Did you know Brandmeister has rules to follow when you use their network?
Indeed, they do.
Most repeaters have rules (and common sense) when you transmit on them.
Some DMR users have reported being suspended, blocked from talk groups, and/or kicked off the Brandmeister network for violating the rules.
- Has it happened to you?
- What are the Brandmeister rules?
- Where do you find them?
That’s what we’ll be discussing on the next DMR Tech Net with Tom N8TJ, Stan WB8QJZ, and Steve KC8WXM Monday night from 7:45pm – 8:30pm on Brandmeister talk group 3126, statewide Michigan.
We also want to hear your progress with the “Work All States with DMR” July contest as it ends next week.
Join us Monday, July 24th on Brandmeister talk group 3126 from 7:45pm ET – 8:30pm ET for the DMR Tech Net.
Tom N8TJ, Stan WB8QJZ, Steve KC8WXM, and Dana KC0MYP
We are branching out, so if you are on the TGIF network, the DMR Tech Net team has our own talk group that you are welcome to use. The talk group on TGIF is 31268.
https://tgif.network/talkgroups.php
Here are some options for contacting the BrandMeister network help center:
- BrandMeister support: You can post a request on the BrandMeister support platform
- BrandMeister Contact Help Center: You can contact the team or request technical assistance using voice chat, a blog, or the service desk
- BrandMeister@groups.io: You can share support details with the BrandMeister Development Team
- Sign up for an account: You can sign up for an account to access the BrandMeister Help Center
You must log in to access the BrandMeister support page. Response delays may vary depending on the volunteer’s schedule.
Operating Etiquette
General Guidelines in operating on the BrandMeister Network
BrandMeister is a worldwide platform allowing Repeaters, Hotspots and other applications to centrally connect and communicate in real-time for amateur radio operators.
These are some general tips/guidance on how to navigate and operate on the network.
- Be courteous and respectful to fellow amateur radio operators while communication on the network.
- Be mindful of your language and know there can be many ears listening, even young ones.
- Listen and Pause… allow space between your conversations to allow others to join into the conversation and to allow hotspots or repeaters to disconnect from a talk group. A good practice is between 2 and 5 seconds.
- Minimize highly charged conversations such as politics and religions. Some talk groups might be more open to politics and religions but would recommend listening and practicing common sense when talking about highly charged topics.
- Move to a TAC or Local Talk Group when using a busy or high profile talk group. Be mindful of your communication time and suggest to move to a TAC or Local talk group if the conversation is going to go long.
- Be Mindful of the Talk Group Label as this will suggest the topic or region it was designated for. Some are meant to be used for a region and when outside stations utilize the talk group be mindful and respective of its usage and time. For example , there should be no instances of two or more outside stations use a talk group designated for another region.
- Statewide Talk Groups generally in the USA are meant to be calling channels and or short conversations and should move to a local TAC channel when possible. Generally a 10 minute rule exists before some monitoring might join your conversation to politely ask you to move to another talk group. Be mindful these statewide talk groups might be set static on a large number of repeaters statewide. Nets are acceptable on state wide talk groups.
https://help.brandmeister.us/operating/operating-etiquette
TAC Channels
Non-Primary channels aiding in relieving congestion on primary/statewide talk groups. Temporary Channels to continue conversations.
TAC 310-319 are not allowed to be set as static on any of the USA Master Servers. The TAC channels are for those wishing to continue a conversation from another talk group. AKA, No parking Hotspots/Repeaters on 310-319 Talk Groups. TAC Channels are not to be used for initiating contacts.
What is a TAC Channel
A TAC or Tactical or Talk Around Channel is a virtual talk group which allows for a talk group for users to move to once they establish a call on a State-wide, Global (like 91) or other large area/or high profile talk groups to continue their conversations.
TACS were designed for a temporary usage and not for users to utilize them for a daily channel for groups of users to meet on. See Alterative to TAC Channels for another option for a group of users to utilize daily.
TAC 310-312
TAC 310, 311, and 312 are special talk groups which are a common bridge between BrandMeister and CBridge networks. Please be considerate in their use as these are designed to allow cross communication between the two networks. These are not to be used as a calling channel or for users to park their hotspots on. Again these are a place to allow continued conversations from a larger or high profile talk group to move from.
TAC 313-319
These are BrandMeister only TAC groups and are not bridged to any other network and never will be. These are specific for users of BrandMeister. Please again refrain from using these as calling channels but for usage when calling on talk groups like 91,93, 3100, etc to move to to continue a lengthy conversation. This allows the high profile/high usage talk groups to be free for others to access and call others for a chat.
Alternative to TAC Channels
If all TAC Channels are busy or looking for a channel for a small group to communicate on a regular basis, you may use one of your 7-digit Radio IDs (assigned to you or one of the members in your group) as a talk group. No Approval is needed and can use them immediately.
Steps to begin using your ID 7-digit ID as a Talk Group:
- Program your radio by added the 7-Digit Radio ID as a Group Call using the CPS (Customer Programming Software) Program.
- Label it as you see fit in the CPS as this will show on your radio Display.
- Provide the 7-Digit to others in your group to program into their respective radios.
- Finally key up and test it out.
Please do not pick a random talk group to use. It must either be listed in the BrandMeister Talk Group list or use your 7-digit Radio ID or if you have a repeater your 6-digit repeater id.
https://help.brandmeister.us/operating/tac-channels
From the Brandmeister General Support group on Telegram:
I’m curious why I’m talk group blocked on talk group 3126 statewide Michigan? I Didn’t receive any notice
- Anthony – W7XM
Because you are having 30-50 minute chats in their during non net times. It clearly states “10 minute limit “ This is one reason the cbridge network doesn’t want to bridge 3126 and the conplaints I am receiving are from bm repeater owners. I can remove the block if you don’t do this during non net times.
- Jeff Hochberg – W4JEW
Hey Corey – forgive me for butting in… It’s cool that you’ll remove the block. An indefinite block seems pretty harsh to do this for a first time offense.
I completely understand the 10 minute rule – it’s there for a good reason. I know many hams that are on the hotspot/repeater side can’t understand/appreciate the reasons, but having repeaters all over the state keyed up for long periods of time and tying up a timeslot is not good.
I figured it might not hurt to have an explanation in the (recent) history of why the 10 minute limit exists. Feel free to delete if it’s inappropriate.
For any end-users who are frustrated/don’t understand the reason for the 10 minute block…. Most repeater owners have statewide talkgroups set to always on (static).
Whenever you key up on your hotspot, the squelch on all of the repeaters that have a statewide talkgroup as always on.
This effectively ties up one of the only two timeslots on the repeater which means other users that may want to use the repeater for other purposes can’t.
You might ask why the statewide talkgroups are set to always on – first of all, it’s pretty much standard operating procedure dating back to when DMR-MARC started introducing DMR to hams, and it encourages DMR users to use repeaters without having to activate a talkgroup with PTT first.
The general rule of thumb is to establish contact with station(s) you want to talk to, then QSY over to a different talkgroup that is more localized/specialized – not a statewide/nationwide/global talkgroup.
- Anthony – W7XM
There are no indefinite blocks. They are only until the end user reaches out to the admin team so we can explain the issue of why there was a block placed.
- Bob KC2CWT
I’m just going to jump in here about the use of Statewide for regular chat.
It’s posted on most of the sea Bridges web pages about using statewide’s for chatting for more than 10 minutes I know it’s posted on brandmeister’s website also.
We have been dealing with this for a long time you have to understand something when you use a Statewide chat with someone in your same county you’re keying up in some cases over 100 repeaters.
Has 95% of these repeaters are funded by individuals and no help 90% of the time from the locals it can get very costly when things break.
Now is the Sea Bridge owner and a repeater owner why do you want a tie up all of my repeaters for your local chat when you can use the local repeater for this purpose.
This has been an ongoing problem for over 10 years this is nothing new.
And on a final note if used the local networks support the local network admins and repeater owners and if you’re using a hotspot to connect into the system help support the brandmeister networks as this comes out of individual pockets.
I know it’s a minimum cost of about $20 a month for a low-end server and I know that the course can be as high as $300 $400 for some of the higher end networking….
The bottom line is we don’t put these rules in here to be control freaks or talk group police we are just trying to keep the network up and running and keep everybody happy