ (Romsey), GB7SC (Bognor Regis), GB7BN (Bognor Regis)
You will need a codeplug for your particular radio. A codeplug for the Southampton area for the Retevis RT3 or TYT UV 380 radios is available for the GB3SH Repeater Group on Facebook.
Many people have had problems in getting the driver lead and software working. A guide has been created to help everyone. It has been written for the Retevis RT3S but there will be lots of information relevant to other DMR radios. This was written after nearly two days of struggling, testing, and research.
DMR D-Star
D-STAR (Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio), was developed in the late 1990's by the Japan Amateur Radio League (JARL) in an effort to find new ways to bring digital technology to amateur radio.
By 2004, Icom, which was involved with the development of the protocol, began releasing "D-STAR optional" transceivers. Current radios include the IC-7100, IC-9700 and ID-31.
Setting up a D-Star radio is covered in an Icom PDF file
There are a number of D-Star repeaters in the area. Please see the Repeaters section.