Discovering DMR notes

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a) DMR: sites

b) DMR: forums

c) DMR: articles

d) DMR: presentations

e) DMR: books

f) DMR: videos

g) DMR: hardware & software

h) DMR: tools

i) DMR: repeaters

j) DMR: talkgroups & reflectors

k) DMR: nets


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1) Some repeater-based talkgroups

The display names are just what I use.

TLKGRP  Frequency CC TS  DISPLAY ONSCREEN
Rocky Mtn Wide, Lee Hill Rptr (RMHAM Network)
   700  446.9875−  7  1  LEE RCKY MTN 700
Northern CO Region, Lee Hill Rptr (RMHAM Network)
   721  446.9875−  7  2  LEE NO CO 721
Rocky Mtn Wide, Horsetooth Mtn Rptr
   700  446.7500−  7  1  HRS RCKY MTN 700
Northern CO Region, Horsetooth Mtn Rptr
   700  446.7500−  7  2  HRS NO CO 721
Local, Parker Pinery Rptr
     2  445.0750−  1  2  PRA LCL 2
CO STWD, Parker Pinery Rptr
  3108  445.0750−  1  1  PRA CO STWD 3108

2) Some BrandMeister hotSPOT talkgroups

For hotspot-based setup: These all use the same TX and RX simplex frequency (whatever your hotspot is set up to use), color code 1, and time slot 2. (Repeater-based time slots are shown in parentheses.)

Links are to the BrandMeister Hoseline service, so you can get an idea of the activity on the talkgroup. The display names are just what I use.

TLKGRP  DISPLAY ONSCREEN
World Wide (TS1)
    91  WW 91△
North America (TS1)
    93  N AM 93△
N AM TAC 310
   310  TAC 310△¹
N AM TAC 311
   311  TAC 311△¹
N AM TAC 312
   312  TAC 312△¹
Worldwide English (Dynamic)
   913  WW EN DYN 913△
US Nationwide (TS1)
  3100  US WIDE 3100△¹
Colorado Statewide (TS2)
  3108  CO STWD 3108△
Parker Radio Association LCL (TS2)
310844  PRA LCL 310844△
Calling Area 0: Midwest, incl CO (TS1)
 31090  MIDWST 31090△
Calling Areas 7: West (TS1)
 31097  WEST 31097△
Eastern Oklahoma
 31402  E OK 31402△
Parrot Private (TS1 & TS2)
310997  PARROT 310997
Reg and Loc (APRS) Services (TS1 & TS2)
310999  APRS 310999

[1] Talkgroups 3100, 310, 311, 312 are linked across BrandMeister and DMR-MARC.

3) Some other hotspot talkgroups

For hotspot-based setup: These all use the same TX and RX simplex frequency (whatever your hotspot is set up to use), color code 1, and time slot 2. (Repeater-based time slots are shown in parentheses.)

The display names are just what I use.

TLKGRP  DISPLAY ONSCREEN
DMR-MARC: World Wide (TS1)
     1  WW 1
DMR-MARC: North America (TS1)
     3  N AM 3
DMR-MARC: WW English (TS1)
    13  WW EN 13
DMR-MARC: N AM TAC 310 (TS1)
   310  TAC 310
DMR-MARC: N AM TAC 311 (TS1)
   311  TAC 311
DMR-MARC: N AM TAC 312 (TS1)
   312  TAC 312
DMR-MARC: Northern CO (TS2)
  3171  NO CO 3171
  Note: cross-connected to BrandMeister
DMR-MARC: Mountain Region (TS2)
  3177  MTN RGN 3177

4) All BrandMeister regional talkgroups

The BrandMeister U.S. regional talkgroups mirror the callsign assignment regions shown in this ARRL WAS map (PDF)△.

Time slots interleaved on the signal

Links are to the BrandMeister Hoseline service, so you can get an idea of the activity on the talkgroups. On repeaters, these talkgroups typically are on time slot 1. The display names are just what I use.

TLKGRP  DISPLAY ONSCREEN
 31090  0 MIDWST 31090△
 31091  1 N EAST 31091△
 31092  2 NY NJ 31092△
 31093  3 MIDATLTC 31093△
 31094  4 S EAST 31094△
 31095  S CENTRAL 31095△
 31096  6 CAL 31096△
 31097  7 WEST 31097△

5) All BrandMeister state talkgroups

Links are to the BrandMeister Hoseline service, so you can get an idea of the activity on the talkgroups. On repeaters, the home state talkgroup is typically on time slot 2. The display names are just what I use.

TLKGRP  DISPLAY ONSCREEN
  3101  AL STWD 3101△
  3102  AK STWD 3102△
  3104  AZ STWD 3104△
  3105  AR STWD 3105△
  3106  CA STWD 3106△
  3108  CO STWD 3108△
  3109  CT STWD 3109△
  3110  DE STWD 3110△
  3111  DC STWD 3111△
  3112  FL STWD 3112△
  3113  GA STWD 3113△
  3115  HI STWD 3115△
  3116  ID STWD 3116△
  3117  IL STWD 3117△
  3118  IN STWD 3118△
  3119  IA STWD 3119△
  3120  KS STWD 3120△
  3121  KY STWD 3121△
  3122  LA STWD 3122△
  3123  ME STWD 3123△
  3124  MD STWD 3124△
  3125  MA STWD 3125△
  3126  MI STWD 3126△
  3127  MN STWD 3127△
  3128  MS STWD 3128△
  3129  MO STWD 3129△
  3130  MT STWD 3130△
  3131  NE STWD 3131△
  3132  NV STWD 3132△
  3133  NH STWD 3133△
  3134  NJ STWD 3134△
  3135  NM STWD 3135△
  3136  NY STWD 3136△
  3137  NC STWD 3137△
  3138  ND STWD 3138△
  3139  OH STWD 3139△
  3140  OK STWD 3140△
  3141  OR STWD 3141△
  3142  PA STWD 3142△
  3144  RI STWD 3144△
  3145  SC STWD 3145△
  3146  SD STWD 3146△
  3147  TN STWD 3147△
  3148  TX STWD 3148△¹
  3149  UT STWD 3149△
  3150  VT STWD 3150△
  3151  VA STWD 3151△
  3153  WA STWD 3153△
  3154  WV STWD 3154△
  3155  WI STWD 3155△
  3156  WY STWD 3156△

[1] BrandMeister 3148 (TX STWD) is crosslinked to DMR-MARC 9000.

6) All DMR-MARC regional talkgroups

The seven DMR-MARC U.S. regional talkgroups have a different grouping.

Time slots interleaved on the signal

The display names are just what I use.

TLKGRP  DISPLAY ONSCREEN
  3169  RG MIDWST 3169
  3172  RG N EAST 3172
  3173  RG MIDATLTC 3173
  3174  RG S EAST 3174
  3175  RG S PLAINS 3175
  3176  RG S WEST 3176
  3177  RG MOUNTAIN 3177

7) NoCO DMR talkgroups

The Northern Colorado (NoCO) DMR group△ is a group of Northern Colorado amateur radio operators who operate and maintain an amateur radio DMR repeater network. Usage of the repeater system is open to use by all licensed amateur radio operators with the appropriate privileges.

NoCO DMR talkgroups△ (BrandMeister). The display names are just what I use.

TLKGRP  DISPLAY ONSCREEN
  3171  NoCO△ (Northern Colorado)
  Note: cross-connected to DMR-MARC
 31088  CO HD△ (Hotspot Discussion)
 31083  CO Severe WX△
 31084  NoCO MTN△ (Front Range)

8) Constellations: a big leap for digital voice

There is work being done to include DMR into existing XLX reflectors, and by linking into the XRF/XLX infrastructure.

From the Kings of Digital Notify group△: The Constellation reflectors are:

8a) The advantage of a constellation

From the paper, "XLX and XRF Reflectors, DMR, and use with DMRGateway" by John Fields, K6KD, of the D-STAR Round Table Forum:

The advantage for existing DMR users are portals into current XLX/XRF infrastructure (individual reflectors or groups of linked reflectors) either using new DMR only Talk Groups or Talk Groups with transcoding. The advantage for existing D-STAR users is the ability to access the XLX/XRF infrastructure using many high quality, low cost DMR radios.

An example of a constellation net is the D-STAR Round Table Net△, which because of this new flexibility is joined by people using D-STAR, DMR, and even System Fusion radios:

D-STAR Round Table is on a constellation of XRF/XLX Reflectors. To participate, you may connect to any one of the linked Reflectors: XRF002A, XRF310A, XRF555A, XLX313A, DMR XLX313/TG 4001 OR connect to a repeater that is linked to one of the reflectors.

Notes:

8b) Constellation setup

Follow-up note (Nov 2017) – Following the steps in a document¹ written by Craig Jungers, K7EXJ, I configured the Pi-Star DMRGateway settings so that I was able to join into the Kings of Digital△ constellation with my DMR radio, listening to callers on both D-STAR and DMR radios. Sweet, this is progress! To summarize:

  1. I enabled the Pi-Star DMR Configuration with the DMR Master set to DMRGateway, and then set up the XLX section as follows:
    • XLX Master = XLX_313
    • XLX Startup TG = None [Note: This option is no longer available.]
    • XLX Master Enable = On
  2. I added an XLX hotspot zone to my codeplug with the following channels:
    • XLX313 CQCQCQ = TG 6, Group Call
    • XLX Unlink = TG 64000, Private Call
    • XLX313 A Link = TG 64001, Private Call (XLX313 A is persistently linked to the Kings of Digital reflector constellation△, which also includes XRF002 A, XRF310 A, XRF555 A, and XLX212 A)
    • XLX313 B Link = TG 64002, Private Call (XLX313 B is persistently linked to XRF757 C and the QuadNet△)
    • XLX313 C Link = TG 64003, Private Call (XLX313 C is persistently linked to XRF555 C = good for multimode extended QSOs)
    • XLX313 D Link = TG 64004, Private Call (XLX313 D is persistently linked to XRF310 D = good for multimode extended QSOs)
    • XLX313 E Link = TG 64005, Private Call

[1] The doc, "Connecting your DMR radio to the D-STAR constellation", is available in the Pi-Star Users Support Group△. Thanks, Craig!

Kings of Digital Notify for Constellation reflectors

In early May 2018, the Kings of Digital announced a Notify service "to enable users to notify each other of either planned or ad hoc discussions on the Constellation." For more info, see: Kings of Digital Notify group△.

9) Auto-static talkgroups

Posted by John, AA7US, in the Pi-Star Users Support Group△:

Q: How exactly do Brandmeister's auto-static talk groups work and what is their purpose?

A: On a regular repeater system there are "static" and "dynamic" talk groups. Hotspots have a special "auto-static" type talk group on Brandmeister.

Regular static talk groups are permanently linked to a repeater by an administrator using Brandmeister's SelfCare web dashboard. They can only be disconnected by the repeater administrator.

Dynamic talk groups are only temporarily linked to a repeater system each time someone keys up on a talk group. A dynamic talk group will time out after 15 minutes of no activity and automatically disconnect from the repeater. This makes it easy for users to share a repeater with different talk groups. Since a hotspot typically isn't shared, the need to automatically disconnect a talk group isn't necessary.

Specific to hotspots:

If a group call is issued to 4000 BEFORE keying up on a talk group, then that talk group becomes "auto-static" and won't timeout. An auto-static talk group remains connected to the hotspot until one of two things happens:

Note that an auto-static talk group can only be disconnected by issuing a group call to 4000 through the hotspot. It can't be disconnected through Brandmeister's SelfCare web dashboard like a regular static talk group can.

Follow-up note

By Toshen, Mar 2018 – I've had a lot trouble with the auto-static feature, but today I did a bunch of testing and it worked perfectly well. I searched the Ask Brandmeister forum and found an interesting answer about the auto-static feature△: Apparently, the tooltip is incorrectly punctuated, and it should read, "Auto-Static: The last talkgroup that is keyed up becomes "auto-static" and will not time out. Clear by dialing TG4000." And that's exactly how it worked for me today. (Note that the call to talkgroup 4000 should be a group call.)

10) AnyTone firmware updates

The AnyTone firmware update process is different from other radios I've used, and I find it a bit convoluted, so much so that I end up having to hunt down and open the instructions every time I do it, so I'm going to record the steps here to make them easier for me to find!

  1. Download the updates. This step always means downloading the firmware update and the matching Customer Programming Software (CPS) upgrade, because the AnyTone requires both to be on the same version. In addition, it is sometimes necessary to also download a USB driver update. Some vendors package them altogether; others list them separately. (Powerwerx downloads page△; CSI 878 downloads page△; BridgeCom 878 downloads page△)
  2. Optional: Download the latest digital contact list. I figure if I'm going to go through the hassle of updating the CPS and firmware, I might as well bring my digital contact list up to date at the same time, especially given how quickly DMR registrations are growing.
  3. Important! Connect the radio to the computer, turn it on, open the previous CPS, set the COM port (on my computer, I have to set it every session), and then read the radio's codeplug. If a new digital contact list has been downloaded, don't bother reading the contact list, just the other data.
  4. Save the read data, and then close the previous CPS, turn off the radio, and disconnect it.
  5. Install the new CPS and, if needed, the new USB driver (I install the X64 version for my 64-bit system; a 34-bit system should use the X86 version).
  6. Open the updated CPS and then open the radio's read data that was just saved.
  7. If a new digital contact list has been downloaded, import it (Tool > Import > Digital Contact List), and then save the codeplug with a new name.
  8. In the CPS, open the Firmware Update tool (Tool > Firmware Update) and prepare for the update:
    1. While holding down both the radio's PTT key and Alarm button (the blue or orange button on top), turn the radio on, and then plug it into the computer. The LED Status Indicator will blink red.
    2. Open the firmware update file that was previously downloaded (it will have an .spi extension).
    3. If necessary, choose the COM port, select Duplex, set the COM speed to the highest setting, and then click Write. The LED Status Indicator will glow steady red while the firmware is being updated.
    4. A message is displayed in the CPS when the update is finished. Turn the radio off, and disconnect it.
  9. Reset the radio's Main Control Unit (MCU):
    1. While holding the radio's PTT key and PF1 button (the button with one bar just below the PTT key), turn the radio on. It should display: MCU Reset. Do NOT turn the radio off while this is displayed. This process will wipe all the data stored in the radio.
    2. When the MCU reset process is finished, set the time zone, date, and time. Use the P1 button to move through the date and time fields.
  10. Connect the radio to the computer. In the CPS, set the COM port, and then Write to Radio. Write both the Digital Contact List and the Other Data.
  11. When the write is finished, turn off and disconnect the radio. Should be good to go!

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