Baylor Dallas

[mwjones]

So @ericcarlson is on fire tonight! Submitted this system at 18:02, got a completion notice at 20:18.

For those who are looking for the system, it is at:

Baylor Scott and White Health Trunking System, Various, Texas

Baylor Scott and White Health Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

 

[mwjones]

For those keeping score, we have a new site online, McKinney (Site 10) and the database has again been updated faster than I can draft this post.

Did another road-trip survey this weekend, and it seems that the Dallas Hospital, Centennial-Frisco and McKinney are the only ones online so far. I did get a response out of Plano a couple of weeks ago (it was strong enough signal that I could pick it up from my 3rd floor apartment in North Frisco) so I know its site 11, but I haven't got any frequency data, and the site has been offline ever since.

The system does appear to be using rotating Control Channels and dynamic channel addressing (so no pinning down LCNs to make it usable). I have reverse calculated the band mapping, and can fairly reliably determine each channel assignment based on frequency.

My survey this week included, Plano, Irving, Coppell, Grapevine and Fort Worth. I was near Denton last week and didn't detect anything, so their rate of turning up sites is fairly slow at the moment.

Also, has anybody checked the Baylor sites in Austin? There's two licenses down there from about the same time for NXDN and they could be on the same system.

FCC Callsign WREX480 (Baylor Scott & White Health - Buda) (radioreference.com)

FCC Callsign WREX507 (Baylor Scott & White Health - Austin Oak Hill) (radioreference.com)

 

[hiegtx]

For those keeping score, we have a new site online, McKinney (Site 10) and the database has again been updated faster than I can draft this post.

Did another road-trip survey this weekend, and it seems that the Dallas Hospital, Centennial-Frisco and McKinney are the only ones online so far. I did get a response out of Plano a couple of weeks ago (it was strong enough signal that I could pick it up from my 3rd floor apartment in North Frisco) so I know its site 11, but I haven't got any frequency data, and the site has been offline ever since.

The system does appear to be using rotating Control Channels and dynamic channel addressing (so no pinning down LCNs to make it usable). I have reverse calculated the band mapping, and can fairly reliably determine each channel assignment based on frequency.

My survey this week included, Plano, Irving, Coppell, Grapevine and Fort Worth. I was near Denton last week and didn't detect anything, so their rate of turning up sites is fairly slow at the moment.

Also, has anybody checked the Baylor sites in Austin? There's two licenses down there from about the same time for NXDN and they could be on the same system.

FCC Callsign WREX480 (Baylor Scott & White Health - Buda) (radioreference.com)

FCC Callsign WREX507 (Baylor Scott & White Health - Austin Oak Hill) (radioreference.com)

I'm maybe five miles or so (as the crow flies) from Baylor Dallas, but so far, I'm not hearing anything from there. Since some of the taller downtown Dallas buildings are between me & their site, maybe that's affecting my reception.

I also loaded the frequencies for Irving & Waxahachie, and nothing on either. Irving, if it becomes active, might be in range for me, but Waxahachie might not, because of both distance & terrain.

 

[mwjones]

I'm maybe five miles or so (as the crow flies) from Baylor Dallas, but so far, I'm not hearing anything from there. Since some of the taller downtown Dallas buildings are between me & their site, maybe that's affecting my reception.

I also loaded the frequencies for Irving & Waxahachie, and nothing on either. Irving, if it becomes active, might be in range for me, but Waxahachie might not, because of both distance & terrain.

When Frisco Centennial first came online I could pick them up at 5 1/4 miles away, I no longer can. At 7 miles away, I can't hear McKinney. Plano is almost 12 miles line-of-sight when I first heard them. I can't hear any of them from my base, but once I go mobile both Centennial and McKinney can be received.

When I go to confirm these, I'm usually only a block or two from the site with my mobile rig, close enough to know I'm going to get something

I suspect that while all the sites are licensed for 100 Watts ERP, the techs are dialing them back just to provide the coverage they need. This is unlike Medical City Denton that is screaming - I can pick it up here almost 17 miles away, and have also picked them up near Plano Parkway and Coit on my mobile rig (22+ miles away)

 

[musicman476]

I've been monitoring the McKinney site lately and haven't recorded any activity yet.

 

[mwjones]

I've been monitoring the McKinney site lately and haven't recorded any activity yet.

I suspect the system may still be in test, especially in light of how few of the licensed sites are on the air with even a control channel, and how at least one was operational and now it isn't (Plano).

 

[mwjones]

Two more sites identified online today, Irving (183 & MacArthur - not Las Colinas) is Site 8 and Fort Worth is Site 2. Both submitted to RRDB.

 

[mwjones]

I just submitted an update to add Las Colinas (Site 5), Plano was seen once (just long enough to know its site 11), but has not been online since I saw it in November, and while I can build the site data, I'm missing a couple of things to confirm it for submission.

It looks like the Hospital System confirms that the other sites (Denton, Grapevine, Rowlett and Waxahachie) are not online yet, as per this letter to the FCC for an implementation extension. which also includes Buda and Austin Oak Hill:

Request for Extension of Time to Construct

 

[mwjones]

Update for Plano went in today, I was able to finally pick up a control channel again, gathering enough information to safely consider the data I have is accurate.

There's also another license that was recently issued for Pflugerville in Travis County, so I don't know if it is going to be a part of this system as well (similar to the speculation about Buda and Austin Oak Hill).

 

[hiegtx]

Update for Plano went in today, I was able to finally pick up a control channel again, gathering enough information to safely consider the data I have is accurate.

There's also another license that was recently issued for Pflugerville in Travis County, so I don't know if it is going to be a part of this system as well (similar to the speculation about Buda and Austin Oak Hill).

Are you seeing any talkgroup activity on the local sites? I don't have really good reception since my external antenna is down, but when in range, I have not seen any. In all fairness, I'm not usually in range very long, so I really don't know how much activity there might be.

 

[mwjones]

My (apartment) base is just out of range of McKinney, and I get a weak signal from Centennial-Frisco (so weak the SDS200 can't pick it up, but DSD+ on the same antenna can, but not without errors), so I haven't been doing long term-monitoring. I honestly suspect that since the system is still being built out, it has not been put in "production" use yet at any location.

I didn't check today, but the last time I was near Plano the Passport system was still active with traffic. If I get out and about tomorrow I might check again.

 

[hiegtx]

My (apartment) base is just out of range of McKinney, and I get a weak signal from Centennial-Frisco (so weak the SDS200 can't pick it up, but DSD+ on the same antenna can, but not without errors), so I haven't been doing long term-monitoring. I honestly suspect that since the system is still being built out, it has not been put in "production" use yet at any location.

I didn't check today, but the last time I was near Plano the Passport system was still active with traffic. If I get out and about tomorrow I might check again.

Thanks

I really need to try & get my antenna back in place, but I'm a bit gun-shy after an accident quite some time ago.

 

[mwjones]

Went back towards Plano Sunday, and the Control Channel was gone (I noted Saturday the the channel was weak in comparison to the other sites when I picked it up). Today I had to make an emergency run to Richardson from Frisco for parts, and when I went past on George Bush Turnpike the system was full meter on the SDS100.

They must have a combiner or antenna issue that's causing the signal to fade or completely drop out on certain repeaters (since all the sites rotate control channels).

 

[mwjones]

Finally got out to snooping around this system again this weekend, Grapevine and Lake Pointe-Rowlett are both now up, and the neighbor lists for all sites are now populated. Denton and Waxahachie are still not on the air. Grapevine and Plano are coming in strong enough I can now pick them up at my apartment, despite not picking up the closer Centennial and McKinney sites.

I'm trying to monitor the control channel rotation for a couple of days (since the neighbor lists broadcasts what each site's control channel is) then I'll be submitting the update to RRDB.

I did leave DSDPlus running on Plano all night, and Grapevine all morning today, no comms activity, so its likely the system is still in test.

 

[Russell]

I have a question about the LCNs. In Sentinel it only accepts LCNs between 1 and 1023. However, the LCNs listed for Baylor Scot & White and 5 digits (signed int). How do I turn these into LCNs the Uniden will recognize?

I'm in position to monitor Plano/McKinney/Rockwall/Dallas NE if I can iron this out.

 

[mwjones]

I have a question about the LCNs. In Sentinel it only accepts LCNs between 1 and 1023. However, the LCNs listed for Baylor Scot & White and 5 digits (signed int). How do I turn these into LCNs the Uniden will recognize?

I'm in position to monitor Plano/McKinney/Rockwall/Dallas NE if I can iron this out.

This NexEdge System is using Dynamic addressing. From my understanding the system broadcasts the voice frequency over the control channel with each call, thus not requiring the LCN's to be defined, and the LCN's actually are more of a Moto/P25 Type Bandplan (I actually have figured out the bandplan and have a spreadsheet showing every possible LCN/frequency pair, which in subsequent discoveries has been spot on).

In DSDPlus on the computer, I can see the LCN of the Control Channel populate on the activity monitor, even if I don't have an LCN defined (Normally it shows ? for unknown). Also the neighbor list will show LCN and Frequency, even if the distant neighbor is not yet defined.

On the SDS100/200, the system type shows as "NEX4D", so presumably they know how to handle the dynamic side of the system, but since this is the first I've seen, I haven't been able to prove it yet, especially since the system is not active yet. If that's the case, then LCN's can remain as 0.

 

[riverradio68]

I wonder if .... Baylor is going to be like Prosper ISD, You have to be at the school to hear the system. A Good friend is a Prosper ISD cop, he/they hate the Prosper ISD NXDN. A Gazillon channels for one and once they go a block or two from the campus they lose the system entirely. I wouldn't think Baylor would be like this considering they are probably mounting antennas on the roof of the facility, but one has to wonder sometimes ...

 

[mwjones]

I wonder if .... Baylor is going to be like Prosper ISD, You have to be at the school to hear the system. A Good friend is a Prosper ISD cop, he/they hate the Prosper ISD NXDN. A Gazillon channels for one and once they go a block or two from the campus they lose the system entirely. I wouldn't think Baylor would be like this considering they are probably mounting antennas on the roof of the facility, but one has to wonder sometimes ...

Prosper ISD's system I pick up just fine from my apartment in North Frisco near Preston Road. But the last time I monitored it, neither the new Middle School or High School are on the system (I know the High School has a license for a conventional repeater). But also keep in mind, Prosper ISD is on a single site system, providing coverage for the entire school district.

Baylor's LTR Passport system actually has a good wide area coverage, and I suspect we will see the same once they finish dialing in the NXDN system. From my location in North Frisco, I can pick up Plano and Grapevine more reliably than the much closer Centennial and McKinney right now. If I drive a mile from my location, that reception will flip, with Centennial and McKinney coming in with spotty reception of Plano and Grapevine. Some of this may be from the tuning of the system to provide reliable coverage in the main hospital and other adjacent medical office buildings.

In fact, most Baylor sites are licensed for 100 Watts, so if they output at that level of power, I could see most of the Metroplex having the ability of picking up one or more of Baylor's sites, with some overlap. Of course if they tune each site to less than that, your mileage may vary (and of course with digital signals breaking down faster than analog, that is a range limiter as well).

 

[mwjones]

Denton (Site 7) is now online, and is strong enough I can pick it up in Frisco. Control Channel rotation is not yet active, and its not showing in the Neighbor lists at the other sites yet.

Is anyone on the South side of the Metroplex able to check and see if Waxahachie is online, and what site number it is (and if you can get the control channel frequency that would help)? I have all the other relevant data to submit it to the RRDB.

FCC Callsign WREX505 (Baylor Scott & White Health - Waxahachie)

FCC Callsign WREX505 (Baylor Scott & White Health - Waxahachie)

www.radioreference.com

Of course none of this takes into account the Austin Oak Hill, Buda or Pflugerville sites, and I don't have plans to travel that direction anytime soon.

 

[hiegtx]

Denton (Site 7) is now online, and is strong enough I can pick it up in Frisco. Control Channel rotation is not yet active, and its not showing in the Neighbor lists at the other sites yet.

Is anyone on the South side of the Metroplex able to check and see if Waxahachie is online, and what site number it is (and if you can get the control channel frequency that would help)? I have all the other relevant data to submit it to the RRDB.

FCC Callsign WREX505 (Baylor Scott & White Health - Waxahachie)

FCC Callsign WREX505 (Baylor Scott & White Health - Waxahachie)

www.radioreference.com

Of course none of this takes into account the Austin Oak Hill, Buda or Pflugerville sites, and I don't have plans to travel that direction anytime soon.

I'm in Oak Cliff. I'm just barely getting a signal from that site when at home, not enough to do much good. I'll see if I can take a short run down that way & get a better read on it.