900 MHz P-25 Ham Repeaters

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natedawg1604

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Any way you can check if you are in range? We have a 900 here locally but analog only. East Tennessee is lots of hills and valleys with lots of thick vegetation around so my experience with a few friends running GTX mobiles has been not so hot. The audio from them sounds incredibly tiny and holy static even on simplex, but that is probably due to the radios not being properly adjusted.

At least in Colorado you probably won’t have the geographical problems I have. If it is possible to find someone with a 33cm radio I’d at least try to use the repeater from your location to verify it you can hit it from there or not.

The XTS and XTL series has to be much better on RX and TX than the GTX series radios. I’d almost put the quality of the GTX in toy category in my experience of about 4 radios.
From what I've seen so far, the sites do not emit periodic data bursts, at least not very often. However I frequently travel through areas well covered by couple of these repeaters, I'm not worried about that.

I've never used a P25 conventional repeater, but I'm assuming the PTT tones would be there just like a trunked system or DMR site.
 

kayn1n32008

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"I've never used a P25 conventional repeater, but I'm assuming the PTT tones would be there just like a trunked system or DMR site."

Nope. Unless you set the radio up for 'Clear TX alert' there won't be any TPT
 

natedawg1604

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"I've never used a P25 conventional repeater, but I'm assuming the PTT tones would be there just like a trunked system or DMR site."

Nope. Unless you set the radio up for 'Clear TX alert' there won't be any TPT
Oh good to know. So if I program clear TX alert as a workaround, what happens if I'm out of range? Is it possible to set a out of range beep?

Also is it possible to program a side button that displays the RSSI level and site # ?
 

KN4EHX

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Oh good to know. So if I program clear TX alert as a workaround, what happens if I'm out of range? Is it possible to set a out of range beep?

Also is it possible to program a side button that displays the RSSI level and site # ?
there is a lot of controversy about this. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t from what I understand. I’ve never tried it.
 

kayn1n32008

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Oh good to know. So if I program clear TX alert as a workaround, what happens if I'm out of range? Is it possible to set a out of range beep?

Also is it possible to program a side button that displays the RSSI level and site # ?

Clear TX Alert just means you are transmitting with out using encryption. It is a single alert tone when you key the radio on a conventional(either analogue or digital) channel. It doesn't sound like the TPT for a channel grant on a trunk system.

Clear TX Alert has nothing to do with being in range of a repeater. When you are out of range you won't be able to key the repeater.

RSSI and Site ID only pertain to trunking.
 

chrismol1

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I think your confusing a p25 conventional repeater with a DMR repeater or trunking. You won't get the push to talk tone if the radio isn't receiving a go ahead response from the repeater like you would in tdma/dmr or p25 trunking, unless use trbo radios or similar which have the built in TPT tones anyways but not here. no out of range either like a dmr repeater where getting bonked means out of range on conventional or no rssi trunked
 

mass-man

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I think the Colorado system dumps out of some 900 repeaters in So Cal. I've heard and talked on a few P25 900 repeaters in So Cal and remember some of the people in the conversation were in Colorado. I have two 900 P25 repeaters up but not linked to anything.
"not linked to anything."...keep em that way. Linking killed a couple of really good 900 repeaters here in DFW!
 

natedawg1604

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I think your confusing a p25 conventional repeater with a DMR repeater or trunking. You won't get the push to talk tone if the radio isn't receiving a go ahead response from the repeater like you would in tdma/dmr or p25 trunking, unless use trbo radios or similar which have the built in TPT tones anyways but not here. no out of range either like a dmr repeater where getting bonked means out of range on conventional or no rssi trunked
Wow that's crazy, I thought even P25 conventional repeaters had lots of fancy features.
 

KN4EHX

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Wow that's crazy, I thought even P25 conventional repeaters had lots of fancy features.
About as exciting as the owner lets it be. You can get pretty exotic like gps data and messaging, but most people have their repeaters set up plain vanilla. Some even use on demand talk groups.

 

jaspence

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I have used a couple of P25 repeaters that used NAC codes instead or both NAC and PL.
 

natedawg1604

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Update: So I got onto this system this evening with a XTS 2500. The system is operated by KI0HC, you can look him up in QRZ. The repeaters have no periodic bursts, they are only active when someone keys-up. It was very unique talking on P-25 conventional for the first time, one great thing is there was no waiting for linked repeaters to finish their announcement tones, and you didn't have to wait to keep talking at all. I just need to figure out how to configure Clear TX alert, it was kinda weird not hearing the TPT like on a trunked system. Currently this system is networked only within Colorado, they are considering eventually tying into another state, I believe Arizona.

Also I was told you can apparently find XTL 5000's with a 900 MHz board, I looked briefly on Fleabay and found nothing. I guess if they exist they aren't too easy to find.

Now I just have to figure out how to convince people in my area to get on this system. I'm sure I'm gonna get asked repeatedly "doesn't anytone or B&F*%NG make a radio I can use?"...
 

chrismol1

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Update: So I got onto this system this evening with a XTS 2500. The system is operated by KI0HC, you can look him up in QRZ. The repeaters have no periodic bursts, they are only active when someone keys-up. It was very unique talking on P-25 conventional for the first time, one great thing is there was no waiting for linked repeaters to finish their announcement tones, and you didn't have to wait to keep talking at all. I just need to figure out how to configure Clear TX alert, it was kinda weird not hearing the TPT like on a trunked system.
Try out my instructions for the PTT trunked tone DVRS method. My method bypasses the periodic data DVRS data bursts. Its pretty whacky tho, so if you don't get going first time, try again. Be careful tho, as you get called a whacker for figuring out this trick and experimenting with radios, as many others have done, for nothing but personal satisfaction of doing so. I also figured out on NAS, if you use announcement group box, you get an extra talkgroup on XTS series than the 15 with the hex edit

 
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natedawg1604

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Try out my instructions for the PTT trunked tone DVRS method. My method bypasses the periodic data DVRS data bursts. Its pretty whacky tho, so if you don't get going first time, try again. Be careful tho, as you get called a whacker for figuring out this trick and experimenting with radios, as many others have done, for nothing but personal satisfaction of doing so

Awesome, I'll have to try it out! I suppose this would all be solved if someone made a P25 Trunked System that hams could afford. One day when I was really bored I started to look up what was involved in building a "small" one site trunked system, dear lord I don't even wanna know what half of the required items would cost...:rolleyes:
 

chrismol1

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Ya know what. I don't know if it will work on P25 after reading my instructions. Let me know if you figure it out. I think it had to be mixed mode, but you maybe able to keep the transmit on P25 and mixed mode receive because I remember the analog trunked PTT tone is different than the P25. You'll see what I mean if you try it in P25, its a longer weird tone. But maybe additional experimentation is required
 

KC3ECJ

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About as exciting as the owner lets it be. You can get pretty exotic like gps data and messaging, but most people have their repeaters set up plain vanilla. Some even use on demand talk groups.

I think a vanilla NXDN simplex repeater would be something neat to try. Like just a small portion of spectrum.
 
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