Aug 2024 - I jumped head first into the fascinating world of DMR radios, Specifically the MOTOTRBO variety. It all started with a confluence of events. 1) My brick and motor business was getting started 2) My Son started driving on his own and 3) I noticed that some folks had posted videos about the radios doing IP addressable data, and that I could not resist digging into.
The brick and mortar operation is small, just a few people but would be selling and renting radios to the public along with auction and normal store operations. I have been an amateur and GMRS license holder for over 10 years so we have always had radios woven into day to day activities. But I needed to step up my game. I needed to both eat my own dog food and support more sophisticated operations such as encryption and selective calling to integrate both family and business activities. DMR was the answer.
My Son starting to drive made me realize that I needed a backup mode of communication for him and I knew that using the radio was inherently more safe than using the phone. Not to mention the mobile is securely fixed to the vehicle and didn't require him to remember to charge it (I'm all about eliminating excuses by design), again radio and DMR filled the gap. Lastly did I mention the built in GPS and hot mic capabilities 😂
Well as for IP addressable radios. This is just plain cool the first generation of radios to support this such as the XPR6550 have been out for a decade and are available for a reasonable price on the secondary market, nice! Out of the box you have a few standard data services.
| Automatic Registration Service | ARS |
| Text Message Service | TMS |
| Location Service | LRRP |
So I started researching and buying, these radios for the most part sell for around $250 US on eBay, but if you know what your looking for, buy in bulk and are willing to take a few risks you can get them for much less let's say between $70 and $150 each YMMWV.
So pretty soon I had 8 XPR6550 radios, 3 noise canceling shoulder mics, 2 USB cables for programming and data communication, a desktop charger and a 6 bay gang charger. Oh and 2 battery eliminator's all in about $1,099 US, and I was set with a fleet of radios with admittedly batteries all working but at various states of life.
Thats an average of $137 per radio. However keep in mind they all work and are in good condition… not to mention the 3 speaker mics that normally go for a pretty penny on their own. I was happy.
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I also got two mobile repeaters from Revits an RT97 and RT97 P the first one for GMRS and the other does both analog and DMR. Those I will cover on their own. But I am impressed with the platform.
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With the first batch of 5 radios and a USB cable it was time to start figuring out how to program the radios.