Discovering DMR notes
a) DMR: sites
- NoCO DMR⩘
- BrandMeister Dashboard⩘
- BrandMeister News⩘
- BrandMeister Wiki⩘
- The DMR-MARC Network⩘
- The Guide to DMR in the UK⩘ by Eric, G6FGY – Provides good coverage of many aspects of DMR.
- Parker Radio Association⩘
- eHam.net – product reviews and more⩘
b) DMR: forums
c) DMR: articles
- BrandMeister User API keys⩘ , 2018, by Oliver, F4BWG
- A Comparison of Digital Voice Modes of Amateur Radio⩘ , 2016, by Andreas, OE8APR, founder of SocialHams.net⩘
- DMR Talk groups, capacity and system loading, 2015, by Elliot Linke, KB0RFC
- DMR: Ham Radio Now's Gary Pearce, KN4AQ, has an interesting post about DMR on this QRZ forum discussion from Nov 2016: Hytera Enters the North American Amateur Radio Market⩘ (look for the thread's 10th post)
- DVMEGA and DV4mini configuration⩘ – to enable access to shared talkgroups between DMR-MARC and DMR Plus
- The $400 World Wide Mobile Me⩘ , 2017, by Barry, KØBSB, Minnesota DMR – some good resource info about a mobile DMR solution using Pi-Star, though the article is difficult to read because it scrolls over a very busy background image (Hint: If your browser supports it, use Reader view)
d) DMR: presentations
- Digital Voice for Amateur Radio⩘ , 2018 by Dave, KC6N
- Introduction to Digital Mobile Radio⩘ , 2017, Greg Liverman, K0MGL
- BrandMeister Network Intro (PDF)⩘ , presented by Artem, R3ABM, and Denis, DL3OCK, at Ham Radio 2016 in Friedrichshafen
- BrandMeister Internals (PDF)⩘ , presented by Artem Prilutskiy, R3ABM, at Ham Radio 2016 in Friedrichshafen
- Digital Voice Progress - 2016 (PDF)⩘ by Roland Kraatz, W9HPX, via Charlotte D-STAR⩘
e) DMR: books
- Amateur Radio Guide to DMR (PDF)⩘ , 2015, by John Burningham, W2XAB
f) DMR: videos
- NoCO DMR, 2018, Bud, W0RMT⩘
- DMR Programming for Amateur Radio⩘ , 2015, by Mike, K0NGA, Rocky Mountain Ham Radio
- SharkRF openSPOT Mobile Setup⩘ (using a TP-LINK TL-WR802N router), 2017, by Jonathan, M0XXJ
- DMR/MotoTRBO⩘ presented by Andy Ruschak, KK7TR, at MicroHAMS Digital Conference 2015
- DMR (radio) – The good, the bad, and the ugly⩘ , 2016, by Joe Lalumia, W1XWX⩘
- CS-580 CPS Setup and use⩘ , 2017, by Dave, N6AFV
- D Star XRF Reflectors – A Whole New D-Star Experience⩘ , 2017, Bob, K6UDA
g) DMR: hardware & software
- AnyTone AT-D868UV: Software Updates via Import Communications⩘
- Connect Systems for Amateur Radio⩘
- Manx Repeaters: I just got a new, un-programmed Hytera, now what?⩘
- SharkRF openSPOT⩘ (User manual⩘ )
h) DMR: tools
- CCS7 worldwide registrations are handled by the European DMR-ID registration system⩘
- BrandMeister Dashboard⩘
- BrandMeister Hose line⩘ – an experimental online streaming platform for the HAM radio Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) Brandmeister network made by PD0MZ⩘
- CQ DMR Map⩘ by EA2CQ
- Radio Mobile⩘ , an online radio performance prediction tool created by Quebec ham, Roger Coudé, VE2DBE
i) DMR: repeaters
- NoCO DMR Network
- DMR-MARC networked repeaters map⩘
- DMR networked repeaters list⩘
- RepeaterBook CO DMR repeaters⩘
j) DMR: talkgroups & reflectors
- U.S. BrandMeister Server User Guide (PDF)⩘
- BrandMeister talkgroups list⩘
- BrandMeister talkgroups list⩘ an easier to read list on the Pi-Star site that includes links to Hoseline
- List of reflectors mapped to talkgroups⩘
- DMR-MARC talkgroups⩘
- Rocky Mtn Ham Radio⩘
k) DMR: nets
- MON: PAPA DMR Roundtable⩘ : BM 3106, 9p MTN
- TUE: SNARS⩘ DMR Net: BM 31328, 9p MTN
- WED: North America Tech Net: BM 93, 4p MTN
- FRI: Global DX TGIF Net⩘ : BM 31665, 6:30p MTN
- FRI: Colorado HD Net⩘ (Hotspot Discussion): BM 31088, 7:30p MTN
- SAT: DMR-MARC⩘ Worldwide Net: DM 1, 10a MTN
- SAT: BrandMeister Worldwide Net: BM 91, 10a MTN
- SAT: Digital Voice Net⩘ : XLX313A, TG6 6p MTN
- SAT: Multi Mode Digital Voice Net, BN 31012, 6p MTN
- SUN: TAC 310 Net: BM 310, 6p MTN
- See also: AF6FB: DMR Nets on BrandMeister⩘
- See also: First Coast DMR Calendar⩘
- See also: D-STAR nets
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)⩘ .
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 VI 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.
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:
- D-STAR: XRF002, XRF310, XRF555, (all modules A-Z) and XLX313 (modules A-F).
- DMR: Use XLX313 as the master and select talk group 4001-4006.
- XLX212 is DMR only with 26 talk groups 4001-4026.
- XLX313 provides full time transcoding on all 6 modules.
- All nets are available on both D-STAR and DMR.
- Transcoded modules also available for QSOs.
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:
- To download John's paper, which provides a very good explanation of the interplay between XLX and XRF reflectors, subscribe to Groups.io: Kings of Digital Notify⩘ . You can then find the paper in the Files section: XLX XRF DMRGateway:Pi-Star 060818.pdf⩘ .
- Bob, K6UDA, has a good video about this: D Star XRF Reflectors – A Whole New D-Star Experience⩘ .
- See the X Reflector Directory⩘ for more constellation nets.
- As of Aug 2017: Private calls to 8001 - 8999 can be used to select XLX masters, for example, 8313 = XLX313.
- See also: DMRGateway 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:
- 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
- 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:
- It's manually disconnected by issuing a group call to 4000.
- A new (additional) talk group is activated on the hotspot.
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.)