Channels

The channels list contains all channels defined within the codeplug. Usually, DMR radios support at least two different channel types. Digital channels (DMR) and analog channels (FM). To distinguish these two types, each entry of the channel list contains a map with a single entry. The key specifies the type (either digital or analog) while the value contains the actual channel definition.

As an example consider the following two channel definitions:

Example 3.5. Channel definition

channels:
  - digital:
      id: ch5
      name: BB DB0LDS TS2
      rxFrequency: 439.5625
      txFrequency: 431.9625
      power: High
      timeout: 0
      rxOnly: false
      vox: !default
      scanList: scan1
      admit: ColorCode
      colorCode: 1
      timeSlot: TS2
      groupList: grp2
      contact: cont7
      radioID: !default
      roaming: !default
  - analog:
      id: ch76
      name: DB0LDS
      rxFrequency: 439.5625
      txFrequency: 431.9625
      power: High
      timeout: 0
      rxOnly: false
      vox: !default
      squelch: !default
      admit: Always
      bandwidth: Narrow
      rxTone: {ctcss: 67}
      txTone: {ctcss: 67}

The first channel is a digital (DMR) channel. Its ID is ch5 and its name BB DB0LDS TS2. The second channel is an analog channel (FM) with ID ch76 and name DB0LDS. Please note, that there are some common attributes like rxFrequency, txFrequency, power, timeout, rxOnly, vox and scanList but also type-specific settings like timeSlot or rxTone which apply only to digital and analog channels respectively.

Common attributes

The following attributes are common for all channel types.

Common channel fields

id: Specifies the ID of the channel, this can be used later to reference this channel in the section called “Zones” and the section called “Scan lists”. Any unique string is valid here.
name: Specifies the name of the channel. Any string is valid here.
rxFrequency, txFrequency: Specifies the RX or TX frequency in MHz. Any floating point number is valid here.
power: Specifies the transmit power of the channel. Must be one of Min, Low, Mid, High or Max.
timeout: Specifies the transmit timeout in seconds. Any integer is valid here. Omitting this field or setting it to 0 will disable the timeout. Setting it to !default, the global transmit timeout will be used. See the section called “Radio settings”.
rxOnly: If set to true, the channel can only receive. Omitting it or setting it to false will allow transmission on the channel.
vox: Specifies the VOX sensitivity for this channel. If set to !default, the global VOX sensitivity will be used. See the section called “Radio settings”. Omitting this value or setting it to 0, will disable the VOX for this channel.
scanList: Specifies the optional scan list for this channel. If set, this must be a reference to a the section called “Scan lists”.

Digital channel attributes

The following attributes apply only to digital (DMR) channels.

Digital channel fields

admit: Specifies the admit criterion for the channel. This must be one of Always, Free or ColorCode.
colorCode: Specifies the color code of the channel, any number between 0-16 is valid here.
timeSlot: Specifies the time slot of the channel. Must be one of TS1 or TS2.
groupList: Specifies the RX group list for this channel. This must be a reference to a group list. See the section called “Group lists” above.
contact: Specifies the default transmit contact. This must be a reference to a digital contact. See the section called “Contacts” above. If omitted, no default transmit contact is associated with the channel. Some radios require all channels to have a transmit contact.
aprs: Specifies the positioning system for this channel. If set, this must be a reference to a positioning system (DMR or APRS). See the section called “Positioning Systems” below.
roaming: Specifies the roaming zone for this channel. If set it must be a reference to a roaming zone. See the section called “Roaming” below. To use the default roaming zone here, consider using the !default tag instead of a direct reference to a specific zone. If omitted, no roaming zone (also not the default one) is associated with the channel.
radioID: Specifies the radio ID for this channel. If set, it must be a reference to one of the radio DMR IDs. See the section called “Radio IDs”. To use the default radio ID here, consider using the !default tag instead of a direct reference to a specific ID. If omitted the default radio ID is assumed.

Analog channel attributes

The following attributes apply only to analog (FM) channels.

Analog channel fields

admit: Specifies the admit criterion for the channel. Must be one of Always, Free or Tone.
squelch: Specifies the squelch level for the channel. Must be an integer in the range of [1-10]. If set to 0, the squelch gets disabled. If set to !default, the global squelch setting is used. See the section called “Radio settings” above.
bandwidth: Specifies the bandwidth of the channel. Must either be Narrow or Wide for 12.5kHz or 25kHz respectively.
rxTone: Specifies the receive sub-tone setting for this channel. That is, the squelch will only open when a certain subtone is received along with the signal. As there are two common subtone standards, this attribute is a map with a single entry. The key specifies the type (either ctcss or dcs) while the value specifies the actual subtone. For CTCSS tones, the value is the subtone frequency in Hz. For DCS it is the code number as an integer. For inverted DCS codes, use negative numbers.
txTone: Specifies the transmit sub-tone setting for this channel. For details see rxTone above.
aprs: Specifies the APRS positioning system of this channel. If set, it must be a reference to an analog APRS system.