Repeater or DMR Hotspot: Which is better for you?

Above picture is from Brandmeister, we can see that the hotspots quantities connected to Brandmeister Severs are more than traditional repeaters. Especially in 2020, with the outbreak of Covid-19 in many countries around the world. Almost all the ham club activities are canceled. For the hams who are far away from the local repeater, how did they do daily QSO? I think if they get a DMR hotspot, it is very convenient.

What is the difference between repeater and DMR Hotspot?

The Brandmeister Network is the commonly associated with Hot Spot operation, while the DMR-MARC network is associated more with repeater operation. But where is their difference?

The basic factor of Connection

You can direct connection to the repeater network.
For hotspot Requires an internet connection.

Who you can QSO to?

For repeater, you can only TX or Rx from Local radio to radio.

But hotspot, only network connection.

Talkgroups Limit.

Repeater limited to the states desired at the discretion of the repeater owner. But hotspot can access to all your state talkgroups.

When can you TX or Rx?

If connect a repeater, Most TG requires PTT to access a TG for a predetermined time.

For hotspot, you can access to all talkgroups at any time.

What need to set for your hand-held radio?

If connect a repeater, it requires create a separate channel for every repeater. Different frequency, color code, and contacts for different repeater. but if connected to a hotspot, you can only set only one channel to access the Brandmeister network.

Hand-held radio coverage requirement.

When access to a repeater, you should stay within the range of the repeater. For hotspot, if use a wifi connection, it should be in the range of the cellular signal.

In Conclusion

As shown above, we cant say which is better or not. It depends on your need. For people like me who are not in the range of digital voice repeaters, DMR hot spots are not only becoming interesting but also becoming the key to accessing digital voice systems, which is a gift to open the door of the whole world.