Talk Groups
In each DMR repeater zone, the first eleven channels are the eleven talk groups that are carried on
that repeater. These are
VK/ZL
(TG5) which is carried on all repeaters in NZ and Australia. This is the primary talk group for
local contacts.
ZL
(TG530) is a nation wide talk group carried on all ZL repeaters but does not go to VK. Introduced to
provide a nation wide channel that does not also tie up the Aussie repeaters.
ZK
(TG8) is a second nation wide talk group carried on all ZL repeaters. It differs from ZL in that it is
carried in timeslot 1 rather than timeslot 2, thus ZL and ZK can be in use simultaneously. It is intended
primarily for national AREC use but is available for general use if TS1 is not busy.
LCL
which is carried only on the NZ repeaters and is local to a master repeater and its peers.
Currently there is only a single master so LCL goes nation wide but in the near future a second master
will be introduced in Christchurch and LCL will be local to either the South Island or the North Island.
Longer term the North Island may split in to upper and lower North as the network grows.
WW
is the original World Wide talk group (TG1), primary language is English but you will hear QSOs
in other languages. It is now primarily used as a calling channel.
QSOs should be kept short or QSY to
one of the
UA
channels
WWE
(TG13) is the World Wide English language talk group. This is the preferred talk group for
international contacts. Again it should be primarily used as a calling channel.
UAE1
and
UAE2
are the so called 'user access' groups. These are intended as overflow groups for
WWE
. They differ in that use of
WWE
keys up over a thousand repeaters world wide and ties up the
timeslot that it is carried in for the duration of the QSO on
all
those repeaters.
UAE1
and
UAE2
only
key up the local repeaters at each end of the QSO and free up the timeslot on the rest of the
network. The idea is that you would make contact on
WWE
then QSY to
UAE1
or
UAE2
if you are
going to have a long QSO.
UAE1
and
UAE2
are intended for English language contacts.
UAA1
and
UAA2
are the equivalent user access groups for
WW
, QSOs in any language can occur in
these groups.
AT
is the Audio Test talk group. It is used in conjunction with the CAL DMR website
http://norcaldmr.org/listen-now/
A transmission in AT will be heard on that web site and a VU
meter will display audio levels.
Note the web site only works with the Chrome browser
and also note
that it takes around 25 seconds for the audio to be processed and output.
Basic DMR Concepts
The DMR system is based around the idea of 'talkgroups'. These can be thought of as virtual
channels. Some are regionally based, others are carried worldwide. Only a limited number are carried
on a given repeater.
All ZL repeaters currently carry
TG1
WW
(worldwide) as its name suggests, for short worldwide contacts, primarily in the
English language - please avoid long QSOs on this busy channel
TG9
LCL
(local) only carried on the local cluster of repeaters, does not go to Australia or rest
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