DSDPlus DSDPlus with DMR Cap+ System

[erjr00]

Pretty sure if you have the freqs programmed in your DSDPlus.frequencies file, it will cycle thru them. You might have to have the system in your site loader. I select cap+ systems from mine and it does cycle to the active rest.

; trunked network entries:
;
; protocol, networkID, 0, "network name"
;
;
; trunked site entries:
;
; protocol, networkID, siteNumber, "site name"

Is there a reason to enter the data into DSDPlus.siteLoader as a trunked network over a trunked site or vice versa? Cause I could do it either way.

 

[dave3825]

Not in front of my loader file to see how it’s set up but when I launch it, it shows the system and any associated sites and lets me select the site I wish to scan on that system.

 

[mtindor]

I've been monitoring for the past couple of days, and I think I've got it completely working. Even managed to get the names/aliases of the talk groups/channels. I do have a couple of further questions, though:

• Is there any way that when I start up the program (FMP24-CC.bat, then 1R.bat), it can check both of the possible frequencies? its a 50/50 shot whether the rest channel is on the startup freq or not. It's not the end of the world to click on the rest channel on the FFT, but it would be cool if I could get it to check for me if it doesn't start up on the right one.
• Is the only way to find the neighbouring "Site 8" by just scanning around in DSDplus direct monitor and see if I can capture DMR traffic? Like, DSDplus isn't going to give me additional info on it? Also, how did it "find" the neighbouring site? Does that data come across the rest or voice channels?
• The "networkID" in the .networks file is just an arbitrary number that we (the user) set if we have multiple networks programmed into our DSDPlus program?
• In the 1R DSD+ window while running. Sometimes I get +DMR, and sometimes I get +Cap+. I'm assuming having Cap+ in my settings is correct, as Cap+ is just a special version of DMR? I don't need to add or change anything, the program knows what's up?

Sorry for the long and many questions. You've been an awesome help though, and I really appreciate it.

To find a Site 8:
a. you'd have to be close enough to copy it in the first place
b. you'd have to scan the band and look for an active channel (whether it was voice or just beaconinng)
c. you'd be looking for one that beacons that it is Cap+ "site:8"

Assuming you find something that is showing as Cap+ site:8, then that's one freq and you'l have to figure out what other frequencies are associated with that site as well. Then assuming you get through all of that an actually need to add a site:8 information to the file, you'll have to use the same fictitious Network ID with that site and that site to DSDPlus.Sites and the frequencies to DSDPlus.frequencies

Or you could just move along and use DSDPlus to sleuth out anything you find from one end of the band to the other. You might find that more interesting than searching for a single Cap+ site:8 freq, which could be like watching paint dry -- especially if it's not even close enough to you for you to pick it up.

 

[dave3825]

To find a Site 8:

Wow! I missed the rest of what he asked. Thankfully your a FMP24 PRO USER

lol. I see you found it.

 

[mtindor]

Wow! I missed the rest of what he asked. Thankfully your a FMP24 PRO USER

lol. I see you found it.

Lol. Yeah, once you brought it up, I had to try. Took me a while to find out where to put it in, and it kept giving me errors every time I try to add it. Not sure why. But it finally worked.

I’m sure somebody will give me **** for it. Let’s face it, even when I may know what I’m talking about, I often don’t articulate it correctly, or end up typing in wrong information because I didn’t proofread

Mike

 

[erjr00]

To find a Site 8:
a. you'd have to be close enough to copy it in the first place
b. you'd have to scan the band and look for an active channel (whether it was voice or just beaconinng)
c. you'd be looking for one that beacons that it is Cap+ "site:8"

Assuming you find something that is showing as Cap+ site:8, then that's one freq and you'l have to figure out what other frequencies are associated with that site as well. Then assuming you get through all of that an actually need to add a site:8 information to the file, you'll have to use the same fictitious Network ID with that site and that site to DSDPlus.Sites and the frequencies to DSDPlus.frequencies

Or you could just move along and use DSDPlus to sleuth out anything you find from one end of the band to the other. You might find that more interesting than searching for a single Cap+ site:8 freq, which could be like watching paint dry -- especially if it's not even close enough to you for you to pick it up.

Ya, I've looked around and there's nothing else on 700/800 MHz. When it says a "Neighbouring Site", is that only with reference to frequency, or could it be a VHF or UHF site, part of the same system that uses the 800 MHz frequencies? This operation covers a lot of land area, and I've seen VHF dipoles around, so I'm sure they have VHF in use somewhere. Just not the department I work in.

Also, how did DSD+ find this neighbouring site? Does DSD+ find this in the voice or resting channel data?

Any opinion on the trunked network entry vs trunked site entry for DSDPlus.siteLoader ?

 

[mtindor]

As part of the control data sent over the voice channels during a Cap+ call (and similar to what would be sent over the control channel on a Con+ or Cap Max system), Site ID and neighbor/peer information is sent as well.

If the system is trunked (such as Cap+) then that's how it should be in the sideloader. The trunked network entry should look like what you have in your DSDplus.networks file, and the trunked site entry should look like what you have in your DSDPlus.Sites file.

 

[dave3825]

Any opinion on the trunked network entry vs trunked site entry for DSDPlus.siteLoader ?

The trunked network entry should look like what you have in your DSDplus.networks file, and the trunked site entry should look like what you have in your DSDPlus.Sites file.

Just to add, and after looking at your original question, you add the network name (Trunked Systems) but that entry must have a 0, as noted in notes.txt.

Trunked:

Additional "header" entries can be created to identify/name networks.
Use a site number value of zero for network header/name entries.

Many sites do not reflect the name of the system, so entering the system name lets you find it in the Site Loader selection page. See the examples in green below.

Added DSDPlus.siteLoader file and site loader window.

This feature adds a simple method to directly tune to trunked sites or conventional channels.
Users add trunked site and conventional channel entries to the DSDPlus.siteLoader file
and then use the site loader window to select a site or channel, which is then tuned to
by FMP24, FMPA or FMPP. TCP linking is required.

The format of the DSDPlus.siteLoader file mimics the DSDPlus.sites file.
Trunked site entries may be directly copied from the .sites file to the .siteLoader file.

Like the .sites file, the line format is protocol, network ID, site number, "alias text"

Trunked:

Additional "header" entries can be created to identify/name networks.
Use a site number value of zero for network header/name entries.

Conventional:

Entries can be created for direct tuning to conventional channels.
Use a protocol type of "Conv" or "Conventional" for conventional channel entries.
Typically, you should use unique network ID and site number values on conventional entries.
This lets DSD+ maintain separate talkgroup and radio records for each conventional digital
voice channel.

Both digital voice and analog voice conventional channel tuning is supported.
AM analog entries are supported when DSD+ is linked to FMP24.
FMPA and FMPP do not currently support AM demodulation.

Frequency and mode/protocol are specified in the alias text for each conventional entry.
The frequency value must appear first, then the analog mode or digital voice protocol,
then an identifying channel name.

For analog FM entries, only frequency and channel name are required.

For analog AM entries, use "AM" as the mode text.

For digital voice entries, use the appropriate protocol name. Choices are "ProVoice",
"P25", "D-Star", "Fusion", "DMR", "DCDM", "dPMR", "NXDN48" and "NXDN96".

DSD+ uses the mode/protocol values to select appropriate bandwidth, demodulation
and monitoring mode settings.

Entries of any type can appear more than once in the file, i.e. you can copy some
favorite / commonly used entries from elsewhere in the file to the top for quick access.

Sample DSDPlus.siteLoader file contents:

P25, BEE11.123, 0, "Mulberry PS"
P25, BEE11.123, 1.1, "North"
P25, BEE11.123, 2.2, "South"

Con+, 1234, 0, "ACME"
Con+, 1234, 1, "Site 1"
Con+, 1234, 1, "Site 2"

Conv, 1, 1, "162.550 WX1"
Conv, 1, 2, "119.150 AM ATIS"
Conv, 1, 3, "163.830 P25 FBI"

Press L in DSD+ to open the Network/Site Loader window.
With the sample file above, the window would look like:

P25 Mulberry PS
North
South
Con+ ACME
Site 1
Site 2
Conv 162.550 WX1
Conv 119.150 AM ATIS
Conv 163.830 P25 FBI

Use the Up/Down and PageUp/PageDown keys to highlight a trunked site or a conventional channel.
Press Enter to tune to the selected site/channel or press Esc to close the window.

If an entry is displayed in red, DSD+ does not have any frequency information to work with:

For trunked P25 sites, manually tune to them or their neighbors and monitor for a while;
DSD+ will record control channel information in the DSDPlus.P25data file.

For other trunked sites, edit the DSDPlus.frequencies file and add site frequencies.

If a conventional entry is red, something is wrong with the frequency information
in the entry's alias text.

The location and size of the network/site loader window and the size of the text
are adjusted in the same manner as the event log window.

A high contrast mode can be selected by pressing H, but the red color used to warn
of a lack of frequency information will not be displayed in high contrast modes.

If, after loading a trunking site, extra/erroneous channels/frequencies are displayed in
the channel window, press D to force DSD+ to discard all system information and rebuild it.