How can I tell what talkgroups are active?

[KA8OAD]

This is a question that seems to keep coming up, "How can I tell what talk groups are active?".

By default only one of the talk groups on our repeater are "full time" (Ohio TG 3139 TS 2) meaning that it is always connected to the repeater. However, you will only hear activity on this group when you are on TS 2. The rest of the talkgroups are all PTT groups which means to connect the repeater to them you must go to that TG channel and key up your radio which will then connect the repeater to that group. The repeater will remain connected to that group as long as there is activity, after 15 minutes of in-activity the group is automatically disconnected and the default group is re-connected. The only exception to that rule is whenever there is a NET on a specific TG the repeater is connected by default to that TG until the net is over.

So, for instance, lets say you are on the Ohio TG and you don't hear anything but you see on your radio that the green led is on, meaning you are receiving a transmission from the repeater. Then most likely the repeater is transmitting traffic on a TG on TS 1 and you just need to switch your ZONE to "Akron U TS1" and you should hear the traffic. Then, if you want to join in, you would need to change your channel to match the TG that is active.

The reverse would also be true. If you are on a TG on TS 1 and hear nothing but see the green receive led on then you would need to go back to TS 2 by going to ZONE "Akron U TS2" where you should hear the traffic and again, if you want to join in the QSO, you would need to change your channel to match the TG that is active.

Unfortunately the repeater also ID's every 10 minutes if it has been active which will also illuminate the green led so you will get "phantom" receives that you won't hear because the repeater ID's in analog CW.

If the repeater seems "quiet" you need to remember that we only transmit full time one talkgroup out of a possible 64+. Try going to TAC310, that is usually a very busy TG. You can also find active TG's another way. If you go to this site:

 http://cbridge.k4usd.org:42420/MinimalNetwatch

it will show you ALL activity on the net, and not just the net we are connected to. The page is divided into two sections, a current activity section at the top and a recent activity section below. If the top "current activity" section does not have any data then at that moment no one is transmitting on a TG so instead look at the "recent activity" section to see the most recent activity. Look in the "Bridge Group" column and that will give you the name of the TG in use. If you want to listen in on that TG then dial it up on your radio and press PTT to be connected to it.

Remember also that people on other repeaters need to do the same thing so a lot of the time all you will hear is someone keying up with no traffic because they are just keying up to link to that TG on their repeater. 

I hope this helps to clear things up.

Have fun!

Ken - KA8OAD