Why It Matters
Digital voice and internet linking let a local repeater, or a small box on your desk, connect you to hams anywhere in the world. You talk on VHF or UHF to something nearby; the internet carries you the rest of the way.
That makes it one of the best ways onto the air for anyone who can’t put up an antenna: apartments, homes with HOA rules, care homes, and anyone who simply wants to talk to friends far away without waiting for HF conditions.
The Main Systems
They do similar jobs but don’t talk to each other directly, so the radio you buy decides which you can use.
- DMR: came from commercial two-way radio. Cheap, rugged radios from many makers. Organized into talkgroups on networks such as BrandMeister. Needs a free DMR ID.
- D-STAR: designed for hams by the Japan Amateur Radio League. Mostly Icom radios. Calls are routed by callsign; stations meet on reflectors.
- System Fusion (C4FM): Yaesu’s digital voice. Its repeaters usually also accept ordinary FM. WIRES-X links stations into rooms.
- AllStarLink: links ordinary FM repeaters and home nodes over the internet. Any FM radio works.
- EchoLink: links stations through a computer or a phone app, as well as through FM repeaters and links. Any FM radio works on the RF side.
Which to Start With
Listen first. Find out which repeaters near you are digital and which systems your local club uses; a repeater directory such as RepeaterBook lists the mode of each one.
If you already own an FM radio, AllStarLink and EchoLink need nothing new. If you’re buying a radio for digital, pick the system your local repeaters and friends use. A hotspot then puts you on that system from home, even with no digital repeater nearby.
- RepeaterBook ↗ — repeater directory; filter by mode.
- The M17 mode — an open-source digital voice mode, still small.
The Rules Still Apply
All of these put a transmitter on the air under your license, even when most of the path is the internet. Identify with your callsign at least every 10 minutes and at the end of a contact, the same as on FM (FCC rule 97.119). Your DMR ID number is not a callsign, so say your call.
Most networks check your license before letting you on. That is normal, and it keeps them amateur-only.