I'm thinking about exploring DMR and had a few questions for people in the know:
1. What is the likelihood I can hit a DMR repeater from Castle Pines on a DMR HT? (My 5W ID51A is marginal from my house into w0cfi.)
2. Equipment recommendation. I was looking at the Anytones. Any others I should consider?
3. I'm a Mac guy. I'm assuming I'll need access to a windows machine for programming, or need to run a VM?
Hey Tom,
The PRA DMR repeaters are scattered around the Parker / Aurora / Elizabeth area so connectivity to them will depend on what kind of line-of-site you have. The Denver Radio Club's WØTX DMR repeater is pretty much accessible from everywhere. Slot 1 is dynamic and can easily be keyed over to Mega 310759 if it's not in use. A better plan for the QTH is to pick up a hotspot. Then you can run low power on your DMR HT and still reach the world, regardless of repeater coverage. A Jumbo Spot or ZUMspot can be had for under $100.
You can't go wrong with AnyTone, TYT, and Motorola DMR radios. Plenty of users of all of these in the club that can lend a hand with programming. And yes, all the DMR CPS software is Windows. VM will certainly work as long as you're comfortable passing USB/serial ports through to the VM. If you have an old laptop in the junk drawer, slapping a Windows image on it for dedicated programming of ham gear certainly isn't a bad idea.
73, AB0L
AB0L (Formerly N0KAI)
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Kenwood TM-V71A, Kenwood TS-590S, Icom ID-4100A, Yaseu FT-891, TYT MD-UV380, TYT MD-380, Kenwood TH-D7A, BTECH UV-5X3, µBITX V5, µBITX V4, QRPGuys 40/30/20m DSB Digital Transceiver
Thanks for the tips Jeff. I may look into a 4550 or 6550 and bring it to an Elmer night for CP assistance. (I knew I shouldn’t have given away that Thinkpad!).
BTW, new callsign?
I have a 4550 in my truck and absolutely love it. The Motorola CPS software & driver are kinda weird in that the driver actually creates a USB network interface to the radio. So when you plug the radio into the computer, it appears as a new network to Windows. I could imagine that would be a real head scratcher to get going inside a VM but maybe I'm wrong. TONS of folk in the club can program Motorola gear so I wouldn't sweat it one bit.
Yeah, the FCC found me "A" call worthy last Tuesday! I was really looking for Whiskey 1x2 and 2x1s after getting my Extra back in May, but missed out on 6 or 7 different lotteries. AB0L came free one weekend and by some miracle I was the last man standing for it when the FCC process date came around.
AB0L (Formerly N0KAI)
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Kenwood TM-V71A, Kenwood TS-590S, Icom ID-4100A, Yaseu FT-891, TYT MD-UV380, TYT MD-380, Kenwood TH-D7A, BTECH UV-5X3, µBITX V5, µBITX V4, QRPGuys 40/30/20m DSB Digital Transceiver
Congrats on the new callsign! Thanks again for the helpful information..