Here's a little more info. I'm still not getting anything unfortunately.
Could it be that it's because I found this info on ARC536 in a county that's 80 miles away??
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Entergy TRS on SDS150
- Thread starter coconuthead
- Start date
Could it be that it's because I found this info on ARC536 in a county that's 80 miles away??
You are out of range for the Little Rock site on the Entergy system. You will need to use the Benton site.
Your screen shots confirm this. You have good signal on the Benton site (5bars , RSSI=-73dBm), but no signal on the Little Rock site. You can re-run the analyze feature (shown on Post #21) on the Benton site.
It looks like you are scanning the full database. If this is the case, I suggest that you set the range to 0 (if it is not already done). This will minimize trying to scan sites that are out of range.
On the sds150:
Menu -> Set Your Location -> Set Range
Set to 0.0
Hit E key
Also, most users suggest setting squelch at 2. Screenshots show yours is set at 4.I believe the signal fluctuations you described are simply from scanning multiple sites and multiple systems. The signal strength changes as the scanner moves from one site to the next. This is normal behavior.
That's great info. Thank you. I did what you said. But i don't understand why the frequency or the SysID never changes. The only action is the RSSI moves a little. Well actually I didn't run the analyze on the Benton site because the only option I have is Little Rock.
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Ok, I got that part figured out.
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You are in Site Hold. The sds150 holding on the Benton site. It is tuned to the control frequency (854.6625) and is monitoring the control channel for activity. If there is activity on a talkgroup that is programmed in the sds150, it will tune to that channel and you will hear the activity.
My limited experience with the Entergy system is that there is little traffic on that system. Especially overnight.
The analyze session shows that you are getting a good signal on the control channel from the Benton site. There is currently no activity. It will be a waiting game to see if you catch any traffic.
Right on. I really appreciate your help!
The system id won’t change. It is for the entergy system. It does not change depending on the talkgroup you hear or the site you are monitoring. It will not be displayed at times if you have poor reception. The advice about range set to 0 is good. Traffic on this system is indeed, generally limited. In my area at least though, many of the talkgroups are repeated over a pretty large area and you may learn a pattern where there is more activity at certain times, like early in the morning.
Ok. I still can't imagine when I have that system on hold and the Benton site on hold that I don't hear anything out of all of those talkgroups. I'll keep tinkering with it and hopefully get it figured out. I just feel like I'm overlooking something. I thank you for your help and I'll let ya'll know if I ever hear anything. Do the antennas matter much? I've got three and I'm using the remtronix singleband 820S. Also, is the only way to set range on a site is by using the software? I know how to do it in the "set your location" section, but that activates the full database, correct?
Nevermind the antenna question. I researched it.
Hang in there. Years ago, I was trying to troubleshoot/verify that my linux based sdr setup on a Pi was working for Entergy, but this was frustrating given the low levels of traffic. It may get busier if you have some winter weather the next few days.
Are you using location based scanning? If so, set your location (zip code) and set the range to 0 or maybe 1. You do not need it more than that with a handheld scanner as it won't received sites more than 20 miles (roughly; there are exceptions). I think the Entergy sites are properly entered in the database with their locations so this will limit it to only the sites within your range. Since they have their location in the database and a range assigned, your scanner will attempt to receive them if the 'range ring' hits your scanner's range ring.
Understanding how the location based scanning works is important to getting the most out of your scanner.
You may also need to make sure you have updated the db in your scanner if you haven't done so in the last couple of months.
I did not read every post in this thread so if this was already discussed I apologize for repeating.
Understanding how the location based scanning works is important to getting the most out of your scanner.
You may also need to make sure you have updated the db in your scanner if you haven't done so in the last couple of months.
I did not read every post in this thread so if this was already discussed I apologize for repeating.
You will only hear traffic on talkgroups that are affiliated with sites within range of your scanner. The Arkansas talkgroups on the Entergy system are in the 400 range. Do not expect to hear activity beyond your local area.
As noted previously, there is not a lot of traffic on the Entergy system.
I will say, I have monitored Entergy before locally and gone an entire day without hearing a keyup - they use the laptops and phones for normal communication. The most traffic I hear is when they are called out on emergency and they're coordinating with the DOC or talking with each other about what they're finding that may have caused said outage. That said, with the storms in south Arkansas I would expect them to be on their TGs at least some. You're likely just either not scanning the right TGs or don't have all frequencies in the sites correctly. Hopefully you imported from the db so it should be good.
Keep us posted.
Keep us posted.
Magnetsteve
Member
THIS. I have spoken with Entergy personnel directly about this and he told me the RARELY use their voice channels on the radio system and more for data and such. I have heard some traffic on the Hot Springs talkgroup but only during severe weather with outages.
Ok that makes great sense. Thank you and will do.
