Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about zerio-radio v3. If your question isn’t answered here, ask in our community server.

Items and Opening the Radio

How do I set up the radio as an item?

Item mode is the default. Check that configs/opentype.lua has:

Config.OpenType.Value = { "item" }

Then add the radio item to your inventory. The full item lists are in Add the Items.

return {
    ['radio'] = {
        label = 'Radio',
        weight = 1000,
        stack = false,
        allowArmed = true,
        consume = 0,
        client = {
            export = 'zerio-radio.Open',
        }
    },
}

QBShared.Items = {
    radio = {
        name = 'radio',
        label = 'Radio',
        weight = 1000,
        type = 'item',
        image = 'radio.png',
        unique = true,
        useable = true,
        shouldClose = false,
        description = 'A portable radio.'
    },
}

INSERT INTO `items` (`name`, `label`, `weight`, `rare`, `can_remove`) VALUES
('radio', 'Radio', 1000, 0, 1);

If you don’t want an item at all, use a command or keybind instead:

Config.OpenType.Value = { "command", "keybind" }

How do I set up the radio scanner as an item?

The scanner opens with /radioscanner by default. To make it an item, set the open type in configs/features/scanner.lua and add the radio_scanner item.

Config.Scanner.OpenType = "custom"

return {
    ['radio_scanner'] = {
        label = 'Radio Scanner',
        weight = 1000,
        stack = false,
        close = true,
        client = {
            export = 'zerio-radio.OpenScanner',
        }
    },
}

Config.Scanner.OpenType = "item"

Config.Scanner.OpenType = "item"

The item name comes from Config.Scanner.Item (default "radio_scanner").

How do codeplug radios work?

A codeplug radio is an item that only works on a fixed list of channels, and is the only way onto those channels. Use it for department radios, for example a police radio.

1. Add the item to Config.OpenType.Items in configs/opentype.lua:

   Config.OpenType.Items = {
       ["radio"] = {},
    
       ["police_radio"] = {
           label = "Police Radio",
           codeplug = {
               allowOtherChannels = false,
               channels = {
                   { frequency = 911, label = "Police - Main" },
                   { frequency = 921, label = "Police - Tactical" },
               },
           },
       },
   }

2. Add police_radio to your inventory the same way as radio. For ox_inventory, give it client = { export = 'zerio-radio.Open' }.

3. Give the item to your police players.

What happens then:

• A player using the police radio can only join 911 and 921, unless you set allowOtherChannels = true.
• Only players using a police radio can join 911 and 921. The channels’ normal access rules are ignored.
• A plain radio can’t tune to 911 or 921.
• Anyone who uses a police radio gets access, whatever their job. Carrying it without using it gives nothing.

You can also set a channel’s access to Codeplug Only in /radioadmin. Then only codeplug radios that list that frequency can join it.

Channels and Access

How do I create channels?

Open /radioadmin and go to the Channels page. Create a channel with a frequency, a label and an access type. Channels are saved in the database.

For a quick start, run sql/!data.sql once. It adds 911 Police Radio, 912 EMS Radio, 913 Fire Radio and 100 Dispatch, plus nine towers.

In the channel editor you can also set:

• No-talk-over: Only one person can transmit at a time. Others get “Channel busy”.
• Signal 100: Lets a dispatcher in the web dispatch panel (Coming in full release) take over the channel. While it is active, players can’t transmit. Scripts can start it too, with StartSignal100.
• Man-Down and Unit GPS: See below.
• Mic Click Sound: The push-to-talk sound set for the channel.
• Player Groups: Whether players can create and join groups on the channel. See How do groups work?

Locking a channel in the admin menu stops everyone from joining it.

Channels can also be created from other scripts with exports. See Developer Documentation.

How do I restrict who can join a channel?

Pick an access type for the channel in /radioadmin and add the allowed values. A player who matches any value can join.

Who can open /radioadmin?

On every framework, players with the zerio.admin ace can open it. On top of that:

To give the ace, add it in server.cfg:

add_ace group.admin zerio.admin allow

The ace, the QBCore permission and the ESX group are set in configs/admin.lua. You can also add your own condition there with additionalCheck, for example to only let staff who are on duty in. See Admin Menu.

Players listed in DispatchJobs or AcePermissions in configs/features/patches.lua can also open /radioadmin, but they only see the Patches page.

How do I keep off-duty players out of job channels?

On QBCore and Qbox, set this in configs/gameplay.lua:

Config.JobChannelsRequireDuty = true

A channel’s job rule then only lets on-duty players in, and going off duty takes them off the channel. With it false (the default), Config.RemoveOnOffDuty only takes players off when they go off duty, and they can join again while off duty.

How do groups work?

Groups split the people on a channel into named groups, like “SWAT” or “Traffic”. They only organise the member list: the overlay shows each group as a header, and the members page has a Group row where players pick, create or leave a group. Everyone on the channel still hears everyone.

• Turn groups off for a channel, or only let players join existing groups, with Player Groups in the channel editor in /radioadmin.
• Turn them off everywhere with Config.Groups.Enabled = false in configs/features/groups.lua.
• Scripts, for example a dispatch or MDT script, can put players in groups and lock them there with SetPlayerGroup, and colour groups with SetGroupColor.

Groups last until the server restarts. See Groups.

What happened to Radio Groups?

They are now called Presets. A preset is a player’s own saved set of channels they can join in one tap. Groups are the new per-channel feature above.

Why don’t man-down alerts or unit GPS work?

Both are turned on per channel, and both are off by default:

1. Open /radioadmin and edit the channel.
2. Turn on Man-Down and/or Unit GPS.
3. Save.

Also check that the master switch is on: Config.ManDown.Enabled in configs/features/mandown.lua and Config.GPS.Enabled in configs/features/gps.lua.

For man-down, check Config.ManDown.Trigger. With "ragdoll", death systems that keep the player in a “downed” animation (like qb-ambulancejob) don’t trigger it. Use "either" (the default) or "dead".

Signal

Why do players have no signal?

Go through these in order:

1. Towers enabled with no towers. If enabled is true in configs/features/towers.lua, players only have signal near a tower. With no towers in the database and defaultSignal = 0.0, nobody has signal and push-to-talk shows “No signal — cannot transmit”. Add towers in /radioadmin, run sql/!data.sql, set enabled = false, or raise defaultSignal.
2. Out of range, or the tower doesn’t serve the frequency. Each tower has a range and a list of frequencies (all for every frequency). Use the Signal Map in /radioadmin to see coverage.
3. Destroyed tower. Shot-down towers give no signal until they are repaired or their downtime runs out. /listtowers prints each tower’s health to the server console.
4. Signal zone. A zone set to 0% in /radioadmin (Signal Zones) removes signal inside it.
5. Jammer. A ground or personal jammer nearby. /listjammers prints active jammers to the server console.
6. Underground. Signal drops to 20% underground by default (undergroundPenalty in configs/features/occlusion.lua).
7. Weather. Thunder and blizzards lower signal (configs/features/weather.lua).
8. Battery. A dead battery blocks the radio, and with SignalPenalty on, a low battery weakens signal (configs/features/battery.lua).

Voice

Players can’t hear each other on the radio

1. Check the server console for a red box from [zerio-radio:voice]. It means the token is missing or wrong, or Domain/ServerId is wrong. See Troubleshooting.
2. Check the region. Domain in configs/voice.lua must be the region your server was set up in. If you switched region in the portal, update Domain.
3. Check the channel. Both players must be on the same frequency, and the talker must transmit on their active channel.
4. Check the microphone. The radio doesn’t use the device in FiveM’s voice chat settings. Pick the microphone in the radio’s own settings under Microphone (Audio). “System default” uses the microphone Windows uses as the default recording device. The choice is saved on the player’s computer. If the chosen microphone is unplugged, the radio uses the default until it’s plugged in again. Also make sure Windows allows desktop apps to use the microphone.
5. Check signal. With no signal, push-to-talk is blocked with “No signal”. See Why do players have no signal?
6. Check deafen. The “Toggle Radio Deafen” keybind mutes all incoming radio audio until pressed again.

Dead players can’t transmit. They keep hearing the radio unless Config.DisconnectOnDeath is true.

How do I change the push-to-talk key?

Set the default key in configs/gameplay.lua, as a FiveM key name:

Config.PTTKeybind = "CAPITAL" -- Caps Lock

This only changes the key for players who haven’t bound “Talk over Radio” themselves. Players change their own key in Settings → Key Bindings → FiveM.

To switch which channel they talk on without opening the radio, players can bind “Switch Radio Talk Channel”. It’s unbound by default; set a default key with Config.CycleTalkChannelKeybind.

Do I still need to edit pma-voice for mic clicks?

No. v3 has its own push-to-talk sounds, set in configs/audio/micclicks.lua. You don’t need to edit pma-voice. If you made the v2 edit, you can undo it.

Do I need to turn off pma-voice’s radio?

No. When zerio-radio starts, it sets voice_enableRadios, voice_enableRadioUi and voice_enableRadioAnim to 0, which turns off pma-voice’s radio, radio UI and radio animation. pma-voice keeps handling proximity voice. You can remove setr voice_enableRadioAnim 0 from server.cfg if you added it for v2.

Dispatch

How do I send panic alerts to my dispatch script?

zerio-dispatch, ps-dispatch and lb-tablet work out of the box. With Script = "auto" in configs/features/dispatch.lua, panic alerts go to whichever of them is running. Set Jobs to the jobs that should get the alert. See Dispatch Scripts.

Man-down alerts can go there too: set Alerts.mandown.Enabled = true.

For any other dispatch script, either:

• Listen to the dispatchAlert event from your own resource. It has the player, channel, coordinates, street, name and callsign.
• Or edit Functions.SendDispatchAlert in server/functions.lua and client/functions.lua. Both files are open for editing.

Do panic alerts show up in the dispatch console?

The web dispatch panel is coming in the full release; it is not part of the beta. Once it is out, every panic alert shows up there, with the player’s callsign and channel. Man-down alerts show up for dispatchers monitoring the channel.

Weapons

How do I stop the radio from holstering weapons?

Set this in configs/main.lua:

Config.RemoveWeaponOnRadio = false

When true (the default), the weapon is put away when the radio opens and while push-to-talk is held, and given back afterwards. With ox_inventory, ox_inventory’s own disarm is used.

If a player is in the middle of a combat roll when they press push-to-talk, the radio waits for the roll to finish before playing the talk animation.

How do I stop players shooting while they talk?

Set this in configs/gameplay.lua:

Config.DisableShootingWhileTalkingOnRadio = true

Animations & Props

All of these are in configs/features/animation.lua. Bone IDs are listed on the RAGE:MP wiki; use the ID value.

Change or disable the talking animation

Change Dictionary and Name under TalkAnimation. StopSpeed (1.0 to 8.0, keep the .0) sets how fast the animation stops; 8.0 is instant.

To disable it, remove the TalkAnimation block or comment it out.

Change or disable the open animation

OpenAnimation has two animations: Normal (on foot) and InCar (in a vehicle). Change Dictionary and Name in either.

To disable both, remove the OpenAnimation block. To disable only one, remove Normal or InCar.

Change or disable the props

OpenProp is the prop held while the radio is open. TalkProp is the prop held while talking. In each:

• Model: The prop model. The default zerio_radio comes from zerio-radio-prop.
• Bone: The ped bone ID the prop is attached to.
• Offset and Rotation: The prop’s position and rotation on the bone.

To disable a prop, remove its block or comment it out.

Use a different talking animation based on clothing

ClothingAnimations is a list of rules. The first rule whose components all match is used instead of TalkAnimation. For example, a hand-to-ear animation for players wearing certain masks:

ClothingAnimations = {
    {
        Components = {
            { id = 1, drawables = { 45, 46, 49 } },
        },
        Animation = {
            Dictionary = "random@arrests@busted",
            Name = "idle_a",
            StopSpeed = 1.0,
        },
    },
}

• id: The clothing component, for example 1 (mask), 3 (torso), 9 (body armor) or 11 (top). Props use negative IDs: -1 hat, -2 glasses, -3 ear.
• drawables: The drawable IDs that match, or a range like { min = 50, max = 60 }. Always list drawables. Without them, the rule matches every player.

Customization

How do I change the notifications?

Notifications use ox_lib. To use another notification system, edit Notify in client/functions.lua and Notify in server/functions.lua. Both files are open for editing.

How do I translate the radio?

Copy locales/en.json to a new file, for example locales/de.json, translate it, and set Config.Locale = "de" in configs/main.lua. This translates notifications and command help.

The text inside the radio itself is built into the radio’s interface, which has English and Swedish. For other languages it shows English. Contact support if you want your translation added to the interface. See Translations.