If you have not watched the first video in this series I suggest you do so here.
In this video segment I talk about the “contacts” or talk groups that you need to add into your programming software before you can begin to add frequencies etc. If the radio programming software these are usually listed as “contacts” but there are two types of contact, the talk group, listed as a “group call” in the software and “private call.”
Before we go further lets do a quick review and comparison with programming regular analog repeaters.
For analog repeaters we need to know the receive frequency (what we listen to and usually the frequency we enter into our radio) – this is the frequency the repeater transmits on.
We need to know the offset, and whether it is positive or negative – this is the frequency the radio transmits on, what the repeater receives on. They are USUALLY standardized as 0.600MHz (0.6kHz) for VHF/2-meters (144-148MHz) and 5MHz for UHF/75cm (443-449MHz).
If your radio has 1.25-meters (222MHz) the standard is negative 1.6MHz.
Many repeaters also have a CTCSS (or “PL” tone). If you are not familiar with CTCSS and DCS see this article.
For DMR repeaters we still need to know the frequency and offset.
The color code replaces the CTCSS tone, and is usually between 1 and 16 (most I’ve seen are between 1 and 7).
We then need to know, or decide, what talk group we want to talk on and also what time slot the repeater owner wants us to use for specific talk groups. In many cases a repeater will be set up with some talk groups “static” (or locked/always on) on a specific time slot and others are “PTT” (on demand).
In the video I mention where you can download a list of talk groups for the different DMR networks HOWEVER (and I don’t think I emphasized this enough in the video) I’d suggest you add ones you want as you go. The reason I say this is that you won’t have a large list to then find what you are looking for and you get a better understanding of what you are doing.
For that reason I strongly suggest you do not download someone else’s codeplug – you don’t learn, you don’t know what mistakes they might have made and you will have a harder time understanding how everything interacts. Build your own a little at a time.
Get the Contact Manager program from N0GSG at his web site. Make a donation each time he does an update, he puts a lot of work into this and now has a reputation with many of the DMR radio manufacturers, especially Anytone. They now send him their updates before publishing them so he can identify any issues working with his program, and they fix them!
You will also need the programming software specific to your radio as you need to use it to put the program into your radio and also to set up functions for the programmable buttons. I suggest using the links at Connect Systems if you have one of the radios they sell (also a VERY good place to get your radios from – their customer service is next to none, a real person answers the phone and it is not uncommon for the owner, Jerry, to answer).
At this time the only way you can set up roaming is to use the manufacturers program. Roaming is where the radio will find the nearest repeater for a specific talk group – see this page and related video. This is very useful if you are travelling and there is a statewide or multi-state DMR network, such as the
– Interstate DMR network (covers DE, NJ, MD, PA, VA, FL, DC) see my page for more this system
– PRN (originally NCPRN) (covers NC, SC, VA, TX)
– New England Digital Emergency Communications Network (NEDECN) (NY, RI, CT, ME, NH, VT, MA)
Fairly extensive statewide networks exist in (these are ones I’ve used or looked up to program based on my travels):
– CO (RMHAM – statewide) & (Northern CO DMR)
– TX (DMR Texas)
– KS (KS-DMR)
– WY (Wyoming DMR Project – only have a Facebook page)
– FL (F-DARN)
– VA (DMRVA) one of their repeaters is in Arlington VA which covers DC.
– AL (AlabamaDMR)
Some of these are closed, (i.e., you can’t access over the network, you have to be in physical range of a repeater) or partially closed (in the case of RMHAM in Colorado you can access some of the regional talk groups but not the whole network through a Brandmeister talk group).
There are also states that have a large number of DMR repeaters, such as Ohio, but not their own network. All those repeaters carry the Brandmeister talk groups, so you can access the Brandmeister Ohio statewide talk group 3139, or a number of geographic talk groups such as North East OH (31391), South East OH (31393) or South West OH (31393) (go to the Brandmeister dashboard under data utilization then search Ohio). You would have to look at each specific repeater to determine what talk groups might be full time on a repeater – Go to repeaterbook.com, Ohio then DMR – select a repeater and you will usually see a “talkgroup” tab and that should list the full time talk groups. Remember that data is maintained by volunteers so always try and find the club/owners web site or click the DMR ID on repeaterbook and it should go to the Brandmeister page for that repeater. You can also use the map in Brandmeister to look for repeaters on that network near you.
If there are other large/statewide DMR networks you are aware of let me know and I’ll start adding them to a list.
The reason I list these DMR networks and links here is that you need to find out if there is a network in your state and look at their site as they will list the talk groups they use/allow on their network.
If your state isn’t listed above go to repeaterbook and then to your state. Select DMR for the filter, then look at the list and see if there is a network listed. Navigate to one of the repeater listings and there might be a link to their web site there.
Another resource for talk groups is the Brandmeister dashboard. This also shows repeaters that are directly on the Brandmeister network (so won’t show those on their own network). Use the data visualization tab. The others is the TGIF, while not on many repeaters yet I’ve found a few, and on one instance one repeater that carries Brandmeister talk groups on one time slot and TGIF on the other.
State and Regional Talkgroups
DMR-MARC (who were one of the original groups that established talkgroup numbering) established state and regional talkgroups.
Talkgroups were also established by call regions.
Talk Group Configuration on Different Systems
Interstate DMR
You also have to research how a system has talk groups set up.
In the case of the Interstate DMR network talk group 2 (often considered “local” is carried on different repeaters. They have 10 “local” clusters and more are added as more repeaters come on line, to balance out repeater use in specific areas. See my web page as I’m working with the system admin on better mapping and diagrams.
Florida Digital Amateur Radio Network (F-DARN)
In the case of the Florida DMR network (F-DARN) talk group 2 brings up all the repeaters. Additionally they have a cross-link to Brandmeister, so you can access the F-DARN from any repeater that carries the Brandmeister network (or thought a Pi-star).
New England Digital Emergency Communications Network (NEDECN)
The New England Digital Emergency Communications Network (NEDECN) system appears (from my initial research) to have some common system-wide talkgroups that are full time (always on) on some repeaters and push to talk (PTT) (user activated) on others.
The PRN network (NC, SC, VA, TX) appears to be a closed network (no access unless through a repeater) with system-wide talkgroups as well as the ability to use any repeater locally.
Do Your Research
Therefore it is essential that you do your research before starting developing your codeplug. If I was in Florida I’d add the above talk groups into the programming software (contact manager) then add the repeaters in (see video on channels – coming soon). It is much easier to plan it out from the beginning that to go back and change.
As you can see, this can be a massive task if you try to cover all areas you might travel in one go. It is best to start locally, build, test and experiment. Once you understand the basics of how your local system is set up, and remember Semper Gumby, you can expand.
In the mean time watch the video as I discuss the use of talk groups and how to use them in the programming software.