DMR Networks and Talkgroup Prefixes¶

This chapter explains how your WPSD device connects to several DMR networks at once, and how your radio reaches each of them.

How it fits together¶

Two programs handle DMR on your WPSD device:

MMDVM-Host talks to the modem, and so to your radio.
DMRGateway connects to the DMR networks and routes each call between them and MMDVM-Host.

        flowchart LR
    Radio      <--> Modem
    Modem      <--> MMDVMHost["MMDVM-Host"]
    MMDVMHost  <--> GW["DMRGateway"]
    GW         <--> BM["BrandMeister"]
    GW         <--> SX["SystemX"]
    GW         <--> DMRP["DMR+ / FreeDMR"]
    GW         <--> TGIF["TGIF"]
    GW         <--> XLX["XLX"]

Because DMRGateway can hold several network connections at once, you can be on BrandMeister, TGIF and an XLX reflector at the same time, and choose between them from your radio by the talkgroup you dial.

The networks¶

On Radio > DMR (see DMR) you can turn on:

Network	Prefix when not primary
BrandMeister	2
SystemX	4
TGIF	5
XLX reflector	6 (talkgroup 6 for the reflector; 6 in front to change module)
Cross-mode bridges (DMR to YSF, DMR to NXDN)	7
DMR+ / FreeDMR / ADN / HBlink	8
Custom Network	9

Talkgroup prefixes¶

Different networks use the same talkgroup numbers for different things: talkgroup 3100 on one network isn’t the same as 3100 on another. So that one radio can reach them all through one WPSD device, each network except the primary one has a prefix: a digit you dial in front of the talkgroup, with zeros in between to make six digits after it.

The primary network needs no prefix: dial its talkgroups as they are. Choose as primary the network your local repeaters use, so the same contacts in your codeplug work through both.

Tip

Building a prefixed talkgroup TechChat, talkgroup 321 on DMR+, with BrandMeister as primary: prefix 8 + 000 + 321 = 8000321.

With SystemX’s prefix 4, its talkgroup 2350 becomes 4002350.

Most prefixed talkgroups are seven digits long. Each network’s card on Radio > DMR shows its prefix and an example, and the dashboard names prefixed talkgroups with their network (for example TGIF 91 for 5000091), if Show talkgroup names is on in Preferences.

When you change the primary network and apply, WPSD Palisade rewrites the talkgroup rules to match.

Your own changes to DMRGateway¶

The prefixes and rules above are WPSD Palisade’s standard setup. If you need something different, such as your own rewrite rules, add it in Custom Settings rather than editing DMRGateway’s file: custom settings survive every change you make in Radio, can be tried and rolled back, and can differ per profile. The rules themselves are described in DMRGateway Rewrite Rules.

Your own masters and reflectors¶

Servers that aren’t in the WPSD device’s lists (a club master, a private server) can be added under Your masters and XLX reflectors on Radio > DMR. They show first in every list. See Custom Hosts and Talkgroup Names.

DMR ID collisions and the ESSID¶

Your DMR ID identifies you, not a particular device. Most networks, BrandMeister especially, can’t tell two devices apart if both connect with exactly the same DMR ID at the same time. That happens as soon as you use more than one thing under your ID together: your WPSD device and a DMR app on your phone, or two hotspots both on BrandMeister. Features that need the network to know which device you mean, Parrot most visibly, then break or misroute.

The ESSID, set per network on Radio > DMR, fixes it: two digits (01 to 99) added to your DMR ID for that network, so your WPSD device connects with a longer ID of its own. Connects as under it shows the result.

Tip

The ESSID is None on every network unless you set one, so your WPSD device uses your plain DMR ID, as a phone app would. If you use a DMR app and a WPSD device at the same time, give the WPSD device its own ESSID.