Starting on May 1st, 2021 we will be asking users who are presently connected to Master Server 3101 to start making plans to move your devices (Repeaters, Hotspots, Bridges) to the new 3104 master server. The reason for this change is due to an unforeseen circumstance which is requiring us to decommission the 3101 Master Server on or around Dec 1st, 2021. This should provide users plenty of advance notice to begin moving to the new 3104 Master server which is in the Chicago data center.
We are sorry for the inconvenience this may provide some users but with the advanced notice we hope the transition will allow for all to move by Dec 1st, 2021.
The New 3104 Information for repeater owners and hotspot users: IPV4: 162.248.88.117 IPV6: Not Available at this time (future announcement will be made when available) Domain: 3104.repeater.net Location: Chicago
Hotspot Users: You may change to the new 3104 Master Server any time before December 1, 2021. You will need to change master servers in the drop down under DMR Configuration to “BM_3104_United_States” for pi-star users and “3104 US” for Openspot/BlueDV Users. You may also need to re-enter your password as Pi-Star might remove the password when making configuration changes. Please be patient as hotspot vendors update their server list as you may not find the new server initially.
Repeater Owners: Motorola and Hytera repeaters: You will need to update the IP Address or Domain Name in CPS/code plug and save / push your changes to the repeaters (Motorola and/or Hytera Repeaters). MMDVMHost repeaters: You will need to update the configuration file with the new IP or Domain Name to the 3104 master server.
Pi-Star repeaters: You will need to change master servers in the drop down under DMR Configuration to BM_3104_United_States. You may also need to re-enter your password as Pi-Star might remove the password when making configuration changes.
Bridge Connections: OpenBridge: Please plan to move your connection by November 31st, 2021 by placing a ticket at https://support.brandmeister.network. You will need to change the IP or Domain to the new server.
CBridge: Please plan to move your connection by November 31st, 2021 by placing a ticket at https://suport.brandmeister.network. You will need to change the inbound connection name to BM-US3104.
XLX Servers: Please plan to move your connection by November 31st, 2021 by placing a ticket at https://support.brandmeister.network. This move will require you to update the IP or domain name in your configuration. (XLXxxx 3104.repeater.net X).
YSF Reflectors: No Changes are needed on your end. Your connections have already been moved to BM3104.
NXDN Reflectors: No Changes are needed on your end. Your connections have already been moved to
BM3104.WiresX: No Changes are needed on your end. Your connections have already been moved to BM3104.
Note: Users on 3102 and 3103 are not affected by this change. Only users who are using 3101 will need to move their connection to 3104 before December 1, 2021 or may of course change sooner once it displays in your hotspot master server dropdowns
From Corey Dean, who is in charge of the DMR Master servers for the US:
Due to issues that have been happening recently, we are going to need to start requiring users to set a hotspot security password to gain access to the US Masters. If you already have a hotspot security password set on the bm portal, you can ignore this post.
We are going to start requiring this on master 3101 November 30th, 3102 will follow on December 4th, and 3103 on December 11th. This is already implemented on the RU masters, and other Master servers will follow.
At this time this will just be for hotspots. The API is being worked on to allow repeater owners to make this change as well, but it is not quite ready to go yet.
CLICK for a link to a post on how to set your hotspot security on the bm portal.
The following are the different digital modes being used the the Durham Region area. Some of the repeaters are in multi-mode, where different modes are available in addition to regular FM voice.
DMR – Digital Mobile Radio
DMR, or Digital Mobile Radio, is explained in more detail, via my scanner DMR page, but a more simplistic explanation follows:
Tier I
DMR Tier I products are for license-free use in the 446 MHz band in the European Union.
This part of the standard provides for consumer applications and low-power commercial applications, using a maximum of 0.5 watt RF power. With a limited number of channels and no use of repeaters, no use of telephone interconnects, fixed/integrated antennas, and a talk timer of 180 seconds, Tier I DMR devices are best suited for personal use, recreation, small retail and other settings that do not require wide area coverage or advanced features.
Tier II
DMR Tier II covers licensed conventional radio systems, mobiles and hand portables operating in PMR frequency bands from 66-960MHz. The ETSI DMR Tier II standard is targeted at those users who need spectral efficiency, advanced voice features and integrated IP data services in licensed bands for high-power communications. ETSI DMR Tier II specifies two slot TDMA in 12.5 kHz channels.
DMR Tier II is based on the following ETSI standards.
ETSI TS 102 361-1 Air interface
ETSI TS 102 361-2 Voice and generic services and facilities
ETSI TS 102 361-3 Data protocol
Tier III
DMR Tier III covers trunking operation in frequency bands 66-960MHz. The Tier III standard specifies two slot TDMA in 12.5kHz channels. Tier III supports voice and short messaging handling similar to MPT 1327 with built-in 128 character status messaging and short messaging with up to 288 bits of data in a variety of formats. It also supports packet data service in a variety of formats, including support for IPv4 and IPv6.
Talk Groups
Talk Groups (TG) are a way for groups of users to share a time slot, without distracting and disrupting other users of the time slot. It should be noted that only one Talk Group can be using a time slot at a time. If your radio is not programmed to listen to a Talk Group, you will not hear that Talk Group’s traffic.
The DMR-MARC Mototrbo™ network supports a number of Talk Groups on TS1 including World Wide (TG1, PTT), North America (TG3), and World Wide English (TG13). TS2 is for local, state, and regional Talk Groups. The DCI/TRBO network uses TG3163 for North America and TG3161 for World Wide, and TG3 for World Wide English on TS2.
The DMR standard also supports private calls (one-to-one), encryption, and data. Private calls are not allowed by most of the amateur networks and many consider private calls not amateur friendly; private calls tie up a large number of repeater time slots across the network. Encryption is not legal on amateur radio in the USA but is allowed in Canada! Data and text messaging is supported on some networks.
For simplex traffic, the accepted standard in the amateur community is to use TG99 on TS1 with CC1.
DMR Repeaters
The following DMR repeaters are available in the Durham Region area:
VA3XPR – Toronto – 442.3375 – CC1 (Disabled due to jamming)
The following are the different digital modes being used the the Durham Region area. Some of the repeaters are in multi-mode, where different modes are available in addition to regular FM voice.
DMR – Digital Mobile Radio
DMR, or Digital Mobile Radio, is explained in more detail, via my scanner DMR page, but a more simplistic explanation follows:
Tier I
DMR Tier I products are for license-free use in the 446 MHz band in the European Union.
This part of the standard provides for consumer applications and low-power commercial applications, using a maximum of 0.5 watt RF power. With a limited number of channels and no use of repeaters, no use of telephone interconnects, fixed/integrated antennas, and a talk timer of 180 seconds, Tier I DMR devices are best suited for personal use, recreation, small retail and other settings that do not require wide area coverage or advanced features.
Tier II
DMR Tier II covers licensed conventional radio systems, mobiles and hand portables operating in PMR frequency bands from 66-960MHz. The ETSI DMR Tier II standard is targeted at those users who need spectral efficiency, advanced voice features and integrated IP data services in licensed bands for high-power communications. ETSI DMR Tier II specifies two slot TDMA in 12.5 kHz channels.
DMR Tier II is based on the following ETSI standards.
ETSI TS 102 361-1 Air interface
ETSI TS 102 361-2 Voice and generic services and facilities
ETSI TS 102 361-3 Data protocol
Tier III
DMR Tier III covers trunking operation in frequency bands 66-960MHz. The Tier III standard specifies two slot TDMA in 12.5kHz channels. Tier III supports voice and short messaging handling similar to MPT 1327 with built-in 128 character status messaging and short messaging with up to 288 bits of data in a variety of formats. It also supports packet data service in a variety of formats, including support for IPv4 and IPv6.
Talk Groups
Talk Groups (TG) are a way for groups of users to share a time slot, without distracting and disrupting other users of the time slot. It should be noted that only one Talk Group can be using a time slot at a time. If your radio is not programmed to listen to a Talk Group, you will not hear that Talk Group’s traffic.
The DMR-MARC Mototrbo™ network supports a number of Talk Groups on TS1 including World Wide (TG1, PTT), North America (TG3), and World Wide English (TG13). TS2 is for local, state, and regional Talk Groups. The DCI/TRBO network uses TG3163 for North America and TG3161 for World Wide, and TG3 for World Wide English on TS2.
The DMR standard also supports private calls (one-to-one), encryption, and data. Private calls are not allowed by most of the amateur networks and many consider private calls not amateur friendly; private calls tie up a large number of repeater time slots across the network. Encryption is not legal on amateur radio in the USA but is allowed in Canada! Data and text messaging is supported on some networks.
For simplex traffic, the accepted standard in the amateur community is to use TG99 on TS1 with CC1.
DMR Repeaters
The following DMR repeaters are available in the Durham Region area:
VA3XPR – Toronto – 442.3375 – CC1 (Disabled due to jamming)
TalkGroups
1 = World Wide
2 = Local 1
3 = North America
8 = Golden Horseshoe Area
9 = Local 2
13 = WW English
113 = UAE 1
123 = UAE 2
302 = Canada
310 = TAC310
3023 = Ontario
3022 = Quebec
3024 = Manitoba
3026 = Alberta
3029 = New Brunswick
3027 = British Columbia
9998 = Parrot
9999 = Audio Test
Presently, all Toronto area DMR-MARC repeaters have been disabled due to jamming/interference.
NXDN – Next Generation Digital Narrowband
The NXDN (Next Generation Digital Narrowband) common air interface protocol, which was developed jointly by ICOM and Kenwood, uses Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), employing a 4-level FSK modulation scheme. These companies and others together form the NXDN Forum.
Kenwood’s brand for NXDN equipment is “NEXEDGE”, while Icom’s brand for NXDN equipment is “IDAS”, or Icom Digital Advanced System. For a more detailed information via my scanner NXDN page.
NXDN Repeaters
The following NXDN repeaters are available in the Durham Region area:
TalkGroups
1 = World Wide
2 = Local 1
3 = North America
8 = Golden Horseshoe Area
9 = Local 2
13 = WW English
113 = UAE 1
123 = UAE 2
302 = Canada
310 = TAC310
3023 = Ontario
3022 = Quebec
3024 = Manitoba
3026 = Alberta
3029 = New Brunswick
3027 = British Columbia
9998 = Parrot
9999 = Audio Test
Presently, all Toronto area DMR-MARC repeaters have been disabled due to jamming/interference.
NXDN – Next Generation Digital Narrowband
The NXDN (Next Generation Digital Narrowband) common air interface protocol, which was developed jointly by ICOM and Kenwood, uses Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), employing a 4-level FSK modulation scheme. These companies and others together form the NXDN Forum.
Kenwood’s brand for NXDN equipment is “NEXEDGE”, while Icom’s brand for NXDN equipment is “IDAS”, or Icom Digital Advanced System. For a more detailed information via my scanner NXDN page.
NXDN Repeaters
The following NXDN repeaters are available in the Durham Region area:
