SYSTEM: dstarutah.org _ SECTION :: MULTI-MODE BRIDGE

Multi-Mode Bridge

one conversation across seven digital modes: D-STAR, DMR, Fusion, P25, NXDN, M17, and AllStar.

The UtahDRN (Utah Digital Radio Network) multi-mode bridge ties seven digital voice modes onto three shared modules. A station calling on any mode is heard by everyone connected to the same module; so a D-STAR user on REF029 C, a DMR user on talkgroup 314901, and a Fusion user on YSF 31491 are all in the same room. This is how REF029, the Utah D-STAR reflector, reaches the wider Utah digital network, and it's why the NUTS Sunday net can be checked into from any mode.

This matters in Utah because native D-STAR RF activity is minimal. On its own a Utah D-STAR repeater can be very quiet, but linked to REF029 it carries everyone on the bridge, and DMR has by far the largest Utah user base of the bridged modes. So the bridge is what turns a sleepy D-STAR repeater into a busy channel: most of the traffic you hear arrives over DMR and the other modes, not D-STAR.

Cross-mode map

Pick a row for your mode, then a column for the module you want. Everything in that column is the same conversation.

Mode Utah 00 · mod B Utah 01 · mod C Utah 05 · mod D
D-STARREF029 BREF029 CREF029 D
DMR (talkgroup)314900314901314905
Fusion (YSF)314903149131495
Fusion (YSF VW)315903159131595
P25314903149131495
NXDN314903149131495
M17UT0 BUT0 CUT0 D
AllStar (ASL)296302963129635

Module C / Utah 01 / REF029 C is the busiest; it's where the NUTS Sunday net and most day-to-day Utah traffic live. Start there.

Connecting from each mode

Why callsigns look weird on the D-STAR side

Callsigns don't fully survive the bridge in one direction. D-STAR transmissions carry their originating callsign across to DMR (and the other modes) just fine. Traffic going the other way (DMR, Fusion, P25, NXDN, M17, or AllStar → D-STAR) shows up on D-STAR radios under a single placeholder callsign rather than the actual speaker's call.

This is a constraint of the REF reflector network: REF only accepts traffic from callsigns that have been registered on the D-STAR trust network. Rather than dropping every DMR user who has not registered for D-STAR, the bridge substitutes one known-registered callsign for everything coming inbound, so all the traffic gets through. The trade-off is that you cannot tell from the D-STAR side who is actually talking; you have to listen to verbal identification of their callsign.

Bridged means shared. Because every mode on a module hears every other mode, keep transmissions short and ID clearly; you may be talking to people on radios and modes you can't see. Numbers and mappings are maintained by UtahDRN; confirm current details at utahdrn.org/bridge.