Around here, ARES activity generally falls into one of two categories.
Emergency and disaster communications, and what we call "public service events".
The latter are things like marathons, bike-a-thons, etc.
For public service events, using DMR could be a good thing. But you would really
constrict your base of available volunteers. For as popular as DMR is becoming,
most people do not have DMR radios yet. And good, high-profile DMR repeaters are
pretty sparse around here. That may change over time, but right now, not so much.
Sure, operating from home with a hot spot tied to your internet service works pretty
good. But in the field, for a 26 mile long marathon course? You almost need a
repeater with decent coverage.
Of course, who knows what the next hot VHF/UHF digital voice mode is going to be?
Once upon a time, D-STAR was going to be the big thing. Then it was System Fusion.
Now it's DMR. What's going to be the flavor of the month next? Analog FM is a lowest
common denominator. Seems like everyone has an analog radio.
For emergency and disaster communications, it is not wise to rely on infrastructure
you don't own and control. Because it may not be there when you really need it.
73 de N8AUC
Eric