What is Roaming
Roaming is not supported on all DMR radios. Check your owner’s manual or manufacturer website to see if roaming is supported. In some radios it may be an additional cost option.
Roaming is NOT scanning. Roaming is similar but different. Roaming is designed to have your radio automatically select the best channel if your current channel’s Receive Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) falls below a defined level as you move throughout the coverage area of a group of repeaters that carry the same Talk Groups on the same time slots.
You should select channels that have the same time slot and receive groups configured; if you do not, roaming may not work correctly. Repeaters can be configured to transmit beacons at predefined intervals of inactivity so roamers will be on the correct channel. Without the repeater beacons, roaming will still work, but the radio will only change channels if it hears a repeater on the air. Roaming would be really great if all the DMR repeaters were on the same set of repeater pairs across the country, but it is too much to expect the Repeater Councils to work together for a unified rebanding of existing coordinations.
It would also help if the different DMR networks could agree on which time slots were used by which Talk Groups. Wouldn’t it be really nice to be able to program a dozen different frequencies, with a variety of common Talk Groups, on the same time slots in your radio and be able to travel across North America and be able to access all DMR repeaters?
Roaming is NOT scanning. Roaming is similar but different. Roaming is designed to have your radio automatically select the best channel if your current channel’s Receive Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) falls below a defined level as you move throughout the coverage area of a group of repeaters that carry the same Talk Groups on the same time slots.
You should select channels that have the same time slot and receive groups configured; if you do not, roaming may not work correctly. Repeaters can be configured to transmit beacons at predefined intervals of inactivity so roamers will be on the correct channel. Without the repeater beacons, roaming will still work, but the radio will only change channels if it hears a repeater on the air. Roaming would be really great if all the DMR repeaters were on the same set of repeater pairs across the country, but it is too much to expect the Repeater Councils to work together for a unified rebanding of existing coordinations.
It would also help if the different DMR networks could agree on which time slots were used by which Talk Groups. Wouldn’t it be really nice to be able to program a dozen different frequencies, with a variety of common Talk Groups, on the same time slots in your radio and be able to travel across North America and be able to access all DMR repeaters?