I am looking at purchasing a DMR radio and need a suggestion for a hot spot. I have a couple of Raspberry Pi 3 Model B's not being used, but  I am not sure what to get. Any help would be appreciated.

Zumspot.

I am running one on a Pi Zero W, they will also work on the Pi3's.

I had the DVMega, I used with a USB cable and my PC. Once. (pretty sure it can be mated with a Pi)

I've recently sold it and ALL of my DMR rigs It just wasn't something I could get into*.

I think that many users have latched onto the SharkRF ( @gcw maybe ) and there was another mentioned before I shut the FB group down that was a tiny board that mated with a Pi Zero?
ETA: see above Zumspot

*of course the QSO with Israel on an HT was a pretty cool experience!

Thanks for the input guys.

Honest question: Any cooler than chatting with them over VOIP? For all intents and purposes, that's what it was, no?

I get the reasons for DMR and other digital voice modes. I just don't understand the excitement and fascination with it.

....maybe I don't understand the reasons for DMR/digital voice. You know, unless you like crummy audio. lol...

Not intended to hijack thread but to reply to the question raised.

I thought it was cool, VOIP or not, especially when he told me he was 1 of 2 Hams in Jerusalem that were on DMR (this was a while back).  
Yet, it wasn't cool enough to keep me interested, and it surely wasn't interesting enough to make me overlook the Horribly Compressed Audio (Nails on Chalkboard for me).

That's why I cleared it ALL out, even sent a rig to a young ham on an installment plan-just to get rid of the crap I wasn't interested in.

I'm not saying "It's not Ham Radio because it utilizes the internet" I'm simply saying "It's an aspect of Ham Radio I tried to use and determined it wasn't for me".

My apologies for the hijack.

I like to experiment with all that amateur radio has to offer. That said, I just haven't been able to find a compelling reason to get in to DMR/D-Star/C4FM/Fusion/whatever digital voice mode is cool at the moment.

That said, I do know a hard headed person or two that's vaguely interested in ham. It seems that DMR would come in handy for keeping in touch, if one lacks the ability to operate on HF. That is to say, I can certainly see why a tech would be very interested in DMR.

Different strokes for different folks. I'd probably have more fun with a 2M tube rig than with a DMR setup. But I'm weird.

Sharkrf openspot is what I use. I have used it on brandmister and my own network. Works great. For my hytera I use the Mode C DMR setting

I have a Jumbospot dual band on its way. I purchased it yesterday for like $64 shipped.

Basically a clone of the zumspot and dual band.

Also microcenter in Brentwood has the pi zero w's for $5 or less.

I also am a big fan of the Shark RF OpenSpot.
I have been into these digital voice modes via a hotspot device for several years and have tried probably a half dozen or more of the various devices and finally settled on the OpenSpot. I tried several of the various Raspberry Pi based devices and found them to be unreliable in the long term because of the Raspberry Pi. Mobile, you have to remember to power down the Pi before you shut off the engine (if you are running on vehicle power)..........somehow the image ends up getting corrupted or the Pi won't connect to WiFi for some reason or something happens; and it always does this when I am 500 miles away from home. The OpenSpot just seems to work. With no drama.

So why would anyone be interested in something like this ?
There are a number of reasons.
First of all, HTs are cool. I don't think I am alone in loving HTs. However, my experience over 30+ years of being a ham (and owning HTs) is that they are extremely limited in range. IF you happen to live right near a repeater or you live right near someone you want to work on simplex, then they work fine. However, I have never lived anywhere until very recently where I could just sit in my Lazy Boy and BS with someone through a repeater; I either didnt get into the repeater at all, or I wasn't full quieting which prompted endless signal reports and endless speculation as to what I could do to improve my signal.
But, with a hotspot device, and a digital HT, I can sit in my Lazy Boy or out on the porch and work anybody that happens to be on the air. And, there are a lot of various nets I enjoy using these modes that would not be available to me in any other way.

Second is mobile. Since I got into these digital voice modes (with a hotspot device) I have taken a half dozen or so trips across the US: a few east to west and a few from north to south. I don't have to worry about programming my radio, finding repeaters along my route, what PL tone they are using...........as I am driving. In fact, I can drive from New York to LA and never have to change anything on my radio. When I get bored of driving, I can get on the air and work somebody.

Third: for the technician class operator, it provides something else to do with ham radio besides analog FM. Don't get me wrong, there are all kinds of cool things you can do as a Tech, but very few people actually take advantage of them. Most new hams are told to get their ticket, then buy the cheapest HT they can find, and that is the do all and end off of ham radio for a tech. And it isn't. They could be doing VHF/UHF weak signal stuff, they could be working the satellites, they could be working moon bounce, they could be on packet....................but most of them never do any of this IN PART because they are told that REAL ham radio is HF. Digital voice modes using VOIP is at least something else they can do to get into ham radio and enjoy ham radio.

Next is the person who lives in a very poor location either because of topography or because of very restrictive HOAs/Zoning laws or whatever. They can get on ham radio and work people all over the world using an HT as their only equipment with no outside antennas. This also applies for older hams who may be in a retirement community or even a nursing home: they can still be active hams without having to own a bunch of equipment and without having outside antennas.

One last one, and I will quit beating a dead horse: If you travel, this is one ham radio way to keep in touch with the hams local to where you live. No matter where you are in the world, if you have an internet connection: you can work the same guys you would be working if you were at home: using ham radio. You may even be able to get on your home repeater. Same goes for snowbirds who winter some place other than where they actually live.

I could go on, but it either pulls your chain or it doesn't. If it doesn't, move on to something else.

One last comment: Again, I have played with this stuff pretty extensively and I decided that the ONLY thing DMR has going for it is that you can buy cheap radios to do it. I still use it. I still enjoy it. But, D-Star is everything DMR wishes it could be.

I use a shark RF openspot coupled wth an GL-iNet AR150 mini router and a battery pack.
The router automaticlly hops to the home wi-fi or my phones hot spot depending on wether I am home or out. I have to charge the battery every 2-3 days. With that I use either the HD-1 (ailunce) or the Anytone 868 both are dual band and let me use the local repeater (vhf) or the openspot (uhf). My only issue with the open spot is if I need to change talkgroups and the howard stern wannabes on 3100 or 310 are jabbering away and not letting it drop long enough to switch over....that can be a PITA.  I was thinking maybe Ill do a descrete in/out freqrencies instead of the simplex freq I use now ......but then I gotta edit my codeplugs...

I drive across this country using DMR on my Motorola XPR 5550 to stay in touch. I really do not experience the distortion/compression issues that people complain about. That's probably with those cheap knock offs.  With the 5550 it automatically selects the repeater with the best signal which keeps your eyes on the road. If you are not mobile, then it probably doesn't make too much difference and you wouldn't care.

Does the Moto give you access to the user database (callsign,name ,qth etc) like some of the other radios or is it limited to DMR ID's. just curious.

I am currently using 2 of the JumboSpot hotspots with a Raspberry Pi Zero w for each.  Below is a Facebook group I started to help with the JumboSpot hotspots

https://www.facebook.com/groups/221671895075680/?ref=bookmarks

I use the RFshark in my truck tied to a TP-link adding my phone as the hotspot.
The radio I use is a CS-800 on low power.
It works just fine, as long as Verizon is operating okay.

Imreally wish there was a VHF device so I could use the CS-801 as the range is better.

I'm considering getting the Zumspot for use with whichever D-STAR rig I end up buying.

Was not aware of the Jumbospot, so I'll have to take a look.

I just picked up a Pi Zero W and a regular Pi Zero from MicroCenter for $10 and $5 respectively...

ETA: Just saw this update about Zumspot availability (or lack thereof) due to one of the two people responsible for the product departing from the team:

https://www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-015993

Over the past few weeks quite a bit of change has occurred with the folks at Zumspot. Zumspot was comprised of two (2) talented individuals, one designer and one manufacturing specialist.  Effective early this week the manufacturing specialist has left the organization. The original designer of Zumspot has now taken over both design and manufacturing responsibilities.

Any information regarding the termination of Zumspot’s relationship with HRO is incorrect and not factual. That information was released by the former manufacturing specialist of Zumspot which is no longer working for Zumspot.

Dozens of Zumspot boards and Pi Zero units have been moved from the former manufacturing individual (in Canada) to the original designer (in America). The designer will be feverishly getting the boards and kits together to get them to HRO as soon as possible. We expect product by the end of April if not sooner.

Further, the designer is working closely with a new manufacturing facility to bring production back in line with demand. We at HRO have been watching this change closely and have decided to place Zumspot back online but not available for purchase until such a time as we have full confidence that the designer can produce quantities commensurate with demand.

HRO will not take orders for any product that we are unsure we can provide. This step is to be certain, before we take further orders, that new manufacturing can be done properly. As soon as we are comfortable with this process, we will bring the Zumspot back online for sale via our website and our stores.

Any customer that wishes to cancel their respective back order may do so by calling your local store. We will immediately refund any customer not willing to wait on this process to be completed.

Currently HRO is in a temporary Production Hold on further sales of this product at this time

You may direct questions regarding this matter to Steve Gilmore – National Sales Manager of HRO.

Pi3 & dvmega at home running pistar..  Was pretty easy with zero issues.    Bluestack with dvmega in the car which was easier and works good with my cell bluetooth.  Think the shark is easier but I had raspberry pi's already so I went that route..  I only do DMR at this time so I cannot give any help with Dstar, radios are kind of expensive so I have not dabbled.   DMR works but learning codeplug setup is systematic and easy when someone explains it.

Good luck

Prosise

Since I apparently can't get my hands on a Zumspot (at least not right now) I ordered a JumboSpot from a Chinese vendor on eBay for $51 (it does not include the Pi, but I already have a Pi W ready and waiting for it).

Of course I'm not going to get it 'right away' because it will be coming here on the slow boat from China, but then I don't even have a D-STAR capable radio yet, so there's no rush - I will plan to get the D-STAR HT before the end of April (most likely the Kenwood TH-74A).

Both of mine took about 2 weeks to arrive.  In the mean time, you can go ahead and get Pi-Star up and ready, if you haven't already done so.

Yes, I'm planning to do that this weekend.

I might as well solder some male header pins onto the Pi W as well - I understand that I need to skip the pins that are used by the OLED display.

I've noticed that some users are hooking up a Nextion LCD - not sure whether or not I will want to get one for this application, but I was not even aware of the Itead Nextion until I started looking at some JumboSpot videos - it's an interesting idea which I might find useful for other purposes.

The nextion is fine if you have the space for it, a way to mount it, and need it.  It won't mount directly to the JumboSpot like the OLED does.  I have a 2.4" Nextion and it's cool, but I don't have a way to mount it.  My Jeep JumboSpot is in a plain black case with no display.  I used the mobile dashboard for Pi-Star to see what going on.  The JS will probably end up tucked away somewhere out of sight.

You will need a 2x5 pin on the left side of the Pi (with the GPIO up top) and it's best to have the same on the other end for updating the firmware on the JS board.  Some of the JS boards already have a 2x5 female soldered on both ends when the arrive.

If you haven't already joined, check out my JumboSpot facebook page linked a little farther up.  Lots of good info there.

Has anyone played with the DVMEGA AMBE3000 vocoder shield? I am a bit interested in using this with a GMSK sheild to essentially work up a plug-and-play digital voice kit that simply needs a vhf/uhf radio with a 9600 baud port on it to work.

laugh guys, it's satire

LMAO!

rofllol....

Pi-star has been installed.

Kenwood TH-D74A has been ordered from gigaparts, along with the fast charger and the free case. Will decide later on whether to order the KMC-45D speaker-mic, the Diamond SRH320A tri-band (144/220/440 MHz) antenna, a cigarette-lighter power adapter, a spare rechargeable battery, and/or the AA cell battery pack.

Waiting for the JumboSpot to arrive. I've checked out the Facebook page - looks like it will be a very useful resource, thanks...

I don't live near any DMR repeaters and so I use a Shark-RF Openspot and it works great.   I use it with an Anytone AT-D868UV HT DMR radio at the house.  I can take the whole thing mobile with a small TP-Link N300 wi-fi Nano travel router, a 15000mAh solar battery pack, the shark RF and the Anytone and use it with my phone (if there are no DMR repeaters nearby).   The whole kit is really compact.

Nice looking kit!!