Brief look at non-TRBO DMR radios

  Now that I've had my CS700 HT (from Connect Systems) operating in digital mode for about a week, I thought that I'd give it a review of sorts, and look at the other options. Motorola (TRBO) seems to be the heavy favourite, though they generally cost about three times what an equivalent new non-TRBO HT runs. There are, however a lot of used TRBO radios out there, and Motorola is still probably your best choice if you insist on a full-powered mobile. 

  Some of the CS700 reviews I've looked at online are over a year old, and much of the reputation of these radios is based on outdated ideas. Connect Systems has been constantly improving the product, and even introducing new models that are basically improvements on the basic CS700. For example, the earlier models of the CS700 had lower mic gain, but the radio I bought a month ago doesn't have this issue. 

  The next step up is much of a leap. The CS700A is just a CS700 with a menu-driven mic gain control. If you send a CS700 to Connect Systems, they will upgrade it to a CS700A for $20 (including shipping). 
EDIT: The CS700 is no longer available. It's been replaced by the CS750.

  The current model is the CS750, which is selling on Amazon for $255. Connect Systems will upgrade a CS700 to a CS750 for $60 (including shipping). Before you jump at this, be aware that the CS7000 is supposed to be coming out this Fall, and can be pre-ordered for $249. More on this radio further down. The CS750 also has an internal mic gain control, front panel programming (FPP), and enough contact capacity to hold at least the entire (current) DMR-MARC directory. I'm still hearing CS750's with low mic gain (relative to the Motorolas), so either operators have yet to be more aggressive with the gain or the Motorola HTs have some kind of audio compression that makes them sound "punchier" at the same level. Front panel programming seems like a bit of a hoax to me. You can program in frequencies "on the fly", but not the talkgroups that you need to do anything -- at least on DMR. Actually, you would have to over-write a repeater that you already have programmed in, as you can't create a new one with FPP. Having every DMR subscriber ID in my contact list would be nice, since it would (in theory) allow me to see the name and callsign of everyone on the various talkgroups. For example, if I'm on the North America talkgroup I could see that info. Currently, if someone isn't in your contact list, all you see is their seven-digit subscriber ID. Two problems with this: you would need to keep it updated as new people get on DMR, and (at some point) the list will get too big to fit on your radio. Also, there's no way to tell who in the directory is current. 

  I probably won't upgrade my radio, since I'm actually pretty happy with the CS700. The only thing that is slightly annoying is the battery indicator, and that doesn't change with the upgrades. The battery indicator goes up and down constantly, and is more or less meaningless. There also isn't a DC input power jack, nor any kind of power adapter for mobile use.

  The big development that will change everything is the CS7000. From Connect Systems: 

This radio is defined for the Amateur Market and will have an introductory price of $249. Capable of doing DMR, NXDN, dPMR, P25, ANALOG, D-STAR, AND FUSION Protocols. This radio is built to commercial strandards and will cover commercial frequencies and Amateur Frequencies. The first version will ship with Analog, DMR, and D-STAR protocols with future firmware updates allowing other protocols.

Expected First Delivery is Late Summer 2015

Sign up for Yahoo Group CS7000 for Status and Details

                                   Reserve Radio Now

Okay, so that's pretty much the Rosetta Stone of digital FM radio. For less than the cost of the cheapest C4FM HT, you can do all of the currently-available digital modes -- once the final upgrades are made. It seems to me that, once the CS7000 is released, there will be a whole lot of used CS700 and CS750 radios on the market, and they'll already be programmed (though maybe not for your area). So, later this year might be an ideal time to get into DMR and also get a very nice monoband analogue radio in the bargain.

  Aside from Connect Systems, TYT is selling an even cheaper MD-380 DMR HT. With a colour display and FPP, it seems competitive. No mic gain, though. AliExpress has the MD-380 for $186. If you don't need a display, then the MD-280 is a bit cheaper, but probably not worth it. 

  Anytone also offers the D8F8 for around $200, which looks a heck of a lot like the CS700. 

  To me, Connect Systems' release of the CS750 proves that the promises that they made early on weren't empty. Actual production and sales proved a bit more of a challenge, perhaps, than they anticipated. But their willingness to upgrade the CS700s (at a very reasonable price) proves that they take their customers and their reputation seriously. Buying their radios simply is not much of a gamble. And, as they move to make more amateur-friendly models, the case becomes more compelling. 

  Yaesu "primed the pump" with relatively inexpensive repeaters to sell their C4FM mode. Those repeaters have turned out to be somewhat under-powered and unreliable. ICOM literally gave away hundreds of repeaters to kick-start D-Star adoption. Motorola is primarily interested in the commercial market, and seems unlikely to do anything to push amateur DMR repeaters, but there's more used commercial Motorola gear out there than there is amateur gear for the D-Star and C4FM modes. A new 100W MOTOTRBO repeater costs twice what a 50W (at best) C4FM repeater costs, and a used MTR3000 (100W model) can be had for about what a new C4FM repeater costs. 

  While the cost of powerful DMR repeaters seems to be the biggest financial barrier to the mode's wider adoption, the user radios are now considerably cheaper than their equivalents in other modes. 

  All of these digital modes face the same challenge when it comes to adoption in rural areas: inexpensive, highly reliable, and readily-available internet access. Without a connection to the wider world, the usefulness of any digital mode is not much different than analogue FM.