DMR Monitoring

[VK3TEN]

Hi All,
I have a DMR radio on the way for Amateur use. Just wondering if anyone is monitoring commercial / government DMR? Is there anything interesting from 400-420MHz? With only two Amateur DMR repeaters in Melbourne I have 252 memory channels going to waste LOL.

Thanks.
Cheers, Gordon

[melbournefan]

Wasn't someone that was going to get a DMR radio on here?


It's illegal

[Phantom]

How is getting a DMR radio illegal?

[peteramjet]

How is getting a DMR radio illegal?

Techically you can't possess a radio set unless you have a licence for the frequencies your set covers - it's in black and white under s47 of the Rad Com Act.

As most DMR radios are in the lower 400 MHz range it is unlikely many 'hobbyists' who possess them are doing so legally.

[Phantom]

Yes, very aware of the Rad Com Act.
So that puts melbournefan theory to rest. Hardly illegal what the OP was mentioning about sourcing/owing a radio.

[peteramjet]

Indeed. I missed part of a post above, but yep, you are right re the OP.

[melbournefan]

Sorry it was DPMR i was talking about

[VK3TEN]

I don't see why Amateurs couldn't use DPMR either. But, you would be lucky to find anyone to talk to. Especially given different brands use their own standards and are generally not inter-operable. And, there are no repeaters.

Can anyone suggest a RF database where I might find DMR frequencies? I have had a bit of a look at ACMA, but it's a bit hit and miss. I guessed a few companies that would use DMR and checked their licences, but they were all up around 460MHz out side what this radio receives.

[VK3TEN]

Alright, I was bored and just answered my own question. Only the Department of Human Services use 400-420MHz for DMR in Melbourne. Frequencies are:
403.275
403.525
403.775
412.725
412.975
413.225
415.4875

Now, does anyone know the Color Codes and Talk Groups? Or, I will need to get even more bored LOL.

[blacktown]

There is a huge amount of DMR (and other flavours of digital) out there in the capital cities.
The most effective way to monitor DMR systems is to use either a discriminator tapped scanner or SDR
There are three programmes out there (freely provided by enthusiasts) that I use myself ....

DMRv74 (useful for collecting DMR colour codes, timeslots, talkgroups and radio id summaries)
DSD+1.51 (useful for NXDN, DMR, P25, Dstar)
WinDSDv2 (collects a lot of detailed digital data when the other two are not much help)

The last two actually decode the voice though the quality largely depends on the signal strength

The well-known Unitrunker logging program only handles P25, EDACS and Motorola analog trunking as well as MPT1327. It is not useful for DMR and NXDN etc

Melbourne seems to largely virgin territory for collecting/sharing of digital radio information apart from the Vicradiozone website... Crosscom operate the Orion trunking network, there is the MMR p25 government trunking network, there is a couple of NXDN networks in the high 400Mhz band. However if you perserve you will find there is DMR and NXDN conventional systems everywhere. That is my experience in Sydney and it is growing all the time. It is not unusual to find new systems every day. Of course the ACMA database is a great help (especially that new additions seem to be using the correct emission information)

You need to do your own research on discriminator taps and SDR.

ps DSD+1.51 is a bit buggy ... often stops for no reason. DSD+1.60 is suppose to be out "soon"

[melbourneradio]

Techically you can't possess a radio set unless you have a licence for the frequencies your set covers - it's in black and white under s47 of the Rad Com Act.

correct .. but as a VK licence holder you may , and given that this is one of the modes being experimented with at present , providing you stay with in the permitted bands there is no issue ,

the other way around this is to compleatly dissable the transmit , either by software or hardware , thus making the radio a rx radio and perfectly legal to own !!!

[brisescannerdude]

What John refers to is correct with two minor points, the radio hardware should not be causing interference to adjacent bands/users and the harmonics etc are not causing issues to license holders on other bands. As an amca inspector has said to local hams here in brisbane, go hard with in your assigned bands with in the scope of the rules but be aware of other license holders and there rights as well and all will be good.

Second issue is with non-approved power supplies which come a lot of overseas radios.

[melbourneradio]

What John refers to is correct with two minor points, the radio hardware should not be causing interference to adjacent bands/users and the harmonics etc are not causing issues to license holders on other bands. As an amca inspector has said to local hams here in brisbane, go hard with in your assigned bands with in the scope of the rules but be aware of other license holders and there rights as well and all will be good.

Second issue is with non-approved power supplies which come a lot of overseas radios.

this is true ,, power supplies can course big issues ,

i forgot to mention that ,

[vkcpolice]

So whats used in melbourne more DMR or DPMR?

[melbournefan]

DMR


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