Lately, I've been having a little fun exploring a different facet of the DMR world. The popularity of the DV4Mini dongle has opened up DMR (and other modes) to those operators without a repeater in their vicinity. There are three talk-groups on our local (K4USD) network that allow this kind of operator access to the RF side: the Hytera Reflector (TS2, TG 4639), the Brand Meister 8001 (TS2, TG 8001) and the Brand Meister 8002 (TS2, TG 8002).
These are "worldwide" channels without time limits on QSOs. However, they are PTT -- which means that you need to key up on these particular TGs to open the repeater to them, and that they have a disconnect timer.
You still need a DMR radio to access these talk-groups using a DV4Mini, and it has to be a UHF transceiver, as well. The DV4Mini receives the signal from your HT and passes it on to the network through a computer. If you're asking, "What's the point, then? Why not just use the HT to get on a repeater?", then you aren't considering that everyone doesn't live within range of a DMR repeater. People travelling can also talk to their local operators back home (or other operators anywhere) by using an internet connection. And amateurs that have living arrangements that preclude the use of an exterior antenna can also access the world through these three talk-groups. There are still many countries that don't have a lot of (or any) DMR repeaters, after all. China, for example, only has four. Russia has only three. Japan has none. This type of operation is an excellent alternative in those places.
It's a limited kind of access to the world of DMR, but it is access. You can't access "Local 2" or "North America", for example. But you can talk to RF-based operators on local repeaters that have access to these three TGs -- or other internet-based operators anywhere.
This morning, I had a nice chat with an operator in Texas and another in England. It was interesting to hear how this kind of operation is developing in different parts of the world. In England, they have a whole block of talk-groups set aside for DV4Mini operation. They have regional breakdowns, and a general channel on TG 4400., and it's primed for future expansion. There are even cross-over operations with D-star reflectors in some cases.
It remains to be seen how popular internet-based DMR operation will be using this kind of device. Rather than being used as a "workaround", it could become the preferred means for a certain subset of amateurs. You can access many places in the world that the RF-based "Worldwide" (TG 1) channel doesn't cover, and you don't have to contend with restrictive time limits, moving to a TAC TG, or tying up a time slot on repeaters all over the world. And the DV4Mini could end up being the best tool to communicate across the various digital modes.
As it stands with our local situation, these three talk-groups are PTT and don't take up a timeslot when no one local is using them. Multiple local repeaters means that an operator on one repeater can access one of these three TGs without taking away the slot on another repeater.
It's another interesting angle to explore on your local repeater. If you don't have these three talk-groups on your radio, I suggest adding them and at least giving them a listen.
1 comment:
I got one of these recently and have been playing with it a bit. I've had a QSO with a guy on a repeater on Colorado using it and the audio was generally fairly decent. I've messed with a little dstar stuff with it as well. From my monitoring the North America talkgroup on there (4639) is fairly active.
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