I'm in an area where the school district has several UHF frequencies for DMR and they are not in the database. How do I get an SDS to figure out this system so I can submit it to the db? The system's call is WQEJ779 if that is any help.
SDS100/SDS200: Analyze/discover DMR system not in database?
- Thread starter EAFrizzle
- Start date
Looking at the license I'd assume conventional usage given there's only one fixed base frequency listed there. Program 463.4875 conventionally or as DMR One Frequency, if you program as the latter mode you'll need to turn on ID Search if no talkgroups are known. there may be one or two talkgroups in use there (one for each timeslot). Take note of talkgroup ID(s) their slots and their usage, plus the color code. You may or may not hear activity from the mobile (class MO) frequencies on the license but you'll need to be in close proximity to pick these up since no repeater is involved with the class "MOs"
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Program it in as DMR One Frequency and then you can Analyze/Discover.
Yeah, that's a bit beyond what I can do now. I'm not very inclined to learn more about the SDS series, as their sensitivity leaves much to be desired on all bands. I can scan the full database from zip code and it only hears a third of what it thinks it can receive, even on an outdoor antenna. They'll receive the nearby Kaufman county and TxWARN sites, and that's it. NTIRN and the Megahertz (phone just auto corrected that to Megadeth!) system may as well not exist for them. I'll just have to wait until my new house is set up so I can run some SDRs to catch what they miss.
It's not the radios' fault if you are not willing to learn how to use it.
No, my unwillingness to delve deeper into this frustrating radio certainly isn't the radio's nor Uniden's fault. The non-intuitive function layout, owner's manual that seems to be written solely for Uniden engineers, and HORRIBLE VHF performance are, though. I'm in the middle of setting up a new house, so I have little time or energy to spend on figuring out the SDS series.
As an example of VHF performance, I drove out into one of my cousin's pastures to check out the NWS channels. Just from coverage maps, I expect decent reception of both Dallas and Corsicana sites. Both SDS radios struggled to get Dallas on 162.400 and couldn't hear Corsicana on 162.525. This was using a cheap dual-band on a mag mount. Hook the Retevis RT95 back to it, and I could pick up 5 different stations, 4 of them at full signal strength and the fifth at S-9.
Both SDSs pick up nearby trunked sites just fine, and I can listen to Kaufman county and the agencies on TxWARN just fine, so they're good for local monitoring. They're just very limited in what they can receive, so I have limited desire to dig deeper in their functions. And what good is the 200 as a base if I have to put it in the car and go mobile to get it to receive a system? So far, the SDS radios seem to be a one-trick pony with a couple of extra costumes. But if your pony is the only one in town that can do the trick, you can charge whatever you want for admission.
Proper VHF/UHF performance? I still love my old PRO-2042, but I'm having a blast with the BC125AT. That little sucker is a blast once you figure it out. I don't care one bit about air shows, but I want to go to one now just to give the 125 a workout.
As an example of VHF performance, I drove out into one of my cousin's pastures to check out the NWS channels. Just from coverage maps, I expect decent reception of both Dallas and Corsicana sites. Both SDS radios struggled to get Dallas on 162.400 and couldn't hear Corsicana on 162.525. This was using a cheap dual-band on a mag mount. Hook the Retevis RT95 back to it, and I could pick up 5 different stations, 4 of them at full signal strength and the fifth at S-9.
Both SDSs pick up nearby trunked sites just fine, and I can listen to Kaufman county and the agencies on TxWARN just fine, so they're good for local monitoring. They're just very limited in what they can receive, so I have limited desire to dig deeper in their functions. And what good is the 200 as a base if I have to put it in the car and go mobile to get it to receive a system? So far, the SDS radios seem to be a one-trick pony with a couple of extra costumes. But if your pony is the only one in town that can do the trick, you can charge whatever you want for admission.
Proper VHF/UHF performance? I still love my old PRO-2042, but I'm having a blast with the BC125AT. That little sucker is a blast once you figure it out. I don't care one bit about air shows, but I want to go to one now just to give the 125 a workout.
If I recall correctly, the Dallas NOAA station is in the northern part of the county, on a tower that is not that high. Even though I'm a few miles southwest of downtown Dallas, my reception on it, on several scanners, as well as a dedicated Weather-Radio, is marginal. I get a much better signal on Fort Worth.
What other systems are you trying to hear? I might already have many of them programmed, and can monitor from home without an issue. If I don't already have one programmed, it does not take long to put one together. From where you are, unless you are in a house with metal siding (or foil backed insulation in the walls), or a manufactured home, you should be in range of several other systems in your area.
Canton, "next door to you" in Van Zandt County, has their own system.
While it's not on the air yet, Van Zandt County is building a new P25 system,.
Henderson County has multiple sites. I suspect that at least one of them, in the northern portion of that county, would be in range. Look at Trinidad, and possibly Athens.
Which Megahertz site did you try to program? Downtown Dallas, or Cedar Hill. The downtown site is on the 70 story Bank of America building, and the Cedar Hill site is on a high tower, in an area higher than most other places in North Texas. You might also take a shot at the Hillsboro site.
For NTIRN, did you program the Layer 1 site, which is where most of the public safety traffic resides?
Also, did you take a shot at the PHI AirMed site in Navarro County?
So I guess I'll be the one to ask the obligatory "Does your SDS have the DMR upgrade?" question
If you don't want to program it into memory, press CHANNEL soft key, enter 463.4875, press CHANNEL soft key again, this will get you into quick search mode. If you know when school lets out & you're close enough to listen in (if they're utilizing all 96 watts ERP on the fixed base they're licensed for then you may be able to pick them out from a few miles out) then that may be the best time to listen & log info
Try this file for the ISD.
Yeah, I got the DMR upgrade. No idea if it actually works or not or a full view into UHF performance. Are there any UHF blasters up here like Houston PDs old 460 MHz repeaters? You could hear them well into the piney woods back then.
I've got Dallas and Cedar Hill sites for NTIRN, all sites for Megahertz (now the phone wants to say "Megatron" sheesh) and I'll have to put the PHI stuff into my BC125AT or my old PRO-2042 when I get it unloaded. I already know it's deaf on VHF.
Thanks for the zip file. I'll put it in tonight to check them out tomorrow. I'm less than a half mile from the school, so they should have enough fire in the wire to hear!
I've got Dallas and Cedar Hill sites for NTIRN, all sites for Megahertz (now the phone wants to say "Megatron" sheesh) and I'll have to put the PHI stuff into my BC125AT or my old PRO-2042 when I get it unloaded. I already know it's deaf on VHF.
Thanks for the zip file. I'll put it in tonight to check them out tomorrow. I'm less than a half mile from the school, so they should have enough fire in the wire to hear!
Try Dallas Fire Rescue's station dispatch frequency, 460.575. While everyday operations (except fireground) are now on NTIRN, they still use the old station dispatch Uhf channel, as well as using the TGID (32021) for the same thing.
? Did you really mean Dallas & Cedar Hill as for Megahertz? Dallas city & county on NTIRN use Dallas Layers 1 & 2. Dallas Layer 2's site map coverage (at least in the database) approaches, but not covers, your approximate location.
We don't have a site map for Dallas Layer 1. It's using frequencies from the state's blanket license for 700MHz, so there is not a specific license for these frequencies that is linked to Dallas (city or county).
Yes, transposed MHz and NTIRN in my head. I remember looking up Cedar Hill on a map, because it didn't sound familiar to me.
I'll give the UHF dispatch a try. It always seemed to me that those older UHF systems around the state had more than enough antenna height and power for their coverage areas.
Edited for typo.
I'll give the UHF dispatch a try. It always seemed to me that those older UHF systems around the state had more than enough antenna height and power for their coverage areas.
Edited for typo.
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'Back in the day', I was on various hunting leases well west of the metroplex, around Possum Kingdom Lake, in Palo Pinto County. Generally, I'd start hearing Dallas PD & Fire, in my vehicle (with a generic, cheap, mag mount antenna) in Weatherford (Parker County), when I was returning home.
HPD was the same. The citywide channel could be heard well north of Cleveland (and this was pre-Kingwood annexation, so COH was well south of there) and the NE dispatch could be hear in Livingston with the good old RadShack mag mount tri-band scanner antenna. Mine still works well. I wish some of those scanner antennas were still in production, especially the dual-band porcupine base model.
Didn't get a chance to catch the school traffic this morning, but I caught a few pops on the FB frequency and the screen showed CAP+. I'm not exactly sure what that means, since this is my first DMR system to check out.
Are the Wikipedia pages on trunking, P25, DMR, etc., fairly in-depth or is there another source to read up on these topics? I'd like to understand the radio systems themselves; it would help me to understand what the SDS is doing and why.
Are the Wikipedia pages on trunking, P25, DMR, etc., fairly in-depth or is there another source to read up on these topics? I'd like to understand the radio systems themselves; it would help me to understand what the SDS is doing and why.
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