Do you have to replace your radios?

No. Gateways bridge your existing analog, DMR, TETRA and NEXEDGE infrastructure into Respondr — the radios keep working exactly as they do today.

What if a gateway loses its link?

FT636B and FT638 gateways can keep a second link over a separate network, so a single failed path does not take the bridge down. Respondr also re-checks every gateway link about every 10 seconds and restores it by itself.

RoIP gateways for the radios you already own.

Gateways connect analog, DMR, TETRA and NEXEDGE infrastructure to Respondr — no fleet replacement, no forklift upgrade.

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The Respondr gateways screen: a table of 3 FunkTronic radio gateways with their IP address, network status — all online at 0 ms — and the number of channels each one carries.

Related pages

This page is about the gateway hardware. What dispatching each network looks like, and the software the operator works in, have their own pages.

01 — Interoperability

Every network, one platform.

Bridge analog VHF/UHF — including maritime and aeronautical VHF — with digital DMR, TETRA and NEXEDGE, so different fleets finally talk to each other.

Analog VHF/UHF, maritime and aeronautical VHF

DMR Tier I/II conventional and Tier III trunked

TETRA and NEXEDGE digital networks

A VHF gateway serving a helicopter, a boat and a handheld radio, and a TETRA gateway serving a fire engine, a patrol car and a handheld, both cabled into the same Respondr core that drives a desktop console and a touchscreen console.

02 — Connection methods

Donor radio or direct IP.

Deploy quickly through a donor radio, or connect directly via IP to master and remote base stations — whichever fits each site.

Donor radio for rapid deployment

Direct IP to master and remote base stations

The Add gateway dialog with the name Helipad and the IP 10.152.87.1 flagged online, its type dropdown open on FunkTronic beside RadioActivity, with Kenwood and Leonardo greyed out as available soon.

03 — Reliability

Redundancy, built in.

FT636B and FT638 gateways have two LAN ports and can hold links over different network paths, so one failed path does not cut the radio bridge. Respondr reconnects any link that drops.

Automatic reconnection

Backup connection paths

Continuity during maintenance

A TETRA remote unit and a TETRA master unit, each serving its own fleet of fire engines, patrol cars and handheld radios, cabled in parallel into the same Respondr core below.

Every technology the gateways speak

One gateway family covers the analog and digital networks already in the field, and brings them into Respondr without replacing a single radio.

Analog PMR / LMR

Professional and land mobile radio, including PMR446, connected through 4-wire E&M interfaces.

VHF / UHF

Wide-area analog coverage on professional VHF and UHF bands, through base stations and repeaters.

DMR

Tier I and Tier II conventional plus Tier III trunked digital mobile radio, with radio IDs carried through.

TETRA

Trunked terrestrial radio for mission-critical operations, bridged through certified external gateways.

Maritime VHF

Marine band channels for port operations, quay coordination and coastal traffic.

Aeronautical VHF

Aviation band for tower, apron and ground handling operations.

NEXEDGE / NXDN

NXDN conventional and trunked digital radio through Kenwood NXR base stations.

IP / PoC devices

Smartphones and rugged PTT-over-cellular (PoC) handhelds join the same channels as the radios.

Direct IP connection

Straight to master and remote base stations over IP, with no donor radio in the path.

Donor radio

Use an existing radio as the bridge when a site has to go on air quickly.

Redundant links

FT636B and FT638 gateways have two LAN ports, so the link can run over two separate networks and reconnects by itself when one drops.

Multi-protocol patching

Patch analog and digital networks together in real time, so separate fleets share one conversation.

Network support

Network	Support
Analog	VHF/UHF base stations and repeaters, maritime and aeronautical VHF
DMR	Tier I/II conventional, Tier III trunked
TETRA	Via certified external gateways
NEXEDGE	Via Kenwood NXR base stations (in development)

Compatibility

Gateway & hardware partners

FunkTronicFT636B · FT638Analog · aeronautical/maritime VHF · DMR · TETRA
Radio ActivityKairos · RAAnalog · DMR Tier II/III
JVC KenwoodNXR seriesAnalog · DMR · NEXEDGEIn development

Radio over IP: how a gateway puts radio on the network

Radio over IP (RoIP) means carrying the voice and signalling of a radio network over an IP network. A RoIP gateway does the conversion: one side connects to the radio network, the other to Respondr.

Voice as RTP packets

The gateway turns radio audio into RTP packets with G.711 coding and sends them to the Respondr server over UDP. A jitter buffer puts the packets back in order before playback.

Call control on its own link

A separate TCP connection carries the call state and the identity of the transmitting unit: the DMR ID or the TETRA ISSI.

Analog gateway

The FunkTronic FT636B connects analog radios through a 4-wire E&M interface: professional VHF and UHF, marine and aeronautical VHF.

Digital gateway

The FunkTronic FT638 connects DMR Tier I, II and III networks and TETRA networks.

Base station and gateway in one

RadioActivity Kairos and RA combine base station and gateway: Kairos handles analog and DMR Tier II and III, RA handles analog and DMR Tier II.

Also without a server

The FT636B and FT638 also connect to Respondr consoles running the standalone edition, which work without a separate server.

Frequently asked questions

A RoIP (radio over IP) gateway connects a radio network to an IP network. It turns the radio audio and call signalling into IP packets, so the Respondr server can deliver them to smartphones, consoles and other radio networks, and it does the reverse for the voice to be transmitted on the radio network.

See Respondr on your networks.

A 30-minute live demo with your radio infrastructure in mind.

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