Madison Public Safety P25 System

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k9tsu

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Any information on when Madison is going to cut over to the new P25 system and shut down Analog?
 

wirr

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Most users have switched over to the P25 system. Police and fire should be cutting over in the next couple of months. They can already be heard on P25.
 

whop94

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Middleton, WI
I know they're using a SmartX zone controller so its a slow but steady and seamless migration, Im excited for my G5 to arrive given DaneCom and now Madison going with the simulcast system. At least I'm able to catch like 75% of the traffic on the Madison P25 system living literally two blocks from one of the towers with my TRX-1, it wont even lock on to DaneCom. I never realized how much I would miss the analog days!
 

whop94

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Interestingly enough it appears MFD is no longer being simulcast on the P25 system, they're only active on the Motorola system and the DaneCom simulcast, don't know if maybe they aren't outfitted with the equipment yet or perhaps theres some other kind of issue.
 

tp3244

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As of today 4/25, I'm still picking up the old analog 800MHz Madison PD stuff on a HomePatrol2. Not sure if they kept an old patch going to an 800MHz transmitter, or what?

That said, I primarily use a Unication G5, which to this point I've fairly reliably gotten MPD A1/A3 on via the Danecom P25 Phase I patch.

If you haven't tried a G5, do yourself a favor and get one, they work great with Danecom! Haven't tried G5 with the new Madison P25 system yet (my G5 is currently at Unication for the P25 Phase II upgrade). Will report back how it works next week.

whop94, you'll enjoy that G5, which works great with simulcast and DaneCom :)
 

whop94

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As of today 4/25, I'm still picking up the old analog 800MHz Madison PD stuff on a HomePatrol2. Not sure if they kept an old patch going to an 800MHz transmitter, or what?

That said, I primarily use a Unication G5, which to this point I've fairly reliably gotten MPD A1/A3 on via the Danecom P25 Phase I patch.

If you haven't tried a G5, do yourself a favor and get one, they work great with Danecom! Haven't tried G5 with the new Madison P25 system yet (my G5 is currently at Unication for the P25 Phase II upgrade). Will report back how it works next week.

whop94, you'll enjoy that G5, which works great with simulcast and DaneCom :)

Madison P25 sounds beautiful on the G5!

Also in other news MFD is back on the P25 system, also noticed Monona PD on 1503, it appears the channel matrix is going to be pretty much identical to the current Motorola system, all of the HEX TGIDs are identical.
 

botenredwolf

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Madison, WI
I'm still running an old BC895XLT and I've lost all of the tac channels, giving me the impression they're continuing their transition over to the P25.

I still get A1/A3/data, but no tac and no county patches anymore.
 

tp3244

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Just got my Unication G5 back from the Phase II upgrade which I did "for good measure". Most all P25 traffic in the area is Phase I still but thought I'd do the upgrade anyways to future proof it, and since based on my experience, I suspect MPD A1/A3 on Danecom occasionally go out as Phase II.

Programmed the MPS P25 system in (previously had only used Danecom) and it's working great. I ran it side by side with my Homepatrol 2 (monitoring 800MHz) tonight 5/4 and can confirm what botenredwolf observed - only MPD A1 and A3 (and data, I guess) are still going out on 800MHz, the Tac channels are history and only on P25 now. Monona PD dispatch is still going out on 800MHz as well.

EDIT: Listened some more tonight.... seems some channels i.e. TAC7 are still going out on 800MHz, but others i.e. TAC10 (Traffic Enforcement Safety Team) are not.

This Homepatrol 2 is getting less and less useful every day. It supposedly"on paper" does P25 Phase I and II but that is a joke; P25 works like crap on this thing compared to the G5. Think the HomePatrol 2 will be going up for sale soon; I suspect most folks' Uniden and Whistler scanners will begin gathering dust across the country as everyone moves to P25.
 

botenredwolf

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Madison, WI
Yeah, luckily I'm not too afraid of SDR, and I've managed to get the new Madison P25 stuff going on software. The neat part is that the control channels for the SmartNet and the P25 are damn right next to each other so I can monitor the controls of both sites simultaneously. There's not much left on the SmartNet besides public works and stuff, and even then it's gotta be simulcast across both networks.

Edit:
It looks like the EMS and fire calls are only on the Moto.
 
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jfive38

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Madison, WI
I am finally hearing the CPT units as well. Those are probably the best to listen to to isolate transmissions around where you live. I have both the TRX-1 and TRX-2 and the G5 is blowing them out of the water.
 

tp3244

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Oct 21, 2017
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Are the Uniden P25-capable models any good? I don't mind doing it software, but the quality kinda sucks since vocoder ...issues...

No. See my commentary on the HP2 above. The BCD models are no better. The G5 is pretty much the only game in town with good P25 reception at this price range.
 

bcast

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Dec 19, 2002
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New talkgroup not in the db: 3563, possibly UW EMS

In use now/today ... references to SOC, Medic 65, medic 4 on channel 15, Camp Randall locations, seizure symptoms in patient, etc.
 

R8000

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New talkgroup not in the db: 3563, possibly UW EMS

In use now/today ... references to SOC, Medic 65, medic 4 on channel 15, Camp Randall locations, seizure symptoms in patient, etc.

This traffic was also piped out on RTAC 14 SW on WISCOM.
 

whop94

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Middleton, WI
New talkgroup not in the db: 3563, possibly UW EMS

In use now/today ... references to SOC, Medic 65, medic 4 on channel 15, Camp Randall locations, seizure symptoms in patient, etc.

That is the UW EMS talkgroup, all of the talkgroups on the new system correlate essentially exactly to the old system, if you look at the HEX talkgroups MPD dispatch 1 is 9c7 on both, dispatch 3 is 9c9, so on and so fourth.
 

dubs66

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Dec 19, 2002
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Madison WI.
Anyone have a G5 for sale or know a place to buy new at a decent price? I'm in Madison WI. Thinking about a Whistler TRX-1 but by the sound of things I may not have a lot of luck locking onto the Danecom system. What to do????
 

tp3244

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Oct 21, 2017
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I’ve heard great things about Ray’s, but if you’re ok with a used unit you can check eBay. I got a used G5 for just under $500 on eBay and it works great.
 
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