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Reviews For: DV-Mega Dual Band D-Star Radio Hotspot

Category: Interfaces, Radio to computer, amp, rotor, coax switch, internet

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Review Summary For : DV-Mega Dual Band D-Star Radio Hotspot
Reviews: 18MSRP: 179.95
Description:
DV-MEGA Radio HotSpot Shield & a computer ( PC or Raspberry PI ) will create a Dual Band D-Star HotSpot which will give D-Star users “ Over The Air “ access to the network with a D-Star compatible radio.
Product is in production
More Info: http://www.dvmega.co.uk/
# last 180 days Avg. Rating last 180 days Total reviews Avg. overall rating
00185
G4POP Rating: 2015-12-26
Great unit Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I have been using the DVMega dual band hotspot with my Raspberry Pi for a couple of months and it works perfectly, once set up just forget it!

I am about to set it up with my PC for permanent home use and will get the DVMega board to fit my Pi for mobile and portably use

Not the easiest device to set up in the world but it still deserves a five plus rating
G1INU Rating: 2015-07-15
It Really is Easy to Use Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
I came away on a Caravan holiday with my ID5100e in the car only to find no D-Star repeater coverage in this part of North Devon. As we get away for 9 or 10 weeks a Year in the caravan to some very isolated locations that the D-Star repeated coverage maps say have little or no coverage, I decided to look for a solution.

I came upon the DV-Mega but knowing little about D-Star and absolutely nothing about the Raspberry Pi and the DV- Mega I was a little hesitant about trying it. If your knowledge of the Raspberry Pi and the DV-Mega is the same as mine was, fear not, you can order this kit, plug it in and it will more or less work straight from the packaging. All the configuration including your call sign is setup for you by Karl before its sent out.

I say almost because I wanted to run the internet side of the DV-Mega via the WiFi Hotspot setup on my iPhone. To do this I simply attached a mouse and keyboard to the USB ports of the Raspberry Pi (In my case a wifi keyboard and mouse but a usb keyboard and mouse would be fine) I then connected the HDMI of the Raspberry Pi to my TV and powered it up, having first installed the micro SD card (supplied by Karl) into the Raspberry Pi.

It all booted up fine and I clicked on the WiFi icon on the desktop. I selected my iPhone WiFi hotspot from the list of detected WiFi in the area and entered the Hotspot password.

I then exited the software, rebooted the Raspberry Pi and that really was it..

I had already setup my new ID51e Plus to work with the DV-Mega but you can do this using the supplied software, following the advice in this file.. http://www.dv-mega.com/download/file.php?id=24

It really was simple and straightforward and as I said, I knew nothing before I started so this really is a plug and play solution. I did it all, in a caravan, 300 miles from home with no Laptop or PC in sight.
M3TZX Rating: 2015-04-09
Superb Product Time Owned: 3 to 6 months.
I cannot say enough about this product, it is an incredible piece of equipment that compliments dstar perfectly, I have both the ID5100e & ID51e radios but unfortunately I live halfway up a hill in a type of valley on the edge of most of my local repeaters ranges, this made using dstar from home very limited, and when I could reach the repeaters it was often tied up with other users, I found the DVMega system which came in Arduino or Raspberry Pi formats, in either single or dual band options.
I opted for a dual band Raspberry Pi version as being a programmer I already had a stack of Pi's around the house & shack, these units were so simple to configure & use that I ended up buying a second unit dedicated to use in the car, using a Mifi unit & a 30.000mah powerbank as a power supply this made it a completely portable solution, ideal for camping & hiking or going on remote roadtrips, I can connect instantly to any DCS, REF or XRF reflectors & Starnet worldwide without tying up or even requiring a repeater.
I cannot fault these little marvels & recommend them to any dstar user.... they have now even found a way to cross connect with DMR users, how cool is that !!.
M0CSN Rating: 2014-12-18
Dstar made easy Time Owned: 6 to 12 months.
What a pleasure to use !
I swapped from a dvap to a DVMega RPI and never looked back. A quality well built unit and very easy to set up, great after sales if needed but Karl an Mick G0UEX had done most of the work prior to getting the unit.
The RPI just works,it's very stable and needs little or nothing doing to it once running.
I recently purchased a GMSK node again by DVMEGA to run my hotspot and again the build quality is excellent as is the functionality.
If you wish to get into Dstar then you really can't do better than the options offered from DVMEGA,they are affordable and work ...I wouldn't be without mine now .
2E0BWF Rating: 2014-09-10
RELIABILITY Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
THIS IS A GREAT PRODUCT WELL SUPPORTED AFTER SALES TEAM.
VERY WELL PRICED AND RELIABLE IT WORKED STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX.
I USE MINE ON A ICOM 2820.
MAY I SUGGEST A COUPLE OF POINTS USE THE PROPER PI POWER SUPPLY.
AND USE A NETGEAR ROUTER NOT A BT ONE LIKE MINE WAS.
SO TO SUMMARISE IF YOU ARE COMTEMPLATING D-STAR GO FOR THE MEGA BRAND NAME.
GOOD LUCK HOPE TO MEET YOU ON D-STAR.
RICHARD
M6CRE Rating: 2014-09-05
Brilliant item to use for D-Star Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
what can I say in my review being a Ham Radio Novice, I can only describe it as a brilliant tool It is hidden out of the way in the hall of my House connected to my Router constantly powered on, I don’t even have to go in the shack which is all switched off to access D-Star I just grab my icom-92d switch it on and I use it anywhere on my property. So what can I say about it (only that its) MEGA !!!
G4DQP Rating: 2014-08-15
Superb Hotspot Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Being unable to only normally access one DV Repeater from home, the DV-Mega came to mind.
Although I am not familiar with the Raspberry pi etc, with the help of Karl I now have my own hotspot within the house and immediate surroundings. I cannot compare to the DVAP system as I know nothing about it, but if anyone wishes to have their own hotspot, you would not go wrong with the DV-Mega. Simple to dial up any reflector or DCS etc with the 92d and especially with the Android phone app. Now about to get it set up for my MIFI dongle. Brilliant.
G0CGL Rating: 2014-08-12
Works perfectly Time Owned: 0 to 3 months.
Following on from D-Star solutions for those without RF access to a DR node, like the Dongle or DVAP comes the DV-Mega. The shield is attached to an Arduino Uno and connects either to a Raspberry Pi or PC. I bought the complete version with case and dual-band antenna.

It is a simple matter to install the Arduino environment and G4KLX sofware in Windows, plug the DV-Mega into the PC via USB (from which it takes its power), configure a comport, and away you go.

After loading repeaters, gateways and reflectors into my D-Star radio, I was having D-Star QSOs right away.

Should support be required, Karl at DV-Mega answers emails remarkably quickly.