DSDplus error message

[moonbounce]

Anyone know why I get this error message when decoding Apco 25. I am using a discriminator tap with DSD plus. The audio can start out clear and then it gets garbled and the signal will look like the below.


Sync: no sync
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:28r7r8r557r6r3
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:315Er6r37rFr6r
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:8r7r7r242353
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:9r26r47r6r335
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:59r5252222
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:FrFr43Ar8r9r45
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:57r346r7r9r4
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:5235556r7r5
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:23246r37r13
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:4Ar4231Cr6r3
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:6r17r6r33132
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:346rBrErFrDrErFr
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:338rCrEr2Er8rFr
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:9rFr8r8rAr9r558r
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:3Cr6r9rCrCrFr7rAr
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:7r6r7r7r9r9r8rCrFr
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 erFrDr5BrFrCr9r8r
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:8r8rFr6rBr9rArEr8r
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:FrErFrFrDrFrDrCrEr
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:FrFrDrFrFrFrErFrDr
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:ArArAr5FrFrErFrEr
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU2 e:9r48rErArArBrAr9r
Sync25p1 NAC:2D2 LDU1 e:BrErErArDrFr9r6rFr
Sync25p1 unknown/invalid DUID: 8

 

[AZScanner]

That's a lot of errors. Have you tried using the DSDTune application to get the optimal filter values to use? Also, how did you tap your scanner? It may be that there's just too much (or too little) discriminator audio coming in. Another possibility is simulcast distortion - as was mentioned in another thread, if a LSM signal has been FM demodulated prior to decoding and there's any simulcast distortion it will be a garbled mess. I run into that all the time where I am and there's really not much you can do about it.

-AZ

 

[moonbounce]

That's a lot of errors. Have you tried using the DSDTune application to get the optimal filter values to use? Also, how did you tap your scanner? It may be that there's just too much (or too little) discriminator audio coming in. Another possibility is simulcast distortion - as was mentioned in another thread, if a LSM signal has been FM demodulated prior to decoding and there's any simulcast distortion it will be a garbled mess. I run into that all the time where I am and there's really not much you can do about it.

-AZ

I am thinking that it maybe as you said, it maybe too little signal. I have approximately 11 Apco 25 channels that I monitor and only on three of them do I get this error. On the ones that don't come in I think that they are on the fringes of the area coverage that I listen to. Kind of like cell coverage, the three that I am getting the error message from are in the next cell area so something in their transmission is changed. I just thought I would mention this and see if anyone else had the same error message. As far as DSDtune I am not quite sure what I am doing with that yet. When I click on DSDtune, a screen pops up and then disappears and that is about as far as I have gotten with that one.


Other than that I consider the program is like a gift from God.

Moonbounce

 

[RonnieUSA]

As far as DSDtune I am not quite sure what I am doing with that yet. When I click on DSDtune, a screen pops up and then disappears and that is about as far as I have gotten with that one.
Moonbounce

I have the same problem trying to run it.

 

[AZScanner]

I think you might get some good results on those fringe areas once you've run DSDTune and gotten the values you need. I haven't done it yet either, but the process seems pretty straight forward. Details are here: http://forums.radioreference.com/2095681-post131.html

I would suggest trying that and see if that cleans it up.
-AZ

 

[moonbounce]

I think you might get some good results on those fringe areas once you've run DSDTune and gotten the values you need. I haven't done it yet either, but the process seems pretty straight forward. Details are here: http://forums.radioreference.com/2095681-post131.html

I would suggest trying that and see if that cleans it up.
-AZ

I don't understand this line " Run the dsdtune with -i audiofile.wav and then you can pass the deocder option like -f1 for p25"

I am supposing that this is what that line means. I am to go into the command prompt type in DSDplus\DSDtune and then put in the -i switch? I don't see a -i swich in DSDplus or DSDtune so I am kind of lost at this point.

What I am getting is saved an undecoded signal in my dsdplus file.

Moonbounce
.

 

[AZScanner]

I don't understand this line " Run the dsdtune with -i audiofile.wav and then you can pass the deocder option like -f1 for p25"

I am supposing that this is what that line means. I am to go into the command prompt type in DSDplus\DSDtune and then put in the -i switch? I don't see a -i swich in DSDplus or DSDtune so I am kind of lost at this point.

What I am getting is saved an undecoded signal in my dsdplus file.

Right. Whatever that undecoded signal recording is named, that's what you pass to DSDTune using -i. So if it was named DSDPlusRecording.wav, then the command to start DSDTune would be dsdtune -i DSDPlusRecording.wav. The output of the program will then be (if I understand it correctly) what you pass to DSD+ as shown in the readme for DSD+.

I've been meaning to do this on my scanner feed to hopefully correct some of the problems I've been having with it lately, so I'll try to get this done tonight and then update this thread with the exact steps.

-AZ

 

[AZScanner]

OK, here's the details on using DSDTune:

1. Download and copy DSDTune.exe from the github releases page: https://github.com/dreinhold/dsdtune/releases

2. Run DSDplus and press R to start recording the raw audio. Wait about a minute and press R again.

3. This will create a wav file in the DSDPlus directory. In mine it created one called DSDPlus-Raw-Input_2014-01-15@201105.wav. I then created a batch file in the same folder as DSDTune and DSDPlus using notepad. The batch file is as follows:

dsdtune -i DSDPlus-Raw-Input_2014-01-15@201105.wav -f1
pause

Run the batch file and let it finish. That will give you the parameters to pass to DSDTune. Using the parameters DSDTune gave me I then created a batch file as follows:

dsd -f1 -v4 -i1 -o3 -dr2 -dh6 -ds58 -dd47 -dv25
pause

(Don't use these parameters, use whatever dsdtune recommends based on your recording).

Overall, it made a vast improvement - great work deboe! Now if I can just keep the darn dongle from drifting all over the place, I'll have a great feed! On to tackle that issue tomorrow....

Hope that helped ya Moonbounce,
-AZ

 

[slicerwizard]

On the ones that don't come in I think that they are on the fringes of the area coverage that I listen to. Kind of like cell coverage, the three that I am getting the error message from are in the next cell area so something in their transmission is changed.

Different frequencies propagate differently, even if they're coming off the same TX antenna.

You need to park on one of the problem channels and record raw audio until you have at least 15 seconds of voice traffic recorded. There is no point in recording any audio from the "good" channels.

Once you have your recording, you can play with tuning.

 

[n4yek]

When I click on DSDtune, a screen pops up and then disappears and that is about as far as I have gotten with that one.
Moonbounce

I have the same problem trying to run it.

Try opening the program from a DOS window, what you describes happened to me when I just cliked on it from the Windows environment.

 

[moonbounce]

Thanks for the help guys, I am not so sure about batch files, never made one so I am hesitant about trying to creating one. Being as I don't know what I am doing with a batch file, I guess I will just stick to listening for now, thanks again.

Moonbounce

 

[br0adband]

A batch file is simply a text file with command line commands "in a batch" as the content of the file, that's about it, it's not seriously complicated, it's not some "voodoo programming black magic" either which for some reason many folks tend to think of them. Without a batch file, a lot of stuff you may or might do from the command line has to be done manually every time you execute them. If you create a batch file, you can enter all the same commands in sequence and when you execute the batch file it will do command 1, then command 2, command 3, and so on till it's done and then (unless you use the pause command or run it from an already running command prompt) it will close itself, poof, done.

If you create a new text file and you call it dsd_tuning_parameters.bat (the .bat means it's a batch file, obviously) and inside that file you have the lines AZScanner mentioned:

dsd -f1 -v4 -i1 -o3 -dr2 -dh6 -ds58 -dd47 -dv25
pause

and then saved the file, whenever that batch file is executed it:

- opens a command prompt window (on Linux or OSX the eqivalent would be a shell but they're very different overall, just similar in look/feel/operation for the most part - calling a command prompt "a DOS window" is technically incorrect nowadays but people still do it)
- starts DSD using the switches that follow and it will remain running until the program is terminated at which point...
- the pause command keeps the command prompt window open till you close it manually

So, not so complicated after all. You can make the best use of batch files with DSD or DSD+ by doing tuning sessions for your most commonly listened to digital modes/frequencies, and then whenever you plan to listen to any of those that you've done tuning on, you can create batch files just for those systems, say for example you have a system using DMR/MOTOTRBO (like a security service) that responds well to being tuned and so you created a batch file just for that particular group and you might call it security_service_dsd_tune.bat - whenever you wish to listen to that specific traffic you'd run that batch file, tune in for however long, and then end it, moving on to the next tuned system, etc.

Personally since I live in an area that has apparently just doesn't have issues with any of these modes in terms of reception - the entire Las Vegas/Henderson area I'm in is surrounded completely by mountains and on those mountains are the repeaters/towers broadcasting all the traffic so, basically I'm in the middle of all of it aka no dead spots on anything. I've attempted to do tuning on the dozens of frequencies and systems that I've been able to monitor and so far not much happens when I do the tuning, the scores barely increase at all which pretty much means the quality of the signals I'm getting are about as good as they're going to get so, guess I'm doing well in that respect.

But batch files are easy, just take a few moments and create one for yourself using the parameters that dsdtune gives you after you do a tuning run, can't hurt, and you can always just delete the batch file immediately anyway - it's just text.

Good luck...

 

[madmilkman]

OK, here's the details on using DSDTune:

1. Download and copy DSDTune.exe from the github releases page: https://github.com/dreinhold/dsdtune/releases

2. Run DSDplus and press R to start recording the raw audio. Wait about a minute and press R again.

3. This will create a wav file in the DSDPlus directory. In mine it created one called DSDPlus-Raw-Input_2014-01-15@201105.wav. I then created a batch file in the same folder as DSDTune and DSDPlus using notepad. The batch file is as follows:

dsdtune -i DSDPlus-Raw-Input_2014-01-15@201105.wav -f1
pause

Run the batch file and let it finish. That will give you the parameters to pass to DSDTune. Using the parameters DSDTune gave me I then created a batch file as follows:

dsd -f1 -v4 -i1 -o3 -dr2 -dh6 -ds58 -dd47 -dv25
pause

(Don't use these parameters, use whatever dsdtune recommends based on your recording).

Overall, it made a vast improvement - great work deboe! Now if I can just keep the darn dongle from drifting all over the place, I'll have a great feed! On to tackle that issue tomorrow....

Hope that helped ya Moonbounce,
-AZ

Hello !

can you tell me procedure for DMR dsdtune?

my example: dsdtune -i DSDPlus-Raw-Input_2014-11-13@151623 -fr
pause


i create batch file,start batch file and get this :
the system cannot find the file specified.
could not get decode string

what am i doing wrong,can somebody help me?

 

[TucsonDirect]

Hello !

can you tell me procedure for DMR dsdtune?

my example: dsdtune -i DSDPlus-Raw-Input_2014-11-13@151623 -fr
pause


i create batch file,start batch file and get this :
the system cannot find the file specified.
could not get decode string

what am i doing wrong,can somebody help me?

try putting a CD command in your batch file, before you start the rest of the commands to get CMD to the right folder

cd c:/DSD/

 

[sameehosen]

I think the problem is the weakness of the signal or the introduction of a few sound

 

[RonnieUSA]

Hello !

can you tell me procedure for DMR dsdtune?

my example: dsdtune -i DSDPlus-Raw-Input_2014-11-13@151623 -fr
pause


i create batch file,start batch file and get this :
the system cannot find the file specified.
could not get decode string

what am i doing wrong,can somebody help me?

It should read like this dsdtune -i DSDPlus-Raw-Input_2014-11-13@151623.wav -fr
pause

 

[sameehosen]

I think the problem is the weakness of the signal or the introduction of a few sound

 

[deboe]

Hello !

can you tell me procedure for DMR dsdtune?

my example: dsdtune -i DSDPlus-Raw-Input_2014-11-13@151623 -fr
pause


i create batch file,start batch file and get this :
the system cannot find the file specified.
could not get decode string

what am i doing wrong,can somebody help me?

Add a .wav to the end of your files name (DSDPlus-Raw-Input_2014-11-13@151623.wav). MS hides known extensions by default (It's the first thing I disable on a new install).
I opened an issue on the dsdtune project to append the .wav for people who forget it. https://github.com/dreinhold/dsdtune/issues/11

The "Can't decode" message from dsdtune is a horrible message it's the catch all for anything that goes wrong. It has nothing to do with the wav files conents (that is also an open issue https://github.com/dreinhold/dsdtune/issues/8)
One of these days ill get some time to clean it up.

Dylan

 

[madmilkman]

thanx for help i solve the problem. But signal is still weak from time to time. Will LNA "amp" help me or not?

 

[nlurker]

...if a LSM signal has been FM demodulated prior to decoding and there's any simulcast distortion it will be a garbled mess. I run into that all the time where I am and there's really not much you can do about it.
-AZ

I get simulcast distortion whenever the weather is bad. Might it help to NOT demodulate the LSM signal prior to decoding? How would this be possible?