Improvements to the AirSecurity feature

The Brandmeister DMR development team has made improvements to the Airsecurity feature! The repeater and area scopes are now available. For extra convenience, a Secure Local Pass option allows to bypass the AirSecurity authorization from your personal password-protected hotspots.

What is AirSecurity for?

As most of you already know, Brandmeister DMR only accepts transmissions from DMR IDs that are registered and active in the RadioID database. However, there is a possibility that someone may inadvertently configure their radio with your personal DMR ID, causing their transmissions to appear as originating from you on the Brandmeister DMR network. This can be avoided by utilizing the AirSecurity feature.

How does it work?

Once AirSecurity is activated for your callsign, any over-the-air transmission from one of your DMR ID will need to be pre-authorized by sending a one-time code via private call. The authorization will be valid for a pre-determined time period, and can be restricted to a single repeater, to a group of repeaters, or to all repeaters connected to a particular master server. If a transmission is made over the air without authorization, the message “Access denied” will be played back by the Brandmeister network.

How to enable and configure AirSecurity?

A set of options will appear:

When AirSecurity/TOTP is set to ON, the feature is active for your callsign
When Secure Local Pass is set to ON, transmissions from your personal hotspot (for which the first 7-digits matches your DMR ID) will be allowed without authorization
Choose the scope of AirSecurity protection
- Repeater : only the repeater from which you are sending the authorization code will accept transmissions from your DMR ID
- Area : this option is currently under development. It will allow to authorize a group of repeaters.
- Master: only repeaters connected to the master you select will accept transmissions from your DMD ID. Choosing this option will allow you to provide authorization from your web browser in Selfcare, in addition to the TOTP private call method.

Once you have made your scope choice, scan the QR code using any TOTP authenticator application, enter the current code in the “QR Code Verification” field, and click the Save button.

How to use AirSecurity?

When the AirSecurity feature is enabled on your Selfcare account:

Open your TOTP application and look at the current 6-digit code
Using a radio programmed with your DMR ID make a private call to 9 + followed by the 6 digits code. (for example, if the current TOTP code is 123123, then make a private call to the contact ID 9123123). A short PTT is enough.
From that point on, you can transmit with your ID, within the scope you have chosen (repeater or master)

If you have enabled both “AirSecurity” and “Secure Local Pass”, you can make calls with your DMR ID from your personal hotspot without having to enter the TOTP code. The first 7 digits of the hotspot ID must match your Radio ID.

If you selected a scope of Master, an additional method of authorization is available: by pressing the “Enable PTT Now” in your Selfcare. This method also comes with a choice of different time periods for the duration of the authorization:

2022-08-192022-08-21

BrandMeister User API keys

This article was originally published on 03/2018 and has been updated on 08/2022 to add key versions.

What are users API keys ?

Any BrandMeister user can generate an API key. A key is a long string of characters that is unique to a Brandmeister user account. This digital key allows a third-party application to read and update the data on the corresponding Brandmeister Account (such as your list of hotspots, repeaters, your static talkgroups, etc.).

API keys were first introduced in Brandmeister in 2018, as API v1. In August 2022, developers improved the API features and created API v2, which changed the keys format. API keys created after 2022/08/19 are in v2 format. Keys created prior to this date are in v1 format.

Will API v1 be retired?

To ensure a smooth transition, API v1 keys created prior to 2022/08/19 will still be working for several months. They are no longer visible in the user’s self-care account, but they are still active.

While there is no set date for retiring API v1, we strongly encourage everyone to upgrade their keys to API v2 as soon as possible.

What does an API key look like?

An API v1 key is a 128-character string. For example:

MWaztB3EcHWBEW@D$2gb89Y2kvvE4leSr.33Gey74d0IYVSKU58YGMSFmPHD.Q1fECUkIcj7E4leSr.33Getkjshdf987ywe2irligr908SFIdlsfkj08934sasdlveg

The most recent API v2 key is a longer character string known as a JSON Web Token. For example:

jh7KJSAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiJ9.eyJhdWQiOiIxIiwianRpIjoiOWVjYjBhODRmYTAwODdkNjQ2YmNmNWJlMGJjMGEyZDQ0YmUxNGFkNDllNmM5OWNhM2NkNTcyNjViOGNjYjJmN2ZlNThlYzI1MjNhZWM2YTQiLCJpYXQiOjE2NjA5MzI0NjIuMDI5NzEyLCJuYmYiOjE2NjA5MzI0NjIuMDI5NzE1LCJleHAiOjQ4MTY2MDYwNjIuMDA3OTIyLCJzdWIiOiIxOTIiLCJzY29wZXMiOltdfQ.PnoQ3LkPeuV1TW1Hggn-D7Lloq3TRIB0bHEXTC3Ck1zXDqJRXvjf74sSJ01RSCDCOEAzyDW8eYDjguswGOjMmJ3Lp0IPAcSU7yZY3cjz7NNuFbiqllyV_jXYoBybU-FzSEuoEl3Nx6kbO6iNb_IoDrdloRxVtEDsQJ8Q27FouzMcf3lSxriwmC3tVv2V5phqzJlT-DyL0QLgZaRyDnRdxJtq6yLW5EPUAK6uAHRANCs_wbeSAKVZmqC6ycLJ0ZfIvbUBr7312HP8u2kInh1vcpnNczWyoc7FsjcZjBYrMskt7zRds051a_KqoP8uzUUSS9ZZSxrd_KDozUQ6CiWSB7nCc96B4KLY4CCpJq50I1RSnxrg4Pamj8b8abdO6O5yGakUDrp0t1jMONhOb_B9SlyNgy55SxY2ZC0Q9h3MNC1fxw_rKd73wWjD1SWsW2SI1iaAZA6ewLbn5xPpHvUlVtNri0ZO2oPfdn_1nRImCAwlYKt4LbUKmAFp-vgshMknVlVwutDNQ815y9M3F994Za_OghmAylUaWDextUh6Kx4eYAZuNnB6OphDwS08dWUZOe7MEMBH1OM2Sw_GbbjGPiS82pUDqPZzkfjs5ghFS1CfAu1BB8Teh0wgLqevWaN7VLJWOSSgl9-IOAdSSphmH0yprWbuZHPNyWq1HDY_eEI

Why using an API key?

You can enter your API key in a third-party software or hardware appliance to read and manage the information within your Brandmeister account (including repeaters, hotspots, talkgroups configuration, etc.). Using an API key allows you to keep your SelfCare username and password confidential and to have granular control over each key you provide to others.

The API key is completely unrelated to your SelfCare password. If you change your SelfCare password, the keys you have generated are still valid.

At any time you can Revoke a key, and any person or application with this key will no longer be able to access the information and features of your Brandmeister account.

How to generate and revoke my user API keys?

To generate an API key, follow these steps:

Click on your callsign or avatar at the top of the screen, and select “Profile Settings”

Click on the “API Keys” button in the Security Settings section

This is where your existing keys (if any) will be displayed. Click “Add” to create a new key.

Provide a name for your API key.
You can create as many keys as you’d like. It is therefore recommended to generate one key per application you will use, and name the key accordingly. The name has no impact on the key, it is just a label utilized in the SelfCare to help you remember which key is which.

The next screen will display the API key. If you are using a mobile app, chances are that you can just take a photo of the key within the app and you are done. Otherwise you may copy/paste the key into the application directly.

This is the only time the key code and barcode will be visible. Once you click “OK” only the key name will be available in your list. There is no need to keep a copy of your key somewhere, considering that you can always revoke and generate a new key.

BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL TO WHOM YOU GIVE YOUR KEY TO, AND WHERE YOU SAVE YOUR KEY. THE KEYS ALLOW A COMPLETE AND FULL ACCESS TO ALL THE FEATURES OF YOUR PERSONAL SELF-CARE. THIS INCLUDES REPEATER/MASTER SYSOP FUNCTIONS!

After clicking “OK” you will be sent back to the list of API keys, with the ability to revoke a key if needed.

Why not just provide my SelfCare account credentials?

Your password is confidential and should never be given to others. Providing a separate key to each third-party allow you better control: if you provided your account password, each time you want to change the password you will have to go back to each third party to update it. With the API keys, you can change your SelfCare account password or revoke a key without affecting all other keys you have already provided.

Are there any existing applications using user API keys?

There are currently three developers we have worked with to develop the first applications leveraging user API keys:

Pi-Star (MW0MWZ)

Pi-Star is a custom, pre-configured SD Card image for the Raspberry Pi, built on Raspbian Linux. It includes software stacks by G4KLX, MMDVMHost / DStarRepeater, and associated tools & programs.

Its built-in dashboard now includes the ability to make changes to users’ BrandMeister configuration, by leveraging the use of APIs.

Documentation

Repeater Reader (DO1JG)

Repeater Reader is a small JAVA program that creates visibility and management options for the selected repeater or hotspot. It will also get support for controlling the repeater through APIs.

The BrandMeister team wishes to thank all application developers for making all of this happen!

2022-08-172022-08-19

Major Code Upgrade on August 19th – Please read carefully

Brandmeister’s developers will be rolling out a major code upgrade in the upcoming days. Please read below to learn about the impact of this upgrade.

User registrations, passwords, and activations

New user registrations, password changes/resets, and accounts activations will be paused the entire day of August 19th 2022.

API functions and keys

Current API (v1) will be upgraded to a new v2. The API keys format is evolving and is not backward compatible. Read more on user API keys here: https://news.brandmeister.network/introducing-user-api-keys/

On August 19th, 2022, old API v1 keys will no longer be showing up on the Selfcare Profile screen. New keys that you add using the “+ Add Key” button will be in API v2 format.

It is therefore normal to see an empty list of API keys in your Selfcare Profile screen after August 19th, 2022.

While you won’t be able to add API v1 keys anymore, your existing ones will continue to work on hotspots for managing static talkgroups and such, but will be retired within a few months. We encourage you to migrate your API keys to the new version as soon as possible. The latest version of Pi-Star is already API v2 compatible. For other devices, please contact the manufacturer to inquire about compatibility.

Why are we upgrading the code?

Simply put, the current code base is reaching its limit and is hindering our ability to build new features.

Once in production, the upgraded functions will allow faster response time on the dashboard and other intrinsic features.

The new code architecture also provides improved ways of adding features and therefore allows faster growth for Brandmeister.

Last but not least, the new APIs bring more functions and added flexibility for developers to build software and hardware working with the Brandmeister DMR Network.

This article will be updated with any frequent questions we might receive.

2022-07-072022-07-12

Repeaters static talkgroups are now replicated throughout Brandmeister master servers

Up until now, the static and time-static talkgroups configured for a repeater were saved on the master the repeater is connected to at the time of the configuration. When a repeater was moved to a different Brandmeister master server, the static talkgroups had to be re-defined so it could be saved onto the local database of the new master server.

This behavior has now changed. When configured in the self-care, static and timed-static talkgroups subscriptions are now replicated throughout all Brandmeister master servers. This means the static talkgroups will stay the same no matter which master server a repeater is moved to.

This is an added improvement to the “decentralized” architecture of Brandmeister. If all Brandmeister back-end infrastructure were to fail, masters can continue to work standalone.

2021-10-302021-10-30

Brandmeister Worldwide “TAC” talkgroups

Three new TAC talkgroups have been added to the Brandmeister talkgroups list:

901	WorldWide TAC 1
902	WorldWide TAC 2
903	WorldWide TAC 3

They have been created to allow finishing long QSOs started on the 91~95 worldwide talkgroups, while allowing new calls to take place on the wide-audience groups.

What is a TAC talkgroup?

TAC stands for TACtical. They are designed to off-load large audience talkgroups.

When a QSO starts on a talkgroup that is known for being static on a very large number of repeaters (and often used as a call channel), and the participants feel that the conversation will be longer than a couple of minutes, they decide to move to a TAC in order to free the original talkgroup so other calls can take place.

What’s special about these talkgroups?

Just like the USA TAC talkgroups 310~319, these three new worldwide TACs cannot be made static on repeaters and hotspots. They are designed to be strictly dynamic, which increases their chances of stay available after a QSO is over.

How to use a Worldwide TAC talkgroup?

If you have started a QSO on talkgroup 91 for example, and you’d like to talk for a long time without monopolizing this very large audience talkgroup, check the talkgroups 901, 902, and 903 for activity (this can easily be done using the dashboard’s lastheard, or your radio), and ask your party to QSY to one free TAC talkgroup. You can then continue your QSO for as long as you’d like. Other hams who wish to participate to this QSO can follow you, while new calls can take place on 91.

2021-09-022021-09-02

New “TextCapture” feature, the SMS Store-And-Forward service you can now enable in your Self-Care!

If you found it inconvenient that you can only receive SMS when your DMR radio is turned on, within repeater/hotspot coverage, and not busy … Brandmeister has a solution!

Thanks to the hard work of Artem and the Brandmeister beta testing team, you now have the ability to turn on “Text Capture” in your self-care, a feature that will store text messages sent to you if your radio is not reachable at the time of sending, and delay delivery until your RadioID becomes active on the Brandmeister DMR network.

Important Requirement

In order for this feature to work, you need to ensure that your radio sends an acknowledgment of SMS reception back to the BrandMeister network. Otherwise, BrandMeister will keep sending the messages, and you will be spammed!

So before turning on this feature, make sure your radio manufacturer has implemented SMS acknowledgment, and that you have enabled this feature in your codeplug. (We will provide a web-based tool to assist in checking if your radio acknowledges properly. Stay tuned!)

How does it work?

Illustration of a DMR Radio sending an SMS to another radio over the Brandmeister Network

By default, Text Capture is turned off. When someone sends an SMS to your RadioID, if the sender and the recipient are not on the same frequency and timeslot, the message is routed to the Brandmeister master server where your radioID was last seen and sent over the same repeater/hotspot you were using. If your radio gets it, great. If not, it’s lost and it won’t be re-delivered.

Brandmeister SMS routing when Text Capture is turned off

Once you turn on the Text Capture feature in your self-care, any data call sent to your radioID (including SMS, IRS, etc.) will be handled by BrandMeister. When an SMS is sent to your RadioID, Brandmeister will capture the message, send an acknowledgment to the sender, attempt delivery to your radio, and wait for it to acknowledge receipt of the SMS. If no acknowledgment is received, Brandmeister will keep sending the message on a regular basis until an acknowledgment is received, for a maximum duration of 7 days. After that, the message will be purged and there is no way to recover it.

Brandmeister SMS routing when Text Capture is turned on

Again, it’s important you keep in mind that once the feature is turned on, your radio will only receive data calls initiated by Brandmeister.

Exceptions

The store-and-forward feature only works with Brandmeister subscribers.

SMS from external services (such as automated SMS services, DAPNET messages, etc.) are sent directly to the recipient.
SMS cannot pass through gateways with other DMR networks.

Turning Text Capture on and off

Log on to your BrandMeister self-care page
At the top right of the page, click on your callsign, and select “Selfcare”

Toggle the “Text Capture” option ON or OFF:

2021-08-092021-08-09

Hotspots and Repeaters Passwords – Important change on October 1st 2021

Over the past few months, the default password “passw0rd” used for MMDVM, Homebrew, and Kairos connections has been progressively removed from BrandMeister DMR Master Servers. This process will be completed by October 1st 2021.

Below are the details of which devices will be affected with this change, and how to address it.

MMDVM, Homebrew Hotspot users (which includes OpenSpot, Pi-Star, BlueDV, ZumSpot, etc.)

If you have not yet specified a hotspot password in your BrandMeister Selfcare, please do so by following the steps in this article. You will also find explanations on configuring your personalized password for the Openspot, Pi-Star and BlueDV.

MMDVM, Homebrew Repeaters Owners

If you are running a repeater using a 6-digit DMR ID and connected to a BrandMeister Master, and you have not set a password yet, please login to your repeater page and scroll to the bottom of the screen where you will find the “Device Password” field:

Once saved, configure your repeater to use this password when connecting to any BrandMeister Master server.

Dual time-slot MMDVM devices

If you are running a dual-timeslot MMDVM with a 7-digit DMR ID, please follow the steps described in the hotspot section above.

2021-06-102021-08-09

New Hoseline available with stunning new features!

The BrandMeister DMR development team has been working on a new web-based talkgroups audio streaming platform, known as “Hoseline”. It has been re-programmed from scratch and packs a lot of new jaw-dropping features. See and hear for yourself:

New interface

The Hoseline homepage shows a list of “blocks”. Each block represents a talkgroup, along with the current or last transmission information. New blocks will appear as new traffic comes up. If you want to listen to a talkgroup, simply click on the corresponding block.

To avoid clutter, only talkgroups between 90 and 9999 are showing up. You can listen to talkgroups above this limit by using the “Multiple Talkgroup Listening” option (see below).

Single Talkgroup Listening

When you click on one block from the homepage, you will register to this talkgroup, and any QSO will play on your speakers. If you click on another block, you will be unregistered from the previous talkgroup and registered to listen to the talkgroup matching the new block you clicked on.

Multiple Talkgroup Listening

If you click on the “Player” link at the top right of the page, you will have the ability to select multiple talkgroups (using the drop-down list, or typing the talkgroup number directly). You will see the list of talkgroups showing up in Talkgroup traffic will start playing right away in a list of bubbles. Audio will start playing right away for talkgroups in your list. You can remove a talkgroup by clicking on the “X” after the number.

Solo Mode

When you are in the player, looking at multiple talkgroups you registered to; you may click on a bubble’s talkgroup number to enable Solo Mode. This will mute all other talkgroups while keeping this one active. You can click again this talkgroup number to exit Solo Mode and listen to traffic on all groups listed. Clicking on another bubble number moves the Solo Mode to this new group.

New features

As you use the new Hoseline, you will notice these new awesome features only available on the Brandmeister DMR network:

Improved Audio Quality

BM’s developer’s secret sauce is bringing a stunning and unmatched audio quality. You won’t believe your ears!

Real-Time Vu Meter

A brand new VU-Meter was added inside the player, just below the talkgroup number(s). It measures the audio before AGC. It is done within the BrandMeister platform and reported independently from the supplied audio. The color coding is as follow:
– Yellow: less than -20 dBm
– Green: between -20dBm and -3dBm
– Red: above -3dBm

Multi-browser support

Most modern browsers are compatible. Whether you like Chrome, Firefox, or Safari, the new Hoseline will work for you on desktop or mobile devices!

Volume Normalizing

Are you tired of turning the volume up and down because people are coming in louder or quieter than others? So were we, and now the volume on Hoseline is automatically normalized. Everyone’s audio is at the same level!

Auto-Reconnect

Are you having you internet connection hiccups? No problem, Hoseline will seamlessly reconnect you as soon as your internet connection is back.

Instant play on subscribe and unsubscribe

If you click a talkgroup block or add a talkgroup in the player where there is current traffic, the audio will play instantly. You will not need to wait for the next transmission. Likewise, if you are subscribed to several talkgroups and two of them become active around the same time, you will hear audio from the talkgroup that started a transmission first. If you decide to unregister from this talkgroup while its audio is playing, the second talkgroup audio will begin right away without waiting for the next transmission. It’s that fast!

Subscriptions list auto-save

You closed your browser, or Windows restarted your computer without asking? No problem, your talkgroups subscription list is saved and will be in the player when you go back to the new hoseline page. Just click on play and you’re back where you were!

We hope that you will enjoy this new version of Hoseline. While it is currently hosted on a separate URL, it become part of the new version of Brandmeister DMR Dashboard when it is released. If you have questions or comments, contact us on Telegram or drop a note on the support portal.

2021-03-04

New talkgroup 98 dedicated to tests

There is now a dedicated international talkgroup on BrandMeister for all your tests: TALKGROUP 98.

You can test the audio on your new radio or software as many times as you want, for as long as you want, without worrying to disrupt a QSO.

If you like helping fellow digital ham operators, please stand-by on this talkgroup whenever you can to provide assistance and feedback.

73’s and happy tests on talkgroup 98 !

2020-04-012020-04-01

BrandMeister DMR reflectors support ending by end of 2020

The reflectors feature was implemented in the early years of BrandMeister to provide a compatibility with other DMR networks including this functionality and allow reflectors-based hotspots to connect to BrandMeister.

With more and more countries appearing on DMR, the restrictive numbering format of the reflectors (4XXX) is causing talkgroups numbering conflicts for a growing number of countries which MCC code starts with 4.

Our statistics are also showing that less and less operators are using reflectors on BrandMeister DMR, and the demand for new reflectors is practically nonexistent.

For all the above reasons, the reflectors functionality will be retired no later than December 30th, 2020. After this date, Talkgroup 4000 will continue to provide the same auto-static disconnect function and Talkgroup 9 Timeslot 2 will behave just like any other one-digit talkgroup.

If you are using a dv4mini hotspot in reflector mode, please refer to this post to use MMDVM support.