Private DMR network vs public: why we chose our own

When you set up your first MMDVM hotspot, the first question is: "Which network should I connect to?" BrandMeister, TGIF, DMR+, FreeDMR — the list is long. DMRhub belongs to none of them. We run on our own master server, and that is a deliberate choice, not stubbornness. Let's break down the difference, when a public network is the right answer, and when it isn't.

What a public DMR network is

BrandMeister, TGIF, DMR-MARC, FreeDMR are federated networks of hundreds of repeaters and thousands of hotspots all over the world. Their main value is scale: you register, connect, and within a minute you can already hear an operator from Germany or Japan. The talkgroups are global (91 — WorldWide, 13 — WW English, etc.), and there is live traffic around the clock.

Joining is open: any licensed amateur registers an ID at RadioID.net, creates an account on the network, and a few hours after verification is "inside." Repeaters and hotspots are registered separately. No personal recommendations or invitations — just a license and an email confirmation.

The three main limitations of public networks

1. Traffic you weren't expecting

BrandMeister counts tens of thousands of active users. The large talkgroups (91, 9) carry a continuous stream of transmissions from different countries. Even if you only want to talk to two friends from the same town, your hotspot will keep receiving other people's traffic as long as the relevant group is active. A quiet "local" talkgroup does not exist on a public network: it is either known to the whole world, or to no one.

2. You don't control the talkgroups

Creating your own talkgroup on BrandMeister is technically simple, but it instantly becomes globally visible. Any user on the network can activate it dynamically and send traffic. You cannot block a specific ID or close the group off to outsiders through the standard tools — the network is open by nature.

3. Dependence on someone else's infrastructure

BrandMeister's servers are located in different countries and maintained by volunteers. There have been periods of instability when individual masters went offline or registration rules changed. If you are building a network for a specific community (a club, a region, an event), depending on someone else's servers is uncomfortable.

What your own master server gives you

DMRhub runs on a dedicated VPS. All of the network's hotspots connect to our master directly. That changes several things at once.

Your own talkgroups, no approvals needed

We decide ourselves which groups exist, what number they have, and who can hear them. Want a separate TG for a region, for a club, for tests — we create it in a minute and don't have to explain it to any administrator of a global network. The numbering is arbitrary, with no conflicts with anyone else's groups.

Private DMR IDs from the 10,000,000+ block

The international regulator RadioID.net issues IDs starting from small numbers. We issue IDs from the 10 000 000+ block, which is reserved for private use and will never overlap with the global database. This means a DMRhub user won't accidentally end up on someone else's network, and someone else's traffic won't "pose" as our operator.

An allow-list at the master level

The master server knows every registered ID. An attempt to connect with an unknown ID is rejected immediately, before the packets reach the air. This is not encryption or content protection — the air stays open to anyone with a radio on the same frequency. It is access control to the infrastructure: only registered participants can use the network's hotspots and repeaters.

End-to-end with no extra nodes

On public networks, voice may pass through several servers in different countries before reaching the recipient. The resulting delay is not critical in DMR (the network is asynchronous), but the route is unpredictable. On DMRhub the path is always the same: the sender's hotspot — our master — the recipient's hotspot. The AMBE+2 voice is not transcoded anywhere along the way — no intermediate conversion to PCM and back, no loss of quality.

When a public network is better

Honestly: BrandMeister and TGIF are the right choice if you need live traffic right now, without building your own infrastructure. If you want to talk to operators from other regions and countries, a public network does it better. Nothing stops you from using a hotspot in both modes: Pi-Star and WPSD let you switch the master server in a few seconds.

DMRhub is the choice for those who want a stable, predictable on-air experience within a specific community: no foreign traffic, with your own talkgroups, and with a clear picture of exactly who is on the network right now.

What it looks like in practice

Setting up a hotspot for DMRhub is fundamentally no different from connecting to BrandMeister: in Pi-Star or WPSD you enter our master server address, the port, and the hotspot password. In the radio's codeplug you enter our talkgroups and Color Code. The only addition is that you need to register in advance in your account: that is where you are issued an ID and added to the allow-list.

# Example setup in Pi-Star / WPSD
Master Server: dmrhub.ru
Port:          62031
Password:      (from your account)

A ready-made codeplug with all our talkgroups and channels for popular radios is available in your account — no need to build it from scratch.