Steven | April 6, 2021

Robert | Feb. 18, 2021

K S | Feb. 1, 2021

Phillip | Jan. 30, 2021

Fantastic Product

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

I am new to the digital radio world but the MMDVM board has worked great. Well engineered and built.
Only one minor issue, when I went to solder header on the board for a 5" Nextion display and found my header pins slightly larger then the holes.
It would be nice to have the pins offered loose or as a pre solder option.
My question was answered quickly. I removed one star in documentation because I was not aware the through holes were smaller then normal and I would need to find a different size header pin for the display port. Shipping is a 4 stars because of the USPS. Maybe offer another shipping option would help.
Theses are minors issues though, I love the product, great quality and workmanship.
I am buying a second board today.

Thanks,
73, Phil KB3UUL

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Feb. 3, 2021

Thanks so much Phil for the nice review.

The holes are 0.031" in diameter which should be a good but VERY TIGHT fit for standard pins which are square pins that are 0.020" on a side. That makes the diagonal of the pin from one corner to the other 0.031". Granted there is absolutely no tolerance but this is by design. If you verify you have standard pins that are indeed 0.020 square, you can get them to press in with just a modest amount of force. Round pins that are 0.031" in diameter should fit exactly the same way.

I hope this is helpful.

Thanks again for the nice review.

Regards,
David

V | Nov. 27, 2020

Great board, now I am a happy DMR participant

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

High quality build and components, perfect soldering, tuned to 0 RX Offset.
Also the really appreciate N5BOC communication and explanation for a newbie like myself.

I was new to the whole thing (to ham radio, to DMR, to hotspot, to DYI of the hotspots)
So I sent the board to Paul Lamhut (WB2HHH), who added the pi-star board, OLED display, 3rd printed the case, and configured the whole thing for me.

Overall great experience, the hotspot has been working nonstop for several months. Did not need to reboot it even once (unless I changed configuration).

I am now running it in DMRGateway mode so that I can participate in multiple DMR networks simultaneously, without switching Pi-Star config.
The temperature stays always in green always, so thermal performance is great.
Even with the small antennas provided I can walk a bit out of house and still reach the hotspot with low RF power.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Feb. 3, 2021

I am so glad I was able to be of help. That is really the best part of selling these. I've made a LOT of new Ham friends in the process and it always makes me smile when I'm on the air and someone tells me they are talking to me on one of the boards I built.

Thanks again,
David

Kelley | Aug. 14, 2020

Amazing Board

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

What an amazing board. I received it yesterday and set it up within 10 min. The build quality is excellent. The TX/RX is the best I have heard. No offset, and a BER of 0.1 out of the box. The price is right also. Complete with antennas I save $60 over the Zumspot. with less hassle tweaking it.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Feb. 3, 2021

Thank you so very much Kelly for the kind words.
Thanks for mentioning the price break. I think this often goes unnoticed.

David

Ryan | Aug. 8, 2020

Fantastic DMR hotspot

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

I have been playing with DMR for some time now at home. I have a hotpot for the desk but wanted to add another one...so I could have one for mobile and one for the house. I bought this to be my new home hotspot and I'm glad I did!

To start off, the board I received had an offset of 0. Sometimes I find that this is the hardest part of the setup is dialing everything in with the correct offset (with one of the cheaper ones I had having something like a 1150Hz offset). This was spot on out of the box and setup was a breeze. I was able to be on the air within minutes of installing it on a pi board.

I have had no issues with this hotspot and it performs very well. Definitely worth the money!

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Feb. 3, 2021

Thanks so very much Ryan. Your words of support are greatly appreciated.

Justin | June 10, 2020

Justin | June 10, 2020

James | March 22, 2020

Super design, excellent build - great Duplex MMDVM board

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

Easy to get going. Calibrated before shipment with Rx Offset listed on the box. Stable, no drift, with all this quality on a small board that fits on a Pi Zero.

Got my first DV modem in 2010 and I've been through many others over the years. Dave's design is first class. And I'm glad I'm not experiencing the problems I read about the knock-off boards built by cutting corners. For the quality, the N5BOC MMDVM Duplex board is not expensive and well worth the price.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | May 30, 2020

Thanks so very much James. You've been doing this long enough your words carry a lot of credability.
I hope you enjoy it for a long time to come.

David

Rob | Jan. 6, 2020

Great purchase and support!!! HIGHLY RECOMMEND

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

I am a total noob to pi-star and Digital Radio. I found the modem easy to use and the feedback from the seller to be most helpful. I'd highly recommend purchasing this hotspot.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Jan. 29, 2020

Thanks so very much Rob for your positive comments.
Glad I could be helpful.

Ryan | Nov. 4, 2019

Perry | Oct. 25, 2019

Fantastic Board!

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

I am very pleased with this fantastic board. I added a pi Zero W, the C4Labs case and a .96 OLED screen to complete the hotspot.

David is very friendly and professional. The buying experience could not have been better. I was excited to find a high-quality board designed and sold in the USA, so I was glad to support his business.

Set up pistar with your Brandmeister API key to take full advantage of this hotspot's capabilities. David will provide the offset for your board, so you can plug that into pistar and get going very quickly. If you are interested in adding the .96 OLED screen, look for one with the VCC-GND-SCL-SDA pin layout.

Craig, W1MSG, has done a fabulous video on this hotspot. Check it out at:
https://youtu.be/eXEvm-AL5M0

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Oct. 26, 2019

Thanks Perry for mentioning Craig's videos. Craig was gracious enough to take the time to illustrate how to setup the Duplex board and I have pointed a LOT of people that direction to get them started.

Also thanks for the kind words on my board. Glad you were able to work through and find an OLED with the proper pinout.

73's
Dave

Harry | Sept. 22, 2019

Outstanding Duplex Hotspot

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

The MMDVM Duplex hotspot board arrived quickly, well packed in a box with the RXoffset noted on the box. I had already ordered a Pi-zero WH, a OLED LCD display module (see end of review for details) and a Plexiglas case from C4 labs. I installed the OLED display on the MMDVM board, mounted the board to the Pi-zero, applied power, installed and configured Pi-Star and it came to life working as it should with a BER of .2-.3 and I haven't tried to tweek any Pi-star settings yet. My biggest issue is learning to program my radio to get the most out of having TS 1 & 2 available as desired, I'm still playing with that. Since I'm on the Brandmeister network, I set one TS to a static worldwide TG91 and left the other open for dynamic TG's. After a few days of burn in I mounted it in the C4 case. The N5BOC board is exceptionally reliable, high quality and the entire package is elegant installed in the C4 case. I highly recommend it.

An OLED display with the correct pin out to mate with the NSBOC board that fits in the C4 case is - Amazon ASIN - B00O2LKEW2, Item model # - FZ1112 DIYmall 0.96" Inch Blue I2c IIC Serial 128x64 OLED LCD LED Display Module for Arduino 51 Msp420 Stim32 SCR

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Oct. 15, 2019

Thanks so very much Harry for adding the Amazon skew number. This is a consistent question so thanks for adding it here for others to see.
Also thanks so very much for the kind words.

73's David

Dwight | Sept. 18, 2019

great product and support

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

Definitely would recommend this product and the support was fantastic.
Thanks again
Dwight KB8KVP

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Sept. 30, 2019

Thanks so much Dwight for the detailed review. The link to the OLED display on Amazon is very helpful. I also appreciate all the kind words.
Best Regards,
David

Allan | Sept. 16, 2019

Ricardo | Aug. 25, 2019

Amazing little device!

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

I love this board! I mistakenly tried to pair it with a Pi3, but this was not made for that device. $15 and one trip to micro center fixed that issue. Make sure to get a Pi Zero WH for this MMDVM as the ports on the Pi3 get in the way of a portion of this board.

Since it was my initial mistake to pair it with the wrong board (and an easy one to fix no less) this product get's 5 stars. If it had been advertised to work with a Pi3, but didn't, i'd give it 4.9 stars.

Yes, this board is that good.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Sept. 30, 2019

I'm sorry you had some trouble initially trying to put this on a Pi3. As you and I discussed through Email there is an option that will allow it to work on a Pi3. That is to purchase what is called a stacking header. These are easiest to get from Adafruit.
This is the header...
https://www.adafruit.com/product/1979

I just want to mention it here for others reading this review.

Thanks so very much for the positive review Ricardo.
Best Regards,
David

Chris | Aug. 13, 2019

pi Zero board

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

These is one of the best boards I have ever purchased. The quality is amazing and you will see when you make your first key up.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Sept. 30, 2019

Thanks Chris. I've have had offers to put less expensive components on the board, but in my 35 years of experience I've found in the long run this doesn't pay.
I'm glad you are enjoying the board.

Regards,
David

Kevin | Aug. 13, 2019

Great product

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

Works great out of the box. Minimal adjusts to offset Having 2 time slots is a must once you experience it.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | March 14, 2020

Thanks so very much Kevin for your response and thank for pointing out the advantage of 2 time slots.
Dave

Douglas | July 2, 2019

LA, OZ, OH & SM - check this: 2 MHz spacing that works!

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

This is one great piece of kit, none of the Chinese boards even come close! It is smack on frequency using the offset numbers on the box, and it stays there.

I stuck it vertically an a wooden vertical post of my bedroom window upstairs with the antennas in “end to end” configuration to get best possible RX/TX isolation (I plan to use this as a battery powered travel kit and wanted to see how well it performed in this compact configuration).

In the Nordic countries we only have access to 432-438MHz, which means only 3 MHz is actually available because of the satellite section, so it was crucial that I could fit it in our standard repeater segment with 2MHz spacing.

And this is where it shines, I have yet to see another duplex hot spot that will do this. In the best of cases people get them to go with 2MHz spacing by physically separating the antennas and/or reducing TX power.

I have tested 5 and 10MHz too and the range and BER is exactly the same with the compact “end to end” setup I have here.

The ADF7021 radio chip has one shortcoming however, filters! You have to be perfectly on frequency and even then you cannot achieve better BER than 0.2-0.3% on DMR - this means using multiple radios, not to mention multiple modes - gets difficult (this goes for all hotspots using this chip).

Five antennas out of five.

Frank – OZ5ACI

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | July 31, 2019

Thanks so very much for the kind words Frank. I makes me so very happy to see these being enjoyed all over the world.

Eric | June 25, 2019

Have to make your own opinion.

For MMDVM Simplex ( New and Improved ) 1V8-3

I have several MMDVM boards. Several Jumbo Spot (China) boards in simplex and duplex configuration.

I tried the LS board to see if it was really better. Keep in mind I did not use any lab equipment for testing...just the Pi-Star dashboard and the same radio when comparing performance.

The LS is definitely a higher quality board. It is thicker and heavier with better components.
As far as performance, it is about the same as a few of the JumboSpot MMDVMs. There was no offset required with the LS board but I do have a few JumboSpots that also do not require offsets...some do, some don't. BER is about the same as well between the LS and JumboSpot.

What I do prefer about the LS board is the quality on-board antenna as I have dedicated the LS as my mobile/go with me everywhere board. I use it daily in the car and sometimes at work.
Lastly, the LS board required modifications to the C4 Labs case...I recall the regulator hitting. Not a big issue as it was easily fixed with a dremmel tool. While there I also added room for a slightly modified 1.3 OLED...had to sand the OLED board a little to get it to fit in the C4 Labs case.
To recap, I did not notice any performance differences between the LS and a few of the China boards I tried. However, I use the LS in my vehicle, harsher environment, and love the fact that I can't accidentally break the antenna.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Aug. 24, 2019

Thanks for the kind words Eric.

Just for anyone reading this, after Eric told me there was an issue getting this board to fit a C4LABs case, I worked with C4LABs and they have now modified their design to eliminate the interference with the voltage regulator on the bottom side.

Thanks again Eric for bring this issue to my attention.

Best Regards,
David

Thomas | June 24, 2019

Great quality, great operation, great experience.

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

Professionally, I am an assembly and rework technician and IPC quality control for SMD and TH component electrical boards. I inspected this board with great satisfaction.

As intended, coupled with Pi-Star, this MMDVM is perfect. I opted to get N5BOC's board as opposed to the horror-show of untrustworthy chinese boards flooding the market. I put a 0.96" OLED screen on it, put it on a Pi-Zero and sealed it in a 3d printed case and now it's a talking piece in my livingroom. I put it on a 20aH portable USB battery and it ran for a solid 100-hours, with TAC-310 and 31360 (highly active TG out of NJ). I may eventually remove said battery, and the radio unit, from their housings and and combine them into a single 3d printed unit, mounted in my car.

As NOT-intended: I ran the TX to an old NTSC broadcast amplifier to get this thing from 20mW (I'm guessing) up to about 1.2W. Both the TX and RX antennas were well separated. I set Pi-Star's config to do CW identify every 1 minute and went for a drive. I was able to hear it, full quieting, CW ID 5mi away and decode its DMR output with my HT 3mi away. I was not able to key it up with the HT from these distances. I imagine the selectivity for the receive on this board, in this configuration, is not optimal for this scenario. I have not hooked it up to a spectrum analyzer, but a glance at the SDR in this configuration (unfiltered) did not reveal any egregious spurious emissions of note.

One important thing to note: I purchased a cheap 0.96" screen (IZOKEE 128X64 Pixel OLED) from Amazon to use with this hat and the polarity pins on the header were flipped, so I had to remove those two and fashion my own pins with some wire. This is not the fault of N5BOC, in fact there's a 50/50 split on Amazon-available screens on where the power pins should be... but the screen printing is so small that I didn't think to check them until this prevented proper boot. I completely understand why, real estate on this board is very valuable and the components are the priority.

de W2XG

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | July 31, 2019

This is some very interesting detail. You are right about the receiver. It is setup to be so broad banded it isn't very sensitive. That is the price you pay for being able to receive from 144 MHz all the way to 900 MHz. It this were designed for a specific band it would be easy to put some filtering on the front end and a little bit of gain and make this a fairly nice receiver. Give me something to think about going forward.

Thanks so very much for your kind words.

Regards,
David

Joseph | June 18, 2019

Tom | June 6, 2019

Excellent

For MMDVM Simplex ( New and Improved ) 1V8-3

Got it quickly, set up quickly on a pi zero hw with pi-Star using the recommended modem selection.
Zero offsets works excellent.
Thank you for a great economical alternative to the clones.
V.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | June 13, 2019

I'm happy to hear it is working well for you.

Peter | May 5, 2019

MMDVM Simplex ( New and Improved )a great little performer..

For MMDVM Simplex ( New and Improved ) 1V8-3

After purchasing the Dual MMDVM Board and having excellent results using it both as a dual band repeater on 2M and 70CM I turned my attention to the New N5BOC MMDVM Simplex board which came with the Ceramic Antenna fitted. nicely built board with gold plated through holes...
Had it up and running within 10 Minutes using Pi-Star Software V3.4.17 ; First thing I noted was that I didn't have to make any adjustments for the Modem RX/TX; settings were left set at zero:(I always had to configure the modem RX/TX on the Chinese boards to make them work).
On Air tests using Yaesu F2Dr on C4FM for both RX and TX were excellent.
The Ceramic antenna worked well and I could access the board from 10M using 100MW.... (this was its maximum range) has option to fit external antenna.
Whilst listening to the Zombie Alert I was able to hear 2 stations from the US working cross mode; one was on "D" star the other was running NXDN....The "D" Star signal sounded harsh but the NXDN sounded excellent, the Audio was very clear.
The purpose of buying this unit was so that I had slim profile unit that can fit in my pocket with a small LIPO Battery and WIFI Dongle. This unit fits the bill and is a third of the cost of the Open Spot 2.......a compact solid little performer worth the price......
Pete VK5JP

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | May 10, 2019

Peter,

Thanks so very much for this detailed review. I'm sure quite a few people will find it very helpful. I really appreciate the support of my friends in Australia.

Robert | April 27, 2019

Outstanding product and service

For MMDVM Simplex ( New and Improved ) 1V8-3

David makes an outstanding product and stands behind it 100%, so buy with confidence. I bought one of his duplex boards and one his new v1.8 simplex board. I highly recommend N5BOC and can’t imagine finding a better made MMDVM board on the market.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | May 10, 2019

Thanks so very much for this endorsement Robert. It is greatly appreciated.

Gunnar | March 25, 2019

Best Quality Hotspot

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

Thank you for your shipment of 2 MMDVM DUPLEX Pi Zero Form Factor boards to Germany! Visually the Quality of the board is very good!
I have now to do some testing if your product has better HF separation between TX and RX and therefore has less desensitisation of the RX. Also have to have a look how the HF range is at all.
Mounting: I am using your board an an Raspberry 2B, and a RPI Header 40 Pin to rise the board a few millimetres higher so it also fits on top of the Pi2B.
Programming: I am using Pi-Star Image 4RC which works very good. CPU Temperature not above +41 deg centigrade. No extra cooling.
Shipping: need to add time if German Customs pics it. In my case it needed 1 week extra. Then I had to pay VAT, in Germany VAT = MwSt 19%. Customs did not charge any toll :-)
Kind regards an 73

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | April 14, 2019

Gunnar,

Thanks so much for the kind words about the hotspot. I'm sorry you had so much trouble getting it through customs. I don't think there is anything I can do to facilitate that, but if there is please let me know so I can help future customers in Germany.

I too use it with a Pi3 when I am doing testing. I purchased a "stacking header" from Adafruit and with that it will clear the USB connectors.

I know by the time you paid VAT and shipping to Germany it made my board quite expensive. I really appreciate the support in spite of the extra cost to you.

Regards,
David

Kevin | March 22, 2019

I ask for information on a problem and was ignored

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

Dennis claimed to not have the repeater not found issues that the Chinese duplex boards do on DMR but they do. I inquired on several Facebook groups he posts on about it he asked my bit error rate wich was .2 -.3%. His only response was well I don't have that problem with my radio. Im using a Motorola xpr7550 and a Anytone 878 both have the same problem.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | April 14, 2019

I have no idea about what the first issue you mention is. You speak like this "repeater not found" issue is a common thing everyone knows about. Never heard of it before you brought it up. So it would have been a bit hard for me to claim mine didn't have an issue with something I've never heard of. I have to say It doesn't sound like a hardware issue if it works on any TG at all.

Honestly a 0.2% BER is nothing. I don't understand why your concern and I challenge you to find a board that has a better BER. At that low of BER It does not impact your ability to communicate at all. You also specified some other issue and I believe my response was, " I don't have that issue with my radio so I can't investigate it if I can't reproduce the issue". Your review is omitting details that I feel make it misleading.

Jay | Feb. 26, 2019

Not sure if the Pi or the MMDVM is bad.

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

Purchased a Pi-Zero from another source and the mmdvm from here. Got everything up and running for about 2 days now it doesn't. We have tried reflashing images to router configuration and nothing seems to work. We are still trying but it is looking more and more like I'm out of luck.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | April 14, 2019

Jay,
Did you contact me through Tindie?
I'd be glad to help you if you did.

Lloyd | Feb. 20, 2019

Better than all I've seen

For MMDVM_HS_HAT Rev 1.5 (SIMPLEX )

I saw this unit on FACEBOOK and the response by the community told me that this was a winner. Boy was I right!
Quick confirmation of order and shipping was the next day via USPS, I'm in SC and from TX was only a few days. I powered it up on a Pi zero and it's been working ever since no adjustments needed. I highly recommend this seller and product made in the USA!! ps I get .25 mile solid coverage of my home with the ceramic antenna. Satisfied Yep!!! May consider a dual one for DMR use exclusively.. KO4L

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | April 14, 2019

Lloyd,

Thanks so very much for the nice review. 0.25 mile coverage is quite impressive. It must have something to do with that great SC air. :-)
I personally really like the ceramic antenna. It makes for quite a clean looking install and as you state the performance is quite satisfactory.

Thanks again,
David

Douglas | Feb. 13, 2019

Great Product

For MMDVM_HS_HAT Rev 1.5 (SIMPLEX )

Very satisfied with your product. The one thing I would change is have the power indicator non flashing. Flashing to me is irritating. Will be ordering another soon.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | April 14, 2019

Thanks so very much Douglas for the positive review. I do appreciate it.

Just so you know Doug, the flashing LED is not a power indicator but instead an indicator of connection to the network. It will flash slowly until connected and then the flashing is sped up.

Thanks again and best regards,
David

Charles | Jan. 5, 2019

Outstanding Hotspot

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

Of all the hotspots I have, this is by far the best as far as performance.
The Pi Zero footprint makes it ideal for mobile operating.

Overall, I give it extremely high marks for quality and performance.

Chuck - WB2LMA

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Feb. 22, 2019

Thanks so much for your support Charles.

Tobias | Jan. 5, 2019

Wonderful product, excellent customer service

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

This is my 6th hotspot and my favorite one. I have ZumSpots everywhere. In office, in the car, in the shack,..
I got from a friend a cheap chinese duplex spot and it never worked satisfying. I calibrated the offset to one radio and it was ok. The next day it lost again lots of bits.
This one is awesome. Not just is it smaller and visible from much higher quality. The offset values on the box were accurate. Of course you have to keep your radios offset in mind ;)
It is running and running and running....no problems at all.

Love the product and will buy another one once the stock situation is getting better.

Get yourself this beautiful US made quality hotspot, you will love it.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Feb. 22, 2019

Thanks so very much for the kind words Tobias.

Dewey | Dec. 29, 2018

Great performance

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

This sex board out performs all my other hotspots, including the $300 brand name spot !!!! I’ll be replacing all my duplex’s with this board , fits great in the c4labs , both are top notch quality!

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Feb. 22, 2019

I didn't realize I was selling a sex board, but I"m very glad you're enjoying it however you are using it.