Maine Turnpike Monitoring

[sfd745]

Ok guys, please bear with me as I am still a novice to DMR trunking.

I want to monitor, I repeat MONITOR, the RCM Hytera DMR system to hear the Maine Turnpike units. I have an Motorola XPR 6550 VHF portable radio that I use for DMR public safety and 2-Meter, and I want to add the Maine Turnpike system to listen to.

I have the frequencies from the database, and the appropriate talkgroups, also from the database. Is there a way to program the Hytera system into this radio to monitor their talkgroups given that it is a Hytera System and not a Motorola Capacity or Connect Plus system?

Thanks guys in advance.

Higgy

 

[Isinglass311]

Hi, I don’t know the answer to your question but curious to where you found Maine Turnpike units on DMR. I hear them on the MSCN P25 phase 1.

 

[ME343]

Hi, I don’t know the answer to your question but curious to where you found Maine Turnpike units on DMR. I hear them on the MSCN P25 phase 1.

Turnpike Units on DMR are the Maintenace trucks etc.
Turnpike Units on p25 is the Law Enforcement units.

 

[garys]

Which seems a bit odd, but whatever.

Turnpike Units on DMR are the Maintenace trucks etc.
Turnpike Units on p25 is the Law Enforcement units.

 

[16b]

I have not tried to monitor a Hytera system with a Motorola radio, but it may be possible to monitor by scanning the channels in conventional mode. To do this, you would need to program each time slot in the system as a separate channel in the radio. So, if there are, for example, four repeaters, you would need eight channels (two time slots per repeater). Each channel would have a group list assigned that contains the talkgroup(s) you want to monitor. You would then create a scan list to scan all of those channels. This can potentially take up a lot of channels in your scan list, but unfortunately there isn’t any other way to do it since a Motorola radio is not going to track a Hytera trunk system.

If you need help with your codeplug send me a PM and I can take a look.

 

[sfd745]

Which seems a bit odd, but whatever.

The whole MSP / partner agencies relationship is odd.

The state created a statewide radio network (MSCommnet), made all these promises of it being a seamless, multi-agency, multi-partner system. As they built it, it became a State system with patches (Regionnets) for the outside agencies and partners. It's final product, where it is today, is a State only system with spotty patches, requiring many of the state departments to require a radio for the state system and a seperate radio to work with everyone else.

It went from a "one radio / one system does it all" to "our system" and talk amongst yourselfs.

The turnpike issue is a true representation of this. Turnpike units have a Harris radio in their cruisers for the MSCommnet system, a Hytera unit to talk to T-Pike, and a VHF (mostly Kenwood TK-7180s) to talk to Fire, EMS and partner law agencies.

When we respond to the T-Pike for incidents, we operate on our primary, and talk T-Pike on a VHF patch to their Hytera system.

The Hytera system in question isn't even the Pike's. It is owned by their radio shop (RCM) and leased to the Pike as a subscriber.

 

[garys]

That all makes sense in a screwed up state government kind of way. There was a lot of discussion on Scan NE when that system was being built and it doesn't seem that the system is working as designed. While I hear State Police traffic on the statewide system, I also hear that traffic in analog on some of the Regionet conventional frequencies.

IIRC, the state forestry department is the largest single user on MSCOMNET. Which given the size of the state and the number of trees in it, makes sense.

I thought it was just me that thought that the system is underutilized, but I guess that is by intent.

 

[12dbsinad]

Well despite the logistics of how the new MS system was implemented, one thing is for certain. They STILL can't talk the length of the Pike without dead spots with mobiles. After talking with a trooper he said the reliability of the trunk system is terrible, one minute it works, the next you're bonked and out of range. He said the old analog Zone 1 system (I was in S. Maine talking with him) was actually more predictable because you knew the dead spots. This system it's very random, he said.

The ONLY smart agency to stay out of that mess was DOT sticking with low band.