Tytera MD-380, monitoring DMR question

mancow · May 28, 2016

I guess I'm just stupid or something but I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here.

I want to use my MD-380 to monitor a neighboring county that is on VHF DMR. It should be simple enough. They are not encrypted or anything. DSD+ indicates they are on slot 1 and I know the color code is 7 by watching the same signal on the BCD536HP. DSD indicates TG=100.

I created the digital channel, entered the slot and color then created a Group Call with number 100 in the call ID. In the channel data field I pointed it to that same group entity in the Contact Name field. I also created a Group List and placed that contact in there.

It never unmutes. Any ideas?

seth21w · May 28, 2016

mancow said:
I guess I'm just stupid or something but I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here.

I want to use my MD-380 to monitor a neighboring county that is on VHF DMR. It should be simple enough. They are not encrypted or anything. DSD+ indicates they are on slot 1 and I know the color code is 7 by watching the same signal on the BCD536HP. DSD indicates TG=100.

I created the digital channel, entered the slot and color then created a Group Call with number 100 in the call ID. In the channel data field I pointed it to that same group entity in the Contact Name field. I also created a Group List and placed that contact in there.

It never unmutes. Any ideas?

Is the rx frequency same as tx frequency? If so change it to anything other than the rx frequency if that doesnt fix it try the firmware upgrade from va3xpr

mancow · May 28, 2016

I have it set to the same frequency but have it checked as RX only since it's a public safety frequency. Why would having the same frequencies matter? I will try changing them though just to see what happens.

seth21w · May 28, 2016

mancow said:
I have it set to the same frequency but have it checked as RX only since it's a public safety frequency. Why would having the same frequencies matter? I will try changing them though just to see what happens.

thats just how dmr is it wont work with both frequencies the same and yes make sure to keep rx only checked...

mancow · May 28, 2016

Well of course they aren't talking now but I did briefly see one key up and it did indicate a user ID on the screen so it appears to be working now that I set TX to 146.520. That's bizarre. I don't have to do that with my XPR7550.

So how the heck would you ever work a simplex contact with one of these?

mancow · May 28, 2016

I'm seeing activity but no audio.

seth21w · May 28, 2016

I dont know what kind of radio a xpr7550 is im guessing p25, but dmr has a 2 slot system and rx is a slot and tx is a slot if they match nothing will come through. Dont quote me on this because i dont know everything but if your using it as you say as a public safety scanner its gonna make things easy if you download monitor mode firmware from the site.

mancow · May 28, 2016

The XPR is the Motorola DMR radio.

I have just installed the monitor mode firmware and am trying it now but I'm still unclear as to why it won't work normally with the stock FW.

Thanks for you help.

seth21w · May 28, 2016

mancow said:
The XPR is the Motorola DMR radio.

I have just installed the monitor mode firmware and am trying it now but I'm still unclear as to why it won't work normally with the stock FW.

Thanks for you help.

no problem im still wrapping my head around this joker but i do know that its a quirk of the radio, the xpr is probably alot more user friendly than the md380.

mancow · May 28, 2016

Yea the XPR is definitely more friendly.

Okay, I've installed the modded firmware and still no audio just an indication of activity on the screen.

I give up... this is crazy.

seth21w · May 28, 2016

mancow said:
Yea the XPR is definitely more friendly.

Okay, I've installed the modded firmware and still no audio just an indication of activity on the screen.

I give up... this is crazy.

Which antenna are you using and how close is the system? Also are you parked on one channel or scanning multiple? Also which download did you use what is the firmware version displayed in the radio

mancow · May 28, 2016

The system is a county away. It's coming in full meter but not overloading. I'm parked on the channel but also tried scanning. I don't know what firmware it is. It was labeled as experimental.bin and I found it while surfing the web at the hotel during the Dayton hamvention. I know it works because I used it in the UHF MD-380 I bought there. I just never got around to messing with the VHF until today.

Maybe the color code is wrong or something. It says 7 on the BCD536HP and DSD though. It's probably something ridiculously simple I'm overlooking.

seth21w · May 28, 2016

mancow said:
The system is a county away. It's coming in full meter but not overloading. I'm parked on the channel but also tried scanning. I don't know what firmware it is. It was labeled as experimental.bin and I found it while surfing the web at the hotel during the Dayton hamvention. I know it works because I used it in the UHF MD-380 I bought there. I just never got around to messing with the VHF until today.

Maybe the color code is wrong or something. It says 7 on the BCD536HP and DSD though. It's probably something ridiculously simple I'm overlooking.

there is a instruction document just above the upgrade application, and the one you want to use is experiment.bin

seth21w · May 28, 2016

i wouldnt trust the 536 dmr firmware yet its only in beta.

mancow · May 28, 2016

This is weird. Now nothing decodes it. Not the 536 not DSD. Neither are indicating encryption and both have good signal levels. I don't know what the hell is going on. DSD shows no errors and indicates the same info as before but it just blurps a bit of audio and goes silent.

seth21w · May 28, 2016

mancow said:
This is weird. Now nothing decodes it. Not the 536 not DSD. Neither are indicating encryption and both have good signal levels. I don't know what the hell is going on. DSD shows no errors and indicates the same info as before but it just blurps a bit of audio and goes silent.

wifi routers also wreak havoc on the md380 it sounds like rf interference.

seth21w · May 28, 2016

take that bad boy outside lol

mancow · May 28, 2016

seth21w said:
take that bad boy outside lol

Yea man this is crazy. I was listening to them all day on both the 536 and DSD. I just tuned around to make sure things work and I can pick up other freqs that are digital just fine. I come back to this one and now it's like a phantom system. Nothing will decode it. I wonder if they are simulcast and for whatever reason it's wreaking havoc with the signal. The strange thing is DSD throws no erros at all. It's happy and displays all the TG info. There is just no audio from either it or the 536 and the 380. I hadn't realized this County had gone DMR until today so I'm not sure what they have going on over there. I need to call the Moto shop guys and ask.

mancow · May 28, 2016

Ah, it must be simulcast. Suddenly the 536 and DSD are receiving it. Strange.

Well what do you know........ it is working now. I can hear it on the Tytera. Freakin nasty simulcast stuff.

Thanks for the help. I guess we had it right all along.

seth21w · May 28, 2016

mancow said:
Ah, it must be simulcast. Suddenly the 536 and DSD are receiving it. Strange.

Well what do you know........ it is working now. I can hear it on the Tytera. Freakin nasty simulcast stuff.

Thanks for the help. I guess we had it right all along.

Cool glad I could help

Tytera MD-380, monitoring DMR question

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