P25RX P25 Phase 1/2/DMR Receiver With Bluetooth Audio Support

[freqseeker]

I'm looking forward to the display. The specs of the display are beyond my skill set so I can't give much feedback there. I would like to be able to adjust display settings by computer and save to the unit. This would be what information is displayed, TG's, Radio ID's, Site ID, Sytem ID etc. The reason is it's easier for me to see the bigger screen.

I haven't messed with talkgroup timeout yet. I assumed it is the delay time before going to the next TG. If so I usually do 2 seconds on my scanners. Correct me if I'm mistaken.

This project is really coming along well.

 

[w4amp]

Todd, I have now adjusted to 250 ms and that seems to be the sweet spot for the Atlanta P25 phase ll system for me. Perhaps it is site specific??? I dunno, but I’m very pleased with my P25XR after making the necessary adjustments to run on my computer. I will be testing mobile in the next week or so.

Which parameter are you referring to? Thanks

 

[kruser]

Which parameter are you referring to? Thanks

They are talking about the Talk Group Timeout value found under the P25RX Configuration Tab of BTCONFIG.

I also set mine to 250ms in order to allow the device to start looking for active talkgroups quicker.
The 2 second default is too long of a delay for most of my systems.

This is pretty much the equivalent to the channel Delay setting we are all used to using for conventional analog channels.

 

[Mike_G_D]

For me, I like to set it (the "Talk Group Timeout") to 3 seconds (3000 ms) as I often find the users of the system I listen to don't reply quickly and I don't want to lose the conversation part way through; though the police and sheriffs are usually pretty quick under normal circumstances.

I can't see any way for this to affect the audio quality, though.

-Mike

 

[kruser]

For me, I like to set it (the "Talk Group Timeout") to 3 seconds (3000 ms) as I often find the users of the system I listen to don't reply quickly and I don't want to lose the conversation part way through; though the police and sheriffs are usually pretty quick under normal circumstances.

I can't see any way for this to affect the audio quality, though.

-Mike

Maybe a simple keystroke hotkey could Hold on a talkgroup. That could be a handy feature as long as the BTCONFIG window has the focus.

I'm usually fine with a very short hold time but there are times when something interesting comes over the air that a hold feature could be used.

 

[Mike_G_D]

Maybe a simple keystroke hotkey could Hold on a talkgroup. That could be a handy feature as long as the BTCONFIG window has the focus.

I'm usually fine with a very short hold time but there are times when something interesting comes over the air that a hold feature could be used.

Agree, a "talk group hold" hot key would be useful. Of course, I can use the button on the unit which, by the way, works very well and have used it many times when a major incident occurs to hold on a talk group, but still, a hot key on the keyboard would be nice to have also.

I'd also like a way to manually choose a talk group to monitor using either the TG number or the alpha alias. I guess, though, that would have to be done through the console though maybe a GUI window could be provided for the purpose.

-Mike

 

[kruser]

Agree, a "talk group hold" hot key would be useful. Of course, I can use the button on the unit which, by the way, works very well and have used it many times when a major incident occurs to hold on a talk group, but still, a hot key on the keyboard would be nice to have also.

I'd also like a way to manually choose a talk group to monitor using either the TG number or the alpha alias. I guess, though, that would have to be done through the console though maybe a GUI window could be provided for the purpose.

-Mike

Just last night, I rearranged some things so I could put the P25RX within arms reach for the sole reason of being able to hit the units button easily.
I had to laugh though. As small as the P25RX is, I'm still out of open real estate on my desk for gadgets and radios!

Glad you brought that up about having a way to choose a TG number. I've had the need for that as well.
I'm not sure if Todd is entertaining requests yet but this one is a good one!

 

[Mike_G_D]

I had to laugh though. As small as the P25RX is, I'm still out of open real estate on my desk for gadgets and radios!

LOL! You're not alone!

 

[kinglou0]

Snip.....

Current Plans:
Open-source / Open-hardware, ST32H7-based MCU design (USB Host)
Firmware in 'C' language / GCC environment
STLink / DFU programming

320x240 Color Touch Screen (ILI9341 controller)
Audio Line-out? (would be redundant, but might be useful).
1 Watt surface mount speaker / amplifier
16M NOR Flash
Type-C USB Power-only connector (provides power to the system when using the display with the P25RX)
Micro-AB USB Power/Data connector. A short Micro-USB-to-Type C cable will be used to connect the display to the P25RX (provides host interface / power to the P25RX when in display mode, firmware updates for the display)

The display could interface with the P25RX firmware as-is, but I'm thinking it may be useful to add another power-up mode to the P25RX firmware specifically for the display. In this case, the display board could become the "brains" while P25RX would provide decoded audio/symbols/etc. This would allow developers to fork the code (if desired) and create alternate modes of operation, new features, etc.

Thoughts?

Sounds like a winner.

If there was a way to "future proof" the P25RX by having the display become the "brains" as you stated in your post, that would be an excellent idea. I don't foresee new protocols coming out but opening up the unit for further tweaks and features would be awesome.

The hardware has definitely shown it's up to the task. I'm excited to see what someone might think of next.

Quietly hopes for a rudimentary interface to easily move between systems and protocols.

 

[btt]

I had to laugh though. As small as the P25RX is, I'm still out of open real estate on my desk for gadgets and radios!

I also laughed at this. I'm highly suspicious of anyone with a clean desk.

New testing version available (2020-10-22_1251). There is a fix for DMR Conventional mode. If you weren't receiving anything or very little, then give this version a try.

The previous firmware always had an 'f' command that toggles the follow talk-group mode. I added the ability to give it an argument for the talk group.

Example:
$ f
following talkgroup 303 (most recent talk group received)

$ f
un-following talkgroup 303

$ f 347
following talkgroup 347

$ f
un-following talkgroup 347

 

[KB4SHP]

First of all, thank you! I'm glad to hear that it is working well on the new NC Viper system!

Unless the pri_always command is used to "enable" conversation interruptions, the priorities will not be considered during the talk-group timeout period. You can enable the "pri_always" option. e.g.:
$ pri_always 1
$ save

Once this is done, then the priorities defined in the talk-group editor table will be used. The current implementation is very simple. If the incoming channel grant has two talk active talk groups, and both of the talk groups are enabled, then the one with a higher value will be used.

I'm open to changing how this works.

Could the default in the Priority box on software box one beside sys id be defaulted to 0 or just left blank if you not going to use priority then if you are you could use the number 1. Also dont know if this would work but if it could may be talk group that is listed as number 1 be the highest priority and then the next one you want would follow with the number 2 and so on (Just Idea if this would be possible I know with my Unication G5 the talk group that is listed 1 or top is the talk group has the highest priority but dont know if that is
to much to ask so I would be fine with just listing the number beside which ever is simple to do if it can be done thanks )

Could

 

[foxtail]

Is there any chance that BTconfig will work with other sdr devices?

 

[btt]

Could the default in the Priority box on software box one beside sys id be defaulted to 0 or just left blank if you not going to use priority then if you are you could use the number 1.

I think that does make sense. Then we could just get rid of the pri_always command.

Is there any chance that BTconfig will work with other sdr devices?

The BTConfig software doesn't actually implement any of the receiver functionality. The P25RX is a stand-alone receiver with most of the DSP being done in firmware. The BTConfig software is used for configuration and monitoring of the P25RX receiver.

It might be worth sharing some thoughts on SDR. I know a lot of people think of the RTL devices with demod/DSP being done on the PC when the term SDR is used. The truth is that almost any modern receiver is partially hardware (HDL) and partially software (firmware), and so could be considered a software-defined-radio. I doubt there is any P25 receiver out there that can receive simulcast that is not using SDR / DSP technology. The high-end subscriber units are definitely going to be using HDL and DSP (SDR).

 

[turnpike61]

Hi: I have been trying to cull some control channels found from the log, but found that some cannot be deleted no matter what I do. Is there something I am missing? I would really like to clean up the list of found talkgroups because I think I have some phantoms from the earlier firmware.

Thanks.

 

[Mike_G_D]

Hi: I have been trying to cull some control channels found from the log, but found that some cannot be deleted no matter what I do. Is there something I am missing? I would really like to clean up the list of found talkgroups because I think I have some phantoms from the earlier firmware.

Thanks.

The delete function has "issues". I learned on here that it still works ok if you shut down the software and restart it then use the delete BEFORE doing any re-sorting! So right after you re-start the software start deleting - don't sort anything! I know it makes it harder to find what you want and delete it/them as you might not be able to do a bulk delete if the records are not contiguous without sorting but that's the way it is for now until that bug gets "squashed".

-Mike

 

[turnpike61]

The delete function has "issues". I learned on here that it still works ok if you shut down the software and restart it then use the delete BEFORE doing any re-sorting! So right after you re-start the software start deleting - don't sort anything! I know it makes it harder to find what you want and delete it/them as you might not be able to do a bulk delete if the records are not contiguous without sorting but that's the way it is for now until that bug gets "squashed".

-Mike

Thanks Mike: worked as you described. Would probably never have figured it out on my own. Problem fixed. I was able to select multiple TGs and they all were deleted as you said.

Cheers.

 

[boy7777777777]

Btt. Would it be possible to make the P25rx display all info about a p25 trunked system just like unitrunker does, or like the Uniden Home Patrol with the extreme upgrade. I would be willing to pay extra for that.

 

[btt]

Btt. Would it be possible to make the P25rx display all info about a p25 trunked system just like unitrunker does, or like the Uniden Home Patrol with the extreme upgrade. I would be willing to pay extra for that.

Currently, I'm not familiar with unitrunker or Uniden Home Patrol, but I will do my best to review them and provide the same information. No need to pay extra.

Update on the display progress:
I received some displays for testing. I've been able to do some prototyping with an STM32H7xx dev board and one of the touch-displays. So far, everything is looking really good. The color display looks great and the touch sensor is also working very well. I still need to verify that that I can get the STM MCU to act as a USB host for the P25RX. I forgot to order a cable for this, I have one on the way now. If that part goes well, then I will wrap up the PCB layout (electrical design is already nearly complete) and get some initial boards ordered.

I'm planning on making the entire display hardware/firmware design and prototcol between the display<>P25RX 100% open.

 

[vince48]

btt,
whatnI start the BTconfig, I get "Status: discovering device. Please wait" tha P25RX never connects. What does this mean? The only way to connect is I have to unplug the usb cable.

 

[btt]

btt,
whatnI start the BTconfig, I get "Status: discovering device. Please wait" tha P25RX never connects. What does this mean? The only way to connect is I have to unplug the usb cable.

Does the issue go away if you do a "write config"?