Well, I needed a new radio recently and decided to go with an 880. It was either going to be this or the Icom 208. The small faceplates on these two were a major factor because nothing bigger will work in my car.
Ended up with the 880 because it does 2m/70cm which will work anywhere and I figured it was worth some extra cash to see what DSTAR was all about and it was nice to actually get my hands on a radio that wasn't technically obsolete before I got it home. Having DSTAR kind of future-proofs it. Digital is the future. Now that I have it, I think it's a great radio. It does a great job in all modes and it's pretty easy to setup and use. DSTAR simplex is amazing and almost never mentioned. The free Icom software is workable and free. I don't regret the 880 purchase one bit. When my budget allows, I intend to get a second one or the 80AD handheld version and share codeplugs between both radios. All that said, I think the dongle is a fine idea too. There are times when I want to link to one of the reflectors without tying up any of the local repeaters, or for when they're all already linked up, or for when I am in my cave at work and can't reach any repeater in any mode. The dongle solves some problems that the RF rigs can't. 73s, Patrick KG4KKN --- In [email protected], "ben_ramler2002" <ben_ramler2...@...> wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I jsut joined the group, and I guess I come in seek od advice. I am trying > to put a go kit together. I'll admit is pretty amitious. My question though > is should I consider a D-star radio like the ID-880? Even though there really > are D-star repeaters in MN. > > thanks & 73, > > Ben K0BLr > Central MN >
