Rocky Mountain Ham Radio’s DMR Network Information as of 8/10/2021

SPECIAL NOTE:  Private calling, texting, DPRS/APRS/GPS Location Services should never be used on the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network.

 The Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network no longer has any repeaters connected to the Brandmeister network.  See this page for me information

Sample Codeplugs for several radios are available in the menu above on the top line menu “Sample Codeplugs.”

The Rocky Mountain Ham Radio DMR Network – An Introduction
Powder blue links will take you to the listings. Look for “Return to Intro” to resume reading

DMR (Digital Mobile Radio)
Digital Mobile Radio (DMR), sometimes referred to as MotoTRBO or just “turbo” the Motorola branding in the USA, is a repeater technology that uses a narrow band digital FM, 12.5 kHz channel bandwidth, as opposed to the 25 KHz bandwidth of conventional analog FM. There are three “tiers” of DMR, Tier II and Tier III are based upon Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) technology where a single repeater frequency pair has two (2) communication channels called Time Slots. Time Slots allow for two simultaneous conversations on one repeater frequency pair to take place. This is the type of DMR system that is utilized by the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network. None of this requires anything more from the user other than programming your radio to the appropriate time slot and talk group for each repeater site. Our repeaters are listed below.

Talk Groups
The Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network has multiple Talk Groups, these are abbreviated “TG” in the RMHAM sample code plugs. These Talk Groups allow the seamless linking of RMHAM’s repeaters that are on the Rocky Mountain Wide Talk Group 700 TG700 that serves the entire system.  There are also Regional Talk Groups serving smaller geographic regions that are linked using their individual talk groups and some talk groups that are specific to localized areas that are only used on a single repeater. There are three (3) main regional talk groups Northern Colorado Regional Network (No CO) – Talk Group 721, Central Colorado Regional Network Talk Group 720, and Southern Colorado Regional Network (So CO) – Talk Group 719. Other talk groups on the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network include the Eastern Talk group Talk Group 705 which is VHF and has some unique experimental features! Our brethren to the south have the New Mexico Regional Talkgroup (NM) Talk Group 505 Four Corners Regional Network (4Corners) Talk Group 745. A listing of the other localized Talk Groups is HERE.
PLEASE READ all of the notes associated with each Talk Group! This is very IMPORTANT! As the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network continues to expand, certain regional and local features may exist that you need to be aware of!
The Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network is a dedicated network that is not part of any other DMR system. It is always up and ready to use, provided you have the proper programming for the network’s repeaters in your radio. Please remember that any time you are on Rocky Mountain Wide or any of the Regional Channels, when you bring up that channel you bring up ALL the repeaters in that Talk Group. If you get the Talk Permit Tone on DMR, it sounds like “tweedle”, you are connected to the repeater and it is free for you to transmit. No “Kerchunking ” Please!

Zones
Zones make it easier to organize and use your radio in various geographic areas on the network. The network is divided into four (4) Zones and are programmed as such in the RMHAM sample code plugs. DMR North (TG721), DMR South (TG719), and the Central Zones DMR CentralEast and DMR CentralWest (TG720). Central is divided into East and West due to the limitations of many radios that only have 16 channels per zone. The sample code plugs also contain many analog repeaters in various zones, but this article will deal with the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio DMR Network. A typical DMR Zone will contain the RMHAM repeaters within the zone’s geographic talk group. It is programmed with both time slots for each repeater at each site and the applicable talk group for each time slot. As you travel throughout the region, select the Zone corresponding to your location then select a repeater with either the Rocky Mountain Wide or the Regional talk group for the region that you are traveling in and you’re all set.

Sample Code Plugs
These codeplugs are designed to get amateurs who wish to use the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network up and running quickly. They are specific to the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network and the geographic areas that it covers. The talk groups are typically labeled with the Repeater Location and the talk group’s name abbreviated such as “Rk Mtn” for TG700 Rocky Mountain Wide.. As an example, the repeater located in Akron, Colorado has a channel name of “Akron Rk Mtn”, located in time slot 1 at the Akron site. The Rocky Mountain Ham Radio sample code plugs have been created for a wide variety of popular DMR radios. Always remember to place your unique DMR identifier in the radio’s ID field when starting to use a RMHAM sample code plug! These code plugs contain all the correct programming for all the repeaters in the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network. You are encouraged to create your own customized code plug, unique to your radio and your needs, by adding any DMR systems and/or analog repeaters that you need. The RMHAM sample code plugs are HERE.

The Roam Feature
Many DMR radios that are Tier II and Tier III compatible support roaming. A properly programmed roam list will allow your radio to automatically select the best repeater for you to use. This will be the repeater with the highest Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI). If the RSSI drops below the level set within the receiver, the radio runs through the list of channels looking for a repeater that meets or exceeds the RSSI level. All Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network repeaters send out a ping every 60 seconds, which the radio can listen for to determine if that site has met the RSSI level requirement. This makes using the system extremely easy. Your radio automatically picks the repeater with the best signal without you having to do anything.

Radio Etiquette

It’s not good radio etiquette to do “Radio Checks.”  If you wish to test a new antenna, a new codeplug or a new radio, simply get on the radio and have a conversation with someone about your new configuration.  Amateur radio operators communicate with each other, so just have a chat.  You might just learn something!  Rocky Mountain Ham Radio strongly discourages radio checks on our networks.

Enjoy!
Please feel free to make yourself at home on the Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Network and enjoy using it. Remember to check out the rest of rmham.org for all of the other services that we offer!

Full Time DMR Sites in the RMHAM Network

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Rocky Mountain Ham Radio Talk Groups

We will be using the following talk groups on the RMHAM Network.  Note that we ONLY support these talkgroups on our statewide network. No push to talk talkgroup selection is available on the RMHAM network.

Rocky Mountain Wide Network – Talk Group 700

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The Rocky Mountain Wide network will provide extremely wide area coverage across much of Colorado.   No Data, Texting or locations services are allowed.  No Brandmeister Connectivity.  Repeaters supporting this talk group are:

Eastern Colorado Regional Network (NEW!) – Talkgroup 705

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This talkgroup has been set up to allow data.  We are allowing experimentation with data and texting on this talkgroup and repeaters only. The rest of the RMHAM network is strictly off limits for data, texting and GPS.  Because the DMR protocol does not contain a legal ID, you must manually identify your station every 10 minutes.

Central Colorado Regional Network – Talk Group 720

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A regional network supporting the Central Colorado area using Talk Group 720.   As a test, this network can be accessed via the Brandmeister via talkgroup 310801.  You cannot connect outbound to any other Brandmeister talkgroup by PTT!  No Data, Texting or GPS allowed. Repeaters supporting this talk group are:

Northern Colorado Regional Network (No CO) – Talk Group 721

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A regional network supporting Northern Colorado is established using Talk Group 721. As a test, this network can be accessed via the Brandmeister via talkgroup 310813.  You cannot connect outbound to any other Brandmeister talkgroup by PTT! No Data, Texting or GPS.  Repeaters supporting this talk group are:

New Mexico Regional Talkgroup (NM) NEW! – Talk Group 505

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A regional network supporting all repeaters in New Mexico.  No data, texting or GPS.  Repeaters supporting this talk group are:

Southern Colorado Regional Network (So CO) – Talk Group 719

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A regional network supporting Southern Colorado is being established using Talk Group 719.  As a test, this network can be accessed via the Brandmeister via talkgroup 310816.  You cannot connect outbound to any other Brandmeister talkgroup by PTT!  No Data, Texting or GPS.  Repeaters supporting this talk group are:

Four Corners Regional Network (4Corners) NEW! – Talk Group 745

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A regional network supporting the Four Corners region, SW Colorado, NW New Mexico, SE Utah and NE New Mexico.  No data, texting or GPS allowed on this talk group.  Repeaters supporting this talkgroup are:

Wyoming Wide

Our partners to the North requested that we carry Wyoming Wide on our system so their users can use it down here.  This repeater carries only Wyoming Wide on this repeater on TS1, TG 3156.Talkgroup 100 on TS2 is NOT SUPPORTED.

Local Only Talk Groups

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Local Talkgroups are supporting the areas near the repeaters listed.  These are not linked talkgroups and are standalone repeaters. No Data, Texting, Private Calling or GPS are allowed on any of these repeaters.

Microwave Network

Rocky Mountain Ham Radio has built and operates a microwave network covering three states.  Our microwave link system covers throughout the Front Range from Wyoming to the Albuquerque and West to Grand Junction to interconnect our radio sites on Amateur Radio frequencies and not be reliant on the commercial Internet as much as possible.  We’ve linked all of our front range sites and are working to add others as quickly as the funds and time will allow. Rocky Mountain Ham Radio is an IRS 501(c)(3) Charitable Organization. Any donations you may care to make are fully tax deductible. Learn More Here

If you have access to a radio site and/or internet access and would be willing to assist us in creating and managing this network, please contact us and discuss what we can do to make this happen. We would like to create the network around the state, but we’re not building overlapping coverage.  If you have a site, and it makes sense for us to deploy there, we will see what we can do!  On our road map, Durango/Telluride, San Luis Valley, Southeast/Lajunta/Springfield, Northeast Sterling/Julesburg.

DMR Legality on the Ham Bands

The FCC has allowed DMR on the amateur bands by allowing the emission type specified for DMR. 7K60FXE is now allowed in Part 97.

Please note:  Certain autonomous features (like GPS positions and data transmissions) are definitely not allowed since there’s no way to transmit a FCC Legal Identification every 10 minutes as required. (Your DMR ID is not a legal identification.)  Encryption is never allowed in part 97 and must not be used on DMR or any other amateur mode.

Excerpt from §97.119 Station identification:

(a) Each amateur station, except a space station or telecommand station, must transmit its assigned call sign on its transmitting channel at the end of each communication, and at least every 10 minutes during a communication, for the purpose of clearly making the source of the transmissions from the station known to those receiving the transmissions. No station may transmit unidentified communications or signals, or transmit as the station call sign, any call sign not authorized to the station.

FCC GRANTS WAIVER:  March 22, 2013 the FCC Granted the ARRL’s  petition for a waiver to the commissions rules regarding the use of single slot TDMA on the ham bands pending permanent rulemaking proceedings on the subject.  The full order is here for your perusal.