Strathroy Area MotoTRBO/DMR help

leejmann · Nov 24, 2015

Hi there! I am relatively new to the scanning/radio world but have been working on the rail side (ATCS) of things in my town (Komoka) for about two years now. I have a HomePatrol1e currently and would like to listen to public works (for the winter) in and around Strathroy. I understand that it is possible to use DSD to listen but would like to know suggestions on the most straight forward way to monitor MotoTRBO/DMR. If it means another radio I am not opposed to that.

Also I am willing to host a feed if there is enough interest in something in the London area that is needed.

Thanks in advance.
Lee

sirsmiley · Nov 24, 2015

assuming they arent using encryption then youd want to look for a moto trbo radio. Newer ones are on the market now so you may be able to pick up an older one a bit cheaper....

VE3JSO · Nov 24, 2015

right now there is no scanner on the market that can get trbo and unless you want to spend $200-$1000 on a dmr (tdma) radio only way is the dsd programs on the computer

leejmann · Nov 24, 2015

Thanks! Any suggestions on best radios for use with DSD?

VE3JSO · Nov 24, 2015

any cheap radios that you can modify with a discriminator tap
Discriminator output - The RadioReference Wiki

ka3jjz · Nov 24, 2015

or even cheaper, a RTL SDR dongle (or similar) - no mods required...Mike

cmjonesinc · Nov 24, 2015

Or you could get a tytera for 135. I saw where this deal is happening Monday. For the money I hear this radio isn't bad. The sdr dongle route works but there's some setup involved. If you can get the color code and timeslot info
real dmr radio would probably be the easiest. Here's the link. The price is supposed to drop cyber Monday http://www.buytwowayradios.com/products/tytera/md-380.aspx

VE3JSO · Nov 24, 2015

tytera is a good choice but you have to be careful because u can transmit on those frequencies if you don't program it right unless you have a ham radio license i suggest ether modify a scanner or get a sdr dongle that way you won't transmit by mistake

leejmann · Nov 25, 2015

Thanks! I am pretty technical and can pick up new stuff quickly going the dongle route what advantages would I have over the standard radio?

VE3JSO · Nov 25, 2015

i find using the dongle little bit hard to figure out but that is just me with the dongle it can be more discrete because it looks like a jump drive and with that you have to download the drivers programs like sdr sharp and virtual audio cable so sdr sharp and dsd can talk to each other but with the radio all you have to do is put in a discriminator tap hook it up to the computer and run dsd and you are all set

Forts · Nov 25, 2015

DSDPlus works fine for Strathroy Works.... They don't talk a whole lot, but it is handy to listen to them in the winter when they are out plowing. All the other county roads departments around here (Strathroy) are still analog VHF. If you decide to go with the dongle I find the biggest downfall is that it's obviously not the best solution for mobile listening. If you are just at home with your PC then it's a piece of cake to setup... I could steer you in the right direction if you needed some help.

DMRAPX · Nov 25, 2015

I programmed 452.08750 MPW -Strathr Public Works - Strathroy Tower DMR Public Works
CC 1 Slot-1 TG 2003 and CC1 Slot-2 TG 2004 into my XPR5550 and heard alot of activity.Still trying to figure out if it is the Strathroy Tower.
I'm Toronto.

Forts · Nov 25, 2015

If you are in Toronto, you sure aren't hearing Strathroy Works. Plus, they only use talkgroup 100.

DMRAPX · Nov 25, 2015

Just noticed i'm listening to Purolator - Ontario Hub Ch.1 Group 2003

leejmann · Nov 25, 2015

Thanks guys! Forts that would be great to get some help! And I am pretty sure aren't that far away from me location wise. Are there any feeds of interest you think people would be interested in having hosted in there area? After doing some research I think I will go with the SDR route I think the tech end of things and see all the current and future possibilities going forward. I would still like a mobile version at some point going forward though.

Any tips on setup for the SDRs would be a great help are there ways to port radio reference database channels into the software or is it all manual input?

slicerwizard · Nov 25, 2015

A feed sounds like a great way to push the fed towards encryption. Yay...

Forts · Nov 25, 2015

I'm of the same opinion as slicerwizard... Not a big fan of providing streams, but to each their own!

leejmann · Nov 26, 2015

Thats not a problem! I wasn't offering up help with the intent of hosting to cause harm, but to help. If those that are far more expert at this then I am, think its a bad idea, I will take that advice. I was only offering it up as to be of help if that help is not needed or wanted that is fine as well.

EDIT: Just noticed that Forts you host the feed for strathroy. Maybe you were referring to not running feeds for specific types of traffic or things that are open and clear only? Or are you referring to all streaming?

Forts · Nov 26, 2015

From your location in Komoka you should be able to pull in several DMR users from London as well (especially with an outdoor antenna). I'd grab a cheap SDR dongle and just start playing. Get your feet wet then decide if it's worth grabbing a DMR radio as well.

As far as the software goes, it's all manual input. DSDPlus comes with a small dongle tuning program called FMP. Basically you fire that up, tell it what frequency you want it to sit on and away it goes, passing the audio to DSDPlus, which does all the decoding for you.

leejmann · Nov 26, 2015

Thanks Forts! Is there any logging ability as to let it scan a range and log new channels? I am guessing in our area there isn't much that comes up new.

Strathroy Area MotoTRBO/DMR help

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