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The More I Mess with DMR the more I Hate It.

  • 07-09-2020 1:59pm
    #1
    Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭


    Right, I've had this Anytone a couple of weeks now and I really don't know why people are attracted to DMR, ok, cheap radios but the setup is diabolical.

    Setup on 1 repeater is fine, add your channels for each talk group you want, link those channels to the Talk group.

    I have 476 Talk Groups because I am interested in hearing what's out there.

    So this is 476 of the Mount Leinster frequencies programmed in, copy paste the TG id and name for all in excel.

    Set up zones can't be done in Excel because all the zones are in 1 cell separated by a | so you can't copy and paste, nightmare.

    Next issue, importing the channels messes up the assigned talk group for several channels taking a long time to fix.

    Another problem is that to set up the hotspot I have to do this again but with the hotspot frequency, this isn't a problem but the name of the tg has to change or the software will moan of duplicate entries and not allow it, so for the hotspot I would have to manually edit 476 TG to change them to have hot at the end to indicate hotspot, Nightmare.

    Next, the Zones have to be edited again to reflect the hotspot, again, nightmare.

    I have a simple setup now for Mount leinster and some talk groups and the same for the hotspot.

    But for 476 talk groups I just can't face that level of manual labour, the time and the pain. There has got to be better than this ?

    Is D-Star and Fusion so incredibly painful ? because if anyone is reading this I really do not recommend DMR, it's just a mess to set up the channels and talk groups unless you only want very few.

    But, this has to be done for each repeater, I mean come on ffs.


Comments

  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    I decided to cut the talk groups to 64 and it makes it much more manageable, just wish there was some database you could connect the radio to on Wifi and it will find via GPS your location and load local repeaters.

    But still a pain for every repeater and not only that, for each repeater you have to give each talk group a different name or the anytone software wont' have it, so you got to edit it all manually, can't just copy paste, no, that would be too easy lol.


  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Here's the way digital should work.



    Shows a list of rooms and you can add favourites , simple, no clowning around for hrs with code plugs.......

    If anyone is thinking of getting into digital radio I would avoid DMR like the plague and go with Fusion instead and you can link to DMR brandmeister talk groups if you wish.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,363 ✭✭✭Popoutman


    http://n0gsg.com/contact-manager/ might be useful, seems to be a better editor than the standard rebranded one.


  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Popoutman wrote: »
    http://n0gsg.com/contact-manager/ might be useful, seems to be a better editor than the standard rebranded one.

    Thanks, I checked this out before, still too much time and messing around involved.

    In the fusion video above, this is the way it should be, connect to wires-x and it shows a list of rooms or talk groups, not sure if you have to enter the repeater manually or if like some of the Icom D-Star radios which find the local repeater by GPS using a built in database that is updatable.

    A channel for each talk group and for each repeater, hotspot is just insane, have to set the repeater slot, link to talk group then set to receive group list for the hotspot. Man, it really shouldn't be so difficult in this day and age but I suppose this is where Fusion and D-Star came from.

    If you go out foreign then you have to program in all the repeaters you want or bring a hotspot which may or may not be convenient, it would be fine for someone going foreign for work maybe and staying in hotels but for going out and about you'd have to take the hotspot + battery or get the Openspot 3 from Shark RF which is expensive but includes an internal battery.

    I am thinking of getting the FT-3D maybe next year and see how I like it. I will do more research first.


  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    Ok I think I got my code plug all setup and works fine now, it has taken a long time but I just did it bit by bit each day before I lost the head and smashed the radio.

    Anyway, I setup my Friends FT-991A on Fusion this morning and holy sh1t, I heard fusion was a lot easier but I didn't realise even from watching videos it could be that easy. I programmed in Mount Leinster digital Frequency, saved it, clicked Wires-X and that was all I had to do, seriously ? yes, it was so easy and I was having a QSO after 5 minutes setting up the radio.

    DMR is ok when it works but Audio quality is severely poor on some radios, it would deafen you one min and next you can't hear at least with Fusion everyone sounds the same level and mostly good.

    If anyone is reading this then for heaven's sake get Fusion, it's more expensive but it's just so much easier to set up and if you get the FT-3D it comes with software to easily import a list of repeaters and there's no messing around with talk groups, receive lists and spreadsheets, Jesus!


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  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    I got the Open Spot and I like it a lot. Very easy to set up and the internal battery is very convenient, the plan is to use it mainly in the car and when away from home.

    I created a thread to see if anyone has DMR, maybe we can create a Net tomorrow night on TG 2723 ? head over there and we can talk about it.


  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    I just figured out that using a hot spot, you can set all the talk groups you want over on Brandmeister site for your hotspot then you can activate digital monitor and it will receive anything that comes through on those TG you set to static on the brandmeister site.

    So, say you've the radio set to parrot and traffic comes through on one of the static groups, when you press PTT you will go back to parrot, so the trick is when the static tg comes live again press star until you see "moni reply set success" so when you key up again it will go back to this tg, this is a pretty neat feature.

    So you don't have to , if using a hotspot, set channels for each tg but I don't know if not having a TG and channel set in the radio if it will display the talk group name or just id or perhaps just importing the talk groups will do ?

    Check this out.



  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    You also have to do this.



  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    In the last video I linked to this chap has great info on the 878 radio, lots of tips and tips on the hotspot too

    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2zfYLYQR-UbyRU0LCERRgQ/search?query=878


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,171 ✭✭✭Ubbquittious


    DMR was created for use by fellas who kick you out of pubs and tase you at airports. No wonder it's a clusterfcuk. Anyone using fusion here? Pity it is as proprietary as it is





    I was fluting around with some xbee modules there a while back. Connect one to the computing machine and you can see all the ones in range, change settings on them, see signal strength, the route to them on the mesh. Mighty stuff but none of the Ham stuff seems to have reached this level yet


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  • Posts: 21,179 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    DMR was created for use by fellas who kick you out of pubs and tase you at airports. No wonder it's a clusterfcuk. Anyone using fusion here? Pity it is as proprietary as it is

    I was fluting around with some xbee modules there a while back. Connect one to the computing machine and you can see all the ones in range, change settings on them, see signal strength, the route to them on the mesh. Mighty stuff but none of the Ham stuff seems to have reached this level yet

    Yeah, DMR was created for commercial use and it is a pain to setup, I have it working fine now and use it in the car in the mornings and in the evenings to and from work, it works well.

    I believe DMR is the most active of all the Digi Voice modes.

    Fusion is really easy to set up, and after messing around with DMR I was astonished how easy when I set up a friends FT-991a so I advised him to get the Yaesu FT-3d which he got during the week.

    Yaesu really are not helping Fusion with their expensive radios but the Voice quality I find is better on fusion, on DMR I'm constantly messing with the volume because one station is blasting through and the next you can hardly hear and it's very XYL unfriendly.

    There is activity on Fusion and on DMR but the Irish rooms/ Talk groups are pretty quiet, I could call 20 times or more on the way to work and hear no one, the same on the way home, in fact, I haven't had a single Irish DMR QSO all week.


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