Turn XTS into a scanner

[ElroyJetson]

What you want to do is exhaustively documented and you can find all the information you need to do it online. Yes it's absolutely possible, lots of people have done it, you're just the noob who hasn't learned the method just yet.
But it's still dangerous. Too many possibilities for errors exist, that can and may and possibly lead investigators right to your door.

Get a Unication. Or use a Harris radio with appropriate features. A P7300 with Phase 1 is cheap. Even with Phase 2 they're not expensive, and Harris radios have the advantage of being able to understand "no transmit capability" on a level that Motorola trunked radios just don't get.

 

[knockoffham]

Thanks everyone! Seems like I will probably end up getting a Unication or Harris after further research, and the XTS even if modified isn't the best idea.

Edit: somehow I missed this thread that seems like it will point me in the right direction Commercial radio for listening to P25 trunking? NOT INTERESTED IN NAS.

 

[a417]

and the XTS even if modified isn't the best idea.

tbh, it's likely the worst - barring stealing a radio. no cap, on god.

 

[knockoffham]

tbh, it's likely the worst - barring stealing a radio. no cap, on god.

Lol. Ok. Is it just because that's the way Motorola makes them? (I mean how they love to affiliate and transmit whenever possible). Or a PITA to set up without being illegal? Probably all of the above... I think I answered those questions as I wrote them.

 

[KevinC]

Thanks everyone! Seems like I will probably end up getting a Unication or Harris after further research, and the XTS even if modified isn't the best idea.

Other than the coolness factor, what's wrong with a scanner?

 

[knockoffham]

Other than the coolness factor, what's wrong with a scanner?

Not as good frontend, occasional missed traffic, large price point. Also, I enjoy my mostly stupid projects. Whereas used 700/800 public safety radios can be had for under $100. However if I do get a Harris portable, finding Radio Personality Manager and cables might be a major PITA.

 

[mmckenna]

Lol. Ok. Is it just because that's the way Motorola makes them? (I mean how they love to affiliate and transmit whenever possible).

Sort of. These radios are not designed to be hobby toys. They are designed for a task and Motorola never saw scanning a trunked system without a key as a need.
Also, scanning on public safety radios is a bad thing and gets end users in trouble pretty quick. "If you're scanning, you ain't listening".

Later on, Harris and BK saw a need for that function and added it in their radios. That's why those radios keep getting recommended.

I know people like the look of a Motorola radio, but there are other perfectly suitable manufacturers that do some things better. If you can get past the brand name, it opens up a lot of possibilities.

Or a PITA to set up without being illegal? Probably all of the above... I think I answered those questions as I wrote them.

Well, on a Motorola, doing NAS, it is kind of illegal, since it requires making a fake system key that was not issued by the owner. Just like you'd probably get upset if someone was out there making copies of your house key and handing them out to random people.

There is a real good reason you'll keep hearing people tell you to "just buy a scanner":

 

[GTR8000]

since it requires making a fake system key

If the generated system key were fake, then it wouldn't work! It's an unauthorized system key, but very much valid/real as far as functionality.

 

[KevinC]

Not as good frontend, occasional missed traffic...

OK. Is this from personal experience or just hearsay? My SDS100 works about 95% of the places my APX's do, plus it lets me pick and choose what I want to scan easily, lets me "hold" on a TG of interest, lets me easily pick and choose sites I want to listen to and lets me scan as much as I want to. Just some things to think about.

 

[knockoffham]

Sort of. These radios are not designed to be hobby toys. They are designed for a task and Motorola never saw scanning a trunked system without a key as a need.
Also, scanning on public safety radios is a bad thing and gets end users in trouble pretty quick. "If you're scanning, you ain't listening".

Later on, Harris and BK saw a need for that function and added it in their radios. That's why those radios keep getting recommended.

I know people like the look of a Motorola radio, but there are other perfectly suitable manufacturers that do some things better. If you can get past the brand name, it opens up a lot of possibilities.



Well, on a Motorola, doing NAS, it is kind of illegal, since it requires making a fake system key that was not issued by the owner. Just like you'd probably get upset if someone was out there making copies of your house key and handing them out to random people.

There is a real good reason you'll keep hearing people tell you to "just buy a scanner":

Ok. Thanks. I am not by any means a large Motorola fan, it's just what is easy to get/program and therefore what I am familiar with. I don't like Motorola all that much, but that's irrelevant. I was using the wrong words- I said scanning but really meant just being able to listen in general. I'd prefer to use a Harris, I just don't have the software. Time for an internet hunt I guess, or maybe I'll be logical, give up, and get a scanner.

 

[GTR8000]

OK. Is this from personal experience or just hearsay? My SDS100 works about 95% of the places my APX's do, plus it lets me pick and choose what I want to scan easily, lets me "hold" on a TG of interest, lets me easily pick and choose sites I want to listen to and lets me scan as much as I want to. Just some things to think about.

Yeah, but it's not nearly as cool!

 

[knockoffham]

OK. Is this from personal experience or just hearsay? My SDS100 works about 95% of the places my APX's do, plus it lets me pick and choose what I want to scan easily, lets me "hold" on a TG of interest, lets me easily pick and choose sites I want to listen to and lets me scan as much as I want to. Just some things to think about.

Just what I heard, making this thread was me being very tunnel-visioned and not wanting to spend over $500 just to be able to listen to somewhat-interesting radio traffic.

Yeah, but it's not nearly as cool!

 

[ElroyJetson]

Radios designed for public safety usage are more rugged, durable, and perform better in the type of system they were designed for than any scanner can be EXPECTED to perform, as there is no performance REQUIREMENT, or contract stipulating performance standards, for any scanner that I'm aware of . But every public safety radio contract can be expected to have such stipulations. I never heard of a public safety system contract that didn't have standards of performance written into them, for both the system and the subscriber equipment.

I've literally never owned a trunking scanner. Plenty of Moto and Harris gear, though. The same durable, rugged, and performance qualities that make them suitable for professional duty radios are attributes I value. I KNOW I'm going to drop a radio from time to time. I'm only human. I expect it to survive the drop. I want it loud enough, and clear enough, to be heard over road noise if I'm in a moving vehicle. I want it to have a sensitive and selective receiver that doesn't miss or drop calls or receive interference that can be avoided with better designed RF circuitry. I want it to be reliable. Today I use Harris. Even though I still think Motorola makes the better product, Harris is just easier and safer to use in a public safety scanning environment. It has caused me to care LESS about the brand competition than I used to. Except that I'm glad there IS competition, which always improves the breed.

 

[knockoffham]

Radios designed for public safety usage are more rugged, durable, and perform better in the type of system they were designed for than any scanner can be EXPECTED to perform, as there is no performance REQUIREMENT, or contract stipulating performance standards, for any scanner that I'm aware of . But every public safety radio contract can be expected to have such stipulations. I never heard of a public safety system contract that didn't have standards of performance written into them, for both the system and the subscriber equipment.

I've literally never owned a trunking scanner. Plenty of Moto and Harris gear, though. The same durable, rugged, and performance qualities that make them suitable for professional duty radios are attributes I value. I KNOW I'm going to drop a radio from time to time. I'm only human. I expect it to survive the drop. I want it loud enough, and clear enough, to be heard over road noise if I'm in a moving vehicle. I want it to have a sensitive and selective receiver that doesn't miss or drop calls or receive interference that can be avoided with better designed RF circuitry. I want it to be reliable. Today I use Harris. Even though I still think Motorola makes the better product, Harris is just easier and safer to use in a public safety scanning environment. It has caused me to care LESS about the brand competition than I used to. Except that I'm glad there IS competition, which always improves the breed.

Knowing myself, and how I get sucked into the unnecessary, I will probably end up getting a used Harris radio and program it for no TX, that is once I can find Harris RPM. Currently all I have for listening to analog and DMR is all old part 90 radios.

 

[crazyboy]

If money is really an issue some SDR dongles would work, and be cheap. Can set up a private feed/remote control to your phone for while out and about.

 

[mmckenna]

Knowing myself, and how I get sucked into the unnecessary, I will probably end up getting a used Harris radio and program it for no TX, that is once I can find Harris RPM. Currently all I have for listening to analog and DMR is all old part 90 radios.

Pay attention carefully to which Harris radio you purchase.

I'm not sure how buying -just- RPM works.
I did buy RPM2 about a year ago (came with RPM) and the software is licensed per seat and requires activation with Harris. It's also very expensive.

 

[knockoffham]

If money is really an issue some SDR dongles would work, and be cheap. Can set up a private feed/remote control to your phone for while out and about.

I could do something like that, I do have a home server. I've heard of OP25 but my home server is running Windows and migrating it all to Linux just for OP25 probably isn't worth it. I could probably find some workaround though like Windows subsystem for Linux. My home server does have a horrid internet connection and is an overworked potato made over a decade ago though. But I will consider it. Thanks

Take it from someone who maintains/manages a few hundred public works XTS 5Ks in the radio shop in which I work:
Your proposed solution will not work the way you want it to.
You would first need Astro 25 CPS (not Astro CPS).
And you would still be limited to 15 (NOT 16) talkgroups per scanlist. You can't put "all your counties talkgroups" into an XTS scanlist. The XTS 5Ks were designed to scan only a very few TGs at a time as it is a subscriber radio not a scanner.
No offense but your knowledge of how trunking works with an actual subscriber unit like an XTS 5K is amateur at best and liable to get yourself in legal trouble at worst.
As others have said: Consider a Unication pager, BK or Harris radio that will allow system scanning in no gray area or an SDS scanner.

First, I somehow missed this message or I would have replied earlier. I mis-typed, I have old Astro CPS and Astro 25 CPS too. But you're right, I have limited understanding of P25 trunking. My idea was not to do a scanlist, but to set up individual channels with the talkgropus used in the county, and just remove the PA amp so it can't transmit. But after help from this thread, it seems that an XTS is not a good radio to do something like this with, as with other models I could fully inhibit any affiliation without having to do any hardware mods or anything sketchy. So yeah, An astro is out of the question after all the great info on this thread. I'll go with a Harris, Unication, or proper scanner.

 

[cmjonesinc]

I could do something like that, I do have a home server. I've heard of OP25 but my home server is running Windows and migrating it all to Linux just for OP25 probably isn't worth it. I could probably find some workaround though like Windows subsystem for Linux. My home server does have a horrid internet connection and is an overworked potato made over a decade ago though. But I will consider it. Thanks

UniTrunker V2 works well on Windows. I use a combination of it and various BlueTail Technologies devices for monitoring trunked systems. You can pipe your audio through Zello and have your own stream that will work with mobile devices or computers.

https://www.unitrunker.com/download.html

 

[knockoffham]

UniTrunker V2 works well on Windows. I use a combination of it and various BlueTail Technologies devices for monitoring trunked systems. You can pipe your audio through Zello and have your own stream that will work with mobile devices or computers.

https://www.unitrunker.com/download.html

Oh, sweet! Another contender enters the arena... I could even set this up as a wimpy cross-band repeater over to MURS or something. I do have a website I could integrate the streams into as well.

 

[a417]

Oh, sweet! Another contender enters the arena... I could even set this up as a wimpy cross-band repeater over to MURS or something. I do have a website I could integrate the streams into as well.

wait.

you went from (not-NAS-but)NAS to hardware limiting a radio, to scanning on a BTT, to Unitrunker to crossbanding it onto MURS...and then you've decided that you can stream this onto a website?

this sounds very much like a 'flight of ideas', are you ok?

methinks you should try walking, before you run.