Steve,

Can you please clarify, or direct me to guidance documentation that indicates when and how to use a DV3000 device?
--
Tom VE3NY

Tom,
I assume you mean with Analog_Bridge(AB).
AB can use either hardware or software vocoders. Some vocoders do a better job then others. Some of this depends on where AB is running. You can not use a hardware vocoder on a VM in the cloud. Some vocoders can decode/encode more DV modes then others.

DV3000 Hardware: D-Star, DMR, YSFn and NXDN
md380-emu: DMR, YSFn and NXDN
Built in (OP25) D-Star, DMR, YSFn, YSFw, NXDN and P25

For the supported modes, the DV3000 is the highest quality.
The md380-emu does a good job but does not support D-Star or P25
OP25 supports all DV modes. It is the only vocoder AB can use for P25 and YSFw. It does OK on DMR, YSFn and NXDN. It does a poor job on D-Star and I only suggest it be used with D-Star for testing.

Here are the 2 relevant stanzas in AB.ini

[GENERAL]

decoderFallBack = true                  ; Allow software AMBE decoding if a hardware decoder is not found

useEmulator = true                      ; Use the MD380 AMBE emulator for AMBE72 (DMR/YSFN/NXDN)
emulatorAddress = 127.0.0.1:2470        ; IP address and port of the md380 server

As detailed in the comment, if decoderFallBack is true AB will use a software vocoder if a hardwar vocoder is unavailable. if you are goiung to use md380-emu, the next 2 settings are self explanatory. 

[DV3000]
; address = 127.0.0.1                  ; IP address of AMBEServer
; rxPort = 2460                        ; Port of AMBEServer
address = /dev/ttyUSB0                 ; Device of DV3000U on this machine
baud = 460800                          ; Baud rate of the dongle (230400 or 460800)
serial = true                          ; Use serial=true for direct connect or serial=false for AMBEServer

If serial is true, AB will attempt to use a locally connected DV3000. The address is the device port the DV3000 is available on and the baud rate for the current DV3000 from NWD is 460800.
If serial is false, AB expects a IP address and port for a AMBEServer.

See <https://docs.google.com/document/d/1eN50Csr29eAprBu7eKA0Bfa2XUcsXw5iktY1Ey-Qjkg/edit> on page 16 for pretty much the same info expressed a different way.

Hope this helps,
 Steve N4IRS

Steve(s),

tnx for info. very helpful in understanding how bits fit together. Does this mean that for dstar.ini, I need to "uncomment" first 2 lines?

[DV3000]
; address = 127.0.0.1                  ; IP address of AMBEServer
; rxPort = 2460                            ; Port of AMBEServer


--
Tom VE3NY

Tom,
It depends on how you have the DV3000 connected. If directly connected and NOT using AMBEserver:

[DV3000]
; address = 127.0.0.1                  ; IP address of AMBEServer
; rxPort = 2460                        ; Port of AMBEServer
address = /dev/ttyUSB0                 ; Device of DV3000U on this machine
baud = 460800                          ; Baud rate of the dongle (230400 or 460800)
serial = true                          ; Use serial=true for direct connect or serial=false for AMBEServer

If directly connected and using AMBEserver

[DV3000]
address = 127.0.0.1                  ; IP address of AMBEServer
rxPort = 2460                        ; Port of AMBEServer
; address = /dev/ttyUSB0             ; Device of DV3000U on this machine
; baud = 460800                      ; Baud rate of the dongle (230400 or 460800)
serial = false                       ; Use serial=true for direct connect or serial=false for AMBEServer