1. Digital Mobile Radio The very basics

2. Digital Mobile Radio The very basics
John ‘Miklor’ K3NXU

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

4. 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

5. Ham Friendly
TYT MD Motorola xpr Single Band Single Band < $100 vs $500-$700
Anytone D Ailunce HD TID TD Dual Band Dual Band Single Band
Features & Audio

6. Audio Quality Digital vs Analog
TDMA

7. 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

8. Spectrum Efficiency – 30ms Time Slots

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

10. 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
PA State PA Statewide
MD State MD Statewide
NE Reg’l Northeast Regional 3172
Mid Atlantic Mid Atlantic Region 3173
Over 1100 Talk Group Possibilities ^

11. Talk Groups TG Time Slot Local 2 Local Cluster of Repeaters 2 2
Local 9 Main Repeater Only
TAC 310, 311 Secondary Chat Groups 310,
Nationwide National Calling Channel
PA TAC Local Cluster of Repeaters
PA State PA Statewide
MD State MD Statewide
NE Reg’l Northeast Regional
Mid Atlantic Mid Atlantic Region FT / PTT

12. Talk Groups TG Time Slot Local 2 Local Cluster of Repeaters 2 2 FT
Local 9 Main Repeater Only FT
TAC 310, 311 Secondary Chat Groups 310, PTT
Nationwide National Calling Channel PTT
PA TAC Local Cluster of Repeaters PTT
PA State PA Statewide FT
MD State MD Statewide FT
NE Reg’l Northeast Regional FT
Mid Atlantic Mid Atlantic Region FT

13. Sample Repeater Configuration

14. Local 2

15. Local 2

16. Local / Worldwide Network
MHz (Shrewsbury)
MHz (Keystone)
DMR Repeater 
Stand Alone System
Can be IP Networked with c-Bridge 

17. Local Network

18. National / World Wide Networks
DMR Marc/Brandmeister

19. Networks
Repeaters Direct Connect
TG Compatibility

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

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

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

23. 1500 Talk Groups – Your Choice

24. Activity Levels TG Activity
Local 2 Local Cluster of Repeaters Low FT
Local 9 Main Repeater Only Low FT
SPA Local Keystone & Shrewsbury only Low FT
PA TAC Local Cluster of Repeaters Low PTT
PA State PA Statewide Med FT
MD State MD Statewide Med FT
NE Reg’l Northeast Regional Med FT
TAC 311,312 Chat Groups 311, Med PTT
TAC 310 Main Secondary Chat Group High PTT
Nationwide National Calling Channel High PTT Op Notes

25. 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

26. Operating Notes Dash Boards
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

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

28. Netwatch

29. Hoseline

30. Dashboard Links
Netwatch Allows you to view DMR network activity Real Time
Hoseline
Listen to Brandmeister network talk groups Real Time
Miklor.com K3NXU.com (DMR Section)

31. Reference

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

33. 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)

34. Code Plug
Step 1 - The Contact List aka Talk Groups

35. Code Plug
Step 2 - The Channel Information Mode Digital 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

36. Code Plug
Step 2 - The Channel Information

37. Code Plug Step 3 - The Zone
This is where you assign your favorite channels to a cluster or channel bank. They can be grouped by:
Repeater
Location
Activity
Analog Repeaters
Simplex
etc. You can mix and match. The choice is yours.

38. Code Plug
Step 3 - The Zone

39. 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.

40. Code Plug
Step 4 - Scan Groups
MD / PA

41. Code Plug
Step 4 – Scan Groups

42. MD, PA Cluster
May Registered DMR IDs 333 in PA May Registered DMR IDs 1400 in PA 600 in MD 100 in DE Oct ,000 Registered DMR IDs

43. DMR in the USA

44. DMR in the Mid-Atlantic

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

46. MD, PA Clusters