Fairfield Co DMR

RakkFO · Jun 14, 2016

I got the DMR upgrade and I wanted to start mapping out Fairfield Co. I entered the data from the Fairfield Co SO discussion back in December (http://forums.radioreference.com/ohio-radio-discussion-forum/321586-fairfield-county-sheriff.html). The way I programed my scanner it was not picking up anything so I set up my DSD+ and put the scanner in discovery mode. I could copy the DMR on DSD with out any issues and I noticed on the scanner I got several hits on two frequency's with Fairfield Co SO traffic. I started checking out the other spikes on the SDR# with DSD and I found a third. Interested now I went out to the FCC and pulled the licenses. They have DMR emission designators for all there freqs. So I crossed out the input and output for all the freqs in the DB and I was left with five unidentified freq pairs. I plugged them into the DSD and I confirmed that all but one pair were DMR. I plugged them all in my scanner again and..... NOTHING! So I went back to upmans instructions and I entered them as a conventional system, the scanner came alive! I was thrown off by the fact I wanted to enter a DMR "system" and since it was one freq per site I thought DMR One Freq made since. It appears you have to enter it as a conventional system.

I don't understand DMR very well, so the following is my educated guess. Since I live in SW Licking so and I can at least see a signature of DMR on all four freqs. I am assuming that they use the Lancaster site as the primary. When they get out of range of the input they switch to another site? This does not seem efficient to me. What if they were in pursuit and moved into Millersport area, now they have to switch channels? Maybe the radio senses that it is out of range and switch's?

In closing I am looking for confirmation that this can not be entered as a trunking system and it will need to be entered as conventional data. There is not really a format for DMR conventional systems.

The following is what I have gathered and confirmed from the other Fairfield Co posts. I submitted to the DB:

Fairfield Co DMR
Data obtained from FCC License: WPGI309, FRN: 0002997369

Lancaster Site (WHOK Tower)
Output: 460.4750, Input: 465.4750
Location: Lat: 39-40-32.0N, Long: 082-40-34.0W (NAD083). 137 METERS EAST OF INTERSECTION WITH DELMONT & STONY HILL RD. HOCKING, OH FAIRFIELD County
ASR# 1035303

Pickerington Site
Output: 453.8375, Input: 458.8375
Location: Lat: 39-56-01.4 N, Long: 082-45-34.4 W (NAD083). END OF LIMNWORTHY DRIVE PICKERINGTON, OH FAIRFIELD Co
ASR#

Stoutsville Site
Output: 453.3125, Input:458.3125
Location: Lat: 39-36-56.0 N, Long: 082-46-20.0 W (NAD083). 3.2 MI NE STOUTSVILLE, OH FAIRFIELD Co
ASR# 1016413

Millersport Site
Output: 453.7875, Input: 453.7875
Location: Lat: 39-53-49.1 N, 082-32-23.2 W (NAD083). WATER TOWER MILLERSPORT, OH FAIRFIELD Co
ASR#

16b · Jun 14, 2016

You should be able to program them as a one frequency DMR system; the scanner does not care whether it is trunked or not. Did you program the talkgroup ID? If not, make sure you have ID search mode turned on--that got me a few times. If you have neither a talkgroup nor ID search mode turned on, you won't hear anything.

To address your question about roaming: yes, you can assume that the system radios select the best site automatically. The user may be given the ability to select manually, but normally the radio will handle roaming.

RakkFO · Jun 14, 2016

I did program the talkgroup Id. I programmed all the info in the original post. ID search was turned on, service type was changed from custom 1 to law dispatch and law dispatch was enabled, Audio type was set to all, color code to search, TDMA was set to Any.

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RakkFO · Jun 14, 2016

16b you are correct. I thought about how to prove your comment and I entered W8TRB ( Columbus Ham DMR RPT) and it works fine as a one channel.

So now I wonder what I programmed wrong. Back to the drawing board!

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RakkFO · Aug 11, 2016

I am banging my head on the wall here. I don't know if it is my location or a setting but I can not figure out this DMR stuff. I have a list made with the data in the OP as a conventional and as a one freq.

When I let the radio work I get hundreds of hits on millersport and Lancaster sites, but no pickerington! I can hear pickerington site on my amateur radio with rubber duck but not on the scanner with a discone.

When I just scan the one freq I get no hits. Now when I hear something on the conv. Side and switch over I can get a hit.

I build my lists on the ARC software and by hand with same results. Anyone have any ideas? Anyone else in Fairfield co able to try? I am working on getting this data in the DB just need to lock down a couple details.

Thanks in advance

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W8RMH · Aug 11, 2016

I believe DMR frequencies also need the correct LCN programmed as well to properly track the system.

I have had the DMR upgrade for about a week and have been playing with the Franklin County systems so far as ths is all new to me as well. This is a great feature for these scanners but an Instruction Manual is greatly needed and that has never been Uniden's strong suit. Hopefully Mike's Scanner Easier-to-Read will update his manual.

I programmed the HAM DMR system as a MOTOtrbo trunked system with all the TGs and it works fine.

RakkFO · Aug 11, 2016

I will try it. I was going off the Uniden wiki and LCN was not in the instructions for one freq system.

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W8RMH · Aug 12, 2016

Just a related story. Two TGs were just added to the MARCS-IP DB for Fairfield county.

16500 XSO23MCU-1 Sheriff - Major Crimes Unit Ch. 1 Law Tac Fairfield County (23)
16504 XSO23MCU-2 Sheriff - Major Crimes Unit Ch. 2 Law Tac Fairfield County (23)

ibagli · Aug 12, 2016

I'm pretty sure the major crimes unit was on old MARCS for years too. There was a talkgroup I always assumed was them but didn't hear enough to confirm.

W8RMH · Aug 12, 2016

ibagli said:
I'm pretty sure the major crimes unit was on old MARCS for years too. There was a talkgroup I always assumed was them but didn't hear enough to confirm.

Yep, they are probably just for interop use with everyone else who IS on MARCS, cause Fairfield County just has to be different. I bet they eventually come around. West Jefferson in Madison County had their own DMR system and a year or two later they switched to MARCS as well.

gtaman · Aug 12, 2016

RakkFO said:
I am banging my head on the wall here. I don't know if it is my location or a setting but I can not figure out this DMR stuff. I have a list made with the data in the OP as a conventional and as a one freq.

When I let the radio work I get hundreds of hits on millersport and Lancaster sites, but no pickerington! I can hear pickerington site on my amateur radio with rubber duck but not on the scanner with a discone.

When I just scan the one freq I get no hits. Now when I hear something on the conv. Side and switch over I can get a hit.

I build my lists on the ARC software and by hand with same results. Anyone have any ideas? Anyone else in Fairfield co able to try? I am working on getting this data in the DB just need to lock down a couple details.

Thanks in advance

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Fairfield county is all conventional DMR, not trunked. One slot is used for voice the other is for data. All of the analog broadcast are multicasted on the DMR repeaters. And the digital is rebroadcasted on analog. If you can find my thread about it I found the group ID. It's in one of my posts.

Edit: http://forums.radioreference.com/ohio-radio-discussion-forum/321586-fairfield-county-sheriff.html

RakkFO · Aug 12, 2016

Please read the entire thread. I already cited your post as the source and that it is a "conventional" set up.

The issue is when I follow the DMR wiki instructions from UPMan it say:
During a search, when the scanner stops on a DMR transmission, the following information will be displayed. (It shows several options but what I focused on was that my scanner followed the instructions and showed "DMR" so I picked that path). when you see DMR you program it as a one frequency system. So I did that, but then my hits went away. So I program it as a conventional system and I start getting hits.

I want to program it as a one freq system so I can see the UID's as well as the CC and TS.

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gtaman · Aug 12, 2016

RakkFO said:
Please read the entire thread. I already cited your post as the source and that it is a "conventional" set up.

The issue is when I follow the DMR wiki instructions from UPMan it say:
During a search, when the scanner stops on a DMR transmission, the following information will be displayed. (It shows several options but what I focused on was that my scanner followed the instructions and showed "DMR" so I picked that path). when you see DMR you program it as a one frequency system. So I did that, but then my hits went away. So I program it as a conventional system and I start getting hits.

I want to program it as a one freq system so I can see the UID's as well as the CC and TS.

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Okay I gotcha. Sorry I checked the thread at work.

RakkFO · Aug 12, 2016

No problem.

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WX4JCW · Aug 12, 2016

I was in Hebron last night just got my 536 but found the Millers port site, sounded good

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medic611 · Aug 13, 2016

W8RMH said:
Just a related story. Two TGs were just added to the MARCS-IP DB for Fairfield county.

16500 XSO23MCU-1 Sheriff - Major Crimes Unit Ch. 1 Law Tac Fairfield County (23)
16504 XSO23MCU-2 Sheriff - Major Crimes Unit Ch. 2 Law Tac Fairfield County (23)

They've been on MARCS for a number of years , and also had UHF radios for close surveillance, and other uses, as well as vehicle repeaters. Kind of surprises me those talkgroups aren't encrypted and in the clear. Especially since some work is done up in Columbus with other agencies.

medic611 · Aug 13, 2016

gtaman said:
Fairfield county is all conventional DMR, not trunked. One slot is used for voice the other is for data. All of the analog broadcast are multicasted on the DMR repeaters. And the digital is rebroadcasted on analog. If you can find my thread about it I found the group ID. It's in one of my posts.

It was discussed at length years ago especially of the NW Task force time frame to get onto Columbus/ Franklin trunking system , and that all died. The biggest issue was funding for $20.00/ radio per year especially with the smaller all volunteer departments. Ohio would be smart to be like NC and give everyone access to the state system with no charge to it. There will always be a few counties whom want to do their "own thing" but like Pickaway county in the end it comes down to costs and maintenance to be a stand alone system. Fairfield has enough UHF frequencies to make a viable trunked system work several of those frequencies came from Franklin county by trading 800mhz ones for 450-460mhz . I remember when the city of Lancaster was told that 4 MARCS Sites would need to be added in the city limits to achieve in building coverage at a million dollars each .....

RakkFO · Aug 13, 2016

Edit I did not realize that M611 quoted so my reply is invalid

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RakkFO · Aug 13, 2016

I don't know why it makes a difference but I programmed again using sentinel and I could hear this system while traveling on I-70 this morning. I have it programmed as a one freq.

I am not confident that it was what software I use it could be that I have bad RX from the house. I will keep updating.

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mtindor · Aug 13, 2016

gtaman said:
Fairfield county is all conventional DMR, not trunked. One slot is used for voice the other is for data. All of the analog broadcast are multicasted on the DMR repeaters. And the digital is rebroadcasted on analog. If you can find my thread about it I found the group ID. It's in one of my posts.

Edit: http://forums.radioreference.com/ohio-radio-discussion-forum/321586-fairfield-county-sheriff.html

They have 5 or six transmitter sites, at least four of them actually spewing TRBO emissions with SO Dispatch on slot 1 and Data on slot 2 at each site.

I'm sure it's not Cap+ or Con+ trunked, but are you sure it isn't conventional DMR networked? Are all transmissions always heard on all towers at the same time?

From a database standpoint, I can add six different conventional TRBO frequencies, color code 10, TG 230001 for each, but in the DB I can also list them as a "system" of conventional DMR frequencies that are linked/networked (and would show up as a trunked system in the DB).

This hasn't been added because I'm not sure which way to go with it. I'd find it hard to believe that although each transmitter site is a different frequency, that they would use these sites singularly. I mean what kind of radio system is that if you have switch between six towers as you travel around the county.

This is what the "staged" system currently looks like in the RRDB. I'm debating whether or not to push this out or do just add six (when all six are verified active) transmitter sites, all listed as SO Dispatch with the same color code / slot / talkgroup.

Fairfield County Ohio Sheriff Trunking System, , Ohio - Scanner Frequencies

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Fairfield Co DMR

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