SDR Trunked System Discovery

[Bjc123]

Hello,

I have recently been looking into and researching SDRs and I was wondering if it is possible to use a SDR to discover new P25 trunked radio systems and talkgroups?

If this is possible what software should I use?

Thanks in advance,

Brad

 

[Randyk4661]

Yes it can help find a new trunk system. The Spectrum analyzer part of it is great for finding new frequencies and systems.
Most everyone uses SDR# (#=Sharp). It take a alot of getting used to. There are many videos on youtube on how to use it.
Also check out thescannerschool.com for more information on using SDR's.
A piece of advice, you don't need to run max gain to hear, the gain needs to be adjusted for the band you want to listen to. I couldn't understand why I wasn't hearing local weather, the gain was set too high.

 

[Bjc123]

Awesome, Thank you so much.

Stay Safe,

Brad

 

[maus92]

Hello,

I have recently been looking into and researching SDRs and I was wondering if it is possible to use a SDR to discover new P25 trunked radio systems and talkgroups?

If this is possible what software should I use?

Thanks in advance,

Brad

SDR# as mentioned above can help find control channels and traffic channels, as well as other emitters. SDR# does not find talk groups, nor will it decode P25 control or voice / traffic channels (by itself) - it just shows what frequency they operate on. However, once you find a control channel frequency, you can use Unitrunker to ID the talkgroups and associated traffic channels for the system, and play audio for older protocols (but not P25 Phase 2.) SDR Trunk can play unencrypted P25 Phase 1 and Phase 2 voice, but does not log as well as Unitrunker. If I'm out in the field, I use a junk laptop running SDR# to find a cch, then use Unitrunker 2 to map it. If I'm really interested in hearing it, I'll program a radio or software (currently DSD+FL) to monitor it. In the lab / office, I use a Dell 3070 micro to run a combination of Unitrunker 2 and SDR Trunk to log and monitor the local systems. Occasionally, I'll run op25 on an old Linux NUC to keep it up to date.

 

[Bjc123]

SDR# as mentioned above can help find control channels and traffic channels, as well as other emitters. SDR# does not find talk groups, nor will it decode P25 control or voice / traffic channels (by itself) - it just shows what frequency they operate on. However, once you find a control channel frequency, you can use Unitrunker to ID the talkgroups and associated traffic channels for the system, and play audio for older protocols (but not P25 Phase 2.) SDR Trunk can play unencrypted P25 Phase 1 and Phase 2 voice, but does not log as well as Unitrunker. If I'm out in the field, I use a junk laptop running SDR# to find a cch, then use Unitrunker 2 to map it. If I'm really interested in hearing it, I'll program a radio or software (currently DSD+FL) to monitor it. In the lab / office, I use a Dell 3070 micro to run a combination of Unitrunker 2 and SDR Trunk to log and monitor the local systems. Occasionally, I'll run op25 on an old Linux NUC to keep it up to date.

Awesome, thanks

 

[WX4JCW]

best tools SDR#, Unitrunker, and DSD+
SDR# for finding control Channels as I like the spectrum view
Unitrunker for Finding Talkgroups, mostly because you can set up custom alerts for Talkgroups and Radio ID's the latter being useful in tracking how radio ID's change talkgroups
DSD is good for determining lots of useful tidbits