DIGITAL MOBILE RADIO THE VERY BASICS

The DMR Difference History Audio Quality Spectrum Efficiency The Local and Worldwide Network Repeater vs. Hotspot Code Plugs DMR today in our area

Brief History DMR developed in Europe by ETSI European Telecomm Standards Inst Adopted as Commercial Standard 20 years ago Commercial Business Equipment Proprietary Equipment and Software High Cost Not ham radio friendly Ham Radio Equipment (2 years ago) Field Programmable Ham Friendly

Ham Friendly TYT MD-380 Motorola xpr7550 Single Band Single Band < $100 vs $500-$700 Anytone D868 Ailunce HD1 TID TD-9800 Dual Band Dual Band Single Band Features & Audio

Audio Quality Digital vs Analog TDMA

Spectrum Efficiency Analog FM = 25 khz DMR (TDMA) = 12.5 khz Tier I European License Free Band (not ham) Tier II TDMA Commercial & Ham Standard

Time Slots Much like a Duplex House Two totally separate families in one structure. Time Slot 1 Time Slot 2 Each house has its own set of rooms Talk Groups

Talk Groups TG Time Slot Local 2 Local Cluster of Repeaters 2 Local 9 Main Repeater Only 9 TAC 310, 311 Secondary Chat Groups 310, 311 Nationwide National Calling Channel 3100 PA TAC Local Cluster of Repeaters 31421 PA State PA Statewide 3142 MD State MD Statewide 3124 NE Reg l Northeast Regional 3172 Mid Atlantic Mid Atlantic Region 3173 Over 1100 Talk Group Possibilities ^

Talk Groups TG Time Slot Local 2 Local Cluster of Repeaters 2 2 Local 9 Main Repeater Only 9 2 TAC 310, 311 Secondary Chat Groups 310, 311 2 Nationwide National Calling Channel 3100 1 PA TAC Local Cluster of Repeaters 31421 1 PA State PA Statewide 3142 1 MD State MD Statewide 3124 1 NE Reg l Northeast Regional 3172 1 Mid Atlantic Mid Atlantic Region 3173 1 FT / PTT

Talk Groups TG Time Slot Local 2 Local Cluster of Repeaters 2 2 FT Local 9 Main Repeater Only 9 2 FT TAC 310, 311 Secondary Chat Groups 310, 311 2 PTT Nationwide National Calling Channel 3100 1 PTT PA TAC Local Cluster of Repeaters 31421 1 PTT PA State PA Statewide 3142 1 FT MD State MD Statewide 3124 1 FT NE Reg l Northeast Regional 3172 1 FT Mid Atlantic Mid Atlantic Region 3173 1 FT

Sample Repeater Configuration

Local 2

Local / Worldwide Network 449.725 MHz 447.275 MHz DMR Repeater Stand Alone System (Shrewsbury) (Keystone) Can be IP Networked with c-bridge

Local Network

National / World Wide Networks DMR Marc/Brandmeister

Networks Repeaters Direct Connect TG Compatibility

Networks Local 2 (Rpt) Local 9 (Rpt) PA TAC <---> PA TAC 310, 311, 312 <---> 310, 311, 312 313 > 319 x 313 > 319 State Groups <---> State Groups Regional Groups x n/a Nationwide 3100 <---> Nationwide 3100 Repeat vs Hotspot

Repeater vs. Hotspot Repeater s provide both Local and WW area coverage Hotspot Replaces a Repeater Very short range Brandmeister But Why?

Why use a Hotspot? No nearby repeaters Heavy traveling Long Conversations So, where s the activity?

1100 Talk Groups Your Choice

Activity Levels TG Activity Local 2 Local Cluster of Repeaters 2 Low FT Local 9 Main Repeater Only 9 Low FT SPA Local Keystone & Shrewsbury only 31425 Low FT PA TAC Local Cluster of Repeaters 31421 Low PTT PA State PA Statewide 3142 Med FT MD State MD Statewide 3124 Med FT NE Reg l Northeast Regional 3172 Med FT Mid Atlantic Mid Atlantic 3173 Med FT TAC 310, 311 Secondary Chat Groups 310, 311 High PTT Nationwide National Calling Channel 3100 High PTT Op Notes

Operating Notes 3 second pause before PTT Network Latency Courtesy Pause 1 second pause after PTT Channel Busy Radio needs to sync to DMR signal Time Slot in use Green Light Time Slot busy tone Someone on same TS but different TG Talk Group in use You may not immediately hear an active Talk Group

Operating Notes Avoid Calling CQ This is not HF. There is no DX, WAS, etc. Announce your talk group Scanning or radio without a display Avoid long QSOs on wide area talk groups Please move to a TAC channel Time Slots Each Time Slot will only support one QSO at a time. regardless of the number of talk groups available. Dash Boards

Dashboards Netwatch Watch the DMR Network activity Real Time Hoseline Listen to Brandmeister Talk Groups Real Time

Netwatch

Hoseline

Dashboard Links Netwatch Hoseline http://cbridge.wr3irs.com:2135/minimalnetwatch http://hose.brandmeister.network/scan/3100/ Miklor.com www.miklor.com/dmr/ K3NXU.com (DMR Section) www.k3nxu.com

Reference http://www.miklor.com/dmr/

Code Plug FM DMR Frequency / CTCSS Frequency / Color Code Three Main Divisions (1) Contact List (Talk Groups) (2) Create the Channel Information (3) Group the Channels into Zones

Code Plug Step 1 - The Contact List aka Talk Groups This is where the Talk Groups are stored. - Talk Group Name - Talk Group Number - Group or Private (Select Group)

Code Plug Step 1 - The Contact List aka Talk Groups

Code Plug Step 2 - The Channel Information Frequency Rx and Tx Color Code 1 Channel Spacing 12.5 khz Time Slot Whatever was specified for the repeater Tx Contact Talk Group from Contact List Rx Contact None will default to the Tx Contact Power High or Low Tx Criteria Always, Color Code, Channel Free Scan List Optional

Code Plug Step 2 - The Channel Information

Code Plug Step 3 - The Zone This is where you assign your favorite channels to customized channel blocks. Group channels by convenience: Repeater - Shrewsbury / Keystone / Harrisburg Activity - Favorite or Most used Talk Groups Travel Group Local 2 Shrewsbury Simplex - > Local 2 Keystone Local 2 Harrisburg

Code Plug Step 3 - The Zone

Code Plug Step 4 - Scan Groups This is where you create a group of receive channels that you would like to Scan. Assign the Scan Group to a specific channel.

Code Plug Step 4 - Scan Groups MD / PA

Code Plug Step 4 Scan Groups

MD, PA Cluster May 2016 May 2018 44000 Registered DMR IDs 333 in PA 96000 Registered DMR IDs 1400 in PA 600 in MD 100 in DE

DMR in the USA

DMR in the Mid-Atlantic

MD, PA Clusters (Local 2) V = VHF U = UHF * = Limited Coverage ** = Coming Soon

MD, PA Clusters