Gravenhurst Fire

[mikewazowski]

Heard a rumour that Gravenhurst has switched over to a MotoTRBO system.

Looks like a 2 site system with a repeater in the downtown area and a repeater south of Gravenhurst.

Downtown Repeater:
152.780

Gravenhurst South Repeater:
154.280

Might want to have a listen.

 

[Muxlow]

Apparently they have had XPR8300 repeaters since 2014 and 6550's

They have 3 fire stations and 3 sites. (says a fire chief buddy)

 

[mikewazowski]

Apparently they have had XPR8300 repeaters since 2014 and 6550's

Yes, I was told the repeaters are really old XPR's.

I confirmed that 154.280 and 152.780 are both beaconing away. Didn't hear any traffic but the repeaters are live.

 

[boshetunmai]

I'm hoping someone may be able to help me out. I'm not a radio/scanning enthusiast, but I like to listen to the Gravenhurst fire department as I have a family member on it. Since they moved to digital, I bought an RTL-SDR dongle and set up all the software as instructed including SDR#, DSD+, and VBcable. I'm fairly certain I have the software installed correctly, but I'm not able to get any decoded audio - even with DSD+ running, and the audio piped through VBcable, all I get is the same digital noise I hear when I tune my analog radio to one of the repeater frequencies. I can't figure out where I'm going wrong, and I have a few questions.

1) Gravenhurst Fire is listed as a trunked system - what are the control and voice frequencies? I can then try to set these up in Unitrunker.
2) What do I do with the colour code and talkgroup information? I don't see any option to enter these into my software - is it only used to program scanners?
3) A $300+ digital scanner isn't in the budget - are there any cheaper alternatives (other than SDR) that I could use? I've heard of the TYT and Baofeng DMR radios which are around $100 or so, but I'm not sure these would work, especially if this is a trunked system.

Any assistance would be much appreciated.

 

[mikewazowski]

Database has been updated for Gravenhurst.

 

[Forts]

It's listed in the database as an IPSite Connect system which means the radios will roam between sites, picking whichever one is the strongest. This can easily be programmed into most DMR radios.

As for your issues with decoding audio, start simple.... Ditch SDR# and VBCable for now and just use DSD+ with FMP... that'll eliminate a lot of inbetween stuff that you don't need.

1) Gravenhurst Fire is listed as a trunked system - what are the control and voice frequencies? I can then try to set these up in Unitrunker.

Unitrunker doesn't do anything with DMR, so it's useless in this situation

2) What do I do with the colour code and talkgroup information? I don't see any option to enter these into my software - is it only used to program scanners?

This is needed for some scanners and all 'real' radios

3) A $300+ digital scanner isn't in the budget - are there any cheaper alternatives (other than SDR) that I could use? I've heard of the TYT and Baofeng DMR radios which are around $100 or so, but I'm not sure these would work, especially if this is a trunked system.

Yes they will work. Be wary of the Baofeng radios however, some of them only work with DMR simplex mode.

 

[slicerwizard]

I bought an RTL-SDR dongle and set up all the software as instructed including SDR#, DSD+, and VBcable. I'm fairly certain I have the software installed correctly, but I'm not able to get any decoded audio - even with DSD+ running, and the audio piped through VBcable, all I get is the same digital noise I hear when I tune my analog radio to one of the repeater frequencies.

The SDR# audio is being routed to your speakers, instead of to VB Cable.

IMO, whatever guide/instructions you're following is sub-optimal. I assume you're using DSD+ 1.101; if so, just run the CC.bat file, that'll start DSD+. Then run the FMP-CC.bat file, that'll start FMP and it will interface with the dongle. Windows might ask if you're ok with FMP acting as a server; you'll have to select the tick boxes and click on ok. Then in the FMP spectrum display window, just type in the frequency that you want to monitor and press enter (you can see the digits being displayed in the window's title bar as you type them); when DMR (or any other digital audio) comes along, it'll get decoded.

No SDR#, no VB Cable, just works. Easy peasy.

 

[boshetunmai]

Thank you for your replies. I'll try some of those suggestions and report back.

I did try my setup again with SDR# and DSD+ earlier during a call and was actually able to hear some broken-up voice. I also figured out that the digital noise I was hearing is data transmission which is independent of voice, but it's so loud it makes it difficult to hear what's being said.

 

[slicerwizard]

You shouldn't be hearing the raw digital signal. Something is wrong with your setup.

 

[Forts]

If you are still using VBCable to pipe audio to DSD+ then you'll have to go into the Windows sound mixer and uncheck 'Listen to this device'. How & where you find this will vary a little depending on your version of windows, but it'll be in the mixer somewhere under Playback Devices. As already mentioned though, it's highly recommended that you give FMP24 a try. Sooooo much easier to get up and running.

 

[SCPD]

Newbie here

Running a few scanners plus DSD SDR on my Uniden BCD996P2 I set Gravenhurst to DMR ONE-FREQ TRUNK than put both tower frequencies in it works fine this way. I learnt this when Huntsville and Port Sydney switched over but they were running the same DMR freq. and they are still running the old same frequency repeater in the FM mode not sure the reasoning behind that. Last I heard they were looking for a separate DMR freq. for Port Sydney to be linked with Huntsville. Township of Muskoka Lakes has some of the DMR equipment installed they have two sites maybe someone can clarify that. No word on Lake of Bays but their FM fire repeater is on the same tower that now has part of the Haliburton DMR trunking system installed on it the tower itself is 550 feet tall? If your in Dwight heading to Algonquin Park its only about two KM's out highway 60 on the left.

That's all I have

A2021

 

[boshetunmai]

I tried DSD+ with FMP as per slicerwizard's instructions above. I see the signal on the spectrum, but no audio. I'm thinking this should be an easy fix but I don't know how to change any settings and I couldn't find any clear resources/instructions on how to use FMP. Any further guidance?

I also unchecked "listen to this device" on the VB cable. There's been no difference. I still hear the data sound, and the faint/poor-ish quality voice, both at the same time. The data sound happens intermittently, sometimes on its own and not only when the voice comes on.

Thanks again for your help... I feel like I'm close to getting this working, but it's quite technical for me.

 

[slicerwizard]

Uninstall any virtual audio cables you've installed (VB Cable, VAC)

Run the two batch files as previously instructed and tune FMP to the VHF channel you're trying to monitor. Do you see the signal in the FMP spectrum display? How far are you from the transmitter? Are you using a VHF antenna?

It would be helpful if you could post a PrintScreen capture of your setup receiving a signal.

 

[boshetunmai]

Reporting back here... Was away on vacation, had a hard drive failure, got a new computer and finally tried to set up the SDR again. Still got the same result even with a fresh install, so I gave up and bought an MD-380 instead. Programmed it in 10 min and got it going, now I'm able to listen again. Thanks for taking the time to help me out.