VA3XPR Exploring the World of Digital Ham Radio
In effort to understand how the ham radio community is currently using digital voice modes or their willingness to use them, a short survey was put together and made it available to the ham community on March 21, 2014.
Survey Methodology
The following methodology was used in carrying out the survey.
- The survey consisted of 20 questions;
- Participation in the survey was open to all hams around the world, regardless of whether they have used digital voice technologies or not;
- The link to the survey was shared directly to a number of online channels, including the VA3XPR website, Facebook, Google+, Twitter and Yahoo! Groups. It is important to note that while the survey was directly shared with the aforementioned online channels, hams were free to share the survey with any other online channels, social media networks or email contacts;
- There were 213 total respondents;
- The survey duration was 9 calendar days (March 21 – March 29th)
Survey Results
Below are the results to each of the questions presented in the survey.
Question 1
Are you currently capable of operating on any of the ham radio bands using digital voice modes?
| Yes | 179 | 84% |
| No | 31 | 15% |
| Not sure | 2 | 1% |
Question 2
How frequently do you use ham radio digital voice modes?
| Daily | 119 | 56% |
| Weekly | 43 | 20% |
| Monthly | 13 | 6% |
| Yearly | 7 | 3% |
| Not sure | 5 | 2% |
| Not applicable | 26 | 12% |
Question 3
Which ham radio bands have you operated on using digital voice modes in the past 12 months? Please choose all that apply.
| HF (160m – 10m) | 32 | 9% |
| 6m | 5 | 1% |
| 2m | 111 | 31% |
| 1.25m | 5 | 1% |
| 70cm | 167 | 47% |
| Not applicable | 27 | 8% |
| Other | 7 | 2% |
Question 4
Which ham radio digital voice modes are you capable of using? Please choose all that apply.
| D-STAR | 102 | 30% |
| Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) | 120 | 35% |
| APCO Project 25 (P25) | 49 | 14% |
| NXDN | 8 | 2% |
| System Fusion | 7 | 2% |
| FreeDV | 21 | 6% |
| Not applicable | 25 | 7% |
| Other | 10 | 3% |
Question 5
What type of equipment supporting ham radio digital voice modes do you have? Please choose all that apply.
| Base | 88 | 19% |
| Mobile | 127 | 27% |
| Portable | 168 | 35% |
| Repeater | 60 | 13% |
| Not applicable | 27 | 6% |
| Other | 5 | 1% |
Question 6
From what manufacturers do you have equipment for use on the ham bands that supports digital voice? Please choose all that apply.
| BFDX | 1 | 0% |
| Connect Systems | 37 | 10% |
| Hytera | 16 | 4% |
| Icom | 106 | 28% |
| Kirisun | 3 | 1% |
| Kenwood | 13 | 3% |
| Motorola | 106 | 28% |
| Tait | 1 | 0% |
| Harris | 1 | 0% |
| Vertex Standard | 12 | 3% |
| Yaesu | 16 | 4% |
| Home made | 19 | 5% |
| Not applicable | 29 | 8% |
| Other | 14 | 4% |
Question 7
What ham radio digital modes have you used over the past 12 months? Please choose all that apply.
| D-STAR | 112 | 32% |
| Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) | 118 | 34% |
| APCO Project 25 (P25) | 50 | 14% |
| NXDN | 11 | 3% |
| System Fusion | 6 | 2% |
| FreeDV | 16 | 5% |
| Not applicable | 24 | 7% |
| Other | 12 | 3% |
Question 8
How likely are you to invest in equipment for use on the ham radio bands that is capable of digital voice within the next 12 months?
| Very likely | 135 | 63% |
| Somewhat likely | 38 | 18% |
| Neutral | 16 | 8% |
| Somewhat unlikely | 6 | 3% |
| Very unlikely | 17 | 8% |
| Not sure | 1 | 0% |
Question 9
If within the next 12 months, you are to invest in equipment for use on the ham radio bands that is capable of digital voice modes, which digital voice mode will it support? Please choose all that apply.
| D-STAR | 83 | 24% |
| Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) | 151 | 44% |
| APCO Project 25 (P25) | 44 | 13% |
| NXDN | 16 | 5% |
| System Fusion | 11 | 3% |
| FreeDV | 14 | 4% |
| Undecided | 23 | 7% |
| Not applicable | 5 | 1% |
Question 10
What is the reason(s) that you have invested in equipment that is capable of using digital voice modes on the ham radio bands? Please choose all that apply.
| I wanted the benefits of digital voice | 138 | 39% |
| I wanted to try something new | 140 | 39% |
| My ham radio friends convinced me | 36 | 10% |
| Not sure | 2 | 1% |
| Not applicable | 20 | 6% |
| Other | 20 | 6% |
Question 11
What as the reason(s) that you have not invested in equipment that is capable of using digital voice modes on the ham radio bands? Please choose all that apply.
| Too expensive | 56 | 20% |
| Too many technology choices for digital voice | 25 | 9% |
| Not any better than analog voice | 13 | 5% |
| My ham radio friends are not using digital voice | 18 | 6% |
| No coverage for digital voice in my area | 35 | 12% |
| I need more information first | 14 | 5% |
| Not sure | 1 | 0% |
| Not applicable | 115 | 40% |
| Other | 9 | 3% |
Question 12
What aspects of ham radio digital voice modes do you enjoy the most? Please choose all that apply.
| Audio quality | 121 | 20% |
| Local coverage | 80 | 13% |
| Global connectivity | 152 | 26% |
| Specific features only found with digital voice equipment | 109 | 18% |
| Equipment quality | 94 | 16% |
| Not sure | 7 | 1% |
| Not applicable | 17 | 3% |
| Other | 13 | 2% |
Question 13
What aspects of ham radio digital voice modes do you enjoy the least? Please choose all that apply.
| Audio quality | 49 | 18% |
| Local coverage | 26 | 10% |
| Global connectivity | 31 | 12% |
| Specific features only found with digital voice equipment | 17 | 6% |
| Equipment quality | 17 | 6% |
| Not sure | 23 | 9% |
| Not applicable | 78 | 29% |
| Other | 25 | 9% |
Question 14
What equipment aspects for ham radio digital voice modes would positively influence your purchase intent the most over the next 12 months? Please choose all that apply.
| The ability to support multiple ham bands (i.e. dual-band, tri-band, etc.) | 126 | 21% |
| The ability to support under-utilized bands (220 MHz, 902 MHz, 1296 MHz) | 66 | 11% |
| The ability to support multiple digital voice modes (D-STAR, DMR, P25, etc.) | 140 | 23% |
| Easier to use equipment | 36 | 6% |
| Front keypad programmability | 86 | 14% |
| Less expensive equipment | 97 | 16% |
| VFO capability | 43 | 7% |
| Not sure | 7 | 1% |
| Not applicable | 7 | 1% |
| Other | 5 | 1% |
Question 15
How much would you be willing to spend on equipment that supported your desired digital voice format?
| $1 – $99 | 2 | 1% |
| $100 – $199 | 21 | 10% |
| $200 – $299 | 42 | 20% |
| $300 – $399 | 38 | 18% |
| $400 – $499 | 25 | 12% |
| $500 – $599 | 23 | 11% |
| $600 – $699 | 6 | 3% |
| $700 – $799 | 7 | 3% |
| $800 – $899 | 1 | 0% |
| $900 – $999 | 4 | 2% |
| $1,000+ | 17 | 8% |
| Not applicable | 9 | 4% |
| I prefer not to say | 13 | 6% |
| Other | 5 | 2% |
Question 16
What type of equipment supporting ham radio digital voice modes will you be purchasing over the next 12 months? Please choose all that apply.
| Base | 46 | 12% |
| Mobile | 122 | 32% |
| Portable | 125 | 33% |
| Repeater | 41 | 11% |
| Not sure | 30 | 8% |
| Not applicable | 11 | 3% |
| Other | 7 | 2% |
Question 17
Where is your age?
| 18 – 24 | 3 | 1% |
| 25 – 39 | 38 | 18% |
| 40 – 54 | 78 | 37% |
| 55 – 69 | 79 | 37% |
| 70 – 84 | 10 | 5% |
| 85 – 99 | 0 | 0% |
| 100+ | 0 | 0% |
| I prefer not to say | 5 | 2% |
Question 18
What is your gender?
| Male | 203 | 95% |
| Female | 3 | 1% |
| I prefer not to say | 7 | 3% |
Question 19
Where are you located?
| North America | 162 | 76% |
| South America | 1 | 0% |
| Europe | 43 | 20% |
| Asia | 2 | 1% |
| Africa | 0 | 0% |
| Australia | 5 | 2% |
| Antarctica | 0 | 0% |
| I prefer not to say | 0 | 0% |
Question 20
How many years have you had your ham radio license?
| 1 – 5 | 32 | 15% |
| 6 – 10 | 22 | 10% |
| 11 – 25 | 77 | 36% |
| 26+ | 79 | 37% |
| I prefer not to say | 3 | 1% |
