Kirisun dPMR446 radios

Kirisun FP520S and FP560S

Recently, Kirisun have released some dPMR446 radios. These are designed to work in the License free band just above the normal PMR446 allocation in Europe. What's great about this is that you don't have to worry about getting a license (or not getting one for some people!) and can legally use them throughout Europe. I usually make a blog post for any radios I come across on the web that look promising, so I thought I'd write about these radios too.
These radios are perfect for non technical users, who just want a radio to work, but they also have some fun functions for the technical user such as FPP (Front Panel Programming) if you have the password to unlock it!
The model numbers for these 2 radios are FP520S and FP560S. As is common with radio products, there is a display version and a non-display version. The display version is the one with the higher model number.

Icom IC-F4029SDR

Now, let me just warn you, these products are a lot more expensive than normal analog PMR446 radios, but they are cheaper than the Icom IC-F4029SDR, which had been around as the only dPMR446 radio for quite a few years with no competitors. I also recently found out about the Kenwood TK-3401D which, with a list price of £191, is a tiny bit cheaper than the Icom. The Kenwood can currently be found on the internet for £155 (seems to be a special offer) which makes it quite a bit cheaper than the Icom. The Kenwood does not have a screen or keypad though.

The Icom and Kenwood use the same vocoder, and the same dPMR446 standard, so theoretically they should work together. The Kirisuns use a different vocoder so won't be able to hear or talk to these radios in digital mode.

Kenwood TK-3401D

The Kirisun FP520S has a list price of £169 + VAT, and the FP560S has a list price of £189 + VAT. Although this is just a list price, and I'm sure, just like the with Kenwood, it can go down a bit.

That brings the total number of dPMR446 radios currently available to 4! The old Icom, the new Kenwood, and the 2 new Kirisuns.

Kirisun originally wanted to use the AMBE+2 vocoder, but then changed their minds and decided to use the newer and (apparently) slightly better sounding N100 vocoder. Of course, the benefit of this is that it should sound better, but it also means that it won't work with either the Icom or the Kenwood dPMR radios. I couldn't find any additional information on this vocoder at the time of writing, so if you find anything, please leave me a comment so I can update the post.

More photos and Specifications:

Kirisun DP770 files

So I managed to get hold of some Kirisun DP770s to test out, and did a review on YouTube, which you should definitely see if you're interested in these.
But the main purpose of this post is to upload the codeplug which I wanted to share. The codeplug is just the programming, but I've put in it all of the DMR MARC repeaters in England.
All you need to do is open it up, put in your DMR MARC ID, and then choose the repeater nearest to you. You can also select a contact to talk to from the contacts menu, for example, if you're on slot 1 of a repeater, select the worldwide contact to talk to all DMR MARC repeaters that are set up on the worldwide talkgroup. Otherwise it transmits by default on the local talkgroup, which should only be used on slot 2.
You should use CPSp V1.81 or later with this codeplug.
DMR MARC UK codeplug Download

I have also got a firmware update to share, which you apply at your own risk! It is from Kirisun, and it worked for me, but its just a disclaimer from me. It's not my fault if it breaks your radio.
Version is 3.17.056. Make sure you apply the firmware with CPSp version 1.81 or newer, which is available to download below.
Kirisun DP770 Firmware Download 3.17.056
Kirisun CPSp version: 1.81 Download
If you have any newer firmwares or CPSp versions and want to share them, please leave me a comment below and I can add the later versions to this section.

PS. Click on the picture for the review part 1.

New DMR radios from Puxing

I was browsing the web just now and came across some interesting looking new radios from Puxing. Now, Puxings products have generally been of pretty good quality, but these radios look even better.
Both radios, the keypad and screen version, and the non display version are rated to IP67, which means they are submersible in water. The models are PX-780 for the display model, and PX-700 for the non display.

http://puxing.en.alibaba.com/product/923835783-218082321/PX_700_digital_two_way_radio.html
http://puxing.en.alibaba.com/product/923848660-218082321/PX_780_digital_two_way_radio.html

D STAR or DMR. Which has better sound?

Some people say D STAR has better audio than DMR.
I say they're crazy!
D STAR uses the AMBE+ vocoder and DMR uses the AMBE2+. AMBE2+ is a later and improved version, so of course it will be better. If you don't believe me, watch the two videos below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75dRAwvE3S0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ga6F48895w