The MMDVM is a hardware and software component that can interface radios to a computer, like a raspberry pi, turning normal analog radios into digital radios, much like a TNC for packet radio. The MMDVM-Repeater board is a lot like a hotspot, except it doesn’t have a radio built onboard.

What is Pi star used for?

The design concept [of Pi-Star] is simple: provide the complex services and configuration for Digital Voice on Amateur radio in a way that makes it easily accessible to anyone just starting out, but make it configurable enough to be interesting for those of us who can’t help but tinker.

Do I need a DMR hotspot?

You would use a hotspot when you either don’t have a DMR repeater nearby, or simply don’t want to tie it up for any length of time. Many hotspots are capable of multiple modes as well, such as D-Star, P25, DMR+, YSF and NXDN… but we are only going to talk about DMR here.