If you have not followed the DMR news these last days, here is the new psycho-drama, which is played in the small world digital amateur radio in France. #2081GATE.
Article en français ici : Le jour où le DMR en France a cru mourir…
Sunday March 12, 2017 at 20:00, Brandmeister’s international team decides to withdraw the administration of BM master 2081 server to the DMR France / Brandmeister France team and then to switch off 2081 server and replace it with a new BM France master on 2082 (the reasons by Brandmeister and Rudy PD0ZRY are here).
Due to a very bad communication of the Brandmeister team, both with the sysop and users, a lack of preparation, an extremely short time of 48h to force the syops to switch in a few hours without other choices, it have been a really mess but also an unprecedented solidarity rarely observed in the amateur radio community in France.
The mobilization seemed then to be a positive point to find a way out of the crisis, via awareness of the consequences of the collective inorganization of the Brandmeister network in France.
It was without counting on our ability to intervene courteously, posed, thoughtful and humble (it is ironic), to prefer a scene close to the collective hysteria on the occasion of the funerary vigil organized by the sysops Sunday evening on TG 2087 and TG 208, on a dead person who did not come from where it was thought.
A scene then hallucinating, blindness and collective suicide, took place on the air and twitter, many sysops announcing they refuse to change and not to connect to 2082, but also to disconnect their repeaters from DMR Brandmeister network.
Why the hell did not contact a buddy country, is France so isolated and unorganized to not find a suitable alternative, at least acceptable at minimum?
No, instead, after being taken hostage by the BM team, the slinging sysops decide a punitive measure… but against themselves by taking their own users in hostage! Comedy.
In fact some gateways are no longer active, some repeaters are also down (except in local mode), and not due to master change by Brandmeister (which says to have everything re-installed identically), but because of sysops sounder who decided to unplug themselves from the Brandmeister network and not to connect to any others 42 masters available.
Any alternative solution proposed? Nothing, go your way, we all died.
So what happened on March 12, 2017 at 8pm?
Apart a pathetic attempt at recovery by the other DMR France (DMR+) and a feverish and tense, sometimes even embarrassing, wait to witness the death of the DMR live, many messages of condolences exchanged, the DMR network Brandmeister continued to function perfectly (on hotspots and repeaters connected on another master than the 2081), no service cut, and everyone could, somewhat confused, continue to do QSO or finally do QSY or pass QRT… because of no change, no death so far.
Then again in all « simplicity and sobriety » (it is still ironic), we saw the appearance of « I am BM 2081 » and other illustrations of very bad taste and completely inadequate given the importance of the subject. WTF!
A little, discernment and restraint will also be necessary to get out of this new bad step, taken by the DMR and digital in general in France.
NO, DMR in France will not die unless we stop « play with him » and perpetually set fire to it, in a logic of permanent self-destruction. So french.
A new chance for the DMR in France?
Despite appearances and my positions in this article, by mail, or twitter, I remain rather optimistic for the future, in a few months, may be 1 year, time that this story is assimilated and digested. But the road will be long for sure.
The trauma seems such that awareness is and will go quickly, it is the most positive point and a new chance for the development of the DMR in France, provided not to repeat eternally the same errors.
The strong mobilization has shown the capacity of the digital community to be in solidarity, it remains only to regain the sense of the common interest and give power to the users, who must also accept to take it!
For my part here are my expectations as a DMR user:
– I want a clearly identified organization in the form of a collegial association with 1% minimum to be representative
– I want a team of French administrator and elected by the users, with turnover and a transfer of skills between sysop / admin sys / users
– I want to be consulted and my voice taken into account during technical or strategic changes of the network
– I want a fair, clear and open communication, comments, 2.0, uncensored
– I want a management of the identifiers CCS7 by the REF
– I want to communicate all kind of networks and digital protocols and have fun with an open and friendly team!
– And I do not want to be taken for a « fool » or « hostage » by the « DMR France & DMR France », Brandmeister, BM Canada, DMR + or syspos
It is not normal, as seen, after 3 years, that there is still not one representative association of digital users in France, whether with Brandmeister, The REF or the administration.
The inaction in this sense of all the speakers of the DMR in France to date, has brought to the present situation and for which the responsibility falls to them all.
In their reply, Brandmeister does not close the door to a new team in France: « If the French amateurs come to meet and unanimously recommend a new team, they can take over the administration of the server. »
So guys & girls, let’s get a new team settled and here is how it can be done (there are for sure many differents ways, share yours) :
Organize in collaboration with the REF organization and all interested radioclubs, a large day and fair on digital modes with:
- In the morning: demonstration, exhibition of realization and material, workshop of configuration (codeplug, MAJ firmware, etcs).
- The afternoon a forum debates to give mic to everyone, bring together the most motivated and interested people IRL (this greatly reduces tensions and derogatory remarks), to debate, all subjects on the table, call for candidates to form a team or teams and finally vote!
It’s up to us, it’s a local problem in France that we need to solve here, however if you have real advice, positive thinking to share from your country, please do!
PS: I am speaking on my own behalf, as a radio amateur F1JXQ and digital radio user, I would not be the one who will create a new group or organization, on the other hand I would do everything to encourage it, because it is time for a change for DMR in France.
