Question and Answers

• UA TGs are not heard by default. You must press the PTT (Push-To-Talk) to activate them.
• They serve as alternatives to wide-area talk groups, only becoming active on the repeaters where users activate them.
• You will only hear conversations if someone has activated the group on your local repeater.

How to Use UA Talk Groups

Best Practice (Revised August 2017)

• Select the UA talk group as you would any other.
• If the group is not already active, you will hear nothing until you activate it.
• To activate:
  • Briefly press and release the PTT.
  • If a transmission is already in progress, you will hear it after releasing PTT.
  • Keep the initial key-up as short as possible to avoid interfering with ongoing transmissions.

Hold-off Timers

• After each transmission, an 8-second hold-off timer prevents the group from being overridden.
• This allows for a recommended 3–4 second pause between transmissions.
• Timer duration may vary by server, but is usually at least 8 seconds.

Disconnecting a UA Talk Group

• To disconnect a UA TG you activated, make a group call to TG400 (not 4000) on the same timeslot.
• This only disconnects groups you started, not those started by others.
• UA TGs started by others will automatically time out after 15 minutes of inactivity.
• For hotspots on the DVSPh F server, calling TG4000 will release a reflector, but reflectors are no longer linked to talk groups on DVSPh servers.

Server-Side Timer

• UA TGs remain active on your repeater for 15 minutes after your last transmission.
• Each transmission (by you or others) resets the hold-off timer.
• This allows for round-robin nets without needing to key up just to keep the group alive.
• After 15 minutes of inactivity, the UA TG is released from the repeater.