SPECIAL EDITION: 10,000+ Digital Repeaters - October 2021 Global Digital Repeater Roundup

Major Digital Milestone Reached!

In May 2021, HVDN reported that we were creeping ever closer to that 10,000 digital repeater mark and as of our October survey of repeaterbook.com data this important date in amateur radio history is here with 10,035 digital amateur radio repeaters now tracked.  

Here is the latest data based on our semi annual collection efforts since 2016, but no data was collected in 2017.

Our first near casualty of  the digital evolution

Someone will really need to look hard at repeaterbook.com data to ensure accuracy of these D-Star tabulations since it appears that 21 less D-Star repeaters exist in October 2021 compared to May 2021.

It is pretty well documented by now thanks to HVDN and pretty much any radio amateur today that DMR is by far the most popular digital voice mode today with an impressive 155.35% increase over the last 5 years.  

Still don't believe you, my local 2m FM repeater is just fine! 

For those into more fancy math if we are talking about growth or declines, compound annual growth rates (CAGR) are often used in different industries to track growth over a certain period. Over the past five years, DMR is still leading the pack at 20.62% CAGR.

However,  beyond the two dedicated non-commercial amateur modes known as Yaesu Fusion and Icom D-Star, it certainly seems interesting that the commercial P25 standard is growing faster than DMR.  

Using repeaters to track the healthy growth of amateur radio is smart.  Repeaters are expensive and local people with radios are needed to create a need for them to exist or to influence what to purchase. This is why counting repeaters is a great proxy to measure growth and adoption trends.

However, some areas do not have many digital voice repeaters but users are purchasing certain digital radios to use with hotspots. Many of these additional digital adopters are likely learning towards DMR or Fusion as a "my first digital radio" rather than D-Star or the two commercial modes known as P25 and NXDN.

Our secret digital future is already here

We have seen new products brought to market by smaller commercial companies and entrepreneurs, such as the RFinder series of DMR smartphone radios thanks to Bob W2CYK.   

New networks run entirely by the radio amateur community like Brandmeister Network and its amazing development team have opened new doors to expand all digital voice modes, including an entirely new up-and-coming amateur created mode such as M17 thanks to Wojciech SP5WWP.

The community also even has other entirely open source network tools such as DV Switch,  HBlink plus the amazing MMDVM and Pi-Star projects that Andy MW0MWZ, Jonathan G4KLX, Andy CA6JAU and others created to let us use repeaters or hotspots and fanned the flames of the digital evolution fire probably the most.

And, how could I not mention the work that folks like Roger VK3KYY are doing with OpenGD77 plus the equally fine development around OpenRTX which both help create new ways to use existing radios for digital communications, such as the case with modifying the cult favorite TYT MD-380 DMR radio to be used as M17.

We should expect some exciting times ahead for amateur radio as we also cross the boundaries of generational differences for people born after 1980 who will be entering later career stages and will have even more time for amateur radio experimentation.

Maybe its popular somewhere else?

Different parts of the world are at a crossroads today when it comes to adopting or retiring certain types of equipment. 

This is something which HVDN will further track publicly going forward since as the below chart indicates the current split between North America and Rest of World digital voice repeater data.

With M17 Project starting to get more attention, especially with a large investment enabled by non-profit entities Amateur Radio Digital Communications and Open Research Institute it is just a matter of time before something groundbreaking grabs mass attention.

What is next?

Many people do not have the attention span to read articles like this, but they need to pay attention to what is being discussed here very closely if you care about your amateur radio hobby.

Here is my prediction for the next two years (2022 and 2023) for digital repeater counts

While spending time within the HF spectrum chasing rare stations or park activators is good fun and will only get easier as the 11 year sunspot cycle matures over the next few years, do not forget about next generation technology.  

Spending more time on SSB during a 20m contest or CW on 40m will not propel the hobby forward for the next generation. Same also with using local 2m analog only repeaters for casual morning gatherings.

Please, spend some time experimenting with different technologies, modes and new ways of thinking and challenge yourself to try and keep track of how much time you spend in different aspects of the hobby month by month or year by year.   

The more time spent on the future will secure our past and ensure amateur radio exists for the next 100 years. 

Feel free to share some comments below on this and check out our past articles to learn what we are doing which may inspire you to get involved with something new in the future of digital amateur radio.

 Awaiting your rotten tomatoes,

Steve K2GOG

Co-Founder HVDN

May 2021 Global Digital Repeater Roundup

Our May 2021 summary of the HVDN Global Digital Repeater Roundup marks our 9th edition in this series which tracks the evolution of digital voice mode popularity within the amateur radio community.

Starting back in October 2016, a fellow local club in the Hudson Valley was firm in not wanting to invest in a digital mode repeater until they knew based on fact, which was going to be the most popular mode to promote to its membership and find ways to fund. This is what spawned HVDN.

Hudson Valley Digital Network compiles data on repeaters based on freely available information found on the repeaterbook.com website.  While repeater deployments only tell a fraction of the story relating to the overall use of digital voice, they also are a great way to measure the health of amateur radio communities in certain locations around the world.

Repeaters are expensive to build, manage and operate  

The Overlook Mountain Amateur Radio Club in New York operates two analog FM VHF repeaters, with one of those being considered a wide area repeater. 

This sole wide area repeater has proven to be a major resource in creating a social and positive atmosphere which attracts new membership to this club and offers an alternative for those not happy with overall "repeater culture" found in other area organizations. 

This repeater is also credited with providing a valuable mental health benefit during the early and dark days of the COVID situation. 

Without examples like the OMARC 146.805 MHz repeater, many other clubs around the world would find it hard to show value to its membership unless they are involved in other public awareness aspects beyond repeaters of any type.

Adding digital repeaters to the right club, enhances its  membership reach and community value but adding a digital repeater to the wrong club does nothing other than to deplete the club treasury.  

Careful decisions need to be made when considering how a repeater will be funded, managed and operated.

Not a New York or a Hudson Valley thing, but a global thing!

If clubs fail to innovate or provide services to its membership, they fail to grow.  When a club fails to grow,  its area competitors stand to take advantage in attracting new members or create reasons for  alternative organizations that can help educate or attract new amateur radio enthusiasts. 

Repeaters are often the lifeblood of many amateur radio clubs and need to be carefully considered. 

The above chart and table shows that DMR is by far the most popular digital mode with a staggering 148.42% growth over the last 5+ years globally.

The next closest contender is Yaesu's single vendor ecosystem Fusion System at a still impressive 106.91%.  

The oldest digital voice mode offered by the limited dual vendor ecosystem behind Icom D-Star comes it at a slow and steady 20.72%, even though it had a huge head start over its competitors for more than 10 years prior to 2016.

Since our last update in October 2020, DMR repeaters globally grew 7.97% compared to Fusion's 7.32% increase.  In contrast, Icom's D-Star only added 1.43% growth in the same time period.

With these three amateur designed and amateur only digital voice systems representing at least 9,146 global digital voice repeaters, its clear that the total number of next generation repeater systems is catching up fast to the approximate 17,000 total of analog repeaters world wide which has had about a total of 40 years to get to that point.

Should you still invest in DMR?

Every digital radio today supports legacy analog FM mode along with its newer digital friend be it DMR, as found in the popular Anytone D878 series of radio or any of the Yaesu, Icom or Kenwood counterparts capable of Fusion or D-Star.

Commercial standards like P25 are technically fastest growing mode at 157.27% over the last 5 years whereas NXDN is growing at 91.46%, but both lack consumer grade equipment and prices to really capture the hearts, minds and wallets of many amateur enthusiasts.

Since October 2020,  P25 global repeaters increased another 6.82%. NXDN grew at 13.76% but this is still mostly only happening in parts of the south eastern United States and is not considered true global growth.

All five of these modes do require licensing of the underlying technology to bring a new radio to market which impacts pricing and vendor ecosystem support.

There is a totally new open standard based on FDMA technology called M17 being developed by the amateur radio community which has a goal to circumvent some of these issues.

While most repeaters capable of supporting 9600bd data rate communications with 2.5PPM or better stability can be converted to work on any digital mode,  hand held or mobile radio equipment is not as ready to modify. 

Not having  ready made M17 capable radios are needed and not yet available. M17 wont be impacting new buying decisions of the amateur community in the near future.

Exit M17: Is the future here?

The M17 project which is supported by HVDN  as well as by a massive investment by Open Research Institute and a grant from Amateur Radio Digital Communications is unique since its developer community has found ways to modify DMR radio equipment such as the popular TYT MD-380 to transmit and receive M17 signals. 

The OpenTRX alternate firmware along with some hardware modifications are needed but is not a fully mature approach yet.

This is interesting since TDMA based DMR is very different than M17's FDMA architecture. More details on this can be found on the M17 Integrations summary page.

It is not likely that any of the Yaesu Fusion, Icom or Kenwood D-Star equipment will permit this type of modification, so purchasing any one of the many DMR products available today not only gives you the most popular digital voice mode along with legacy analog access, but could in the future be useful for M17 as it gains prominence.

To date, there are believed to be two M17 capable repeaters in development, but there is already a digital backbone being developed to support the future of digital repeaters and the many more hot spots that will likely result. 

Summary

So summarize all the above is easy:

• DMR is still the most popular digital mode

• DMR is not likely to be passed by anything in the near future

• There are more DMR capable radios to choose from and not as impacted by supply chain issues like Yaesu or Icom.

• If you travel, DMR is likely where to find more activity excluding the use of a hotspot.

• The latest Anytone D878 which has AX.25 packet (APRS) is by far the best $299 USD utility radio to invest in for now and the near future.

• Upgrading from an older TYT MD-380 or Radioddity GD77 to an Anytone or Alinco may give a good reason to modify your old radio to be used on M17 in the near future.

• Supporting the future of the hobby via the M17 project will ensure relevance for the future to show alternatives to HF or analog VHF for terrestrial communications.

Teardown: Alinco DJ-MD5XTG (2nd Generation DMR)

What can I cay, I have always liked Alinco products going back to my first ever HT, the credit card sized Alinco DJ-C1T.  

Much has happened in  the world of amateur radio since and Alinco continues to do interesting things via its latest DMR handheld offering, the DJ-MD5XTG. 

This article details from the inside out, what makes this model different than its predecessor. 

Alinco had different DJ-MD5 radios?

Let me first start out and dispel a rumor I created that the latest Alinco DJ-MD5XTG would support the 220 MHz band. It does not or at least officially, which makes the band coverage on par with the popular Anytone AT-D878UV, available from vendors such as Bridgecom.

At the time of this article, the second generation Alinco DMR DJ-MD5XTG is available in the United States by DX Engineering.

When purchasing an Alinco DJ-MD5 series radio, there are now three versions that have been created and the most basic DJ-MD5T is discontinued. The major difference between it and the Alinco DJ-MD5TGP is the inclusion of GPS functionality.

 If you are looking to sell your original DJ-MD5 series radio to offset the cost in buying the new radio or are looking for a deal, please think about some of the following based on the teardown of the new DJ-MD5XTG.

The major differences

I did the hard work so you do not have to by doing a basic tear down of the DJ-MD5XTG and comparing it to the DJ-MD5TGP, which I also tore down back in November 2018. The below non-RF major component  table will help guide us along. 

Both versions main PCB interestingly both show that they are both considered revision 2.0, but with different date of manufacture codes.

1st Point: You get a faster MCU with more memory

Really the only major difference is that the Alinco DJ-MD5XTG upgrades to a 1024k flash and 96k SRAM memory configuration which is identical to that of the Anytone AT-D878UV.  

The older Alinco DJ-MD5TGP and DJ-MD5T (Without GPS) has the 512K flash and 64K SRAM memory configuration. The GD32F3030 (VGT6) is what is found inside the latest Alinco DMR radio.

The extra memory, like in the competing Anytone radio, allows for Alinco to support a few new features in the software which we will talk about later such as roaming and analog transmission of AX.25 based APRS. There is also a GPS/Baidou toggle, weather alert and few other changes.

If you have really good eyesight, you may notice what appears to be sloppy soldering on the MCU, but this is intentional. 

Alinco has bridged the shown pins on purpose, just like as found in the earlier Alinco DJ-MD5 radio as well as the Anytone AT-D878UV and the earlier AT-868UV. 

I just want to point this out that there is no bad workmanship inside this radio, especially since many find it easy to question construction capabilities of radios made today to save costs because of frugal or entry level customers.

The Alinco DJ-MD5TGP is indeed a high quality product and assembled/manufactured in Japan and not China like most, not all Alinco communications equipment.

However, the absolutely useless instruction manual which is little more than an instruction guide on how to attach the belt clip, connect the battery, screw in the antenna and turn on the radio along with some basic operation instructions is indeed printed in China, so take that for whatever value you want to place on that.

For what the manual is, it is rather well made and laid out, but just lacks any major value.

2nd Point:  Newer versions of other major components

Beyond the MCU (Micro Controller Unit), the baseband vocoder which helps your radio become a DMR radio, has a new production code and but is identical to the 2018 version of the SCT3258TD. 

Everything else is the same too and the only other differences which have not yet been thoroughly  tested  on the the main PCB are some slight changes in the RF front end and filtering compared to the older radio.  The below photo shows the main PCB along with the two RF shields removed on the DJ-MD5XTG.

3rd Point: What does the FCC have to say?

The Alinco DJ-MD5XTG does carry the FCCID of  PH3DJ-MD5, which is the same as its predecessor, so we may see an update on the FCC website in the coming months, but it does not seem like it may mean much from an RF perspective. Here is the Alinco DJ-MD5XTG fully disassembled.

Hardware:  DJ-MD5XTG instead of the Anytone AT-D878UV?

What attracted me to the Alinco DJ-MD5TGP back in 2018 are the same reasons as the DJ-MD5XTG.

Starting with how to program the Alinco with the Computer Programming Software (CPS) is that you use a common USB micro cable used with smart phones instead of a dedicated cable like that of the Anytone and other radios like the TYT, Radioddity, Lanch HG-UV98, Baofeng and Ailunce radios that have been covered across past HVDN articles plus the much higher end Kenwood TH-D74.

This may be a benefit to some people if you have a habit of misplacing things and need an instant replacement. It is also worth noting that while the Kenwood D74 can be programmed wirelessly via Bluetooth, it can also use a standard USB micro cable as well.

Another reason I like the Alinco over the Anytone is that it is a perfect radio for taking hiking. The speaker/microphone connection uses a 3.5mm jack for the speaker/headphone function and the smaller 2.5mm jack for the microphone. 

While this is now considered opposite of what used to the standard, this lets me use a regular pair of wired 3.5mm stereo headphones or earbuds with the Alinco should I wish to listen to communications or music privately.  While its common to have Bluetooth earbuds these days, sometimes a wired version is helpful to have since they do not require rechargeable batteries!

One thing I did learn with the original Alinco MD-5TGP is that using a speaker microphone seems like a burden, even with the nicely made Alinco EMS-76.  

Alinco and its resellers caution every user to only use this microphone with this new DMR radio, but if you have an older microphone wired the same as the EMS-76, it will work just fine. 

Just avoid trying any of the speaker microphones meant for other radios as they will damage your radio due to incompatible wiring.

I say a speaker mic might be a waste since the microphone is nearly the same size as the radio itself. Instead, while hiking as an example, I just clip the radio upside down on my pack strap such as pictured below while visiting Red Hill Tower last September as part of the Catskill Fire Tower Five Challenge.

The Anytone AT-D878UV still offers Bluetooth capability for remote PTT and for pairing to external audio devices.  It would be nice to see bluetooth added in the future to the Alinco DJ-MD5 series, but battery life may then become an issue.

My personal opinion is that I do not see this as any shortcoming. Please also be aware that the SMA-J style antenna connector is used on the DJ-MD5XTG like its predecessors, so this is NOT the same as what is used on the Kenwood D74 for comparison.

Software:  This needs another article or three, maybe four?

There are some new features found in the Alinco DJ-MD5XTG which will really make it appeal to those that enjoy an active converged lifestyle and some future articles will cover:

• What is roaming and do you really need it?

• Analog APRS:  This is the original, not the new APRS or D-APRS

• GPS: How do you set it up and actually use it

• Proof is in the programming:  Basic US Alinco DJ-MD5XTG code plug

• Talking about the band options in the Alinco DJ-MD5XTG

Keep an eye on the HVDN Notebook for future articles all December long about the Alinco DJ-MD5XTG or bookmark this handy link. https://hvdnnotebook.blogspot.com/search/label/Alinco%20DJ-MD5XTG 

Great, another DMR radio? But, with real 220 MHz?

Alinco was the first main stream amateur radio vendor to offer a DMR radio way back in 2016 with its  DJ-MD40 UHF only radio.  Less than two years later, they came to market with the dual band DJ-MD5TGP which included a GPS and was roughly based on the same reference design as the popular Anytone D878UV. Main stream being defined as Alinco often being included alongside Icom, Kenwood and Yaesu.

With many other radios such as the TYT MD-UV380, Radioddity GD-77, Baofeng DM-1801 and Ailunce HD1 offering dual band spectrum coverage at various price and feature differences, it looks like Alinco is about to offer its second generation version of its 2018 released "MD5" radio for short and it will offer a few things not found elsewhere, including a third band for some markets! 

This now further cements that Alinco is only going to focus on DMR for the amateur market, Kenwood and Icom on D-Star and Yaesu on Fusion for the time being until hopefully the HVDN backed M17 project and its TR-9 open source radio finds a manufacturing partner in China or maybe with one of the main stream vendors to stop fragmentation with so many competing digital modes.

How many MD5 are there?

There has always been some confusion while looking at discussion boards on Facebook as to how many different MD5 radios are there and the answer has always been two.

The DJ-MD5TGP has been the more expensive version and included a GPS.  The slightly lower cost DJ-MD5T is identical, but does not have the GPS and typically sells for $20 less.  Both versions are covered under the FCC ID of PH3DJ-MD5. The earlier DJ-MD40 can be found under FCC ID PH3DJ-MD5. 

The new, but not yet FCC certified Alinco DJ-MD5XT is going to likely require its own FCC ID as early documentation shows that this will be the first true tri-band DMR radio which will cover the 2m, 70cm and 1.25m amateur radio bands, plus extended receive above and below the VHF and UHF bands as usual. 

Looking in the just released computer programming software available on the Remtronix website, it clearly shows an option under MHF for 220 to 225 MHz.

Hackers are already salivating....

When it was discovered that certain band combinations would allow reception and transmission above 480 MHz just like in the Anytone D878UV and BTECH 6X2, Alinco was quick to issue new firmware to prevent this, but was easily bypassed with a 3rd party software tool to enable 480 to 520 MHz coverage. 

These extra frequencies are sought after in countries like Australia where there are UHF CB channels and in the United States where first responders such as New York City Police and Fire user channels above 480 MHz. 

Without spending time attempting to get an Alinco MD-5TGP with or without the patched 1.13c or 1.10 firmware to work with the CPS 1.09a meant for the new Alinco DJ-MD5XT, it would likely appear that the new Alinco DJ-MDXT due to having a band option meant for 1.25m should suggest there is different hardware inside that will offer safe operation of the 220 MHz band.

While many radios mentioned in this article can be "hacked" to give the impression they will work on the 1.25 band, it is not suggested to transmit as it will ruin the RF power amplifier and filtering in the radio since it is not designed for that spectrum.  Hopefully the Alinco DJ-MD5XT will support this great and underutilized band available only in the United States and few other countries globally. 

Related Reading

• FLASH NEWS!: Alinco MD-5 Series Cleared by FCC (Published Sept 20th 2018)

• The Official "NOT" Review of the Alinco MD-5 Series (Published Oct 4th 2018)

• Review: Alinco DJ-MD5T Series DMR Radio (Published Nov 7th 2018)

• Teardown: Expanded Alinco DJ-MD5TGP Review (Published Nov 18th 2018)

• Frequency Expansion: Alinco DJ-MD5TGP (Published March 7th 2019)

Yaesu FTM-300DR: What the Anytone D578 could have been....

Salivating for a new radio?

The soon to be available Yaesu  FTM-300DR provides stable and reliable RF power output of 50 watts.on both the 2m and 70cm bands for those interested in analog FM voice, 1200/9600 baud APRS/AX.25 and Yaesu's own proprietary Fusion digital voice mode based on C4FM technology.

This new mobile radio which includes a remote head option also has dual independent receivers capable of V+V, U+U, V+U and U+V operation modes. It also permits monitoring of Fusion on either band at the same time too. 

Does it have a remote head?

While the Anytone D578 series of radio and its open standard based DMR, which is the most popular digital voice mode today, lacks the remote head feature, most of the same basic features are similar with a few exceptions. Yaesu clearly listened to the market based on the excitement and disappointment generated by the Anytone D578 DMR radio.

Like most Yaesu mobile radios, wide extended receive has been standard from the 118-400 MHz VHF band includes AM aircraft reception and FM also.   Reception from 480 to 1 GHz is only in FM and YSF mode

Does it have bluetooth and remote PTT for safe driving?

The Yaesu FTM-300DR also includes built-in Bluetooth communication. This allows hands-free operation with the YAESU SSMBT10 or other commercially available headsets. The SSM-BT10 is equipped with a PTT button and is also compatible with VOX operation. Using the new USB charger cable - SCU-41 with the FTM-300DR controller, the SSM-BT10 can be easily charged. The SSM-BT10 works for approximately 20 hours on a single charge.

Is it FCC certified?

The Yaesu FTM-300DR has the FCC ID of K6620715X40 and was submitted on January 27th 2020.  This does not mean it is certified for amateur radio use, but its likely no drama will result after its release much like we saw from Anytone with its "Pro" version compared to the "amateur radio" version.

How much will the FTM-300DR cost?

This radio will start out at $499.99 USD and will compete with the DMR focused Anytone D578, the D-Star capable Icom ID-5100A which are all roughly around the same cost.  The Yaesu FTM-400XDR is currently at the same price of the latest Fusion radio we are talking about here, so expect this radio to drop in price.


Where can I talk about this radio?

HVDN was an early advocate behind the Northstar Digital Net which meets on talk group 31630 on the Brandmeister Network at 8:00 PM Eastern US time every Tuesday.   The "STEM" talk group is cross linked to All-Star and Echolink and makes it possible for anyone with a similar All-Star to Fusion bridge to cross connect.

Interesting Links

• Giga Parts Yaesu FTM-300DR Sales Reservation

• FCC OET website 

• North Star Digital Net

• HVDN Activity Calendar

FCC Approved? Anytone D578UVIII

As of August 29th 2019, the long awaited Anytone Anytone D578UVIII has finally received its FCC approval.  What does this mean?   Expect this US tri-band DMR radio to be for sale, very, very soon.


T4K:  Its what you need

Every legitimate vendor who sells electronics capable of sending or receiving wireless signals requires an FCC ID per device.  Each vendor has a grantee code in order to identify themselves. In the case of Anytone, which is better known to the United States government as Qixiang Electron Science& Technology Co., Ltd, they are issued the code of T4K.

If you are interested in searching the FCC OET ID database, you can use either Qixiang Electron Science& Technology Co., Ltd, or T4K.  If you try "Anytone", you will not find anything.

Anytone D578UVIII  FCC ID Details

Now that you can go and find details on your own, you can visit https://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/fccid to look at things such as an advance copy of the user manual and various photos and documents required for certification needs. As already reported, the US version would be capable of 2m, 1.25m and 70cm operation along with Bluetooth.

Anything else new learned?

Near all vendors of amateur radio equipment are taking pre-orders for the Anytone D578UVIII, so anyone who has already paid $35 to $50 USD should expect an update on actual shipping soon. Part of the real delay has been some FCC compliance issues for "out of band" operation which has just gone into affect and caused certain vendors to rethink how to sell radios in the United States market.

This ruling change actually creates a better radio experience for us amateurs who want to ensure no outside interference from commercial frequencies just above or below our licensed spectrum.

38 Pages: That is all?

Most every recent radio of Chinese origin continues to include no good printed instruction manual since the software changes often and would require massive rewrites. Most people will program the radio via computer software and the end user community generally decides to write copious amounts of user guides to help people use new equipment.  Our own collective efforts would likely be much better than the manufacturer could produce.

Beyond confirming cross band repeat and a speaker microphone with built in speaker is standard, much everything else was already known details. Cross-band digital repeat seems an interesting trick too.

For users of the BTECH 6x2,  Alindo DJ-MD5TGP or Anytone AT-D878,  this new mobile radio should be easy to use. Further updates to follow once HVDN members start to receive shipment of this new radio.

Download preliminary Anytone AT-D578UVIII Manual

Access Anytone AT-D578UVIII Facebook User Group

May 2019 Global Digital Repeater Round Up

It is that time of year again, where Hudson Valley Digital Network analyzes the growth of digital voice amateur radio repeaters and provides some additional commentary behind what is helping to push towards the future of mode modulation.

Why May and October?

The month of May in most parts of the world means nicer weather and the start of the hamfest season in many countries. In the United States, many vendors typically announce new products just before, during or after the three day long Hamvention formerly of Dayton Ohio but now held nearby in much more "modern" facilities in nearby Xenia.

This event often impacts purchasing decisions of both end user devices (hand held radios, mobiles, hotspots) and wide area infrastructure such as repeaters or so called "mega-spots".  Taking a measurement just before this event helps not only provide normalized results, but give readers an opportunity to see a big spike in growth just after should they wish to look into this themselves!

The Anytone D878UV is a very popular DMR radio
due to its feature set, price, durability and accessories.

October is the next update before the onset of winter and holiday shopping season when vendors sometimes run promotional sales. Measurement at the start of the fourth fiscal quarter helps provide more normalized measurements to track how things are looking for the future of digital voice mode growth.

May 2019 Digital Repeater Growth

Basing HVDN's measurements on public repeaterbook.com data has multiple benefits.  This website is widely used by the amateur radio community and captures almost all repeaters globally. Most all heavily used repeaters will be listed here and the operators of these resources usually like to let others know they exist to highlight the technical expertise it takes to run a good repeater. These are the two major benefits and why we chose to base our analysis only on this websites data.

The data above tells a great story. DMR continues its upward trajectory mainly fueled by inexpensive hand held radios and hot spot devices which create the need for wide area repeaters.

Growth of DMR repeaters over the last 12 months was 18.6% which equals 34.4% of all total digital voice repeaters for the top 5 digital voice modes.

The single vendor supported FDMA based Yaesu Fusion mode grew a respectable 12.6% from May of 2018 to present.  With lowered cost hand held and mobile radios along with a few promotions that resulted in sold out or back ordered equipment early in 2019.

Some other reasons the mode also known as YSF or C4FM has been widely popular are its fuller range audio and easy programming requirements compared to most all other digital voice modes.

Icom's D-Star continues to struggle thanks to its limited and higher cost equipment. There was not a single new D-Star capable radio offered for sale in the last year that fit into the hand held of mobile category.

Aside from the Kenwood TH-D74 which is the only non-Icom radio to support D-Star the only new radio capable of D-Star is the $2,099 USD Icom IC-9700.

This high end base radio will appeal more towards those interested in satellite or weak signal communications in the 2m, 70, and 23cm bands. While the radio is capable of D-Star operation, this radio will likely not cause any uptick in repeater growth.  Of the three major digital voice modes, the 15 year old GFSK based D-Star only saw 2.9% growth.

Commercial To Amateur Impact

DMR started life as TDMA based MotoTRBO offered to commercial customers by Motorola before it was made an open ETSI standard. P25 and NXDN are two other commercial voice modes that have started to see adoption by the amateur radio community as commercial users generate surplus equipment as they adopt newer equipment.

While the numbers of deployed P25 and NXDN repeaters combined equals a microscopic 6% of digital voice repeaters globally, both modes showed promising repeater growth.  P25 repeaters increased 19.1% and NXDN grew 13.3% in the last year.

While these two modes still only account for 525 of 8305 repeaters globally, this is interesting because only commercial new or surplus equipment is available. An HVDN prediction is that these two modes will continue to erode potential D-Star growth as most amateurs seek to experiment with easily obtainable and low cost equipment that has a professional or multi use appeal.

The Kenwood NX-5300 is a analog FM, DMR, P25 and NXDN radio
 made for the commercial market but is starting to show up on E-Bay.

Further 2019 digital voice expectations

While this update focuses on repeater growth, it is getting harder to avoid talking about hotspot devices.   The cost of single or semi-duplex devices thanks to open hardware and software initiatives has continued to trend between $30 to $70 USD which offers an opportunity to those looking to experiment with digital voice while mobile or at home when a repeater is not reachable or even available.

Duplex hotspots are like miniature repeaters as Joe N1JTA referred to them as in his presentation given at the Trenton Computer Festival earlier this year.  Much more about learning how to run a wide area digital repeater can be learned from these devices, especially as it relates to DMR and its unique "two discussions, at the same time, on the same frequency" capability.

Costs for duplex hotspots have remained in the $60 to $150 USD range and will likely hold steady for the foreseeable future.

While the original OpenSpot device continues to be a favorite of digital mode enthusiasts, the next generation OpenSpot 2 fell way short of expectations based on its cost, poor Wi-Fi performance and lack of portable power option.

A well known Chinese ham known as Winters CN, BI7JTA has been an active contributor to the advancement of open hardware for a while now.  He has recently introduced a new product that is very exciting in that it solves all negative aspects of the OpenSpot 2 and at a lower cost.

As a finished product, its likely going to be popular as more people learn of it. Since it also is based around common footprint boards, it can be further enhanced by replacing its MMDVM boards with those of even higher quality by engineers like N5BOC and his popular products.

With Alinco and Anytone becoming two of the more popular vendors compared to TYT and Ailunce of last year, probably the most anticipated new digital voice equipment soon to enter the market is the Anytone D578 mobile.

This radio has many common features as the Alinco, Anytone and BTECH hand held radios but introduces something that will be a first for the amateur radio community.

A full control bluetooth remote microphone with display will help set this radio apart for those looking for "remote head" capable radios but with an easier to install approach.

Digital Voice:  Looking Forward

DMR looks well positioned to continue to dominate digital voice interests in amateur radio, but may be challenged by P25 or NXDN if vendors like Icom or Yaesu decide to leverage expertise in the commercial business lines and introduce them to the amateur radio community. Alinco who is the only large amateur radio vendor to offer DMR product to amateurs, but also has a range of commercial products that supports NXDN also.

Features such as location sharing, text messaging and infrastructure enabled intelligence continue to be explored

October 2018 Global Digital Repeater Round Up

It is truly amazing to see such tremendous growth in digital voice modes the last two years.

What started for Steve K2GOG in 2016 as a theory can now further be validated by fact. DMR was the right technology to invest in as it relates to amateur radio digital voice technology.

In October 2016, he presented an overview of competing digital voice standards at one of the local Hudson Valley of New York amateur radio clubs located in Ulster County. 

Since that point in time, he has taken 4 probes of the total number of repeater counts globally as well as for those just across New York State.

The current global state of just what will be now further defined as "wide area digital repeaters" has seen DMR grow an amazing 78.03% in a two year span. 

Wide area repeaters are one of the best ways to measure growth of digital voice mode adoption because the equipment needed is expensive.  Repeaters usually are only worth the investment if users have appropriate equipment that can access them.

So, a little of "what comes first, the chicken or the egg" scenario usually happens when it comes to repeater deployments.

The N2MCI DMR repeater in Kingston, NY has a core coverage
area in red and extended coverage area in green.

Since repeaters can be expensive and are designed to reach a wide audience of users typically located in a 30 to 60 mile radius, the operators of repeaters typically list these infrastructure resources on the repeaterbook.com website to make it easy for amateur radio users to find out what repeaters may be worth programming into hand held or mobile radios.

The repeaterbook.com website is not 100% perfect as a data source, but comes pretty close to chart growth patterns of amateur radio repeater deployments

The below chart shows the other major digital voice mode repeaters globally at various points in time over the last 2 years.

DMR:  Reasons Why It Grew The Most

Before we get to DMR, lets explore the second highest globally adopted digital voice mode known as Yaesu Fusion.

After a few years of being on the market alongside the Icom D-Star system, both vendors offered comparably priced digital voice equipment and few options to choose from.

The average cost of a digital voice capable hand held radio was just above $300 back in 2016.  This inhibited adoption of Fusion and has certainly had a negative impact on Icom D-Star.

The Yaesu FT-2DR when released in 2015/2016 was priced at $379. The 2018 FT-70DR which
also offers Fusion and less robust enhanced features found on the FT-2DR is only $169.99. Currently there are 3 Fusion dual band handheld radios for sale compared to 2 Icom D-Star models

In 2018, Yaesu released the FT-70 dual band FM and Fusion radio which is currently priced at well under $200. This is one reason that made it easier to adopt Fusion thanks to more aligned features and pricing to help it catch up to DMR which has mostly had lower priced equipment from the start.

Prior to Yaesu releasing this moderately priced FT-70 hand held radio, they also released some nicely priced mobile radios as well to help build out the overall ecosystem of Fusion capable radios available for purchase.  Icom in comparison has not done this.

This should partially explain the flat growth of Icom D-Star compared to Yaesu Fusion.

Getting Back To DMR

DMR is an open ETSI standard which made it easier for vendors to offer a product at a good price without having to pay to license technology such as D-Star which is majority owned by the Japanese Amateur Radio League. 

In October 2016, Fusion and DMR had just about the same number of repeaters globally and almost grew at the same pace until mid to late 2017. In 2018, things are clearly different with DMR.

With more dual band DMR options available both in hand held and mobile radio design, users have certainly taken notice and likely helped influence DMR repeater deployments.

As of October 2018, there are now 5 different manufacturers of dual band hand held radios and a few more models spread among them. Examples include:

• TYT MD-UV380

• Anytone D868

• TYT MD-2017

• Retevis RT-82 

• TYT  MD-UV390  

• Radioddity GD-77 

• Ailunce HD1

• BTECH 6X2 

• Connect Systems CS580 

• Alinco MD-5

What about NXDN and P25?

NXDN and P25 are aimed at commercial users, but the amateur radio community has started to use surplus or retired equipment within the VHF and UHF amateur spectrum.

Adoption is low, but its still too early to tell if either of these options in the next 3-5 years will replace DMR as it relates to amateur radio.


Predictions for 2019 Digital Voice Ham Radio

Hopefully this is not going too far out on a limb, but here are the predictions for the coming year.

Alinco was the first main stream vendor to offer a DMR radio with its MD-40, but saw little adoption due to price compared to similar radios like the MD-380.

Alinco's new MD-5 looks like it will be a winner based on features and price and may get the later adopters interested in DMR in case they do not trust some of these newer vendors listed above.

It has been rumored that Alinco, Connect Systems and possibly one other vendor will offer new dual band mobile radios in 2019 as well which will likely go over well globally.

Excluding hotspot devices, network radios and cross connect systems which will all be covered in future articles, it seems that DMR is as close to an FM analog replacement technology within amateur radio.

Perhaps Icom, Yaesu or Kenwood will release a DMR radio in 2019 based on market demand and lost opportunity.

What do you think are some likely predictions for digital voice repeaters or radios in 2019?

Knowing When To Hold'em and When to Fold'em: Timing The Sale of Ham Radio Treasures

Ham radio as a hobby can get expensive and is also easy to accumulate too much stuff over the years. Since this hobby is part driven by technology, certain items get outmoded or outdated.

Knowing when to buy and sell something is a part of this hobby that needs a little open discussion.

Kenny Rodgers is known for his song "The Gambler", but its not clear if he gambles when it comes to ham radio related purchases or not.

Finding ways to keep ham radio manageable and affordable is something I have always tried to do while at the same time trying to have some of the latest and greatest toys to get on the air with and talk with other radio amateurs.

This is an example of modern amateur radio with many technologies ready to experiment with

Today, technology is moving much quicker than it was just thirty years ago and I wanted to quantify a few things based on some recent on and off the air discussions with other amateur radio operators.

When it comes time to decide what projects to fund and decide what is worth hanging on to or selling  off,  its become apparent that more people or loved ones do not want to get caught with a basement full of ham radio treasures that not many will see a value in.

The beauty is in the eye of the beholder with this messy basement "ham shack"

A Ranking Of Sorts

What I set out to do was find what were some of the most influential, affordable and most widely used amateur radio equipment put into the market between 2018 and 1988, which is a 30 year window to cover and do a little bit of a ranking for fun.

I came up with two general sets of parameters or axis's of  sorts called innovation and implementation.

Each axis has a small subset of criteria to better sort things further.

Implementation Axis

Implementation has to do with a vendors success in getting product into the hands of amateur radio operators.  Three sub-criteria were used to calculate overall implementation scores for specific models of radios that have been widely used. 

Affordability, accessories, accessibility and launch versus current market pricing value are the four areas looked at.

Affordability is a relative term.  Based on the price at launch of the product and what its current market value is today in 2018 were used to determine this criteria. An example of one would be Kenwood TH-F6a  tri-band handheld radio launched in 2001 for around $325.00 and is still in production today. 

Used market pricing varies because of how long this radio has been on the market, but generally sells for between $150-$225 used.

A scale of 1-10 in curved graduations of around $100 increments were used.  A score of something costing new between $389.99 and $499.99 was given a 5. A score of 10 was assigned for anything that was newly priced at under $100 dollars.

A score of 1 was assigned for anything that was newly priced over $1,000 dollars.

The Kenwood TH-F6a was unique when it launched in 2001 for including the ability to monitor the HF bands in SSB mode as well as operate on the 3 different VHF and UHF bands in use across the United States. Almost 18 years later, there are only two other radios that would compete with it.

Accessories are something that can contribute over time to the enjoyment of certain equipment and may be purchased right away or over time. Some accessories are offered by the manufacturer who released the radio in question. Others are aftermarket items or easily built by amateur radio operators themselves.

The robustness of the accessory ecosystem was simply graded between 1 and 10, with 10 being the most accessory options imaginable and 1 being the very least. Of the 30 official radios used in this ranking, the average for accessories turned out to be 6.5 which shows the market saw a lot of additional opportunity beyond just buying the radio itself.

Accessibility is a combination of a few factors.  At some point in time was it possible to go in to a physical store and purchase the radio? If you asked someone "Do you know anyone who has this radio I can talk to before purchasing it?" and "I saw XYZ at a recent hamfest walking around with it and I think I may want to get one" is some of the thinking that went into this accessibility ranking.

In the last thirty years, we have gone from only local store, mail order purchase and long decision times to almost instant internet based research, purchase and next day delivery.

In order to not take into account inflation,  it was simple to look at the pricing for when a radio was released and what it is currently selling for today on the used market. Even for equipment released within the last 24-48 months are easy to see what is holding market value based on when something newer is available.

In years past, certain radios held value longer than others or dropped value quickly.  Equating a percentage for example of when then the popular Radioshack HTX-242 which launched in 1998 for around $299.99 is worth about $50.00 on a good day 20 years later or less then 14% of its original value.

The Radioshack HTX-242 was the first 2m mobile radio for many ham's from 1998 until 2003 and saw high adoption becuase it was easy to purchase in person from a local store instead of waiting on the pre internet ordering options of the day. 

Innovation Axis

What prompts most amateurs to buy something over another is what can it do that no other product can at a price that seems reasonable.

Also, what else can it be made to done that it was not thought of by the original designers had intended is another. 

Three total sub-criteria were used in the innovation axis and they are direct competition, features and modifications

Direct competition comes in waves for most of the larger radio vendors such as Icom, Yaesu, Kenwood and others. Every so often these or other more narrow vendors come up with something so unique and fascinating, there is often no direct competition.

A great example when it launched and for years right after is the Yaesu FT-817 multi-band multi-mode portable radio that opened up new ways of operating or attracting new hams into the hobby.  It was clear early on Yaesu had a hit on its hands since its launch and only recently saw a minor refresh due to changing part suppliers, but even the new FT-818 replacement is honestly not that different than the original.

A scaled of 1 to 10 with 10 being the least amount of direct competition at launch was used to rank each of the 30 radios.

The Yaesu FT-817 proved that ham radio was not a basement hobby any longer. This radio allowed you to take the entire "ham shack" into the woods and beyond for all sorts of adventures for a modest price

Features are in the eye of the beholder sometimes. Some are fact and  based on specifications or instruction manuals, others are more mental for certain people.

The idea that even like designed radios could vary much in features is hard to grasp, especially when some amateur radio operators will go to great length to dispute which radio is better than another even though they are very, very similar.

A scale of 1 to 10 was used to rank features relative to competition available at the time of launch.

Lastly, modifications was used to define innovation. This is not just about clipping a certain green wire in some radios, but really looking at how quickly users figured out ways to make something better and widely documented the results.

Everything from changing certain capacitors to make certain radio sound better on different modes, to re-writing the operating software running the most widely adopted modern radios was taken into account in the ten possible points available for the most modification friendly radio out there. 

Other Criteria

To increase the objectivity, no one vendor could have any more than five radios in this list of 30, save for a honorable mention of a very unique radio that paved the way for many innovations still not seen today.  Also, only ready built and major commercial vendors were included.  

The idea for what would make it on to the final list of 30 amateur radio items over the last 30 years also was focused on mass adoption versus niche purchases or devices. 

Anything that proved to be a huge hit for a particular vendor was included and balanced against rigorous research from the opinions of many amateur radio operators globally about some of the most popular equipment they own or seem to always talk to someone on the other end about what they like or are using.

The List You Have Been Waiting For

It was really tough to develop this list of equipment, but I can pretty much guarantee that if you have been a ham for at-least most of the past 30 years, you will recognize the majority of this list. Some items were chosen to keep things manageable and not dominated by one vendor or another.

The top 5 items with score go to:

• Baofeng UV-5R (875.8489706)
• Inexpensive SDR USB Dongles (827.2830524)
• TYT MD-380 (769.8098983)
• Anytone D868A (732.5622234)
• Alinco DJ-596 (645.3345454)

The bottom 5 scored items with score go to:

• Kenwood TS-2000 (174.0128162)
• Icom IC-746 (167.6209362)
• Yaesu FT-991 (151.9583962)
• Kenwood TM-742 (144.8730979)
• Yaesu FT-100 (138.1904794

Honorable mention, just to see how it would have scored had it been a bigger hit goes to the obscure Icom IC-900 mobile radio system.

Here is how it fared against the 30 most innovative, influential, affordable and widely adopted amateur radio over the past 30 years.

Icom IC-900

What made this radio unique in 1987 and even today, 31 years after its launch was its complexity and flexibility.

This was a modular radio system that bolted together to offer the user all sorts of band or mode options and then output to a control head using fiber optic cable up to 65 foot in length.  

The Icom IC-900 is obscure but pretty cool even 31 years later

Its hard to find accurate pricing on this radio and how many Icom actually sold, but its estimated that the options to make a 2m, 70cm only version would have cost at-least $900 when this was on the market.

Today, these still demand a good price because of its rarity and innovation and is why it received the honorable mention and a scoring of:

• 2 for Affordability
• 2 for Accessories
• 10 for Direct Competition
• 8 for Features
• 2 for Modifications

The estimate for pricing was hard to place, but looks to be about 44% of its original sale value today, but this could be on the very best or very worst day.

Does this obscure radio look anything like what we see today?  If you are thinking of the current Icom IC-7100, then yes.....maybe it does

The Icom IC-7100 is a modern marvel, but is it for you?

The total innovation score worked out to 20 and 6.4 for implementation. A final score calculated to 56.65691462, which was far, far below what the Yaesu FT-100 got in the top 30 ranking found here for download.

Wishful Thinking

It would be a huge undertaking, but it would be interesting to develop a larger database based on details found on websites like rigpix.com,  qrz.com, eham.net plus others and then refresh the list annually in order to compare over time how the market changes for amateur radio equipment that is in demand. 

Register for updates to the HVDN Notebook to get the full scored list of equipment

The summary of equipment in approximate order by release date is below: