Discovering DMR – 2

2) Choosing a way forward

Since I wasn't clear what I was getting into with DMR, initially the operative words for me when choosing my DMR hardware were "inexpensive" and as "easy to use" as possible.

2a) Choosing a DMR radio

Since I already had a nice D-STAR radio for all-around, multi-mode use, I decided to just barely stick my toe in the DMR soup to begin with. So initially to get up and running with DMR, I chose a cheap, single-mode radio, the CS580 UHF.

After I had explored DMR for a while, I decided I wanted a bit higher quality radio. I tried a couple different radios over the course of the next couple of years, the Connect Systems CS760 (a good concept, but ultimately a bust, soon discontinued), and the Hytera AR-685 (a quite nice radio, but unfortunately with a dead-end development path).

Then, I picked up an AnyTone AT-D878UV. It's a nice, solid unit with a good screen (a black screen like my Kenwood TH-D74A, which I prefer), a large memory capacity (it easily holds the entire worldwide CCS7 ID contact list), and extra capacity for future feature expansion. It also comes with a decent CPS software package. Most importantly, the AnyTone AT-D878UV, like the AT-D868UV before it, is designed to accommodate amateur radio use well (most DMR radios are designed primarily for commercial use). For me, this one's a keeper.

AnyTone AT-D878UV DMR HT radio

AnyTone is proving itself to be a leader in DMR radios for the amateur radio community. Their AT-D878UV catapulted them to the front of the pack. Their mobile unit, the AnyTone AT-D578UV, which they released late 2019, shows that they are taking the lead in both listening to hams and innovating; there's nothing else quite like it in the mobile space (especially with its cross-band and cross-mode flexibility).

AnyTone AT-D878UV DMR HT radio

Hint: A good source for AnyTone radios is Lets Get Ready, which has an online store on eBay and provides good, friendly support: Lets Get Ready.

More info about the 878/868

AnyTone Firmware Update process
There are some helpful downloads made available by Andy Taylor, MW0MWZ, on his Pi-Star site: AnyTone DMR Downloads. Includes the following full lists: DMR User, BrandMeister TalkGroup, DMR+ TalkGroup, TGIF TalkGroup, and UK Repeater. The files are generated when you download them, so they're always up to date. See also the Pi-Star note DMRGateway rewrite rules.
AnyTone AT-D868UV/AT-D878UV DMR Users Group (Facebook)
The PAPA System provides its members with excellent guides and tutorials related to digital radio including the best and most comprehensive guide for creating codeplugs for the Anytone 868 & 878 that I've seen: DMR CodePlug 101 AnyTone AT-D878UV by David Hull, KC6N, June 2018 (the PAPA System, which is a 501(c)(3) organization, and operates for the benefit of the amateur radio community, offers trial guest memberships).
From what I've been told by people who know more than I do, the AnyTone radios work well with the Talker Alias feature. In that case, you actually don't need to load a contact list.
If you do want to load a contact list, a decent download tool you can use is made available by the DMR Team: DMR Database. Another source is the ContactLists Telegram group: https://t.me/contactlists
Hint: If you ever need to pick up another USB cable for your 878/868 (or a TYT MD-380, Retevis RT3, or Radioddity GD-77), you can use a "dumb" cable, as all of these radios have the UART built into them. Thanks to Jeff, N4CLR, for this info.
Let's Get Ready: AnyTone AT-D878UV official release Firmware and CPS
Modifications, hints, tips and technical information for the AnyTone AT-D878UV, AT-D878UV-II, AT-D868UV, and BTech DMR-6X2 dual band DMR digital handheld radio⩘ . Originally written by Jason Reilly, VK7ZJA, who went Silent Key in January 2023. According to Inga Muste, YL3IM: "Shortly before his passing, he ensured his info would live on and coordinated mirrors of his sites with his Facebook buddies."
Also: Modifications, hints, tips and technical information for the AnyTone AT-D578UV dual / tri band DMR digital mobile radio⩘

Some good videos about the 878/868

The AnyTone approach to its CPS software is a bit different than others I've tried. Here are some good videos that provide an overview of how all the pieces fit together; while there is some overlap, I learned different things from each of them:

Anytone D868 Tutorial by WoodburyMan.
Anytone 868 from New to First DMR Contact by Chris, 2E0UKH.
AnyTone D868 D878 New User StartupVideo by Duane, N6DMR.

A good video about the digital monitor feature: Anytone 868 878 dig monitor features by Chris, 2E0UKH.

AnyTone AT-D878UV icons & symbols

For some reason, the user manual doesn't include an explanation of the icons and symbols used on the display. Here's what I've figured out so far:

Antenna icon + Reception bars – Signal strength (1 - 4)
[L/M/H/T] – Tx power level: Low, Medium, High, Turbo
Speaker icon – Digital Monitor (promiscuous mode) enabled for 1 or 2 slots
Microphone icon – Recording on
GPS icon – gray = no signal received; red = signal received
Bluetooth icon – gray = on, not connected; blue = on, connected
P (Bluetooth PTT button) – gray = not connected; blue = connected
A – Automatic Power Off enabled
Codes/Tones:
- C## – Color Code (primary digital channel)
- DCS/CTC – Tone Signal Squelch (analog channel)
DIG/ANA CH-# – Digital or Analog Channel and #
T1/T2 A/B – Time Slot for A or B channel
R – Repeater with offset RX/TX frequencies; Red = Reversed

AnyTone AT-D878UV Tx power levels

Super high (Turbo) = UHF: 6 Watts / VHF: 7 watts
High = 5 Watts
Middle = 2.5 Watts
Low = 1 Watt

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2b) Choosing a hotspot

SharkRF openSPOT 3 hotspot Over the past few years I've used a bunch of different hotspots, each of which has its own strengths, and new ones are released regularly.

This is such a big topic that I've spun off an entire article describing how hotspots work and discussing various available choices: Hanging out with hotspots.

Have fun choosing!

BrandMeister repeater usage stats

In late May 2017, I took a look at the repeater/hotspot usage stats on the BrandMeister dashboard. At the time I looked, the top six were:

33% – openSPOT hotspot
23% – DVMEGA – about 83% of that is the DVMEGA running MMDVM, while the remaining is the DVMEGA running BlueDV for Windows, Android, and Linux
15% – MMDVM – about 80% of that is MMDVM running as a repeater, while the remaining 20% is MMDVM running as a hotspot
11% – Motorola repeaters
11% – Hytera repeaters
5% – DV4mini hotspot

By Nov 2017 (BrandMeister's 2nd birthday), things were changing:

38% – openSPOT hotspot
22% – DVMEGA – about 85% of that is the DVMEGA running MMDVM, while the remaining is the DVMEGA running BlueDV for Windows, Android, and Linux; Pi-Star is 43% of the firmware
[Note: "firmware" is the term used on the BrandMeister dashboard website, even though I'd call it the software or app.]
17% – MMDVM (about 66% of that is MMDVM running as a repeater, while the remaining is MMDVM running as a hotspot; Pi-Star is 35% of the firmware
9% – Motorola repeaters
8% – Hytera repeaters
3% – DV4mini hotspot

By Nov 2018 (BrandMeister's 3rd birthday), MMDVM and Pi-Star had become the undisputed champs:

52% – MMDVM – about 27% of that is MMDVM running as a repeater, while the remaining is MMDVM running as a hotspot; Pi-Star is more than 84% of the firmware
24% – openSPOT v1 and v2
13% – DVMEGA – about 89% of that is the DVMEGA running MMDVM; Pi-Star is more than 68% of the firmware
5% – Motorola repeaters
5% – Hytera repeaters
1% – DV4mini hotspot

By Aug 2020, MMDVM usage had increased to nearly 70%, with Pi-Star the most used firmware by far. The openSPOT models remained in 2nd place with 14%, and the DVMEGA in 3rd place with 9%. Hytera and Motorola repeaters are between 3 - 4% each, while the DV4mini has virtually disappeared.