Zones in a radio: city, country house and DMRhub by folders

When a radio has more than ten channels, scrolling up and down through all of them gets tiresome. Zones solve this: the knob or buttons switch only between channels inside the selected folder. Switch the zone and you land in a different "context" without extra button presses. In this article we will look at what a zone is, how to lay out your channels sensibly, and why it is worth setting up a dedicated zone for DMRhub.

What a zone is

In any DMR codeplug a zone (Zone) is a named list of channels. Physically nothing changes: the frequencies, Color Code and timeslot stay the same as those written into the channel itself. A zone is only a navigation folder. The channels in it are ordered manually; the tuning knob or the UP/DN buttons scroll exactly through that list.

The number of zones and the number of channels in each one depend on the radio model and the firmware — more on that below. The same channel can appear in several zones: this is normal and does not take up any extra memory for the channel configuration itself.

How zones are shown on the screen

On most radios the top line of the display shows the name of the current zone, and below it the name of the current channel. Switching between zones is usually mapped to a separate button or a long press of the knob; switching channels within a zone is a short turn of the same knob or a button.

On dual-band radios (for example the AnyTone AT-D878UV, or the TYT MD-UV380 running OpenGD77) there can be two independent "channels" on the display — A and B. In that case each of them can belong to its own zone, and channels within a zone are assigned to one of the lines when the codeplug is defined. In practice this is convenient: line A is the active channel, line B monitors the second slot or another network.

Channel limits per zone

The limit depends on the model and firmware. A few reference points:

• TYT MD-380/390 (stock firmware) — up to 16 channels per zone. Not much, so you need more zones.
• OpenGD77 (GD-77, RT3S, MD-UV380) — up to 80 channels per zone. Plenty of headroom for most scenarios.
• AnyTone AT-D868UV/878UV/878UV Plus — up to 250 zones, with up to 160 channels in each zone.
• Wouxun and a number of budget models — often 16–32 channels per zone.

If a zone runs out of channel slots, just add another zone for the same context: "City-1" and "City-2".

A practical zone layout

There is no universal recipe, but there is a working template that suits most operators with a hotspot:

• DMRhub — the channels of your hotspot with our network's talkgroups. This is the zone you use most often.
• City repeater — the channels of the nearest DMR repeater (TS1 and TS2 with different TGs).
• Country house / trips — the channels of the repeater at your getaway spot, or PMR channels for local communication.
• Analog — FM channels: local analog repeaters, LPD (433 MHz) for short-range contacts.

With this split, 90% of the time you stay in the "DMRhub" zone, never distracted by other repeaters and never scrolling through unnecessary channels.

Channel order within a zone

The first channel in a zone opens when you switch to it — make sure it is the one you use most. For the DMRhub zone, put the channel with the network's local talkgroup, or a "calling" channel on which other operators will hear you when you go on the air, in first place.

The DMRhub zone: why it is handy to keep it separate

Our network runs on a hotspot: a single frequency RX = TX, timeslot TS2, and its own Color Code. The channels differ only in the Contact TX field — the talkgroup. A typical set of channels for the DMRhub zone:

Channel        | Frequency       | TS | CC | Contact (TG)
---------------|-----------------|----|----|-------------------
DMRhub Local   | your_hotspot MHz|  2 |  1 | Local
DMRhub Region  | your_hotspot MHz|  2 |  1 | Regional
DMRhub Russia  | your_hotspot MHz|  2 |  1 | Nationwide
DMRhub Private | your_hotspot MHz|  2 |  1 | Private call

Take the exact talkgroup numbers, Color Code and hotspot frequency from the ready-made DMRhub codeplug or from your account after registration. The hotspot frequency is set during its configuration — it is your own simplex frequency of choice within the permitted band.

Zones in the CPS: the general procedure

1. Create all the channels you need (frequency, TS, CC, Contact TX, RX Group List).
2. Open the Zone section in the CPS.
3. Click "Add" / "New Zone" and give it a name.
4. Drag or add the channels you need from the master channel list into the zone.
5. Arrange the order: the most used channel first.
6. Repeat for each zone and write the codeplug to the radio.

In qdmr (a cross-platform alternative to the vendor CPS) zones are created the same way — a "Zones" section with channel drag-and-drop. The interface is simpler than most vendor programs.

Common mistakes when working with zones

• An empty zone. A zone with no channels causes confusion: the radio may hang on a blank screen or refuse to switch. Keep at least one channel in every zone.
• Too many zones. Scrolling through 15 zones is no more convenient than scrolling through 150 channels. The sweet spot is 4–8 zones with clear names.
• Pointless channel duplication. One channel in several zones is fine. But if you create separate channels with the same parameters "for different zones", that clutters the memory. Use a single channel and add it to the zones you need.
• Zone names get truncated on the radio. Most radios show 8–16 characters. Keep it short: "DMRhub", "City", "House", "Analog".