Radtel RT-4D is up and working.

[TNFrank]

Well, I had to dig out my Talkpod A36 Plus cable, the FTDI cables don't work with this radio, but I did get it connected to the CPS and programmed a few analogue channels into it. It hit the 3 repeaters on the White Tanks(about 16 miles as the crow flies)and I made a contact on the Del Web repeater, all be it my TX was weak. This I'd only a 5 watt radio and we have a pretty bad storm moving through so that might be part of it. My 10 watt AR-5RM gets out very clear so the extra power does seem to make a difference.

Next step is to add some digital channels to zone 2. I'll need to look them up to see which ones I'm going to want.

I've watched some videos that mention adding a Disconnect channel(4000 iirc)and a Parrot (9000?)then the other channels like a World Wide and some local channels.

I'll get it figured out. If adding the digital channels is about the same as the analogue ones then it shouldn't be too much trouble. Anyway, just wanted to share. 

[BoxCar]

Adding DMR channels is different from entering analogue. You need 5 things for a digital channel, your DMR ID; a talk group; zone; color code; and time slot. Groups such as Parrot should be also set as a PRIVATE call to avoid blasting the zone with your test message.

[TNFrank]

45 minutes ago, BoxCar said:

Adding DMR channels is different from entering analogue. You need 5 things for a digital channel, your DMR ID; a talk group; zone; color code; and time slot. Groups such as Parrot should be also set as a PRIVATE call to avoid blasting the zone with your test message.

DMR ID/check

I also need the frequency TX/RX of the Repeater I'll be using and I can get the Talkgroup/CC/TS from the Repeater info. Zone will be named "Digital" in my radio. 

I'm going to watch a couple videos to get more of a handle on things.

This one looks pretty good at explaining things.

 

[Lscott]

2 hours ago, TNFrank said:

DMR ID/check

I also need the frequency TX/RX of the Repeater I'll be using and I can get the Talkgroup/CC/TS from the Repeater info. Zone will be named "Digital" in my radio. 

I'm going to watch a couple videos to get more of a handle on things.

This one looks pretty good at explaining things.

 

The problem I have mostly is discovering what talk groups are supported. There is no central database for DMR repeaters that has this info. Usual you need to search on line for a web site for the repeater, if one even exists. Then, what info you do find is likely outdated, talk groups no longer supported, new ones added and which of the bunch of DMR networks it connects too for linking etc.

For some repeaters the setup is fairly simple, others it's a huge PIA. See attached file for an example.

The best practice I found, if your radio supports it, is grouping everything by repeater in a zone for just that repeater. Then one channel memory is programmed for the particular parameters required for one talk group. You can have a few to dozens of entries for just one repeater. See attached photos. This is for my NX-1300DUK5 radio.

https://forums.mygmrs.com/gallery/image/290-nx-1300duk5/?context=new

 

N8NOE DMR Repeater.pdf

[TNFrank]

Something good the guy in the video did was look up the repeater call sign to see if the info on repeaterbook was current or not. If you watched the video you'd see that the CC of 1 was wrong and the current CC was actually 4. 

I have 2 or 3 DMR repeaters that I can use locally and a few others that are out of my area but places I may travel to that I'll probably add. 

It really isn't much different from analog, just more steps to get to where you want to be. If you take each step in a logical order and not get ahead of yourself then is should work out ok. 

[Lscott]

23 minutes ago, TNFrank said:

t really isn't much different from analog, just more steps to get to where you want to be. If you take each step in a logical order and not get ahead of yourself then is should work out ok. 

That's about right.

It gets more complex if you want to start jumping between linked reperaters by "dialing" into them, A.K.A. Reflectors.

https://www.vkdmr.com/using-dmr-reflectors/

https://pnwdigital.net/c-bridge-network/

Getting confused yet?

 

[SteveShannon]

11 hours ago, TNFrank said:

I'll get it figured out. If adding the digital channels is about the same as the analogue ones then it shouldn't be too much trouble. Anyway, just wanted to share. 

Probably the most tedious thing about DMR is having to program a separate channel for every single talk group on every single repeater. So for instance if you want worldwide (91) and North America (93), statewide, your state chat, a local talk group, parrot (9990), and a disconnect (4000) that’s seven channels all with the same frequency, color code, and time slot (except maybe for the local talk group). If you want the same talk groups on 10 different repeaters you program 70 different channels.

RT Systems has sort of a solution to the tediousness of this in their DMR Calculator. It automatically generates the different channels. 
OpenGD77 has the best solution and one that’s so obvious and simple that you have to wonder what the hell was going through the minds of the people who designed DMR. You create “talk group lists” which you then simply link to your repeater channels. 

[TNFrank]

I added a DMR Repeater and some of the TalkGroups that it listed but for some reason, even though I put them in Contacts and RX and everything else when I go to the Digital Channel I just see the Repeater and don't have any option to go to a TalkGroup within the Repeater. I'm going to need to watch more videos because something just didn't go quite right. I can't even hit the repeater(that I can normally hit Analog) even though I have the right CC for it. This IS going to take a bit of work but I'm sure I'll figure it out and have an "AhhHaa" monument where it all clicks for me. 

[TNFrank]

I don't know why I can't connect to a DMR Repeater, I have everything in the program that I need, Repeater ID, CC, TimeSlot and I'm only putting 1 TalkGroup in so as not to complicate things. I know I can hit the Repeaters on Analog, why can't I hit them on Digital?  I think I'm missing something but I don't know what. I've followed instructions from a few different videos on how to do this with no luck. 

[SteveShannon]

28 minutes ago, TNFrank said:

I don't know why I can't connect to a DMR Repeater, I have everything in the program that I need, Repeater ID, CC, TimeSlot and I'm only putting 1 TalkGroup in so as not to complicate things. I know I can hit the Repeaters on Analog, why can't I hit them on Digital?  I think I'm missing something but I don't know what. I've followed instructions from a few different videos on how to do this with no luck. 

How do you know you’re not connecting?  Do you hear any digital traffic?

What talk group are you trying to join?

Did you create an account with Brandmeister? If so, open up a window to your dashboard and watch for your ID. You’ll probably have to filter on it because they get a butt load of traffic. It’s been a while since I’ve done it but I think you can monitor traffic on just the repeater you’re talking to as well.

What messages are being displayed by your radio. If mine cannot connect to a digital repeater I get a message that says something like “Repeater not found.”

 

[TNFrank]

The radio tells me it's not connecting. "Failed To Connect To Repeater", LOL.  I tried a few at first then I backed off and just did a single one, figured I might be confusing the radio. I put the Arizona StateWide 3104 talkgroup in, added it to the RX list and everything but it still won't connect. I just wonder if this little 5 watt radio just doesn't have the stones to TX 16 miles. All of my other radios hit the White Tanks repeaters just fine, could it just be that Digital won't go as far as Analog will???  I've added a few more Analog channels to the radio, seems to work just fine in Analog.  I may have to make a video of me adding a Digital Channel to show what I'm doing so maybe someone could point out where I'm going wrong unless, like I said, this radio just can make the 16 miles in Digital mode.