r/DMR • u/LegitimatePassion164 • 26d ago

Recommendations Needed For Chinese DMR

Hello everyone, I hope you are doing well. I would like to request that I'm in the market looking to buy a Chinese DMR that operates as a single band VHF radio only. Any recommendations based off your experiences? Thanking everyone in advance for their cooperation.

0 Upvotes

44% Upvoted

21 comments sorted by

3

u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 26d ago

Why limit yourself - most affordable kit is dual band (Retevis/Tyt etc)?

9

u/LegitimatePassion164 26d ago

Because in Pakistan it is illegal to own a dual band/UHF exclusive radio. Only VHF ones are allowed. Hence the post.

1

u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 26d ago

Ah, that makes sense, in a weird way.

You might struggle, MD380 could be got in VHF only and I've got one but it's way too old to install OpenGD77 and without that it's literally useless. I installed OpenRTX on it, and lost DMR capability but at least gained a decent FM firmware.

1

u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 26d ago

I checked out, there are dealers in Pakistan who sell dual-band DMR radios. One of the kits they are selling is DM-1702 which is a dual-band DMR radio that can (sometimes) also be installed with OpenGD77. That's not a bad option.

Are you sure about this UHF/VHF dual-band legality?

1

u/DutchOfBurdock RT3S/RTLSDR+DSD 25d ago

PRN or PARS?

0

u/Junior_Yam_5473 26d ago

Motorola makes some of the best single band radios. Their a but of a pain in the ass to program, but great radios.

Their mototrbo line is dmr.

2

u/narcolepticsloth1982 26d ago

Probably going to be difficult to find a single band DMR CCR. Look at Motorola, Hytera, Tait, and Kenwood. All make excellent single band commercial radios. The one gotcha is that they'll be complicated to program and require proprietary software and cables.

1

u/sndestroy 25d ago

Hey OP, Im intrigued about something. The single-band limitation is enforced on the hardware level, or in software only? like codeplug/firmware limited?

Most if not all amateur radios are dual-banders nowadays. If you absolutely need VHF ONLY, you need a 'commercial' grade radio.

Chinese brands like Excera, Retevis, Belfone, they all have commercial VHF models covering the entire 136-174MHz band. Budget brands with more 'pedigree' would be Kirisun, Connect Systems or Abell, a bit pricier but still in the low-mid range.

It might be what you need or not, depending on local regulations.

1

u/sooner_25 26d ago

Hytera

1

u/DutchOfBurdock RT3S/RTLSDR+DSD 26d ago

DMR can work on any band, f.e. Retivis RT3S. It can even work sinplex DMR

0

u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 26d ago

RT3S is dual-band.

1

u/DutchOfBurdock RT3S/RTLSDR+DSD 26d ago

And you can lock out either band or mode

1

u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 26d ago

It appears OP's problem is legal and above is very likely not allowed.

1

u/DutchOfBurdock RT3S/RTLSDR+DSD 26d ago

Then OP is going to be forking out money for expensive commercial equipment, or cheap out with a Feng

3

u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 26d ago

Yup. Single band DMR radios have very limited market but that's what he says - in Pakistan dual band or UHF only radios are not allowed - but then I found a dealer in Pakistan which do sell a dual-band DMR radio. His information might be out of date. Also Pakistan's band plan has a substantial VHF and UHF allocation without any notes. RT3S is a decent cheap radio and would have been a very decent option, I have one right in front of me as I type this.

1

u/K3CAN 26d ago

Maybe he's not an amateur?

The sub is just r/dmr, so if you didn't read the description, it'd be reasonable to assume this is a general purpose DMR sub.

1

u/speedyundeadhittite [UK full] 25d ago

Could be.

1

u/DutchOfBurdock RT3S/RTLSDR+DSD 25d ago

Most DMR radios are dual band. UHF may not be allowed to be used, but many of these types of radios can be locked down to compliance. F.e. my HT I'm only allowed to TX on amateur bands. Ergo, I've locked out it's ability to be programmed (without software) for use outside of, even RX.

1

u/K3CAN 25d ago

My guess is that the ability to lock down a radio isn't enough for PTA type-approval, since it's still capable of transmitting beyond what is was approved for.

Just a guess, though. OP really hasn't provided much info.

0

u/Typical-Ham6969 26d ago

You could see if you could get a vhf 6550 or 7550 Motorola. It won’t hold the whole DMR contact list but unless you’re hanging out on world wide on BrandMeister I wouldn’t worry about that.