Digital modes like FT8 and DMR are becoming increasingly popular due to their reliability over long distances, and I'm seeing more repeaters going digital every month. My local club is split - the old timers want to stick with FM while newer hams are pushing for DMR and System Fusion. The hobby is experiencing a clear shift toward digital modes, touchscreens, and software interfaces. Anyone else seeing this tension in their area?

I've got both but honestly, nothing beats the simplicity of good old FM for emergency work. When the power's out and repeaters are down, my 2m analog rig with spare batteries still works perfectly.

Emergency communications may always fall back to the 'least common denominator' - keeping it simple with analog. That said, DMR's efficiency is impressive and the audio quality is fantastic when it works.

Got my first HT last month (Anytone DMR) and loving it! The codeplug was confusing at first but now I can hit repeaters three states away with 5 watts. Pretty amazing compared to my dad's old Kenwood.