DMR stands for Digital Mobile Radio and is a widely deployed radio system all over the world. It is widely deployed due to its capabilities in supporting both voice and data communications. Whilst other commercial digital systems have benefits, the DMR simply offers more than many of the other systems on the market. Let’s take a look at some of the advantages of the DMR in order to understand it’s uses and capabilities.
- Improved spectrum efficiency
Spectrum efficiency or channel efficiency is the number of channels that are available in one frequency band. DMR doubles the capacity in existing 12.5kHz licensed channels, enabling two calls to be made simultaneously through the use of TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access). This is done in a variety of ways, but superior spectral efficiency is a critical benefit for critical communications.
2. Longer battery life
Battery life has always been a battle on portable devices with little option for improvements in FDMA radios. However, the two-slot TDMA approach in the DMRs creates an optimized solution. The addition of a slot means the transmission is idle for half the time, therefore, increasing overall battery life.
3. Improved audio quality
Compared to analogue radios in low signal level environments the audio quality of DMR is far superior. The digital technology utilizes FEC and CRC correction to correct errors delivering optimal audio quality. This feature allows clear communication for improved range effectiveness & therefore safety in the field.
4. Backward compatibility with Analog radios
An important benefit of the DMR standard is it’s ability to work with legacy radios and analogue systems. DMR’s 12.5kHz channel size provides this spectral compatibility allowing seamless communications with external organizations using analogue systems.
There are unlimited possibilities with DMR radios, not only with voice communication but with data as well. You can now run SCADA applications, telemetry, GPS tracking, improved worker safety, advanced encryption, and many other features via Motorola’s wide range of approved application developers. DMR also permits scalability, scaling from a single building system to a complete country – proving highly flexible and cost appropriate. Another important factor is interoperability. DMR is an open ETSI standard and radios from different vendors are interoperable (unless they are implementing a non ETSI proprietary protocol).
The long list of features and benefits of DMR make it a clear choice for radio systems where clear, consistent and reliable communication are essential. Although we have merely touched on some of the aspects of this digitally advanced communication system, it is clearly an optimum solution for users of professional mobile radios. We mentioned only a small subset of benefits associated with DMR. To explore more view the DMR Association’s downloadable paper. If you require price sensitive, consistent and reliable commination’s take a look at our selection of two-way radios.