Standards & modes
Standards & modes: 6 guides.
01
Best DMR Radios 2026: From Budget to Top Tier
An honest review of 2026 DMR radios: budget Baofeng DM-1801 and Radioddity GD-77 on OpenGD77, mid-range TYT MD-UV380/UV390 and Retevis, and top-tier AnyTone D878/D578. Pros, cons, and who should buy what.
Standards & modes
02
DMR Tier I, II and III: how they differ and what amateurs use
DMR Tier I, II and III — how the three tiers of the ETSI TS 102 361 standard differ. Tier I — licence-free 446 MHz without repeaters, Tier II — two TDMA time slots, repeaters and talkgroups for amateurs, Tier III — trunking for large systems.
Standards & modes
03
DMR vs C4FM, D-STAR and NXDN: how the digital modes differ
A clear comparison of four amateur digital modes: DMR, Yaesu System Fusion (C4FM), Icom D-STAR and NXDN. AMBE and AMBE+2 vocoders, two-slot TDMA…
Standards & modes
04
DMR, D-STAR, C4FM (System Fusion) and NXDN: which digital standard to choose
DMR, D-STAR, C4FM and NXDN — a comparison of four digital standards: AMBE codecs, TDMA/FDMA, networks and reflectors, radio prices, the MMDVM ecosystem and hotspots.
Standards & modes
05
Server-side AMBE vocoder: digital DMR audio without a dongle
Why DMR voice is AMBE+2, why a DMR↔phone bridge needs PCM↔AMBE transcoding, and how a software vocoder on the server replaces the hardware AMBE dongle, unlocking the app, a SIP phone and voice services.
Standards & modes
06
The AMBE Vocoder: How Voice Becomes DMR Data
How the AMBE+2 vocoder works in a DMR radio: the MBE algorithm, bit rates, FEC, hardware chips, DVSI patents, and transcoding between modes.
Standards & modes