DMR Talkgroups

Original post: October 19, 2020 | DMR, Training | Ric Merry

What Is A Talkgroup?

A DMR talkgroup is simply a way of grouping many Radio IDs into a single digital contact. Or put another way, a talkgroup is a method of organizing radio traffic specific to the DMR users that all want to hear the same thing and not be bothered by other radio traffic on a DMR network that they are not interested in hearing.

Talkgroups can exist for many purposes. You can have talkgroups for countries, states, counties, regions, cities, special interest groups etc.  Just about any group of DMR users could have a talkgroup assigned to them if they wished to organize traffic that they can all monitor and take part in, without having to talk to each other one by one.

Talkgroups are also specific to individual DMR networks, BUT they all generally follow the same numbering scheme.  So you need to make sure that you know what the various talkgroups are for each of the DMR networks that you may use.

For example, Talkgroup 3129 on the MARC network might not be the same as Talkgroup 3129 on the Brandmeister network.

The Skagit Digital Repeater on Lyman is a Brandmeister network repeater.

What is a Static Talkgroup?

A static talkgroup is one that is permanently activated on a particular timeslot by the repeater sysop. This type of static assignment passes ALL traffic from the DMR network over the air on the timeslot it is assigned to.

For example, if a statewide talkgroup is assigned to the local repeater on timeslot 1, anytime someone keys that talkgroup on the network, regardless of where they are, the audio will be retransmitted locally.

In simple terms, this networks many repeaters together full-time for that particular talkgroup.

What is a Dynamic Talkgroup?

Dynamic talkgroups assignments are used for temporary activation on a timeslot on a particular repeater. This type of talkgroup functions for a set amount of time AFTER a local repeater user activates it by transmitting on a repeater using that talkgroup in their radio. When the timer expires and no local user has keyed up again for a set amount of time… the timeslot and the talkgroup and release and the repeater is again open only to the talkgroups that remain static.

For example, if you are traveling in Colorado and wish to talk to a friend back home in Missouri, you could key up the Missouri talkgroup on a Colorado repeater that allows dynamic talkgroups and make a call on repeaters at home that have the Missouri talkgroup set as static. When you are done with your conversation, the dynamic timer will expire and the Colorado repeater will go back to normal.

Brandmeister Talkgroups

You can find an updated list of Brandmeister talkgroups by clicking the link below. You can search on this page and also export the talkgroups in various formats specific to your needs.

Keep in mind that talkgroups are created by network administrators and can be updated from time to time.

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

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