How to operate

You do not need a digital radio to use this reflector. Any FM rig that hits a connected node can switch talkgroups (TG) — the two standard techniques are CTCSS tones and DTMF.

Switch TG with a CTCSS tone

CTCSS (a sub-audible tone transmitted alongside your voice) is the quickest way to pick a TG: the node maps each tone frequency to a specific TG and stays on that TG for the rest of your conversation.

  1. Look up the tone for the TG you want on the dashboard’s Radio Programming page.
  2. Set your radio’s encode (TX) CTCSS to that frequency. Squelch / decode tone is independent — leave it as your node already requires.
  3. Key up briefly (a short identification or “test” call). The node sees the tone, switches to the target TG, and stays there for the conversation.
  4. To change TG again, change the encode tone and key up again. Because each radio has limited CTCSS memories, most operators program one channel per commonly-used TG with the right tone pre-set — exactly what the Radio Programming page is designed to print or export.

Switch TG with DTMF

If your radio sends DTMF (touch-tones), the SvxLink reflector logic exposes a small command vocabulary. Every command starts with 9 and ends with #; the digits between are the action and (optionally) the TG number.

Sequence Action
9*# Read the current TG status (the node speaks back the TG you are on)
91[tg]# Select the given TG, e.g. 912222# to join 2222 (IT-Z2)
91# Return to the previous TG you were on
94[tg]# Temporarily monitor the given TG without selecting it (audio passes through, but PTT stays on your current TG)

To send a command:

  1. Hold PTT.
  2. Send the full sequence as DTMF — including the leading 9 and the trailing #.
  3. Release PTT. The node confirms with a roger beep or a voice prompt. The numeric TG digits follow the MCC-aligned scheme described on the Overview page — 222 for Italy, 2221–2229 for the Italian Zones, 240 for Sweden, 262 for Germany, and so on.

A note on local conventions

Tones and DTMF behaviour are configured and enforced by the node sysop, in each repeater’s svxlink.conf — the reflector itself never sees the tone or digits you transmit, only the resulting TG selection. The reflector administrator cannot override a node’s mapping; only that node’s sysop can. Sysops are strongly encouraged to keep both schemes standard:

  • the CTCSS tone-to-TG table matching the dashboard’s Radio Programming page, and
  • the DTMF command set above (9*#, 91[tg]#, 91#, 94[tg]#) exactly as published by the upstream SvxLink reflector logic. A fragmented mapping is the single biggest reason newcomers give up on multi-TG operation. Standard tones and standard commands mean a single set of memories works on every node in the network.