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Wanting to listen to Dallas Fire Rescue, would the SDS 100 be the best option? I have read online that a Unication P-25 pager would work as well. Just curious as to the best option.
Dallas Fire Rescue
- Thread starter bravestphotog19
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I have the SDS100 and DFD sounds great on it. I haven't tried the Unication devices but I hear good things too.
I programmed a G5 for a fellow at work with DFD/DPD! Bit of a learning curve, but once you do it, not bad at all. It sounds really great...much better than the 996p2 he was using. The 996p2 was decoding just fine, but the audio and clarity of the G5 was way beyond. If you only wanna do one system at a time, I highly recommend the G5!
BTW if you do go with a G5 I've got programming I can send you. Also a fairly extensive bunch of stuff if you want other systems available I got from a guy up north and it was a life saver.
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I'll keep that in mind, Thank you!
The possible downside, for the Unication pager. is that you are limited to scanning one site, and one system, at the time.
Supposedly, Dallas Public Safety agencies, DFR & DPD, are supposed to use Dallas Layer 1 on NTIRN. However, in practice, there is still a significant number of hits showing that DFR TGIDs 32001 & 32002 are still, at times, using Dallas Layer 2, as well as the preferred Dallas Layer 1. I'm only seeing DPD hits coming up on Layer 1. No significant activity of DPD TGIDs on Layer 2; all have been captured using Layer 1
Actually heard brief traffic on DFR TAC A (TG 32009) this morning between dispatch and a rescue regarding MDT issues...this was a first for me.
The G4 might be a better option. it has the same primary 700/800 band without the 2nd band. Saves you maybe 100 bucks.
DFR still uses UHF simplex for fireground but you need to be less than a mile from the scene to hear it. You can use any cheap device to listen to conventional analog UHF. why waste a device designed for P25 simulcast trunking on that..
The SDS100 is great. Way more versatile and lets you scan multiple systems at a time. But if this person is ONLY interested in DFR and not concerned with other agencies or systems then the G4 is a great option.
I will add that on my equipment around downtown Dallas and a few other places i get some choppy audio on the G4 and BK KNG2-P800. Only when monitoring layer 3-1 of the NTIRN system. Its not issues with digital decoding, it sounds more like AGC where the audio just drops out and comes back. Reminds me of the companding option on motorola HT1250 radios back in the day. The same audio issues are NOT present on my SDS100 and another Moto i have tested with. So i believe its just a quirk of the system on layer 3-1. I also have never had the same audio drop issues on any other systems in the metroplex on the KNG2 or G4. And i have been able to re-produce the issue on multiple G4 units.
I believe the dispatcher on one of the DFR consoles had his mic set up to transmit on several channels yesterday. I too noticed traffic on Tac A but I only heard the dispatcher talking and not field units.
DFR still uses UHF simplex for fireground but you need to be less than a mile from the scene to hear it. You can use any cheap device to listen to conventional analog UHF. why waste a device designed for P25 simulcast trunking on that..
The SDS100 is great. Way more versatile and lets you scan multiple systems at a time. But if this person is ONLY interested in DFR and not concerned with other agencies or systems then the G4 is a great option.
I will add that on my equipment around downtown Dallas and a few other places i get some choppy audio on the G4 and BK KNG2-P800. Only when monitoring layer 3-1 of the NTIRN system. Its not issues with digital decoding, it sounds more like AGC where the audio just drops out and comes back. Reminds me of the companding option on motorola HT1250 radios back in the day. The same audio issues are NOT present on my SDS100 and another Moto i have tested with. So i believe its just a quirk of the system on layer 3-1. I also have never had the same audio drop issues on any other systems in the metroplex on the KNG2 or G4. And i have been able to re-produce the issue on multiple G4 units.
I believe the dispatcher on one of the DFR consoles had his mic set up to transmit on several channels yesterday. I too noticed traffic on Tac A but I only heard the dispatcher talking and not field units.
ve52001
Member
I get similar audio issues at times on the layer 3-1 on my G5. I currently monitor South West Regional dispatch, which is on layer 3-1, on my Motorola APX1000 and it is better than the G5. At one time I was hearing South West Regional dispatch on layer 2 and the audio was much better on the G5.
3-2 comes in much cleaner but most public safety are on 3-1 unfortunately. Also thank you for confirming you are also seeing the same audio chopping on 3-1.
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I'm probably leaning towards the G4 or G5. I understand that you can only listen to one system at a time, which is fine, but how many systems can be programmed?
There are 8 knob positions for up to 64 zones, so theoretically up to 512. Within each knob/zone position you can have a scan list with up to 64 talkgroups for trunked. It's possible to start running into some issues when you load it up completely, but most users are not likely to encounter that.
For conventional(not trunked), each channel takes up a knob/zone position, which can then be added to a scan list of up to 16 in another knob/zone position.
I have much worse reception(from NE Tarrant) of 3-1 compared to 3-2 using SDR. I think it's worse on the lower frequencies, 769-770Mhz than the higher 772-775Mhz. The Unidens & Unications handle it much better than the SDRs. I'm wondering if the DFW Airport system that has a control channel very close by is what is causing the poor reception for me, or maybe some other interference.
For me on my G4 and KNG2, its not interference or reception issues. Ive watched the error rate on my G4 and ive had it with as low as 0.2% frame error rate. The issue to me sounds like an issue where the signal is over modulated and the receiver cuts the audio off and then slowly brings it back up, just like how AGC would sharply drop the volume and then bring it back up. Audio is clear but its choppy. Loud and clear then just gone and comes back in but quiet to loud again. But only on G4 and KNG 2. Not on SDS100 or Moto device.
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I ended up getting a G4. I love it so far but looking for an alternative audio source while mobile because road noise.
Unication makes a drop in desktop charger with amplified speaker. Some have adapted it for mobile use. But more have either found better mounting options. On occasion I clip mine to the sun visor in my truck. OR set it in the door handle of my truck. There are also some cell phone holders that will hold these. I have one that goes into a cup holder and extends about a foot vertically. But i use that for my SDS100. Congrats on getting a G4. They are great little devices.
Anyone have issues hearing DFR 32001 on the Uniden 436HP? I feel like I hardly hear any traffic, but I hear plenty of dispatch's on the old UHF automated dispatch.
Do I need to configure something specific?
Do I need to configure something specific?
Dallas Fire Rescue on NTIRN
Anyone have issues hearing DFR 32001 on the Uniden 436HP? I feel like I hardly hear any traffic, but I hear plenty of dispatch's on the old UHF automated dispatch. Do I need to configure something specific?
I've been listening to DFR working what's being called a three alarm fire at a (now closed) DISD high school site. Started about 4:30 this morning. I noticed the traffic about 5:30 when I woke up, and have been listening since. Lots of traffic on the old simplex Uhf traffic, not a peep on the NTIRN talkgroups. Dallas is, still, barely scratching the surface of the capabilities of using the trunked system versus their old simplex Uhf channels.
Abandoned North Texas school building catches fire, officials say
Crews responded to the site of the former Maya Angelou High School, at 3313 South Beckley Ave., around 4:24 a.m. Sunday.
www.wfaa.com
Maya Angelou High School in South Dallas catches fire Sunday morning
The abandoned Maya Angelou High School in South Dallas caught fire early Sunday morning.
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