Digital Repeaters
Every Tuesday – Digital Net – 8PM on D-Star Repeater 446.850 – or XLX via XLX720D | DMR Repeater 447.300 – BM TG 310759, TS1, CC1 | Fusion Repeater 447.225 – WiRES-X Room 40895, or via Fusion Hotspot on YSF 23160
| Digital Mode | RX Frequency | TX Frequency | Offset | Location | CallSign |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fusion C4FM Default link to room 40895 | 447.225 MHz | 442.225 MHz | -5 MHz | Parker, CO | KØPRA |
| D-Star Default link is XLX720-D | 446.850 MHz | 441.850 MHz | -5 MHz | Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain | KØPRA |
| D-Star Default link is XLX720-D | 445.100 MHz | 440.100 MHz | -5 MHz | North of Hess reservoir | N2SRK |
| DMR Color Code 1, Time slot 1, linked to BM Talk Group 310759. Time slot 2 not currently used. | 447.300 MHz | 442.300 MHz | -5 MHz | Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain | KØPRA |
Fusion C4FM Repeater System
The PRA Fusion Repeater is located just east of the Parker Library on a 100’ tower. This repeater functions as a standalone system, operating in C4FM digital mode only, but has an internet connection allowing C4FM linking using Wires-X to other nodes or rooms.
System Fusion is Yaesu’s implementation of Digital Amateur Radio, utilizing C4FM 4-level FSK Technology to transmit digital voice and data over the Amateur radio bands. In the early 2000’s GMSK emerged in the Amateur radio market as the dominant digital mode, however in 2013 Yaesu introduced “System Fusion”. This is known as Fusion or YSF. Yaesu radios can operate in one of four modes: FM, Digital Narrow, Digital Voice Wide and Digital Data. Yaesu Repeaters are able to operate in either FM only, Digital only or Automatic Mode Select (AMS) where whatever mode is transmitted, the repeater will automatically switch to that mode. PRA operates our repeater in digital mode only.
Fusion is probably the easiest of the ham radio digital modes to use. All that is needed on the user’s end is to enter their call sign into the radio. There is no need or website to register any data. Then the operator can transmit C4FM Digital Narrow or Voice Wide on an appropriate frequency and have a QSO. These QSO’s can be on simplex or via repeater.
To program your Yaesu Radio do the following:
It is recommended to use Yaesu’s programing or RT Systems for ease of programing. It is also easy to program from the front panel of the radio.
Enter your call sign into the radio’s memory
Enter the PRA frequency of 447.225MHz with a negative offset of 5mHz to have a transmit frequency of 442.225MHz – there is no tone used.
Set your radio to either VM or VW and you are ready for your first C4FM digital QSO. It really is just this simple.
D-Star Repeater System
The PRA operates a D-Star UHF repeater on Squaw Mountain. For many users, D-Star is the ultimate digital system. D-Star is an open-source system that was developed in the late 1990’s by the Japan Amateur Radio League and was the first Ham radio digital system to be widely deployed. As of 2025, only Icom and Kenwood have chosen to support this system, with Icom being the “all-in” company. Icom not only offers handheld and mobile radios but offers commercial grade repeaters for D-Star in 1.2 GHz, 440MHz and 144MHz repeaters. If all located at one site, this is called the “Icom stack”, and this was how the system was originally envisioned and is deployed in many locations. the best source for more detailed D-Star knowledge is Home – D-STAR Info
While the Fusion/Wires-X system uses “Rooms” and the DMR system uses “Talk groups”, D-Star uses “Reflectors”. A D-Star repeater that is connected to the internet, this is called a “Gateway Connection”. A user can simply operate the repeater in a “local” mode or use the linking capability of D-Star to connect to other D-Star reflectors. Once connected to a D-Star reflector, the repeater is linked, and everyone can listen in on the conversation if they are on this repeater’s frequency. Like DMR and Fusion, there are numerous “networks” that support many different reflectors. Reflectors can be another repeater or groups of repeaters that are linked together.
To program your radio there are several steps, some of which might seem complicated to a new user.
To start using D-Star, you will need to go to D-STAR Gateway System and register to get on the D-Star worldwide database. You only need to register one time, and it usually takes 1-2 days to get your registration approved. You can still use the local repeater while waiting but cannot link the repeater to Reflectors.
It is highly recommended to use software, either provided by the manufacturer or RT Systems, to initially program your radio for repeaters.
To program your D-Star capable radio set a receive frequency of 446.850 and transmit 5 MHZ down on 441.850. We don’t use PL or CCTSS tones on D-Star.
In addition to the above frequencies, use the following settings:
Your (UR): CQCQCQ RPT1: K0PRA B RPT2: K0PRA G
NOTE: The “B” and “G” MUST be in the 8th position from the left in the programming field.
(The PRA utilizes RPT1: which is internet connected as a Gateway Repeater, allowing linking to other reflectors.)
Make sure your radio is set to “DV” or digital voice. If set to analog FM, you will not be able to access the D-Star repeaters.
DMR Repeater System
The PRA operates a DMR (Digital Mobile Radio) repeater located at our communication site on Mestaa’ėhehe Mountain. DMR is a radio system standard that was developed for commercial radio systems, and DMR systems are marketed by companies like Hytera, Motorola, and Kenwood. Although a commercial standard, the Motorola Amateur Radio Club (MARC) started experimenting with DMR, fifteen or so years ago, and DMR was soon a mainstay of digital Ham radio systems worldwide.
Our repeater is a Motorola Mototrbo 8300 repeater, which is a second-generation Motorola DMR repeater after the first generation MTR3000, which was designed as an analog repeater then modified for DMR. The 8300 series was designed from the ground up as a DMR repeater. Note that the 8300 can operate as an analog repeater as well, or in a unique configuration called “mixed mode”. The PRA operates the repeater only in DMR mode.
DMR is very frequency efficient because two conversations can operate on a single repeater channel at the same time. While allowing two conversations at the same time, in the same bandwidth as one analog conversation, this concept is difficult for many Ham radio operators to grasp. To have two conversations on one frequency simultaneously, DMR is programmed using “time slot 1” and “time slot 2”. The PRA is moving away from using time slot 2, as all our “local” conversations are on talk group 310759 on time slot 1 (see below).
Our repeater dedicates time slot 1 for connecting to other systems worldwide. There are over 2000 connections available, and each connection is called a “talk group”. Talk groups usually fall into one of two categories; geographical or topic based (i.e. Eastern Oklahoma and Geeks-n-Jeeps). The PRA DMR repeater is linked to one of the worldwide DMR networks, more specifically to the BrandMeister network. There are other networks that are available for PRA members to connect to through personal hotspots.
PRA members can connect the repeater to any of the talk groups on the BrandMeister network. The link will stay connected while there is activity on the repeater, then revert to our PRA talk group (310759) in 15 minutes if there is no activity. 95% of the time, time slot 1 is always connected to 310759 and is used as our local repeater. If you use a digital hotspot, just connect to 310759 from anywhere worldwide, and you are on our repeater. A DMR color code is a number between 0 and 15 that functions like a PL tone in analog systems, allowing radios to access specific DMR repeaters. When programming a radio to access our repeater, each DMR radio must be programmed with the correct color code. We use color code “1”.
The PRA Elmer Team is available to assist in DMR radio programming or for more detailed explanation of DMR operation. Lastly, Hams using DMR need to get a DMR (digital) ID. This unique ID is entered into your radio programming software or code plug and can be used for other users to see who the digital ID is assigned to as well as to meet network requirement for authenticity. Note, even though the digital ID is assigned to an individual person, you must still ID every 10 minutes per part 97 of the FCC regulations. Get your digital ID here.