Attention RR.com members. I would like your help in confirming/finding some information for SMR systems throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Please find below a description of the work I put into creating my x36 favorites list.
My first request if for someone who is located near Sutro Tower or Mt. Diablo to help me confirm some data I haven't been able to monitor. If I can get some interest, maybe we can clean up some of the other SMR configurations throughout the SF Bay Area (and beyond).
I wanted to take some time during the lockdown to verify configuration data for the various SMR and trunked radio systems throughout the Bay Area. A lot of the monitoring was done on my SDS100 from the south bay. I also took some field trips to other parts of the Bay to collect information on sites I couldn't monitor from home.
My approach was to start with the system information from RRdb.com. I would import that data into my favorites list and configure that System Type based on the configured system type from RRdb.com (e.g. MotoTRBO Trunk, NXDN Trunk, etc).
Then I would copy out each of those sites into conventional systems. Each site would now be a conventional department. I would keep the Color Codes the same as they were in the trunked configuration. Pre-configured frequencies (from rrDB and later my own searching) would be set with the "Custom 2" Service Type. Once I had verified SysID and Site via recordings, then I would change the Service Type to "Custom 6".
After several days of recordings, I could go back and see what had not been monitored by reviewing the Service Types. The Bay Area RF field is very densely populated. So instead of range searching (450-455, 460-465, 482-494), I went back to RRdb.com and extracted license information for the radio system I was monitoring.
Any frequency configuration that I didn't have a Color Code for, I would mark as Service Type "Custom 1". I would monitor the frequencies from the FCC license and set them as "Avoid" if they conflicted with known usage.
Once I was finally confident in the set of frequencies that comprised a Site, I would go back to the Site programming, add in the "extra"/new frequency finds. I would then run several LCN Finder runs. I could be pretty confident of stale/incorrect data from RRdb.com, because I could verify that the frequency was never heard with the presumed color code, and it didn't populate an LCN in the LCN Finder run.
So just to review one of the SMR Companies I configured:
System
1/RFC Wireless (13Fh/Con+)
Quick key: 1
System Type: MotoTRBO Trunk
Sites
1/Mt Presson
2/Grizzly Peak
3/
…
If a site has a populated LCN, then I managed to verify those numbers. If a site as all zeros, then I'm still looking for that LCN configuration. Continuing…
System
2/RFC Wireless Sites (13Fh)
Quick Key 2
System Type: Conventional
1/Mt Presson
2/Grizzly Peak
3/
…
Taking a look at the Site 1/Mt. Presson, you can see the first four frequencies have Custom 6 as their Service Type, because I have monitored them. On frequency with a Color Code 7 is set as Custom 2, because it came from RRdb, but never monitored. And just to confirm, I copied the frequency with Digital Code Search and set the Color Code to 1.
The point is that by using the different Service Types, I can configure the radio to monitor a bunch of "open frequencies" with to search for Color Codes (and generate a bunch of recordings) by enabling the Service Type. Or set it to only monitor Color Code 2 and focus on a much smaller set of frequencies, with known Color Codes. I can also go back and monitor Color Code 6 for monitoring known frequencies to verify site activity and to verify that a site is monitorable from my location.
And finally…
System
3/RFC Wireless FCC (13Fh)
Quick Key 2
System Type: Conventional
WIM692
WPFJ706
…
The FCC system is organized by FCC license and does not use quick keys, since I have no idea what license may be used in which area. All of the frequencies in this system are configured to search for digital color code, and set with Service Type Custom 1. Scanning/recording these frequencies can generate a lot of data/collisions since it is not uncommon to have multiple companies share frequencies across different locations.
For every SMR/Company I was interested in, I repeated the pattern., Site configuration as configured system, site configuration as a set of conventional frequencies and FCC licenses to help find new site frequencies.
So what is my first request…
Scan the "2/RFC Wireless Sites" System and the "3/Mt Diablo" and/or "4/Sutro" Departments. First enable only Service Type Custom 2, and see if you can verify the configured frequencies I couldn't hear. Once you are satisfied you've monitored long enough, then try scanning the "3/RFC Wireless FCC (13Fh)" system to see if they are using any of the other licensed frequencies. You can also enable multiple Systems and confirm data for multiple systems at a time by enabling Custom 2 for the whole run.
So far, I have done a lot of work on the RFC Wireless system, and Telepath (10Ch) system. I have found some stale/incorrect data. Hoping we can work together on this to find any more issues. I have also found a new Telepath system, it is advertising a 9h SiteID. There is a Site 18 that has seemed to be comprised of frequencies that were previously used in the 10Ch system.
Looking forward to any help/feedback you can provide.
My first request if for someone who is located near Sutro Tower or Mt. Diablo to help me confirm some data I haven't been able to monitor. If I can get some interest, maybe we can clean up some of the other SMR configurations throughout the SF Bay Area (and beyond).
I wanted to take some time during the lockdown to verify configuration data for the various SMR and trunked radio systems throughout the Bay Area. A lot of the monitoring was done on my SDS100 from the south bay. I also took some field trips to other parts of the Bay to collect information on sites I couldn't monitor from home.
My approach was to start with the system information from RRdb.com. I would import that data into my favorites list and configure that System Type based on the configured system type from RRdb.com (e.g. MotoTRBO Trunk, NXDN Trunk, etc).
Then I would copy out each of those sites into conventional systems. Each site would now be a conventional department. I would keep the Color Codes the same as they were in the trunked configuration. Pre-configured frequencies (from rrDB and later my own searching) would be set with the "Custom 2" Service Type. Once I had verified SysID and Site via recordings, then I would change the Service Type to "Custom 6".
After several days of recordings, I could go back and see what had not been monitored by reviewing the Service Types. The Bay Area RF field is very densely populated. So instead of range searching (450-455, 460-465, 482-494), I went back to RRdb.com and extracted license information for the radio system I was monitoring.
Any frequency configuration that I didn't have a Color Code for, I would mark as Service Type "Custom 1". I would monitor the frequencies from the FCC license and set them as "Avoid" if they conflicted with known usage.
Once I was finally confident in the set of frequencies that comprised a Site, I would go back to the Site programming, add in the "extra"/new frequency finds. I would then run several LCN Finder runs. I could be pretty confident of stale/incorrect data from RRdb.com, because I could verify that the frequency was never heard with the presumed color code, and it didn't populate an LCN in the LCN Finder run.
So just to review one of the SMR Companies I configured:
System
1/RFC Wireless (13Fh/Con+)
Quick key: 1
System Type: MotoTRBO Trunk
Sites
1/Mt Presson
2/Grizzly Peak
3/
…
If a site has a populated LCN, then I managed to verify those numbers. If a site as all zeros, then I'm still looking for that LCN configuration. Continuing…
System
2/RFC Wireless Sites (13Fh)
Quick Key 2
System Type: Conventional
1/Mt Presson
2/Grizzly Peak
3/
…
Taking a look at the Site 1/Mt. Presson, you can see the first four frequencies have Custom 6 as their Service Type, because I have monitored them. On frequency with a Color Code 7 is set as Custom 2, because it came from RRdb, but never monitored. And just to confirm, I copied the frequency with Digital Code Search and set the Color Code to 1.
The point is that by using the different Service Types, I can configure the radio to monitor a bunch of "open frequencies" with to search for Color Codes (and generate a bunch of recordings) by enabling the Service Type. Or set it to only monitor Color Code 2 and focus on a much smaller set of frequencies, with known Color Codes. I can also go back and monitor Color Code 6 for monitoring known frequencies to verify site activity and to verify that a site is monitorable from my location.
And finally…
System
3/RFC Wireless FCC (13Fh)
Quick Key 2
System Type: Conventional
WIM692
WPFJ706
…
The FCC system is organized by FCC license and does not use quick keys, since I have no idea what license may be used in which area. All of the frequencies in this system are configured to search for digital color code, and set with Service Type Custom 1. Scanning/recording these frequencies can generate a lot of data/collisions since it is not uncommon to have multiple companies share frequencies across different locations.
For every SMR/Company I was interested in, I repeated the pattern., Site configuration as configured system, site configuration as a set of conventional frequencies and FCC licenses to help find new site frequencies.
So what is my first request…
Scan the "2/RFC Wireless Sites" System and the "3/Mt Diablo" and/or "4/Sutro" Departments. First enable only Service Type Custom 2, and see if you can verify the configured frequencies I couldn't hear. Once you are satisfied you've monitored long enough, then try scanning the "3/RFC Wireless FCC (13Fh)" system to see if they are using any of the other licensed frequencies. You can also enable multiple Systems and confirm data for multiple systems at a time by enabling Custom 2 for the whole run.
So far, I have done a lot of work on the RFC Wireless system, and Telepath (10Ch) system. I have found some stale/incorrect data. Hoping we can work together on this to find any more issues. I have also found a new Telepath system, it is advertising a 9h SiteID. There is a Site 18 that has seemed to be comprised of frequencies that were previously used in the 10Ch system.
Looking forward to any help/feedback you can provide.
