The D74 is an outstanding radio indeed, for MANY things like APRS and Satellite activity, and especially to RECEIVE the linear ssb satellites on vhf and uhf.
The only DSTAR repeater in our area is near the down town area, so depending on your proximity to that, it might take a bit of effort. Although we do have a multimode repeater on the SW side of town, that we still need to improve the receive side some more. DMR, DSTAR, Fusion supported. Using a hotspot certainly solves those type of issues. But keep this in mind when trying to choose the right hotspot. You can get the great Zumspot and Jumbospot units for about $119 or as little as $50, but you will be limited to DSTAR only with that radio. If you spend a bit more, you can get the SharkRF OpenSpot 3, for about $250, so you can go in DSTAR, and come out DMR, Fusion, P25, NXDN, and of course DSTAR, etc.. So it really does depend on where your ultimately trying to go, as to how much you may need to spend. Also keep in mind, you can get a separate DMR radio for a little over $200 for the high end, or under $100 for some very good working radios with a few less features. Kind of like buying a car, or some HF radio, plenty of options to choose from, and nothing says you have to spend all the money up front, as you can buy each component, one at a time, to further enhance your digital radio experience along the way as you choose to get deeper into it. Hope that helps, all the best. Walter/K5WH From: BVARC <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Ameenah007 via BVARC Sent: Thursday, April 16, 2020 1:54 PM To: [email protected] Cc: Ameenah007 <[email protected]> Subject: [BVARC] Dstar/1st Radio Questions Hello BVARC, I'm looking at the Kenwood TH-D74A for my first radio. Is DStar a good choice in Houston? Are DStar repeaters in the Westchase area of Houston or do I need a Hotspot, and if so which one would you all recommend? Is there anything I should know about this radio before I buy it? Thanks in advance for any guidance you can offer. 73 Ameenah, AG5VZ
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