Our local club has bought and installed three Fusion repeaters - two 
on 2 and 1 on 440.  There are perhaps a half dozen Dstar repeaters 
around Chicago and I am told two small coverage DMR systems out at 
the edge of the Chicago land area.  So it's buy three transceivers or 
wait for the dust to settle!  I'm waiting for the dust!
Pat, K9JAUAt 01:36 PM 1/3/2016, you wrote:
>Tom: Fusion is it's own digital mode different from the rest.
>Yaesu offered dual band fusion/analogue repeaters in 2015 for such a good
>price that many clubs bought several of them.  It is somewhat unfortunate
>that the repeaters are made up of essentially two mobile radios and some
>controller circuitry...instead of a properly built repeater.
>Yaesu has a couple radios capable of fusion, but of course they are still
>pricy and uncommon...DMR radios are much cheaper and easier to get ahold
>of...even more so than DStar, so I see DMR becoming the standard digital
>mode just due to availability and cost...as we all know, hams tend to be
>cheap lol.
>You can buy a very nice DMR handheld for $200 or less shipped to your
>door...the yaesu fusion HT is still well over $300.
>DMR also has more potential and a far larger network across the world at the
>moment.
>Yaesu tried this before with the wires concept, which did well in Japan but
>never took off anywhere else...now they are trying fusion which I fear will
>have the same result.
>They come late to the party most of the time and other systems are better
>developed and nicer to use.  To try and develop the fusion network they
>were, perhaps still are selling dual band fusion repeaters for $600 or so.
>If enough clubs buy these, and many many of them have across north america,
>perhaps fusion will get off the ground.  But Yaesu will have to quickly
>start offering several different models of radio capable of using fusion to
>get it going.
>
>
>
>
>73
>Colin, V A6BKX
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Tom Behler
>Sent: Sunday, January 3, 2016 9:36 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Help me out, please
>
>Thanks, Pat.  I was wondering the same thing.
>
>Here in my local area, we are still all analog, although there are some
>folks who are starting to play with the digital modes.
>
>For example, our club just bought two of the 2-meter/440 Fusion repeaters
>from Yaesu, and I know they have digital capability of some kind.  However,
>I'm not sure what that capability is.  Perhaps DMR?
>
>If anyone knows, please advise.
>
>For now, I'm sticking with analog.
>
>Tom Behler: KB8TYJ
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: For blind ham radio operators [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
>On Behalf Of Pat Byrne
>Sent: Sunday, January 03, 2016 10:59 AM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Help me out, please
>
>I am playing catch up!  Is DMR another scheme in addition to Dstar and the
>Yaesu digital offering?
>If so, then are there three competing scenarios?
>Thanks.
>Pat Byrne, K9JAU