If you are new to DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) there are a ton of Web sites that provide helpful and/or interesting information.
This list is in no particular order and I do plan to update it as I find other sites of interest.
The folks who run the Brandmeister Network offer interesting network statistics at the Brandmeister Dashboard.
N0GSG has developed free software called Contact Manager where you can maintain code plugs from various vendors all in a single app. Code plug conversions between radios are also possible. As of this post Contact Manager works with the CS700/750/800 Tytera MD380/390/390GPS, Retevis RT3, and AnyTone AT-D858 Radios.
W2XAB published a rather comprehensive PDF in 2015 called the Amateur’s Guide to Digital Mobile Radio. It’s worth the read for anyone interested in learning more about DMR.
K2YO and the Long Island Mobile Amateur Radio Club presented an Introduction to DMR which does an excellent job of covering DMR for the newbie.
KC5HWB is the creator of HamRadio 2.0. As of this post, Jason has published around 90 videos. Many of his videos cover reviews of various DMR radios, code plug programming and HotSpot reviews. If you want to purchase ham radio equipment, check out Jason’s ham radio store at Grapevine Amateur Radio.
The PRN System offers a Wide Area Digital Amateur Radio Network which spans areas of North and South Carolina as well as areas of Virginia. Their Web Site offers a Getting Started Page, Repeater and Talk Group Information, Code Plug downloads and more!
KC7JOE’s blog has detailed information Fusion, DMR, DSTAR and HF NETS. Check out his Amateur Ham Radio Net List.
N2NSA has detailed information related to repeaters which connect to the New York Metro DMR Repeater Network.
Bought the Wouxun KG-UV8E based on the good experience I had with the KG-UVD1P.
The Color display is very good and rather large for an HT.
The 2600 mAh battery life is exceptionally good and does not drain when powered off as the KG-UVD1P does.
A group of us locals have access to a 1.25 meter repeater and performance on the band is very good even on low power.
The channel / VFO Knob gets tight in spots and the screw holding rubber side cover was so loose it was ready to fall out.
Very loud reception causes the speaker to be distorted.
After purchasing the radio, I found out that there is and E and T version. The difference is that a factory reset of the E version causes the firmware to reboot to Chinese while the T version reboots to English. Of course flipping through the Ching-lish manual will save your day with the E version.
Since I only had an old (pain in the ass) Prolific chipped programming cable I also purchased the Red programming cable. The Red cable was hassle free with Windows 10. No monkeying around with the old drivers from the stone age as is the case with the old Prolific chip. Unlike the expensive RT Systems cables, the red cable was around $15. By the way, the Red cable also works for Baofeng and I’d imagine some Kenwood HT’s as well.
Again no radio is perfect but for the price it was a decent buy for the additional 1.25 meter band. If you are looking for specs or videos, Google it. There is no point in regurgitating the same information that’s already available on countless other Web sites.
