Robert | Feb. 18, 2021

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

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

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.

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

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.

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.

Peter | Dec. 20, 2018

A brilliant Dual MMDVM board that is very compact

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

Originally the MMDVM Duplex in Pi Zero form Factor board was not available in Australia. Many thanks to David Dennis his board is now available down under..
The board arrived well packed and included the 2 antenna's and right angled connectors. The build quality far better than the Chinese Jumbo Spot Board. The available PDF made programming the unit easy. I have fitted the board onto a Pi-zero to make it a compact unit.
On air test: all on air tests were conducted with Adrian VK5TUX in Queensland on the Australia Repeater Net which is now Multi Mode: Equipment used was Yaesu Ft2Dr, Ft70dr, Ft400Xdr, TYT 390, TYT960, Motorola P25 Unit, Icom ID5100: Not sure on the NXDN unit Kenwood Hand held?
1) Yaesu Fusion excellent audio quality on DN both ways (Ft2Dr, Ft70 Dr and FT400XDR)
2) Yaesu Fusion to DMR again the quality was superb, this was also the other way DMR to Fusion.. (Ft70dr, Ft2Dr, TYT390 & TYT9600)
3) Yaesu Fusion VW (Voice Wide) to P25, P25 to Yaesu Fusion yielded excellent audio results both ways . (Ft70dr, Ft2Dr and Motorola)
4 Yaesu Fusion DN to NXDN. This was a dark horse; I hadn't realized that Adrian had swapped modes and radios. I believe he was using one of the new Kenwood handhelds to do the test, this by far seemed to have the best audio quality of any of the other modes.surprisingly clear well rounded audio quality...the report back from Adrian was same (Ft2Dr Ft70Dr and Kenwood?)
5) Yaesu fusion DN to "D" Star; "D" Star to Yaesu fusion DN. I have heard some bad transitions from "D" Star to Fusion but this was quite a surprise. The audio from "D" Star was clear and not as Nasally as I expected.... (Ft2Dr Ft70Dr, Ft400Xdr & Icom ID5100)
6) On air local tests simplex and through Local Fusion Dr1 repeater, other operators did not realize I was using the N5BOC Dual MMDVM board until I had advised them ..... switching between the board and to the radio direct the operators could not pick the difference, however they did not some difference in the audio when I used the Jumbo spot dual MMDVM....
Summary: A well designed board that works very well across all modes. This board is worth the price...

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

Peter,

Thanks so very much for the detailed summary. I'm so happy that you guys down under are enjoying my boards. It makes me happy to see them being used all over the world!

Best Regards,
David

Steve | Dec. 18, 2018

Great product and pricing

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

This is a well designed product that has met all my expectations. It was easy to setup once I got my code plug on the radio setup correctly. Since I am operating on the PNW DMR network there is a locally produced script to pick up the missing connections for the MMDVM servers in use here. Shipping was quick and David was very responsive to my queries. Thankfully it was not a product issue, just an operator error!

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

Steve,
I"m happy to hear how well it is working for you.

Best Regards,
David

Duane | Dec. 2, 2018

MMDVM Duplex Hotspot by N5BOC

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

I have been building MMDVM hotspots for over a year, have tried all the different units available. David's Duplex hotspt is heads above all other Duplex units.
Excellent design, high quality product and phenomenal support.

If you miss picking up one of the N5BOC units, you will be missing the best of the best!!

Duane
N6DMR

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

Thanks so very much for your kind words Duane!

Regards,
David

James | Nov. 29, 2018

Excellent!

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

The N5BOC Duplex MMDVM is an interesting hot spot that works like a repeater. Quality components used and excellent build quality. Good layout - I liked that the antennas were at opposite ends of the board. Very stable and did not require an offset. Well worth the extra money. – Jim WA2UMP

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

Thanks so very much for your supportive words Jim.

Regards,
David

Michael | Nov. 18, 2018

Great buy and quality product

For MMDVM_HS_HAT Rev 1.5 (SIMPLEX )

I purchased two of these. They look like a real quality product. Both worked first off and so far had no issues with them.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Nov. 20, 2018

Michael,
I'm glad to hear it is working well for you.
Thanks for your support!

Robert | Oct. 12, 2018

Excellent Product

For MMDVM DUPLEX in Pi Zero Form Factor (Duplex )

Unlike Other Products Out there this is Truly a Quality Build.

Form Factor is Exactly the Size of the Smaller Zumspot Boards and with the C4Labs Case makes a Very Professional Setup.

Build quality is Excellent requiring no Offset on my System here making setup a Breeze.

Unlike Inferior foreign products that are purchased with really no way of returning them in the event of a failure this is built to last and has the backing of the builder to make sure that it works first time every time..

American Construction at it's best..

Used for DMR and DMR2YSF..

The matching Simplex board gives you piece of mind and an after sales service that is second to none..

Buy these Boards over any other..

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Oct. 13, 2018

Thank you so much Robert for your very kind words. I am so glad you are enjoying your board.
As you mention I hope what I bring to the table beyond a quality build is the after purchase support. These can be a bit intimidating for someone just getting into digital communications. I think it helps when people feel they are not just left to fin for themselves but instead have support from the seller.

Thanks again.
David

Brad | July 23, 2018

Very Happy

For MMDVM_HS_HAT Rev 1.5 (SIMPLEX )

I bought this board back in May. It has been running along side several other hotspots 24/7 for three months with no problems, first on a Pi Zero and now a Pi 3. I was a little concerned about the possible distance issue with a ceramic antenna but have had no problems. Several firmware upgrades have been done via Pi-Star and all were smooth. I use it with DMR, D-STAR, and Fusion rigs, and occasionally P25 via Pi-Star cross mode.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | Aug. 10, 2018

Sounds like with you operating all of these modes this item is well used.
So happy it is working well for you.

Regards,
David

Bernard | May 26, 2018

Excellent quality product

For MMDVM_HS_HAT Rev 1.5 (SIMPLEX )

After setting up the raspberry pi with Pistar, all I did was mount the board on the gpio pins and turn it on! That's it, super easy to set up and it works great. It's made in the USA by a Ham, support our hobby and get a great product.

Response from N5BOC Store ( LoneStar Semiconductor Designs ) | June 9, 2018

Thanks so very much for your support Bernard!
Glad to hear you are enjoying the HotSpot.