Newbie Stuck

[AL7AK]

I apologize for posting a newbie question here but I have not gotten any responses elsewhere. I am new to DMR and the curves is very steep.
I have a DM-1801 successfully updated with the OpenGD77 firmware, thanks VK3KYY! I have studied DMR codeplug creation and looked at sample codeplugs posted here. I assume that statewide and worldwide talkgroups are going to be pretty continuously busy? I hear nothing.

Here is my repeater:
https://www.repeaterbook.com/repeaters/ ... 5&ID=15779

It does not specifically state what static talkgroups it supports on what timeslots. It has a note DMR (BM TG# 31551) but I am not sure how to interpret it.
Here is my code plug attached. There a number of contacts put in to just experiment to try and get something to work.

If anyone has time to take a look I would appreciate it.
Cheers
AL7AK
Mike Kelly
Hayward, WI USA

[kd2lh]

I logged into Brandmeister, and took a look at the repeater (by it's radioid number).

There is no activity for that repeater ID in Brandmeister. Nothing defined either. Click on the N9NUC DMR Brandmeister link in the Repeater Directory entry you gave, and you'll see nothing. It doesn't look like it's been connected to the network. Are you sure it's active?

https://brandmeister.network/?page=repeater&id=315524

Hit "Repeaters" on the left side of the Brandmeister page and you'll see quite a number. Click on any one of them that is active, and you'll see what the completed entries should look like. It takes a minute or so to load, so be patient.


https://brandmeister.network/?page=repeaters

[AL7AK]

Thank you very much for the reply.
Being totally new to DMR I was not sure what to expect. I did notice the blank entry in BM but nothing on the BrandMeister website works correctly for me. Like populating a map takes 10 minutes. So I thought it was the website. The repeaterbook.com entry says the repeater is active and open. In the Wisconsin Repeater Association is says it is active too. But it seems a lot of this information is not accurate or up-to-date. Makes it tough to figure DMR out. I just assumed I made a mistake in programming my codeplug.

Can you just confirm that if I pick a Worldwide Talkgroup that it is pretty much going to have someone using it continuously? SO if I program my codeplug correctly I should hear someone in 30 minutes say on a static Worldwide TG.

Also in my reading even though DMR-MArc started out a closed system that it is now bridged with BM? IN other words do I have to use only BM TG's on a BM repeater? Also if my buddy in Montana has a DMR-Marc repeater and mine is BM does that mean we can not talk to each other in a common TG?

I guess if the repeater in my town is not actually in operation then time to figure how to setup a hotspot

It was much easier 20 years ago with Analog and a "kerchuck" to see if I was hitting the repeater.

Thanks for the help it has been hard to find any place to get information to get my rigs on the air.
AL7AK
Mike Kelly
Hayward, WI USA

[kd2lh]

I use Brandmeister's voice infrastructure exclusively. It's more advanced than the original Motorola IP Connect system used by DMR-MARC. Yes. The networks are bridged and it is possible to interconnect.

The Brandmeister approach is much more dynamic, self healing and has a flat architecture with a number of masters that forward voice packets between themselves and also to the repeaters and hotspots connected to them, and then on over DMR RF to the user radios. Through gateways and reflectors they have connected to other voice infrastructures. Hotspots made with MMDVM hardware can generally interconnect to different over the air digital radio technologies including DMR, Yaesu YSF, Kenwood NXDN, P25 and DStar. There are gateways between many of the formats. I like MMDVMHat based hotspots (you will see Chinese ones called "JumboSpots" fairly inexpensive on Ebay) that use Raspberry Pi Zero W computers and run the PiStar host software in the Raspberry Pi.

There is no assurance that any talkgroup will be continuously busy, but you can observe traffic by displaying it on Brandmeister's web activity pages.

3100 in the USA is pretty busy. Look at this link:

You should see some activity...

https://brandmeister.network/?page=lh&D ... ionID=3100

Do you have a hotspot? That may be your best bet for initially working DMR.

Hotspots and repeaters can be setup with static (full time or scheduled) or dynamic (on demand, initiated from the user's radio first transmission, and active until it times out several minutes after last usage, or manually disconnected).

[AL7AK]

Thanks again for taking the time to respond it really is a help. I have read a lot but some of the details are skimmed over. Like if the bridge between BM and DMR-Marc is transparent or if you have to do something to indicate a route to a foreign talk group.

So I think you are indicating that it is transparent and given the availability or whether a talkgroup is static or key-up on demand dynamic you should be able to simply configure a BM or DMR-Marc TG and header that the radio packets transmit will indicate the desire for a foreign Tg and the routers will indeed get it to the right bridge.

Last question if I use my RSP1A spectrum analyzer I should be able to see a carrier on the frequency of the supposed local repeater, once in a while, even if I have screwed up my codeplug and can't hear the traffic. Correct?

I did build a MMDVM_HS_dual. But I thought it would be best to try and get to listen to traffic on my local repeater before I played with the Hotspot. I have read warnings that a hotspot can mess up upstream servers if not configured properly.

I have been reviewing the hotspot configuration videos and it looks pretty simple and probably would be more likely to mess something up with the codeplug on my rigs than the configuration of the hotspot itself. I think you have convinced me that the repeater is not functioning since I don't "think" I did anything wrong creating my simple codeplug. So on to the Hotspot.

BTW I believe you are one of the developers of the Hotspot firmware so thanks very much for sharing your efforts with the rest of us.
AL7AK
MIke Kelly
Hayward, WI USA

[kd2lh]

Not a developer, just a tester and enthusiast and project participant.

Get your hotspot working with simple connections to a Brandmeister master and some of the more active groups like 3100 and your state wide group in Wisconsin.

Worry about the interconnect to other voice infrastructures later. You'll have more experience by then.

Bite off a little at a time.

The MMDVM Hat hotspot RF chip doesn't have AFC implemented, so you may have to calibrate it to match your handheld radio. That will come after you get it basically working, when you need to adjust a few hundred hz to get the bit error rate down.

Remember that the color code and timeslot used are just characteristics of your rf link between your handheld and the hotspot MMDVM radio.

I use color code 1 and timeslot 2 on all my local hotspot connections on simplex hotspots.

Pick a quiet frequency. Your local repeater coordinator may have designated frequencies for use by digital hotspots. Make sure to avoid the satellite bands. I use 438.6000 for my hotspot at home.

You use the same radio ID on your radios and hotspots. In fact, one of the defaults is that they must match (unless you allow public access - which I don't). Add a two number suffix on the hotspots on the DMR configuration. I use my radioid and 01 suffix as the hotspot DMR ESSID.

You define groups as static in the configuration on Brandmeister. There is a management extension that also will let you control this from the hotspot dashboard, but that can wait until later.

Marc

[AL7AK]

I got my hotspot working for receiving stations. Setup my 3100 ts1 and my local WI 3155 on TS2 in BrandMeister. I receive all the TG's I programmed but don't seem to be able to transmit. Parrot 9999 and echo 9990 don't return anything as private or group calls. My PiStar dashboard does not show/list me trying to transmit, if it normal records your own transmissions in the last heard list it displays. Once I tried to call on 3100 and someone came back and said they heard someone keyup but no audio, but not sure it was directed to me as lots of people keying up and not saying anything.

I have a MMDVM_HS_dual so I assume that means two time slots as apposed to dual band. Both time slots show on the dashboard and I hear stations on both timeslots.

I have two DM-1801's both running OpenGD77 and they talk to each other Analog simplex. So they can transmit and there is audio.

Thanks again for your assistance.

AL7AK
Mike Kelly
Hayward, WI USA

[AL7AK]

Just noticed in Rogers DM-1801 on OpenGD77 video that he says the DM1801 with OpenGD77 will not work through a hotspot. So maybe that is my problem

[VK3KYY]

Just noticed in Rogers DM-1801 on OpenGD77 video that he says the DM1801 with OpenGD77 will not work through a hotspot. So maybe that is my problem

Mine didn't work.

Other people's radio do however work with their hotspot

I don't think my DM-1801 works with my hotspot even if I load the official firmware.

[kt4lh]

I personally find TG91 busy pretty much 24/7, so this is my go-to talk group to listen for a while on my hotspot. Otherwise, you can find busy talkgroups using this site: https://app.brandmeisteractivity.live/

I also find the above link excellent for finding other busy talk groups, also interconnect/bridge TG's which can be interesting to listen to.