Friday, September 23, 2016

Baofeng DM-5R: Radioddity Responds to Questions

Radioddity posts a response to some of the questions about the DM-5R and it's DMR capabilities:
Rumor 1: The BaoFeng DM-5R is not compatible with MOTOTRBO TIER 2.
FALSE. While the BaoFeng DM-5R comes out of the box only supporting Tier 1, it can be easily upgraded to support Tier 2 online. The upgrade will be available at Radioddity.com as well as BaoFeng’s official website (under construction). This upgrade costs less than $10.

Rumor 2: The BaoFeng DM-5R is a dPMR, not a DMR.
FALSE. The standards for a DMR are as follows:
TS 102 361-1: Air interface protocol
TS 102 361-2: Voice and generic services and facilities
TS 102 361-3: Data protocol
TS 102 361-4: Trunking protocol
The DM-5R meets each of the ETSI Standards listed above. A true DMR, not a dPMR.

Rumor 3: The BaoFeng DM-5R is not FCC or IC certified.
FALSE. The BaoFeng DM-5R has met FCC and IC standards in its testing. The documents may not be visible online, as it takes about 4 weeks for the documents to be available.
They still don't give specifics on how to get Tier II - only mentioning the $10 upgrade.

11 comments:

  1. And apparently now they are claiming it to support trunking....

    What a bunch of crap - these idiots have no idea; but it certainly helps them get a bunch of free press here

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  2. That would be funny if somebody figured out how to unlock them for free and posted it online.

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    Replies
    1. I was wondering if it is a software change that would be easily done in CHIRP.

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  3. At least they answered someone. All I got when i asked some specific questions about this radio was a coupon code. Well, i have to look at the software and see if I can even use that or not.

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  4. Don't rush to buy it.
    If they are so interested to sell you this radio, wait until they offer it already upgraded to Tier 2.

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  5. "TS 102 361-4: Trunking protocol"

    Does anyone even read what is being posted - now they are claiming Tier 3 with the above comment; stay far away from a vendor who obviously doesn't understand radio or what they are saying.

    Upgrade = "Vaporware"; if they knew what they were doing it would be available on day one; this is a rushed product cutting corners to try and halt competition (aka TYT MD380)

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    Replies
    1. Upgrades does not necessarily mean vaporware -- it could mean licensing.

      If you buy a Raspberry Pi, you can "upgrade" with licenses for a couple of codecs in the hardware. It is not vaporware, but it allows extra codec performance for those who really need it.

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  6. I wonder if this DMR Baofeng also comes to Dutch stores.

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    Replies
    1. Why would you want a half baked product in Dutch stores?

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  7. So I have gone around and around a few times with Radioddity about the DM-5R. Although it hasn't reached me yet, I too raised concerns with the whole Tier 1 Tier 2 thing. They sent me a copy of the software, which didn't work because I couldn't change it to English. After a few rounds, they sent me a working copy, and even has a "dummy" code plug to play with.

    The funny thing is when I was fooling around with it, there is adjustments for 2 times slots, color codes, etc etc etc. This thing might actually work on MotoTrbo repeaters.

    Time will tell...

    73!
    James

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    Replies
    1. This Baofeng thing is just a
      load of old wank.

      Stop giving it credence and
      move on!

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