I’ve been mildly interested in digital modes like D-STAR and System Fusion for a while now.  I say mildly because my perception of the cost of the radios and lack of repeaters in my location kept me from pursuing them further.

Recently, however, I stumbled across DMR (Digital Mobile Radio).  What really caught my attention was this radio:

Long story short, I bought one from Amazon.  I’ve been playing with is ever since.

I did some research and decided to try the Brandmeister Network.  I’ve been listening to several of the Talk Groups, experimenting with the Parrot, and even successfully checked into my first DMR net last night.

There has certainly been a learning curve for me, but so far its been a pretty cool journey.  I thought I’d make a few posts about my pursuit of this new-to-me radio mode.  I plan to go into more depth about the concepts highlighted above and my experience with them.  Each of the links provides a starting point to learn about this mode.

I’m writing this on our web page, but it cross-posts to the CARS Facebook page, so I’m looking forward to comments and discussions there.  I’m especially interested in others’ experiences with digital radio and DMR in particular.