poppafred
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That's great! Can't wait to give it a try.
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I hope you all get it running. Let me know if you get stuck I'm happy to help. With more and more public services in Arkansas going to DMR, I think that more hams (or others with tech knowledge) are going to go through this task.
Maybe a sticky should be set up on the Arkansas page about non-P25 systems in Arkansas, and how to get started with SDR... what do you think, milf?
It would be great if the SDR dongle were a plug-and-play device but it just isn't so.
As I am no longer an moderator, you would have to ask someone that is. I am an DB admin for 5 states now and only moderate m own forums posts lol.
DMR
These new radios will furthher complicate an already too complex hobby. I think the DMR radios have much weaker encryption so if you go out and buy one like they have.......well I have to get that one in there ha ha! These agencies are just giving us a break that aren't scrambling. I spent nearly 1900 dollars over the last 10 years on digital scanners. Gettin bored!
These new radios will furthher complicate an already too complex hobby. I think the DMR radios have much weaker encryption so if you go out and buy one like they have.......well I have to get that one in there ha ha! These agencies are just giving us a break that aren't scrambling. I spent nearly 1900 dollars over the last 10 years on digital scanners. Gettin bored!
poppafred
Member
I've downloaded everything, my SDR dongle is on its way from Amazon, I should be good to go when it arrives!
I am planning on installing it on a Win 8.1 tablet (Dell 10") because it is the most portable device I have. I may install it on my laptop just for grins.
I can't wait to give this a shot!
I am planning on installing it on a Win 8.1 tablet (Dell 10") because it is the most portable device I have. I may install it on my laptop just for grins.
I can't wait to give this a shot!
I was in Clarksville (Johnson County) today. Of course I took my decoding goodies with me! I successfully decoded Clarksville PD and Franklin County EMS, but I encountered another unencrypted signal on 155.070 which according to the database is the old VHF frequency for Franklin County SO (and not the new one). Can you confirm for me that the Franklin County Sheriff still uses 155.070 for DMR dispatch and not the "new" one? if so then I can confirm a catch for Franklin County SO... the traffic I heard was certainly LE.
If I knew of someplace to upload a .wav file and link it to the post here, I'd do that so folks could listen to the clip.
I was told by someone that FCSO uses both now. Confirmation would be nice!
Exactly. I want to confirm my suspicions before I post it to the DB. A few times before I thought that I had the right info but I wasn't 100% sure; later, I discovered that my suspicions were incorrect. I only post to the DB if I am absolutely certain that the data are true.
At this point I'm just waiting for Poppafred or someone else to confirm that 155.070 is still in use by the FCSO....
poppafred
Member
I have been working on this for over a week and still am not decoding anything. I had not entered the old frequency so maybe that is what I need to do and give it another try.
Yes give the old 155.070 a try. How about the EMS channel? It's pretty strong I can almost pick it up here in Russellville. You might also be able to get Clarksville PD from where you are, on 155.640 so try that in the scanner module of SDR#.
poppafred
Member
I am not sure about my settings, I'm pretty green at this. I am seeing a spike on the waterfall at the old analog frequency. Just playing around, I checked "correct IQ" and it went away. Occasionally, a weak band of white surrounds the center of the frequency. I assume this is what I am trying to decode. This might be a pain for you, but could you walk me through the SDR# settings? To be totally honest, I don't have a clue on what I am doing. Right now, I'm using a portable scanner antenna, Watson W-889, so I may be limited on what I can hear. But I have been able to get a local WFM broadcast station so I know the dongle works. For DMR, should the radio be in NFM or RAW?
Settings for SDR#
Use NFM mode. Here are screenshots of SDR# and DSD+ working with SDR#, investigating a mystery DMR signal I found the other day on 153.605 Mhz. Check your setting against mine...
Use NFM mode. Here are screenshots of SDR# and DSD+ working with SDR#, investigating a mystery DMR signal I found the other day on 153.605 Mhz. Check your setting against mine...
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For what it's worth, here is a short sound file of a decoded DMR signal. This is the Cleburne County Sheriff Department on 460.350 on March 1, 2015...
Zippyshare.com - DSDPlus Cleburne Co SO 1March2015.wav
Zippyshare.com - DSDPlus Cleburne Co SO 1March2015.wav
poppafred
Member
Okay, dongle working, I can see signals. Audio output goes to [MME] Cable input. When I start monitoring, SDR# always switches back to raw. DSD+ audio input is cable output, output is speakers. And something just happened when I wasn't watching! It decoded a signal on 155.070 but it didn't make sense language wise. On the "P" screen, for lack of a better name, it had a string of info, mainly said data like your screen but there were a bunch of ERR 1, ERR 2 and ERR 3 messages. I wish there was some kind of manual for this, it would so much easier than bugging you.
You're getting a low quality signal to the dongle I think. It shouldn't have all of the ERR (error) codes. I have seen this when I try to decode something that's just a bit too far away, like when I try decoding Stone County SO when I am in Batesville. You're sure you have a good connection between the antenna and the dongle?
Also, what is your minimal level set at? The level is kind of the "squelch" control. You want that thin yellow horizontal line just a smidgen above the blue "noise" area. I have mine set at -18 which works well for me but you may need to adjust yours up and down some.
Also SDR# should not be going to Raw. Does it make that switch automatically? Weird, if so... mine doesn't do that. It stays on NFM. I just now tried decoding on raw and I get very poor signal input strength. It must be in NFM.
I can just about pick up the Franklin Co EMS from here in Russellville on 151.36250 so that should be a really strong signal for you. Any luck receiving and decoding that?
Also, what is your minimal level set at? The level is kind of the "squelch" control. You want that thin yellow horizontal line just a smidgen above the blue "noise" area. I have mine set at -18 which works well for me but you may need to adjust yours up and down some.
Also SDR# should not be going to Raw. Does it make that switch automatically? Weird, if so... mine doesn't do that. It stays on NFM. I just now tried decoding on raw and I get very poor signal input strength. It must be in NFM.
I can just about pick up the Franklin Co EMS from here in Russellville on 151.36250 so that should be a really strong signal for you. Any luck receiving and decoding that?
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poppafred
Member
Now SDR# has stopped scanning two frequencies that are already on the scan list.
Be aware that SDR# doesn't scan discrete frequencies like a police scanner. Instead it scans "blocks" of frequencies which have the particular frequencies you're looking at. This threw me off at first, too. It may appear that it is only scanning two frequencies, when in fact it is scanning two BLOCKS of frequencies, which have all of the frequencies which you specified it to examine. Take a look on page 12 of the Frequency Manager + Scanner User Guide.pdf file.
poppafred
Member
I can confirm, Franklin Co SO is using the old frequency for DMR, 155.070.
I'm glad that you (apparently) got it working and you're able to monitor everything there now.
What is the slot / color code / talk group for dispatch?
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