Noob question

[Unassuming2]

I'm running a dongle with HDSDR software and I can't get anything out of it other than static. Here I have the frequencies for Hartsfield Airport arrivals and departures, but again, no communications. Can someone tell me what I'm missing here in the settings?

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[dave3825]

I don't use that software but the noise floor looks low. What antenna are you using and did you raise the rf gain? Also looks like the squelch it set to the max.

 

[Unassuming2]

OP answered...

What make & model SDR are you using? You'll need a trunk tracking SDR app like SDRTrunk (free) to bring in your county's TRS. DSDPlus Fastlane is another paid app alternative but it has a much steeper learning curve, more steps to take, files to modify, etc to get trunking to work properly. HDSDR & SDRSharp are only good for conventional (non-trunked) monitoring

Fulton County Public Safety P25 Trunking System, Atlanta, Georgia

Fulton County Public Safety P25 Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

I don't use that software but the noise floor looks low. What antenna are you using and did you raise the rf gain? Also looks like the squelch it set to the max.

What exactly is the noise floor? (remember, I'm a noob). The antenna I'm using is the one that came with the dongle.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

What exactly is the noise floor? (remember, I'm a noob)

Easily Google-able...

Noise floor - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[dave3825]

Below is a pic. There are no signals present so either the antenna (ones that come with dongle are usually crap) is the issue or the gain is set to low.






This is how a spectrum receiving signals should look with a decent antenna and some gain applied. Different program but same concept.