DMR repeater page can be found at https://www.repeaterbook.com/dmr

Please read the document here. All admins should have a basic understanding of DMR, how it works, and how it is set up.

DMR is particularly challenging for Hams as it is digital technology playing in an analog world. Hams are used to just dialing in a frequency, tone, and offset and getting on a repeater. This is not how DMR works. DMR was designed for the commercial and government world. With the next generation of DMR hitting the market, the older generation equipment is flooding the secondary market and being snapped up by Hams. It used to be cost-prohibitive to purchase DMR radios, but plenty of discount radios are being brought to market now. DMR requires a “code plug,” which is essentially a memory of the radio's settings, modes, channels, and other parameters needed to access the repeater. These code plugs can be a challenge to create as the learning curve is steep.

There is a lot of peer pressure within the Ham community for new Hams coming into DMR to learn how to create their own code plugs. To create one, the Ham needs to know the repeater's input and output frequencies, the color code (like PL tone), and the available talk groups. The talk groups each have an ID code, and the correct ID code must be entered to access that talk group. DMR is also divided into two time slots. Two time slots can be used at the same time. Talk groups are usually assigned to one talk group or the other, so knowing which time slot a talk group is on is important. The final parameter is how the talk group is activated. It can be full-time, only come up when someone activates it by bringing up that talk group on their radio and keying up, or during a scheduled time.

Most DMR repeaters are Internet-connected back to a c-bridge. A c-bridge dynamically connects all repeaters that are using the same talk group at the same time through that c-bridge. It just gets more complicated from there as c-bridges can also be interconnected.

RepeaterBook attempts to gather the information needed for Hams to create their own code plugs.

On Repeaterbook.com, we use certain nomenclature that match the DMR community to reduce the probability of confusion. It is important to know these terms and what they mean.

IP Site Connect is a way of connecting a DMR repeater “site” to the Internet. The connection is handled by a c-bridge. In the Ham world, IPSC refers to the entire network from the remote repeater to the c-bridge. System admins give their connections names, which are referred to as IPSC networks.

This is like a server. The Local Networks connect to the c-bridge, which handles the routing of talk groups. The c-bridge can route talk groups to other repeaters within the same local network or send it out to other c-bridges or even cross over to other Wide Networks.

We don't track c-bridges per se but wrap up the entire network infrastructure into the IPSC name.

Talk Groups are completely administered by repeater trustees or system admins on one of two websites, depending in their IPSC connection. Id they are a BrandMeister repeater, then RepeaterBook uses the BrandMeister API to automatically display the currently connected (live) talk group connections to that repeater. Other details about the repeater are also gathered through the API.

For repeaters connected to the traditional c-bridge based networks, radioid.net can track talk groups. Many repeater owners mistakingly only use radioid.net to obtain a DMR ID, but they are so much more than that. Repeater owners can go to their account on radioid.net and use their tools to add information about the talkgroup deck and other details they may want users to know about their repeater. RepeaterBook then uses radioid.net's API to display that data on the repeater's Details page.

There is a third way to add talk groups. This way may be preferred by larger DMR systems. We can accept a CSV file to sync the talkgroup deck as described here. The CSV has a very simple and consistent format. The file can be placed on your own website, and RepeaterBook can grab and process the file at whatever interval you would prefer.

In summary, talkgroup data is now handled completely by repeater owners and DMR system admins. RepeaterBook cannot add the data directly but pulls it from radioid.net, BrandMeister, or a CSV file. We believe this is a win-win as the process is simpler and puts the repeater owners in complete control over what information gets published on RepeaterBook.

IPSC networks do need to be assigned. This can be done by a RepeaterBook admin or a Repeater Record Custodian (RRC). When adding or editing a repeater we can perform a lookup of radioid.net to see what the current IPSC is listed there, but we may not know when you change it. Be sure to let us know.

https://www.repeaterbook.com/DMR/DMR_Network_Management.php

From the admin dashboard, you can access the DMR Management Module from the link in the Tools section of the menu. It will open a new page. This home page displays all of the current networks. A checkmark is shown if you are subscribed to the network. If you need to create a new network, you can click Create a Network from the menu.

There is a general rule to adding a network. When adding talk groups, only add talk groups that are common to all repeaters on the network. This applies specifically to the talk group number only. Talk groups with different time slots and access methods (i.e., PTT-activated, Full-time, or Scheduled) can be handled by adding custom talk groups.

When you are subscribed to a network, you will receive notifications from the system whenever an admin changes a network.

Click a network from the home page. The network's home page will show your current subscription status. Click the subscribe or unsubscribe link from the menu to perform the desired action. Whenever new networks are created, all admins will receive an email notification with a link to the subscription module to allow for subscribing to the DMR network. Whenever a change is made to a DMR Network, an email notification is sent to all subscribed admins. This email also provides a link to unsubscribe from the DMR Network.

To add a new DMR Network, click the link from the menu on the DMR Management home page. You will be taken to a page where you can name the new Network. A new network with no talk groups will be created. All admins on the site will be immediately notified by email. The email will allow the admin to subscribe to the new network you have created. As the creating admin, you will be automatically subscribed to the new network. The network will also be immediately available from the repeater edit pages.

Above, is in effect, what is happening, but behind the scenes, a network is not actually created until the first talk group is assigned to it. Once the first talk group is added, the network becomes available for assigning to a repeater. As you add talk groups, any subscribed admins will be notified.

You cannot technically delete or rename a network, but if you delete all of the talk groups, the network will, in effect, also have been deleted. The network will disappear from the database and will no longer be available for selecting or modifying. Deleting talk groups also notifies the subscribed admins.

Important: Only common talk groups that apply to all of the repeaters connected to this network should be added. For example, if all the repeaters but one allow access to a specific talk group, do not add the talk group to the network. If a repeater allows access to a talk group that is not available to all of the repeaters on the network, then use the custom talk group function from the repeater edit page to add the single talk group.

Adding and Deleting talk groups is done from a network edit page. There is not an edit function to edit a specific talk group. If there is a problem with a talk group, you must delete it and add a new one.

To add a talk group, select the talk group from the drop-down menu. Then select the time slot and access. Click Save, and the talk group will be added. Repeat until all the talk groups are added. If you make a mistake, click the trash can to delete the talk group.

Currently, admins cannot make modifications to the talk groups that can be chosen. If you need to change the name of a talk group as shown in the drop-down menu, please contact the site admin with proof of the correct name.

You can view all of the talk groups in the talk group database available for assignment.

https://www.repeaterbook.com/DMR/all_talk_groups.php

These are the talk groups that you can add to a repeater either via a custom talk group or adding to a repeater network.

The talk group name itself is hyperlinked to another page that will show all of the networks that have this talk group assigned and/or the individual repeaters with the talk group custom assigned.

The network can then be clicked to be taken to the list of all repeaters within that network.

Only admins with a high proficiency with DMR have access to edit, add, or delete talk groups from the master databases. Requests are made from the Forum so that all admins that have subscribed to the DMR Forum can weigh in on the change.

https://www.repeaterbook.com/index.php/forum/dmr-admin

Currently, there is no talk group module for users to propose talk groups. Users must put the talk group info in the notes section of the repeater request form. In the future, a form will echo out the current talk groups and allow the user to propose changes.