On 9 November 2020, the birth of a new way of working
with DMR was announced: FreeDMR.
FreeDMR is a rapidly growing, new, open and independent DMR network. FreeDMR
means the freedom for the radio broadcaster to have full control over what
happens instead of hearing what goes where. FreeDMR is, in contrast to
Brandmeister, a completely Open-Source and Multicast network. FreeDMR currently
consists of 34 servers and is growing rapidly. Bridges to XLX, YSF, Wires-X,
Allstar, Echolink, Peanut etc. are available.
http://freedmr.nl or http://freedmr.be
Thanks to the great work of F1SCA and ON6DP the
FreeDMR Belgium-Netherlands server is operational since April 2021 !
The question that quickly arises is what is the
difference between FreeDMR and Brandmeister and what are the advantages for the
HAM user? Here is a short summary:
1. FreeDMR is
in contrast to Brandmeister, Multicasting. Multicasting is a network with group
communication, where a sender (read: TX) can send data to several recipients at
the same time. This type of network supports much, much more data transfer than
simplex casting networks. Through the process of multicasting, the
communication and processing overhead of the data packet or data frame to be
sent is minimised. Copies of data packets are automatically made in other
network elements, such as other FreeDMR masters, but only to network segments
that currently contain members of the group (read: The talkgroups). In IP Multicast, the implementation of the
Multicast concept takes place at the IP routing level, where the FreeDMR
servers create optimal distribution paths (routings) for data packets sent to a
Multicast destination address. See also the diagram below:
2. FreeDMR is a star network (peer to peer) and
does not have a pyramidal structure like Brandmeister.
The advantage of this is that if one server goes down, the others continue to
operate;
3. Talkgroups can be created as desired and are
in principle not limitative. The creation of these TGs does not depend on the
willingness of sysops or national restrictions;
4. All
possibilities for bridging are basically open. FreeDMR makes it possible for
HAM to carry out his hobby experimentally.
For Belgium and the Netherlands, Talkgroups have been
defined by province. These can be expanded on request.
See below for an overview of the Dutch Talkgroups:
It may seem difficult for the existing DMR user to re-enter Talkgroups and
Zones. However,
on the FreeDMR UK
site there is a . csv file in which all the World Wide FreeDMR Talkgroups are
stored. It is therefore only a question of creating a new zone (e.g. FreeDMR)
in your DMR radio software, importing this file and the code plug is ready.
This file can be found under the hyperlink below:
Downloads - FreeDMR (http://www.freedmr.uk/index.php/downloads/)
FREEDMR TALKGROUPS as .pdf ! - Please download (and print):
Downloads – FreeDMR (http://www.freedmr.nl/downloads/TALKGROUPSFREEDMR.pdf)
In Belgium, the following Talkgroups apply:
How then to access the FreeDMR network?
Nothing is simpler than that.
Most OMs have a pi-star modem. In configuration,
select FreeDMR_Netherlands as DMR server instead of Brandmeister.
However, FreeDMR offers optional connection options
that you can add in the option field. For example, you can choose to activate
multiple static and dynamic talkgroups directly.
An example :
Go to Configuration
Scroll down under DMR Configuration
At DMR Options, enter the following:
To set TG204 to slot 1 and for example South Holland
TG20410 as static talkgroup to slot 2, enter the following:
On a Duplex Hotspot:
TS1=204,20410;TS2=204,20410;DIAL=0;TIMER=15;VOICE=0
On a Simplex Hotspot :
TS2=204,20410;DIAL=0;TIMER=15;VOICE=0
The VOICE parameter VOICE=1 makes it possible to send
your callsign in a voice message every 15 minutes.
The SINGLE parameter makes it possible to define one
or more static Talkgroups. More information and examples can be found at http://freedmr.uk
Do you need support?
Please email on4lgy@on4lgy.be (Dutch) or
on6dp@on6dp.be (French).
Have fun and see you on FreeDMR!
73, ON4LGY Yves
