1 / 11
Configuring Pi-Star based
hotspots to allow
simultaneous access to
BrandMeister and TGIF
DMR networks
2 / 11
version date author comment
0.1 Nov 21, 2020 KO4GOB initial
References:
1) Jonathan Naylor, https://github.com/g4klx/DMRGateway
2) John Cole,
https://brara.org/BLOG/2020/05/26/dmr-configure-a-pi-star-based-mult
i-network-dmr-hotspot/
3) F5VMR, https://f5vmr.wordpress.com/2020/05/04/today-on-dmr-
expert-settings-for-dmr-gateway/
3 / 11
●
In a world of DMR, there are multiple networks, each network hosts its own set of talk groups.
●
When accessing these network via Pi-Star based hotspot, the hotspot has to be ‘told’ what DMR
network to use. This is not very convenient, if a typical radio operator regularly participates in talk
groups on both networks. Remembering to go to hotspot configuration every time network needs to
be switched, is inconvenient and easy to forget.
●
DMRGateway is a feature of Pi-Star based hotspots, that allows the radio to ‘Hint’ to the the hostpot
what DMR network is intended when you emit Tx traffic from your radio.
●
To do that your Radio would emit Hint+TalkGroupID (rather than just talk group id) with your TX
traffic. Same feature also instructs your hotspot to ‘re-write traffic’ it receives from a particular
network, into HINT+talkgroup ID, such that your radio will know what channel to assign the Rx
traffic to
●
This presentation is intended to help Pi-Star based hotspot owners to configure their hotspots such
that BrandMeister and TGIF networks can be used simultaneously, without configuration switching.
●
The particular hotspot that was used to take configuration pictures from is a Duplex hotspot.
However, same configuration will work with Simplex Pi-star based hotspots.
●
The DMRgateway will work with more than 2 networks at the same time:
“
!"#$%$&'!("")'
*'+,'-*%
."##'#''(
'#/'(#'0"#
!"#”
Jonathan Naylor, hps://github.com/g4klx/DMRGateway
4 / 11
●
This presentation consists of series of
pictures with labels to draw attention
to a particular section of the
configuration
●
Do not forget to take backup of your
existing configuration before making
any changes
●
A working configuration would show
TGIF and BrandMeister networks, as
depicted by AA1 and AA2, slide 7.
5 / 11
●
Login into pi-star and go to Configuration menu (slide 8). In DMRMaster section select DMRGateway, as shown by BA1. BrandMeister network ESSID should your radio Id,
or your radio ID + 01 (this is essentially a hotspot Id). If you have more than one hotspot you would usually set their ESSID as YourRadioID+01 on the first hotspot and
YourRadioID+02 on the second hotspot and so on. If your radio has already been working on BrandMeister, no reason to change your ESSID – so this can be left alone.
●
Go to Expert | DMR GW configuration. In this section we will instruct DMRGateway to work with BrandMeister network (will use DMR Network 1 section ) and TGIF
network (will use DMR Network 4 section)
●
In the Expert DMR GW configuration for DMR Network 1.
You can leave all the defaults as they are set. Just confirm that your hotspot ESSID (labeled as CA2, slide 9) is set to RadioID, or as in my case as RadioID+01. If your
Bandmeister self care is configured with an API password ( you have to set it in BM Selfcare and it will be same password, for all the hotspot), set it shown by CA1, slide 9
label. Because we did not modify any routing rules, it means that BM talk groups in your radio will not require any modifications. They will work with DMR gateway
using their talk group numbers as is.
●
In the Expert DMR GW configuration for DMR Network 4. We will now configure TGIF. For this network, will will tell the DMRGateway software to ‘re-route’ pockets of
DMR data.
When you do Tx from your radio, DMGW will look at the talk group your radio is emitting, if it starts with ‘4’, it will strip that digit out, and pass the rest to TGIF network.
When DMRGW receives (Rx) data from TGIF, it will add 4 to talk group numbers (and any padding zeros that are necessary to make the whole talk group number to be 7
digits) and make it available for your radio to pickup.
This configuration in full is depicted on slide 10. You can copy it verbatim, only change to reflect your Radio ID (DA1), the password ( passw0d) must stay the same as
shown, this seems to be a default password that works.
[DMR Network 4]
Enabled=1
Name=TGIF_Network
PCRewrite1=1,4009990,1,9990,1
PCRewrite2=2,4009990,2,9990,1
TypeRewrite1=1,4009990,1,9990
TypeRewrite2=2,4009990,2,9990
TGRewrite1=1,4000001,1,1,999999
TGRewrite2=2,4000001,2,1,999999
SrcRewrite1=1,9990,1,4009990,1
SrcRewrite2=2,9990,2,4009990,1
SrcRewrite3=1,1,1,4000001,999999
SrcRewrite4=2,1,2,4000001,999999
Address=tgif.network
Port=62031
Location=0
Password=passw0rd
Debug=0
Id=YOURRADIOID
6 / 11
●
Once you hot spot is configured, save configuration and reboot
the hotspot
●
Then go to you radio and add/replace your TGIF talk groups with
4[0]<TGIF group IDs> as shown on Slide 11.
●
The first digit (4) will tell the DMRGW that this a TGIF talk group.
●
To test working configuration, I recommend using Parrot talk
group on BM and TGIF, they both should work (only, remember,
that TGIF Parrot group is now 4009990). Also, as a side note,
parrot talk groups must be set to ‘Private call’ in your radio
configuration (as shown on the right picture on slide 11).
7 / 11
AA1
AA2
8 / 11
BA1
BA2
9 / 11
CA1
BM self care password (set in BM
Self care. I think this is optional )
CA2
BM hotspot ID
YourRadioId+01 (if you have it setup
that way, or just your radio ID)
DMR Gateway
Advanced Config.
BrandMeister
10 / 11
DA1
Your radio ID
DA2
These are re-writing rules
‘4’ is important
DMR Gateway
Advanced Config.
TGIF
11 / 11
Section Padding 0s TalkGroupNumber
Section Padding 0s TalkGroupNumber
●
When configuring talk groups on radio, do not forget to Prefix TGIF talk groups with,
what I call ‘section number’ (which is 4 in our case), and then with the padding 0s –
to bring the total length of digits representing a given talk group to 6. Therefore,
total number of digits for TGIF talk group should always be 1+6=7
●
The section number is that digit that is used in TGIF rewriting rules (see fig. DA2 )
