unitrunker and the emergency button

[bigmattyl]

Hey guys,

Just wondering if I'm missing something,

I can definitely see when a user keys the radio in emergency mode, but it seems that the radios transmit some sort of signal when the button is pressed irregardless of the unit transmitting while in emergency mode.

Is it possible to see this with unitrunker also, I-calls as well

Thanks

[gewecke]

Originally Posted by bigmattyl

Hey guys,

Just wondering if I'm missing something,

I can definitely see when a user keys the radio in emergency mode, but it seems that the radios transmit some sort of signal when the button is pressed irregardless of the unit transmitting while in emergency mode.

Is it possible to see this with unitrunker also, I-calls as well

Thanks

Other than possibly the agency the radio is assigned to and maybe location might be transmitted, but I doubt you could see that info with a scanner.

73,
n9zas

[nd5y]

Yes, Unitrunker will display emergency calls and I-calls.
UniTrunker - The RadioReference Wiki

[bigmattyl]

what am i missing then?

cause I dont see them...

with the emergency thing, I do see when they press the talk button with emergency activitated, but i dont see when they actually hit the call button...

i-calls I dont see a thing...

something i have to turn on?

[Unitrunker]

What system are you monitoring?

[bigmattyl]

Orange County, CA CCCS

[Chauffeur6]

My tests with a P25 system show that the emergency button activation itself is either not repeated over the control channel, or Unitrunker isn't picking up on it if it is. You won't see any indication of an emergency condition until and unless the radio in emergency makes a call on the system.

[bigmattyl]

oh really? that's interesting. I wonder how dispatch knows

[Chauffeur6]

Because the button press is sent over the input frequency to the system console, which signals an emergency condition.

[bigmattyl]

oh very cool. thanks, well that explains it

[Markb]

Also, the CCCS does not use the iCall feature. At least I've never seen any indication of it.

[bigmattyl]

I put the generic iCall 700000 into my scanner and get hits almost daily, the are usually encrypted though

[Unitrunker]

Originally Posted by Chauffeur6

My tests with a P25 system show that the emergency button activation itself is either not repeated over the control channel, or Unitrunker isn't picking up on it if it is. You won't see any indication of an emergency condition until and unless the radio in emergency makes a call on the system.

It may be the system sends a generic acknowledgement so the radio knows to stop sending emergency button requests - in which case I can't tell what was acknowledged. I'll look into this.

CCCS is Motorola.

Countywide Coordinated Communications System (CCCS) Trunking System, Orange County, California - Scanner Frequencies

I'll look into this as well.

[Unitrunker]

Originally Posted by bigmattyl

I put the generic iCall 700000 into my scanner and get hits almost daily, the are usually encrypted though

What are you using as the signal receiver? If you think the program is missing i-Calls, run the program with Decode logging turned on. After the program has captured some i-Calls, stop the receiver and send the resulting log to me (or post it here if you like). We should be able to figure out what's what.

[bigmattyl]

I can use a descrimiator tap on an old pro 90 or I have an HP1 or a 996xt

[bigmattyl]

as far as what makes me feel I'm missing something re: emergency activation is that out of the blue the dispatcher will say "unit with emergency activation advise control 1 on red" and unitrunker hasn't shown anything in regards to emergency traffic.

[Unitrunker]

I see the problem. The program decodes the emergency message but does nothing with it. I'll add this to my "TODO" list.

[Chauffeur6]

Originally Posted by Unitrunker

I see the problem. The program decodes the emergency message but does nothing with it. I'll add this to my "TODO" list.

That's great news if the emergency button depress is indeed sent back over the control channel and can be processed by Unitrunker. If you need any receiver logs from a P25 P2 system that includes an emergency button activation, let me know and I'll get it to you this week.

[Unitrunker]

Originally Posted by Chauffeur6

If you need any receiver logs from a P25 P2 system that includes an emergency button activation, let me know and I'll get it to you this week.

Please do.