Via Twitter, I recently found out that Yaesu had introduced a new digital communication system—called System Fusion—at the ARRL/TAPR Digital Communications Conference in Seattle, WA. When I asked KE9V, the guy who posted this announcement to Twitter whether or not Fusion was going to be more than a niche product, he replied, “I think it’s a long-shot at best. ICOM has dumped a lot of cash in D-STAR and now years later it’s just catching on. Tough road.”
Compounding the fact that Yaesu is late to the party is the fact that the radios are probably going to cost an arm and a leg, just like the D-STAR radios. Call me an old fart—and I have been called that and worse—but I just don’t see where the digital features are worth the extra bucks. (I would be happy to be convinced otherwise, though. Please feel free to comment on this below.)
Wouldn’t it have been nice if Yaesu and Icom, and maybe even Kenwood, had gotten together and developed a digital communication standard that both companies could support? Not only would have it made it more palatable to invest in such a radio, I bet those radios and repeaters would cost less than the current D-STAR and Fusion offerings. That’s just what happens when companies adopt standards.
As Bob, K0NR, tweeted, “File this under ‘missed opportunity.'” I agree.
p.s. I wanted to include a picture of the system, but the Yaesu website doesn’t yet have any yet on their website. There is, however, a YouTube video of the DCC meeting at which Yaesu introduced the product.
Elwood Downey, WB0OEW says
I feel just the opposite. I think it is great to have innovation and let the market decide.
Cell phones are going through the same process. The first ones were analog, then CDMA, then TDMA, then GSM, then LTE and on and on. Yes, while things are progressing phones become obsolete, others support multiple standards if they want to be popular, the carriers need to decide when to shut off old standards, etc etc and certainly all this does add to cost and complexity. But the alternative is some authority just decrees one “standard” and then that’s it, the end of innovation.
Gugli says
Adopting established standards has always proven more successful for both consumers and manufacturers. By the way GSM was established several years before CDMA came on the scene.
Tom says
I don’t understand the appeal of “please give us $$$$ so you can buy a radio that only communicates (in digital mode) with our radios.” If you have to switch to analog to interoperate, why spend the extra money? Using a standard digital mode may not be interesting to your engineers, it’s certainly compelling to your customers. Too bad it will never happen.
KC2TCK
Dave, N8SBE says
Check out http://freedv.org/. This is run by Bruce Perens, and is working on getting an open, non-patented digital voice standard (Codec 2) out there for use by all. There is activity using FreeDV now on 14.236 MHz. Just download the program and plug the speaker jack into your sound board input (mic or line) on your computer and you can listen in, A little more work hooking up your speaker or line out to your radio microphone jack, and you are on the air using digital voice.
To see examples of Yaseu’s digital offerings, just look in any recent QST. I doubt that they will get any widespread use, and likely will end up as a niche product, just like Icom’s D-STAR. The come across as YAINS (Yet Another Incompatible Non-Standard).
The ham community values open standards, and protocols surrounded by a patent thicket just simply don’t cut it, no matter how much marketing energy is put into it by the various manufacturers involved.
Please support the FreeDV project (there’s a PayPal “Donate $10” button). In the meantime, if you want to experiment with digital voice on UHF, there are plenty of surplus MotoTRBO (DRM) radios that show up at the hamfests. Hook up with someone that knows these radios and which ones can be easily re-purposed to the ham bands. 430 and 900 MHz equipment abounds. In SE Michigan there are many repeaters running DRM on both 430 and 900 MHz bands.
73,
— Dave, N8SBE
Dan KB6NU says
I’ve been meaning to check out and blog about FreeDV. I’ll have to download the software and give it a go. Thanks for the reminder, Dave.
Walter Underwood K6WRU says
David Rowe (VK5DGR) is doing some great stuff with digital voice on HF and VHF. He’s also created a much more robust telemetry protocol for amateur radio balloons.
You can follow his technical explorations here: http://www.rowetel.com/blog/
He’s also created the SM1000, an open source digital voice modem box. Plug your headset in one end, the radio in the other end, and start using DV. The firmware can be updated as the voice modem is improved.
http://www.rowetel.com/blog/?page_id=3902
Brick says
How standards work in the real world…
http://www.brickolore.com/2011/08/standards.html
Ed, AB8OJ says
It’s interesting, and maybe a little ironic, that a year later we’re really no further along. At a monthly club breakfast this morning, several of us chatted about D-Star vs. DMR for the nth time. One bemused listener likened it to the beta vs. VHS debate in the 1980s. In the end, availability won out over “technical superiority”. Easy to get from several sources, plus “good enough”, won that war.
Today, one guy brought his portable Raspberry Pi-based DVAP access point. He can access the D-Star network from pretty much anywhere he can get data on his phone. Another talked about how he would “soon” have a technically superior DMR repeater running at his house, and local hams could use it just as soon as they got some used Motorola handhelds and bought a programmer and learned how to program them.
I have nothing against experimentation (quite the opposite), but I don’t see many folks trolling swap meet junque looking for used commercial radios just to talk digital to two or three other folks.
Seems to me D-Star is somewhat winning the availability race. The moment a second manufacturer includes D-Star, I think it will win right then and there. Could be a nice opportunity for the Baofengs or Wouxuns.
If there was a D-Star repeater here in Ann Arbor, I’d get an ID-5100 for the car, and have some fun with it. I wouldn’t do the same with a junky old Motorola commercial unit.
Just my two cents, to give my detractors something to talk about. :-) :-)
73,
-Ed- AB8OJ
David - N9UXU says
Is there any DMR activity in the Ann Arbor area? The MD-380 is an affordable entry…
Dan KB6NU says
Unfortunately, no, we don’t have a DMR repeater close enough to us to hit with a handheld. There are some guys here in Ann Arbor have put up a Yaesu repeater that does Fusion, but I’m just not that interested enough to go out and purchase more VHF gear at this point.
Don says
For the past month HRO has been offering the FT-991 Fusion rig for $999.00 after rebate. My guess is that they are not making much on the rigs but moreover are flooding the market with Fusion radios. Think they may have an alternative motive? What the heck, I bought one as did several guys in the area. Nice little rig for a grand even without Fusion!