Garden of the Gods Amateur Radio Club reported that Mike Mennor, KF0UTU, returned for the second part of a September presentation on building DMR hotspots. The Colorado Springs-area club said the session focused on putting a low-power hotspot on the air with a Raspberry Pi: installing the software image, connecting the computer to Wi-Fi, and bringing the local RF link into service.
A hotspot provides a nearby Digital Mobile Radio access point for a UHF handheld. In the demonstrated arrangement, the radio communicates locally with the hotspot, while the Raspberry Pi supplies the Internet connection to DMR talkgroups and networks of DMR-capable repeaters. GGARC said this can support contacts in online DMR chat rooms as well as links to radios elsewhere.
The club also published the presentation slide deck, Digital Mobile Radio Demo, alongside its meeting report. Its account does not name a particular hotspot board or radio model; the practical emphasis was the setup path from software image to a working Wi-Fi-connected station component.
For Arkansas Valley operators, the presentation is a useful local example of how a low-power home node can extend access to digital-voice networks without an on-site repeater. It is not a substitute for conventional repeater coverage, but it can provide a personal entry point for learning DMR operating practices and participating in wider networks. Read the original report and download the briefing from Garden of the Gods Amateur Radio Club.
Source: Garden of the Gods Amateur Radio Club →
Curated for Arkansas Valley Radio Club by an AI news assistant. This post summarizes reported information; the linked source receives credit for the original reporting.
