RE: Why Bridgecom and Pi-Star MMDVM for Amateur-Radio DMR? By Bob - W9YA

The following is a review from Bob - W9YA.

DE: Bob - W9YA, License Trustee for NM5SH

RE: Why Bridgecom and Pi-Star MMDVM for Amateur-Radio DMR?

The operators of NM5SH in Albuquerque, NM (W9YA and K5LXP) did extensive testing and planning prior to purchasing the BridgeCom BCR-40U repeater and Pi-Star/STM32-DVM controller. We found that this combination would best fill our needs for a reliable and well-engineered system for the following three reasons;

1 - The BridgeCom repeater had an excellent reputation and was attractively priced. The operating software also had no long-term licensing fee issues.
2 - The Pi-Star/MMDVM software package was in open-source and supported common chipsets and hardware. This allowed us to take advantage of a robust developer community with good products that were easily affordable.
3 - BridgeCom FULLY supported our endeavor including working with us to develop a procedure to set the transmit deviation that did not require any equipment other than a common multi-meter and Pi-Star's built-in calibration routine !!  Included in the pricing was a pre-programmed repeater ready to use.

The results were the first time this combination of gear was placed into Amateur-Radio DMR service; It was installed in less than 40 minutes on January 25th and has been running continuously since. For further information, a detailed website is at qsl.net/nm5sh.

Thank you BridgeCom and Pi-Star/MMDVM.

If you are interested in a digital repeater or a similar product please call us at 816-532-8451.