On 17/02/2017 13:00, Rob wrote:
Brian Reay wrote:
I'm no fan of DSTAR but how has it been kept 'in-house'? The overall
system isn't Icom's invention, in came out of work done by the JARL.

It has been kept "in the amateur radio house".
DMR is mainly used outside of that, so there is a source of surplus
equipment, a large market with competition, and some manufacturers that
make amateur equipment as a special version of devices they also sell
on their regular market. This makes it easier for them to sell devices
at a lower pricepoint than amateur radio equipment manufacturers can.



That is a fair point but it is true of much of our other kit yet we
don't see the same situation we do with DSTAR and DMR.

The nearest parallel would be the availability of cheap 'Chinese'
analogue radios which have undercut the offerings from the traditional
amateur manufacturers which tend to offer more bells and whistles etc.
The latter are still on sale in the UK but, I suspect, are suffering.

I don't have an axe to grind here, I'm not in the business nor pro or
anti either DSTAR or DMR (I do have a DMR radio). I'm just trying to
understand where things are going.

73
Brian
www.g8osn.net