Building a NXDN amateur radio repeater

Building a NXDN amateur radio repeater

I have designs on setting up a very local NXDN repeater sometime next year. IDAS repeaters aren't that expensive, and I have access to rooftop space at a local apartment highrise. It would be nice if I could convince an owner of one of the seemingly 4000 unused 70cm repeaters in this city to convert.

So far, I've met a lot of nice dudes in ham radio, but a lot of guys seem to be very rooted in the distant past. The only moves made towards digital in the area seems to be NHARC converting a 2m and a 70cm repeater to DSTAR, and the CMU guys have a mixed mode analog/P25 70cm repeater on the air. To put it lightly, I don't believe DSTAR has a future. After seeing the possibilities, I also believe that analog FM will be extinct in 20 years. NXDN and TRBO are superior to P25 and DSTAR, and will be the digital modes of the future.