Zello Customization: Set Hardware Buttons as a Channel Up/Down Selector

Intro:

For hardcore radio enthusiasts, we seem to want Zello to work more like a radio and not so much like a social media application. Luckily for us enthusiasts, there's such thing as Zello Work which is a commercial version of Zello that workers in the field use, either with their phone or special made "radios". I say this because most of those guys use radios in the field, and Zello has done some things in the programming to help those guys out.

One radio specifically that I have is the Anysecu N60. Notice all of the hardware buttons this gadget comes with:

These buttons can actually be mapped to give them more functionality with Zello with the help of Button Mapper!

Tools needed:

... And of course...

Zello 4.20 or greater....

In a nutshell:

you need to rename the channels that you want to be able to "channel up" and "channel down" through.
Use button mapper to map a channel up button, and a channel down button.
- In Button Mapper, you'll use Broadcast Intent for each button
- Channel Up broadcast intent code: com.zello.intent.channelUp
- Channel Down broadcast intent code: com.zello.intent.channelDown
Then you can channel up and down without even looking at the screen. Android will read the names of the channels as you scroll through them!

....now, here's a little more detail as to how to set it up:

Step 1: Rename your Zello Channels

You don't need to rename them all... You only need to rename the ones that you would like to have in your Channel Up / Down. The channel up and down feature will only look for channels (and contacts) that begin with numbers.

Example:

01a, My Channel Name, Channel 1
01b, My Channel Name, Channel 2
01c, My Channel Name, Channel 3
02a, Republic of Avalon Radio
02b, All Night Rag Chewers
03a, Network Radio Channel 00
03b, Network Radio Channel 01
03c, Network Radio Channel 02
04, Ham Radio Hub
05, Echo

....and so on

Tip: the comma will add a quick pause in the speech which sounds better (to me)

Tip 2: your contacts will be included if you rename them with a number in front as well

Tip 3: You can add a group of channels into one channel number like I did above. However, you don't have to add a letter like I showed in the example above. If you have 2 channels with the same channel number, the device will just scroll through alphabetically.

Step 2: Button Mapper: Map your channel up and channel down buttons

Go into Button Mapper
Click "Add Buttons"
Click the + button to add a new button mapping
Press the button you want for "Channel Up"
If detected, click Add
Once the button is "captured", you'll see the button name and a number in parenthesis.
(note: if you want to delete the mapping, you would click the trash can icon to the right)
Now, click the + button again and add the "Channel Down" button
If detected click Add

At this point, you should see both buttons ready to be mapped.

Click on the item for the "Channel Up" button.
Turn the Customize switch on
Click "Single Tap"
Choose "Advanced" in the drop down menu
Choose "Broadcast Intent"
In the "Action: (Optional)" field enter: com.zello.intent.channelUp (case sensitive!!)
nothing else needs to be entered into this window - just click "OK"
(You can also assign actions to Double Press or Long Press - or you can leave them as is)
click the back button at the top of the app
Now click on the item for the "Channel Down" button.
Turn the Customize switch on
Click "Single Tap"
Choose "Advanced" in the drop down menu
Choose "Broadcast Intent"
In the "Action: (Optional)" field enter: com.zello.intent.channelDown (case sensitive!!)
Again: nothing else needs to be entered into this window - just click "OK"
(Again: You can also assign actions to Double Press or Long Press - or you can leave them as is)
click the back button at the top of the app
click the back button at the top of the app (again)
Exit out of Button Mapper

Now try clicking the Channel Up and Down button. You should hear Android name off each channel as it scrolls through them.