Discerning trunked system type from FCC license

[marv3fan]

Is there anyway to determine the type of trunking a system uses by its FCC license?

For instance, this is a trunked system. What would be the method of determining whether it is Motorola, EDACS, P25.. etc?

Thanks

 

[natedawg1604]

Is there anyway to determine the type of trunking a system uses by its FCC license?

For instance, this is a trunked system. What would be the method of determining whether it is Motorola, EDACS, P25.. etc?

Thanks

Not with any consistency, ULS data has very limited utility. Basically, ULS is only useful for identifying potential frequencies to monitor. ULS data CANNOT tell you with any certainty whether (a) the system/frequencies are active all; (b) the type of system (whether trunked or conventional), or (c) the protocol used.

Assuming you actually have a trunked system and assuming it's active (neither one of which can be assumed solely based on FCC ULS data), you need to monitor & analyze the individual frequencies. You could certainly post an audio sample here, and someone should be able to identify it quickly unless it's a very, very obscure system. You could also compare the signal to signals found on the signal identification wiki page. You could also analyze the signal with a rtl sdr dongle and DSD+.

 

[mmckenna]

There is sort of a way….

If you look at the "Radio Service Type" on the license, that will sometimes tell you if it is a trunked system or not. Case in point, one of my systems shows:
Radio Service YE - PubSafty/SpecEmer/PubSaftyNtlPlan,806-817/851-862MHz,Trunked
If you look at the individual frequencies on the license (on the FCC search) you can click on the frequency and it will take you to a page that shows additional information including the "Emission" type. The emission type will tell you if it's Analog, NXDN Trunking, P25, DMR, etc.

There are some variations that don't fit in that explanation well, but often it will get you close. I'd include some more examples, but as of now, the FCC ULS page is down.

 

[mmckenna]

Here's where you can look up emission types:
Emission Designator - The RadioReference Wiki

Here's where you can look up the radio service types:
FCC Radio Service Codes - The RadioReference Wiki

Using the FCC ULS page (currently down) you can search on some by various fields, including Radio Service Codes, addresses, etc. and come up with some useful data in some instances.