Inkonsistente Registrierungs-Informationen

Von radioid.net habe ich ein JSON File, welches einen Database-Dump aller weltweiten repeater enthält heruntergeladen und in CSV konvertiert. Mit Ron’s CSV Editor geöffnet und schlicht einen Schock bekommen. Schaut man auf die Spalte ipsc_networks, welche repräsentiert zu welchem Netzwerk dieser DMR Repeater gehört, findet man:

  • Fragezeichen
  • Telefonnummern
  • IP-Nummern
  • Müll-Eingaben

und Information zu welchem ipsc_network der Repeater gehören KÖNNTE !

Wo es jetzt lustig wird (wäre es nicht so traurig….) ist z.B. wie BrandMeister eingetippt wurde. Hier ein paar Beispiele: 

BM, BandMeister, BradnMeister, BRAINSMATER, Brand Meister, Brand meister, Brand mister, Brandeister, Brandmaiester, Brandmaister, BrandMaister, BRANDMASTER, brandmaster, Brandmaster, BrandMaster, BrandMeirster, BrandMeiste, Brandmeiseter, BRANDMEISTER, brandmesister, Brandmiester, BrandMiester, BRANDMISTER, brandmister, Branmeister, branmister, Bransmeister, BRANSMESITER, BrantMeister, Brewmister, Brndmeister.

Brewmister wird sicherlich mein “all time favoured”, aber mal ehrlich: “Was zur Hölle machen die Repeater-Betreiber da draussen eigentlich ?” Davon ausgehend das die Registrierung des Repeater NICHT per Brieftaube, Brief oder Postkarte, sondern per Internet geschieht, frage ich mich was so schwierig daran ist, erst zu recherchieren und dann notfalls per Cut and Paste die Eingabe einzustellen. Mir ist klar, das gesunder Menschenverstand, die begrenzteste Ressource im Universum ist, aber das die Verknappung so stark ist, erstaunt mich wirklich !!

Andererseits zeigt es mir, das die Formulare der Registrierungsstellen auf deren Webseiten zu viel Raum für individuelle Eingaben lassen, schlimmer noch…die Admins der Registrierungs-Datenbanken scheinen keine Richtlinien für korrekte Eingaben zu haben und winken einfach alles durch ohne Korrektur oder Ablehnung wenn falsch. ERGEBNIS: MÜLL !!

Dgl. findet sich natürlich auch bei DMRplus, DMR-MARC usw.. Keine Konsistenz der Daten

Darüber hinaus habe ich 621 (!!) Repeater (oder ca. 8%) in der Datenbank identifiziert, die gar keine Information haben, zu welchem ipsc_network sie gehören. EINE SCHANDE !! Warum – falls diese unabhängige Repeater (also nicht vernetzt) sind – steht dann nicht in einer Drop-Down Liste “no ipsc_network connection” später im ipsc_network Feld ?

Erkenntnis:

Die Registrierung von Benutzern und Repeatern muss von Profis durchgeführt werden, nicht von Hobbyisten. Der Registrierungsprozess sollte in der Hand unserer nationalen Clubs (DARC, ARRL usw.) oder einer noch höheren Instanz liegen, wenn möglich. Klare Formulare mit Drop-Down Listen, Hilfestellungen, Automatische Berechnung/Überprüfung z.B. der Lat/Lon auf Grund der Adresse, Prüfungen gegenüber anderen Datenbanken etc. verhindern, das “Frei-Text-Eingaben” durchgeführt werden können. Eingaben werden genau verifiziert, um zu  verhindern das die  Datenbank inkonsistent wird, wie es derzeit der Fall ist.

Inconsistent Registrar Informations

I downloaded a JSON file from radioid.net containing a database dump of all repeaters worldwide. With Ron’s CSV Editor I opened it after conversion from JSON to CSV and got a shock. When you look at the column which represents the information which ipsc_network this DMR Repeater belongs to you will find:

  • Question Marks
  • Phone Numbers
  • IP-Numbers
  • Garbage
  • and information to which ipsc_network it MAY belongs to. 

Where it gets funny (if it would not be so sad…) is how i.e. BrandMeister was typed in. Here are some examples:

BM, BandMeister, BradnMeister, BRAINSMATER, Brand Meister, Brand meister, Brand mister, Brandeister, Brandmaiester, Brandmaister, BrandMaister, BRANDMASTER, brandmaster, Brandmaster, BrandMaster, BrandMeirster, BrandMeiste, Brandmeiseter, BRANDMEISTER, brandmesister, Brandmiester, BrandMiester, BRANDMISTER, brandmister, Branmeister, branmister, Bransmeister, BRANSMESITER, BrantMeister, Brewmister, Brndmeister.

Definitely Brewmister will become my all time favoured, but what the hell is going on with the repeater sysops out there. Given the fact, that they are not sendig carrier pigeons, letters or postcards to the registrar, they do it for sure by Internet. What is so difficult, to do some research, cut and paste ?? I know that common sense is the most limited natural resource in the universe, but I did not recognize that common sense is THAT LIMITED !!

On the other hand, it shows me that the repeater registration forms at the registrars websites leave to much room for individual entries, even worse, the admins of the repeater registration databases do not have guidelines how a correct entry must look like. I suppose that they wave the entries through without checking them. RESULT: COMPLETE MESS !

The same can be found for DMRplus, DMR-MARC etc. No consistency

In the repeater list I have identified 621 (!!) registered repeaters without any information which ipsc_network they belong to, which is approx 8% of all entries. A SHAME !! If they are independent repeaters, ok fine, but than have in the drop down list  “no ipsc_network connection” later in the ipsc_network field.

 

Conclusion:

The registration of Users and Repeaters has to be carried out by professionals, not by hobbyists. It should be in the hand of our national clubs (DARC, ARRL etc.) or even a higher instance if possible. Clear forms with drop-down lists, automatic processing (lat, lon calculation by address), checks against other databases and so on, to avoid that individual entries can be made, all entries must be verified, to avoid that the database becomes inconsistent as it is now.

 

Brandmeister, DMRplus, etc. – welches Netzwerk ist das richtige

Ich persönlich bevorzuge Brandmeister (BM), andere DMRplus (D+), DMR-MARC usw.. Diese Netze können parallel auf einem Gerät existieren, wenn man auf die Unterschiede achtet, denn einige Parameter unterscheiden sich. Daher empfehle ich die Repeater dieser Netze entsprechend in der Kanalliste zu kennzeichnen. Z.B. der DMRplus repeater DB0PBS wird DB0PBS D+ genannt, der BM Repeater DO0ERK wird zu DO0ERK BM usw. 

Selbiges muss sich dann auch bei den TG’s niederschlagen, den D+ TG world hat die Nummer 1 bei BM hat die TG world die Nummer 91. Die Talkgruppen sollten daher als D+ World (=1) bzw. BM World (=91) benannt werden, damit ich Repeater und TG übereinstimmend auswählen kann.

Natürlich gibt es Multi-Net Übergänge zwischen den Netzen (Interfaces zwischen den Netzen oder den Technologien wie C4FM, DStar etc.) die in jedem Netz verfügbar sind. Leider hatte ich noch keine Zeit diese auszuprobieren. Falls interessant, bitte selbst im Internet recherchieren. Weitere (umfangreiche) Informationen finden sich hier.

DMR explained with a few words

When I first started with DMR my head started spinning and my consumption of pain killers against head-pain raised dramatically. After a while – understanding the concept – I can say that my analogue Yaesu FT857 is more challenging in terms of settings, than my Anytone DMR radios. Well I am deep into Computers since 1980 which is an advantage for sure. I strongly recommend to use Rons CSV Editor in the PRO Version for some $$$ or use OpenOffice Calc from within the OpenOffice suite. I mention that because Microsoft’s Excel is a nightmare compared to this two alternatives when it comes to csv files, and we mainly deal with csv’s.

DMR is not complicated, it is just damn complex. The other problem you will find, is that most information in the internet is either wrong, outdated, half the truth, unclear or goes too deep into details which are not important for the programming of a radio by the Codeplug -Software (CPS). Programming a radio via the codeplug is a bottom up approach.The whole thing consists of a channel list (analog and digital frequencies named by repeater or the use of it), Zones where you group your frequencies logically (i.e. by country, region, usecase or personal taste), a Talkgroup-list of Talkgroups (TG) you are interested in (World, local, regional, country, state, county, language or specific use like emergency comms).

The next hurdle you have to take is the quality of the Codeplug Software. Always the English translation is the best even if makes a native English speaker laugh out loud. If you understand English, feel like belonging to an elite group, which has access to an close to understandable piece of software. If you don’t speak English – good luck !!

Furthermore you need your personal DMR/CCS7 Identifier, a seven digit number which represents you and your callsign in the DMR (and DStar) network. For Europe and Africa, you can register here. North America, South America, Asia and Oceania must register here. In both cases you have to upload a scan of your License.

DMR user details are available in a DMR/CCS7 Database which is ready for download in the internet. Downloaded and imported to the radio, you will see each station with additional information like Call-Sign, Name, City, State, Country. Good sources are radioid.net, AmateurRadio.digital, but my preferred tool is the “easy DMR contacts generator” by HK3A as it supports different radio types. If you only see a 7 digit number, either your Digital ID list is outdated and you have to load a new one or your radios Digital ID database is full and the newly registered callsigns can not be loaded to your radio. Either way – it’s not the other OM’s fault that you do not see his/her callsign, the problem is on your end !

When dealing with repeater (channel-) lists, you will come across a colorcode. This can be a value between 0 and 15. Mostly color code 1 is used. You will find the color code in the repeater lists for DMR in the internet (see useful links for details). The color code of the channel in your codeplug has to be the same as the one on the repeater.

Finally you will find static talkgroups and dynamic talkgroups associated to TS1 or TS2. Which talkgroups are associated to which Timeslot you can find out on the website of your repeater or at the Brandmeister / DMRplus pages in general or for the desired country. The difference is that a static TG is always there, if you want to join a TG which is not static (=dynamic), you choose the talkgroup of your liking in the radio, select it, press PTT and you are subscribed (dynamically) to it with an inactivity timeout of 6-10 min. if you do not have a qso, otherwise you have to press the PTT again (and again) because this TG is closed by the repeater if it is not kept open by you (or others). Both kind of TG’s can be on any TS but you should use TS2 for dynamic talkgroups. The reason is if you choose a dynamic TG on TS1, you disturb the static talkgroups, mainly the country wide ones which are very frequented. If you want to listen permanently to a talkgroup which is not static on your repeater, consider to buy a hotspot, which you can configure to your personal needs without disturbing other OM’s.

 

Was it that hard ?

 

More good information can be found on the useful links page

 

DMRplus, Brandmeister, etc., which network to use ?

I personally prefer Brandmeister (BM), others DMRplus (D+), DMR-MARC etc.. Actually you can use all, if you have many different local DMR networks, just in one radio. The only thing you should take care of is to name channels and talkgroups in a way that you can distinguish which repeater does what (BM, D+, DMR-MARC etc.). If I would use more than one network, my repeaters would be named i.e. “D+ DB0PBS” or “BM DO0ERK” and so on.

The same should be done for Talkgroups (TG’s). Brandmeister’s world Talkgroup is TG91, DMRplus uses TG1 for woldwide. Therefor I would name the TG’s “D+ world” (=1) and “BM world” (=91) in the Talkgroup list accordingly, like in this example: TalkGroups marked for Brandmeister (BM). The only thing I have to do now to switch between the networks, is to use the right repeater with the right Talkgroup.

Of course there are are Multi-Net Bridges (Interfaces between different networks like DMRplus, Brandmeister and technologies like C4FM, DStar etc.) available in each of the networks. I never used them or played around with them, therefor pls. do your own research in the internet. This presentation gives you a bit more information.