Talkgroups

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 3029 on the MARC network might not be the same as Talkgroup 3029 on the Brandmeister network.

Be sure to manage your Talkgroups separately if you use more that one DMR network! some talkgroups are cross-connected between systems, like Canada-Wide, and the TAC 310, 311, and 312 talkgroups.

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.

Care must be taken when selecting a talkgroup for your QSO, you may inadvertenlty be tying up scores of repeaters when there is a more appropriate talkgroup that could be used, such as a user activated On Demand talkgroup.

What is a On Demand Talkgroup?
On Demand 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 Ontario and wish to talk to a friend back home in New Brunswick, you could key up the New Brunswick talkgroup on a Ontario repeater that allows On Demand talkgroups and make a call on repeaters at home that have the New Brunswick talkgroup set as static. When you are done with your conversation, the dynamic timer will expire and the Ontario repeater will go back to normal.

Some people incorrectly assume that this network doesn’t carry much traffic, but one must acquaint themselves on the talkgroup routing and how the system works, there is always someone to talk to!

Check out the Can-Trbo Netwatch to see what talkgroups are active at any given time.