AFS Fleetmap

[rmiles]

How does one determine an EDACS systems' AFS Fleetmap without prior system knowledge, or reading it out of a radio? Can a trunked radio decoder like Unitrunker or Etrunker be use to determine it? I noticed someone was able to determine what the AFS Fleetmap was for the San Antonio/Bexar County EDACS ProVoice system, which is listed as;

AFS Fleetmap:

Agencies: 16
Fleets: 8
Subfleets: 16

And to build on this, how does the agency data for a regular EDACS system differ from that of an EDACS IP system. I'd love to be able to determine the same for the local EDACS system here.

 

[DaveNF2G]

There is no such thing as an "AFS Fleetmap."

AFS is a feature introduced in Uniden scanners to allow users to treat an EDACS system similarly to a Motorola Type I system in terms of selecting which Agencies (Moto Blocks) or Fleets (Moto Subfleets) to monitor. Unfortunately, few radio shops seem to configure the EDACS systems in such a way that AFS will do what it was designed for. Users are not always found grouped into blocks. Whoever programs the system uses decimal ID numbers, not AFS.

 

[wa8pyr]

There is no such thing as an "AFS Fleetmap."

AFS is a feature introduced in Uniden scanners to allow users to treat an EDACS system similarly to a Motorola Type I system in terms of selecting which Agencies (Moto Blocks) or Fleets (Moto Subfleets) to monitor. Unfortunately, few radio shops seem to configure the EDACS systems in such a way that AFS will do what it was designed for. Users are not always found grouped into blocks. Whoever programs the system uses decimal ID numbers, not AFS.

Actually, EDACS radios are programmed with a fleet map, it's not just a scanner feature. I recently programmed an MTD on a local system (with permission), and always forget that step on the first try (I usually do Motorola). It's totally transparent to scanners and is only there in EDACS radios so that the "fleetwide" and "agencywide" functions work correctly at the user end. In Motorola radios, "Announcement Call" is the corresponding feature and is set up on a personality-by-personality basis rather than systemwide.

I have found that the scanner AFS feature does in fact conform pretty well to most EDACS fleet maps, the most common of which from what I've seen is 8 agency/16 fleet/16 subfleet (or talkgroup). Subfleets (talkgroups) are programmed as decimal numbers; the agency- and fleet-wide talkgroups are determined solely by the fleetmap. The AFS XX-XX0 talkgroups do seem to fall into place nicely in any case, no matter what the fleetmap is.

As far as I know, there is no way to determine the correct fleet map unless the system administrator gives it to you or you read a radio that has been properly programmed for the system.

 

[rmiles]

8 agency/16 fleet/16 subfleet (or talkgroup)

Right you are. but EDACS-IP (or EA) agency data is set up differently than standard EDACS.

This feature, from what I understand, works similarly to the /\/\ announcement group. The system I'm trying to characterize often sporadically transmits a voice carrier over supergroups from 1-10. An example, a user is heard on group 4887, dispatch answers on group 9, but both the dispatcher and user can hear and reply to each other on 4887. However, the unaffiliated passive monitor must switch between 4887 & 9 to hear both sides. I've observed that this might happen if a call is going out that many agencies need to hear, but not always. Then, dispatch reverts back to 4887. Or, a fireground TG is patched into an ITAC conventional channel. The normal 1675 is now on 4. FYI: these TG numbers are random and not specific to this EDACS-IP system. I'm just using them to illustrate the point.

I think I need to figure out the EDACS-IP agency data so I can just monitor the regular TG. Programming all those supergroups in and scanning them separately is a pain, and I still seem to miss some info. I think, with a better understanding of both supergroups and EDACS-IP agancy data, I can properly configure it.

 

[morganAL]

IF you are seeing an oddball ID when TGs are patched, then you are seeing a SAID (system assigned ID). When console patches are created, the system assigns an ID to the patch and the control channel sends update messages and tells radios "If you are listening to TG 123 then listen to TG 321" (these are just random numbers fo illustration). As for fleet calls and System All Call, I don't really know what ID is sent as I have never looked at my radio when one has been done.

 

[Cappyton]

Would be nice if someone could figure out how to determin this.. Would give me something new to do since i have alot of edacs systems near me

 

[rmiles]

IF you are seeing an oddball ID when TGs are patched, then you are seeing a SAID (system assigned ID).

So, will an unaffiliated radio start to monitor 321 if it's parked on, or scanning 123? If the control channel is broadcasting this then I would think the answer should be yes.