What is difference between OP25 and SDR trunk?

[bobruzzo]

Been using SDR Trunk in both Linux & Windows (10) with excellent results. Using RTL SDR dongle connected to a yagi and sometimes an 800 mhz vertical. Whatsup with OP25? I attempted to install it in Linux but way too complicated. How does it compare to SDR Trunk? Just interested in trying out another program just to check it out.

 

[boatbod]

OP25 runs on c/c++/python under Linux (Debian distros and derivatives) and will work on RPI3b and above. SDRTrunk is java based and cross-platform.

OP25 can decode and track P25 phase 1 and 2 with a single dongle and works well in simulcast environments. It also can also decode and track Motorola Smartzone analog or digital (with 2 dongles) and has some limited capabilities with DMR, NXDN, DStar and other xMBE based protocols. There are two variants of op25 with differing capabilities (Osmocom and Boatbod) and both are mildly more complex to install than most packages since you have to clone a git repo and build from sources.

SDRTrunk may require multiple dongles for P25 reception based on the bandwidth of the system being monitored. I think it is also capable of DMR and other digital protocols, but not Smartzone. It has a nice GUI.

Try both... YMMV

 

[bobruzzo]

OP25 runs on c/c++/python under Linux (Debian distros and derivatives) and will work on RPI3b and above. SDRTrunk is java based and cross-platform.

OP25 can decode and track P25 phase 1 and 2 with a single dongle and works well in simulcast environments. It also can also decode and track Motorola Smartzone analog or digital (with 2 dongles) and has some limited capabilities with DMR, NXDN, DStar and other xMBE based protocols. There are two variants of op25 with differing capabilities (Osmocom and Boatbod) and both are mildly more complex to install than most packages since you have to clone a git repo and build from sources.

SDRTrunk may require multiple dongles for P25 reception based on the bandwidth of the system being monitored. I think it is also capable of DMR and other digital protocols, but not Smartzone. It has a nice GUI.

Try both... YMMV

OK I looked at the OP25 page and there is a long list of applications that go with the program. So it looks like this only runs under linux. The install instructions seem pretty straight forward. For OP25 alone anyway! Not sure how to go about installing the other things.

 

[NebraskaCoder]

I know GnuRadio has a Windows port but OP25 has never ported to Windows, so I'm sure that's a long way off if ever.

 

[rlmurray56]

OK I looked at the OP25 page and there is a long list of applications that go with the program. So it looks like this only runs under linux. The install instructions seem pretty straight forward. For OP25 alone anyway! Not sure how to go about installing the other things.

You shouldn't need to install anything additional. If you follow these steps and then view the read me files and example files you will have everything that you need. I am running on a Raspberry Pi4 with 4 gb and works very well.
These are the steps to install OP25 from a linux command line:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/boatbod/op25.git
cd ~/op25
./install.sh

 

[AB5ID]

I don't think OP25 will record simultaneous transmissions and place them in a que for lossless playback like SDRTrunk does natively. I love OP25 it's much lighter on resources, works fantastic, and has great support on the forums with Boatbods version. I'm a Linux idiot but have been able to make OP25 work great on a 10 year old laptop

 

[boatbod]

I don't think OP25 will record simultaneous transmissions and place them in a que for lossless playback like SDRTrunk does natively.

Nope, OP25 is not Trunk Recorder.
What it can do is decode one or more sets of whitelisted tgids to one or more audio destinations, either local playback or streamed via liquidsoap. You can have multiple streams up to as many dongles available, or even share wide-bandwidth sdr devices across multiple decoders. It's very flexible and great for headless streaming in an unattended environment.
If you want to record absolutely everything on a P25 system use Trunk Recorder.
If you want a fancy GUI and cross-platform compatibility use SDRTrunk.
Different tools for different jobs.

 

[bobruzzo]

You shouldn't need to install anything additional. If you follow these steps and then view the read me files and example files you will have everything that you need. I am running on a Raspberry Pi4 with 4 gb and works very well.
These are the steps to install OP25 from a linux command line:

cd ~
git clone https://github.com/boatbod/op25.git
cd ~/op25
./install.sh

OK all I want to do is set OP25 up to be able to monitor a 4 site P25 800mhz simulcast system. So what you are saying is all I need to do is the simple install you posted above? OK I will give it a shot and if I have any issues/questions I will post here. Thanks.

 

[bobruzzo]

OK installation went well. But not sure how to get this to work. I did read several "readme" files but totally lost. The instructions said to monitor a P25 simulcast to put the control freqs in the "TRUNK.TSV" file which I did but not sure about other things in that file.... But when I start the program by typing ./op25.sh it doesnt open and goes back to command prompt. I re read the readme files but way too confusing. I simply want to monitor the same system I monitor using sdr trunk. A P25 simulcast system with 4 sites. But the readme files are too overwhelming. Is there an EASY step by step? Here is my TRUNK.TSV contents:

"Sysname" "Control Channel List" "Offset" "NAC" "Modulation" "TGID Tags File" "Whitelist" "Blacklist" "Center Frequency"

"RISCON P25 SYSTEM Prov Metro" "853.7125" "0" "190h" "cqpsk" "" "" "" ""
"RISCON P25 SYSTEM North Zone" "853.5125" "0" "190h" "cqpsk" "" "" "" ""
"RISCON P25 SYSTEM South Zone" "853.875" "0" "190h" "cqpsk" "" "" "" ""

Not sure what to put in those other quotation marks. I know I am probably doing this all wrong.

 

[boatbod]

OK installation went well. But not sure how to get this to work. I did read several "readme" files but totally lost. The instructions said to monitor a P25 simulcast to put the control freqs in the "TRUNK.TSV" file which I did but not sure about other things in that file.... But when I start the program by typing ./op25.sh it doesnt open and goes back to command prompt. I re read the readme files but way too confusing. I simply want to monitor the same system I monitor using sdr trunk. A P25 simulcast system with 4 sites. But the readme files are too overwhelming. Is there an EASY step by step? Here is my TRUNK.TSV contents:

"Sysname" "Control Channel List" "Offset" "NAC" "Modulation" "TGID Tags File" "Whitelist" "Blacklist" "Center Frequency"

"RISCON P25 SYSTEM Prov Metro" "853.7125" "0" "190h" "cqpsk" "" "" "" ""
"RISCON P25 SYSTEM North Zone" "853.5125" "0" "190h" "cqpsk" "" "" "" ""
"RISCON P25 SYSTEM South Zone" "853.875" "0" "190h" "cqpsk" "" "" "" ""

Not sure what to put in those other quotation marks. I know I am probably doing this all wrong.

Only one entry in trunk.tsv can have a zero NAC. If you want multiple sites to be monitored independently you'll need to configure the nacs.

 

[bobruzzo]

Only one entry in trunk.tsv can have a zero NAC. If you want multiple sites to be monitored independently you'll need to configure the nacs.

I think the headings are not lined up properly...the NAC used for this system is 190h. Like I said I am not configuring this right. Plus I keep getting divide by zero error when I try to run the program.

 

[a417]

I think the headings are not lined up properly...the NAC used for this system is 190h. Like I said I am not configuring this right. Plus I keep getting divide by zero error when I try to run the program.

the file trunk.tsv is a tab separated value data format. The headings will not line up unless all the data in all the columns are the exact same width. Just make sure you have a tab in between each set of quotation marks (which make up each data entry) and you will be fine.

 

[AB5ID]

This was very helpful to me over a year ago, but proceed with caution as some of it maybe outdated.

OP25 For Dummies - Or how to build a police scanner for $30 (Part 1)

OP25 is a program that decodes P25 Phase 1 and Phase 2 digital radio. Some municipal areas are upgrading to P25 Phase 2 so almost gone are the days that you can track them with a police scanner since P25 is a Trunked Radio system and not just a lone frequency to monitor. The […]

www.hagensieker.com

 

[boatbod]

With multiple sites sharing the same NAC you're either going too need to pick just one site at a time to monitor, or set up multi_rx.py with three channels (and three RTL dongles) so that you can monitor them all simultaneously. Can you actually receive all three sites from your location or do you anticipate traveling around?