Frequently Asked Questions

We have retired our codeplug area as it was impossible to keep up with the wide assortment of radios that are now available for use.

HOWEVER - the Richmond Amateur Telecommunications Society has made a few codeplugs available at the start of 2024.  They are "as is", so you may have to modify or alter them.

We encourage you to connect with users on the air and compare notes.  Please see the talkgroup page for info that will help with your programming.

We stay busy running a statewide repeater network as well as the backend infrastructure that carries the traffic.  We encourage you to connect with users on air with questions about programming.  The talkgroup page has lots of details that can help you with programming.

Some Anytone radios (maybe others) have a feature called talker alias which will sent your callsign, name or other info you set downstream to other users.  Unfortunately there are at least three different variations of talker alias from different manufacturers, so it is poorly implemented on a system like this where people are running all kinds of different radios.  There are also reports of it causing distortion / audio troubles on stations.  As such, we recommend that you leave this feature turned off.

APRS and GPS are not supported on DMRVA.  Please disable this in your radio.

Please see the repeater list and the talkgroup page for the full up to date list of what is available.  If there isn't a repeater obvious in your area and you have an idea of a place for one, please reach out to us.

Visit our last heard page and take a look at your RSSI.  -50 would be a perfect signal (S9+++) and -130 would be an almost non existent signal (barely readable).  The closer you are to -50 the stronger your signal is into the repeater.  Rarely does anyone actual get -50, but -60's and 70's are possible.

Remember that DMR isn't magic and that basic radio principles apply.  You need a real antenna and often times that means not the crappy one that came with your portable radio.  Some of you will need real radios (not a cheap Chinese one) that mean the tight specs of a digital radio system.  Handheld radios aren't always going to consistently work repeaters especially while inside of your house or another building.

DMRVA  is a linked repeater network that is dedicated to providing and expanding coverage to users throughout the state of Virginia.  Hotspots are really intended for ultra-local personal use.  As such we don't have hotspots connected into the system.  You can reach some (but not all) talkgroups from hotspots.  See the talkgroup matrix for information about talkgroups that are connected to other systems.

DMRVA is 100% digital and runs off of Motorola infrastructure designed for DMR (Mototrbo).  The system is designed to have the most stable and reliable experience for users.  This is a full time production system and we take pride in the high degree of availability.

There are no homebrew repeaters connected to the network to ensure reliability.  If you have a site and/or repeater, reach out to us so we can talk with you further.

First, check your radio ID number in your codeplug.  This number should be the one that you were issued to use on DMR and should be from radioid.net. We sync to their database every couple of weeks and it may take time for the two to synchronize.  Generally speaking we do not update our database locally so we can't help much if it is showing your old callsign or location. You will need to coordinate those updates at their website.

INVALID TALKGROUP, Out of Service or UnKnown Ipsc XX means that you are attempting to use a talkgroup that is not activated on the system.  Your traffic will not go out over the system.  You should check your programming, including timeslot and verify against the list of available talkgroups on the talkgroup page.

-50 or so would be a perfect signal (S9+++ usually only possible while standing in front of the repeater) and -130 would be an almost non existent signal (barely readable).

The lower the RSSI number is the stronger your signal is into the repeater.  Rarely does anyone actual get -50, but -60's and 70's are possible meaning you have a good strong signal into the repeater you are using.  Often times you will see your signal strength change during a transmission, especially if you are moving.

Remember that DMR isn't magic and that basic radio principles apply.  You need a real antenna.  Some of you will need real radios (not a cheap Chinese one).  Handheld radios aren't always going to consistently work repeaters especially while inside of your house or another building.  This applies to DMR and all other VHF/UHF radio systems.

Loss rate % is a measure of packet loss and may indicate network issues or degraded receive performance at the local repeater site of the user (i.e. interference, intermod, etc).

We route traffic to a variety of systems including repeaters and other networks.  TGs are available at the DMRVA network that may not be fed to your specific repeater.

Stations with 0 are typically remote traffic from other systems (like BM) and that information is not passing.  N/A will show at the Beaverdam site because of the type of repeater hardware that is installed.

Please see the talkgroup page for a full list.  If it is not on the list, it is not available.

The list of talkgroups available are focused on Virginia centric communications.  If a talkgroup is not shown on the talkgroup page, it is not carried on the system.  Your local repeater owner can request a feed and we can try to get it.

You could consider using a hotspot for those communications (typically stations outside of Virginia).  Remember that TG # 123 (or whatever number ) on one network may be something completely different on another network.  TG #'s are not universal and vary between DMR networks.

Virginia Statewide is active on all repeaters all the time.  It can be used to talk to stations across different repeaters in different parts of the state.  It is a great way to hail stations throughout the state and make contacts.

If you are going to have a prolonged QSO with one or just a couple of stations, consider using TAC A or TAC B which would only be active between the repeaters in use and not broadcast to the entire system of repeaters.

It was originally connected to Brandmeister from approximately 2016 - 2022.  In 2022, Brandmeister cut off their feed for this TG.  We inquired about why several times but never heard back from them.

SWVA Regional, Shenadoah Valley Regional, Tidewater Regional, Peininsula Regional are all connected to Brandmeister.  Additionally, the Richmond Metro TG is available on BM as 31511 and the Roanoke Local TG is available as 315136.

Static talkgroups are always on and will broadcast traffic at all times.  PTT talkgroups require a PTT to activate and will stay active for the time listed on the talkgroup matrix, typically 5 or 15 minutes.  If you don't PTT within that time frame, the TG will no longer be active.

Clear timeslot is a special control TG on TS2.  It allows you to clear or kill a PTT TG on TS1 that you were previously using, permitting you to switch to another TG and activate it.  Using clear timeslot will help prevent missed traffic or collisions.  Please note that we don't use PC 4000 like BM.  Group call to 27000 on TS2 is what you want.

This is done to promote regional coverage and to improve access to certain areas.  It's an easy way to link up users in common areas and extend coverage.  Please see the talkgroup matrix and pay attention to the color code on the local TGs (27500).  If they are the same color, they are linked together.  Some may use a slightly different name than local (i.e. Richmond Metro, etc) to designate that they are linked together.

Use the system, enjoy it and respect that it is a shared resource.   Check into nets.  Yes it does cost money to run all of this and if that is something you feel compelled to do, you can reach out to us.