On this page, you’ll find some basic information about DMR, and some handy information for those in and around Essex.
What is DMR?
DMR is a Digital Voice mode. There are three Digital Voice modes currently: DMR (Motorola), D-Star (Icom) and Fusion (Yaesu).
DMR is gaining ground, and price may play a part in this. Handsets, such as the Tytera MD-380 are now around £100 (much cheaper than a D-Star).
DMR Repeaters in Essex
DMR in Essex seems to be growing quickly. There are DMR repeaters across Essex, Kent, Suffolk and East London, including:
| Repeater | Location | Output | Input | Offset | CTCSS | Notes |
| GB7EX | Benfleet | 439.7125 | 430.7125 | -9.0 | N/A | Details: gb7ex.org.uk |
| GB3BZ | Braintree | 430.85 | 438.45 | +7.6 | N/A | Run by BADARS |
| GB7CL | Clacton | 439.6375 | 430.6375 | -9.0 | N/A | Run by Martello Tower Group |
| GB7HH | Romford * | 439.7500 | 430.7500 | -9.0 | N/A | Multi-mode |
| GB7CH | Hainault * | 439.6125 | 430.6125 | -9.0 | N/A | Multi-mode |
| GB7SE | Thurrock | 439.475 | 430.475 | -9.0 | N/A |
Talk Groups
DMR repeaters are configured to allow access to selected “Talk Groups”. As a repeater can only have two slots, only two of these can be used at any one time.
The following list shows the main groups for us in Essex, sorted by distance:
| Group | Description | Notes |
| TG9 | LOCAL | Local repeater – So much like an analogue repeater, only those listening locally can send/receive. Use slot 2 where possible |
| TG801 | South-East England | Group of local repeaters for Essex, Kent, Hertfordshire and East London (See list) |
| TG840 | East England | Group of local repeaters for the East of England (See list) |
| TG235 | UK-Wide | UK-wide Calling. Opens all repeaters. Once contact made, switch to TG80 or TG81 |
| TG80 to TG84 | UK-Wide (User) | “User Activated”, so doesn’t open all repeaters. Use if you want to chat with someone else in the UK |
| TG2 | Europe | Europe-wide Calling. Use for a short time to establish contact, to avoid tying up the group |
| TG13 | Worldwide English | World-wide Calling for English-speakers. Use for a short time to establish contact, to avoid tying up the group. Once contact made, switch to TG113 or TG123 |
| TG113 | Worldwide English 1 (User) | “User Activated”, so doesn’t open all repeaters. Use if you want to chat (in English) with someone else in the World |
| TG123 | Worldwide English 2 (User) | As above |
| TG1 | Worldwide | World-wide Calling (any language). Use for a short time to establish contact, to avoid tying up the group Once contact made, switch to TG119 or TG129 |
| TG119 | Worldwide 1 (User) | “User Activated”, so doesn’t open all repeaters. Use if you want to chat with someone else in the World |
| TG129 | Worldwide 2 (User) | As above |
Last updated Sept 2016 – Anything wrong? Please let us know
DMR Radios
We’re happy to recommend the Tytera MD-380 – A DMR-enabled handheld at a decent price. Here are some handy links
- TYT MD-380 Review – Thanks to Paul G7BHE for the review
- Buy a TYT MD-380 from eBay
Handy DMR Links
- DMRUK.net – Network of UK DMR repeaters
- DMR-MARC Network – Worldwide DMR network
- Tytera TYT MD-380 DMR Handheld Review
seems to be now closed.
hi
can this be set in simplex dmr
Is GB7KH going to be added to this list? Does anyone have any DMR (*cough* burn-the- witch!) experience on this repeater which seems relatively new.
We’ve added GB7KH to the list – thanks for the nudge.
Hello,
Does you network allow usage of the DMR tier 2 SL4000 radios?
hi my name is David G6nrh and being new to dmr i wondered if their was a codeplug for the new gd77 radioddity radio as trying to program the thing is taking a lifetime . all the best david 73
I am after the same, but for the time being I am trying to write one but having difficulty with simplex digital.
Hi David,
Its worth reading the q&a sheet on Radioddity site. I found it has a password to access some greyed out boxes.
My laptop’s on Win 7 & 10 needed older cps software to “see” radio, the recent updates didn’t work. At the moment I am having to do it all longhand & remembering to Save…..
However it is a nice radio & works well on FM on a local repeater.
Waiting for return of my DV4Mini hotspot to check out DMR, so still codeplugging my laptop.
Mike,
M0IES.
Any updates?
I got lucky one day and picked up several DMR handy talkies from a car boot sale very cheap. I have all the above talk groups programmed into my radios plus extra talk groups. The DMR repeater in my area sits idle most of the time. When it is active sometimes I don’t hear anything and its getting hard keeping up with all these new talk groups. I only have so many channel memories to store talk groups.