Fun with DMR: programming a single channel DMR system

[andrewket]

I set the hotspot down 18db and the scanner is picking up transmissions with more frequency (so to speak), but still less than half. Setting the software attenuation at the same time results in fewer transmissions. I will try relocating the scanner, but that removes half the value to me. I wish I had read this thread before throwing out the box and buying the DMR upgrade. Junk.

 

[RoninJoliet]

I have a new 996p2 with NXDN and DMR.....The NXDN works great but I created a "search" 451-465 to find DMR but when the scanner hits on a freqy designated for DMR it stops but I get no "audio" or slot # or color in the search, I have tried mode1-2-3 with no luck....Do they have to be pgm'ed in a conventional system ? TY

 

[RoninJoliet]

Well i have found on my 996P2 DMR freqys that using "F + 6 and choosing "mode2" gives you the CC and Ran#, using "mode 3" gives you the slot #.....

 

[iscanvnc2]

Have you gotten the audio? If so, how?
I'm the same place you, RoninJoliet, were in your last post with no audio on my 996P2 with DMR during "search".

 

[RoninJoliet]

If you program in the freqy in a conventional system and choose the various modes it will give you "audio" and CC-DMR-Slot ...Then you can set up a NXDN or DMR system and put in those items and you will see the TG's associated with the system.....

 

[iscanvnc2]

Thanks for the reply.
Referring back to "search", are you saying you get no DMR audio during "search" but must program the freq to get the audio?

 

[RoninJoliet]

YES, pgm it into a conv- system, in the menu mark it "Digital" and it will have audio....If you program it in a DMR One Freqy system it will show the TG,s associated with it in a group....

 

[zzdiesel]

I learned the hard way that some systems need a dummy TG with the one you want to hear!

 

[wb4sqi]

I am trying to monitor a business that was recently licensed for DMR. Two frequencies, vhf at 154 and 159, handhelds only, no repeater. I’m fairly certain that TG’s are nonexistent. Using an sds100 with the DMR upgrade. Ideas?

 

[hiegtx]

I am trying to monitor a business that was recently licensed for DMR. Two frequencies, vhf at 154 and 159, handhelds only, no repeater. I’m fairly certain that TG’s are nonexistent. Using an sds100 with the DMR upgrade. Ideas?

Just because they were ‘recently licensed’ for DMR does not confirm that they are using it at this time. Maybe they are keeping their options open in case they want to make a change. Or, perhaps they do intend to switch to DMR once they get the equipment to do so (handheld or mobile radios, and/or a base unit). If they have licensed two frequencies, one tagged as a base, the other mobile, I would think that a repeater is in their plans.

I would program it as a One Frequency Trunked system. Create a site for each frequency, with the Color Code set as Search. Set your ‘system’ to ID Search, and be sure to create a Department with at least one ‘dummy’ talkgroup (I use a 1). While they may not use a number of individually assigned talkgroups, a TGID likely will be used, even if they use the same one for everyone. If and when they start using DMR, I suspect that that the only frequency that you hear traffic on will be the one assigned as base, unless you are close enough to hear the weaker transmissions from handheld units. Even if you are that close, you likely would hear all activity on the base channel, in which case I would delete the ‘site’ for the mobile channel.

 

[wb4sqi]

Just because they were ‘recently licensed’ for DMR does not confirm that they are using it at this time. Maybe they are keeping their options open in case they want to make a change. Or, perhaps they do intend to switch to DMR once they get the equipment to do so (handheld or mobile radios, and/or a base unit). If they have licensed two frequencies, one tagged as a base, the other mobile, I would think that a repeater is in their plans.

I would program it as a One Frequency Trunked system. Create a site for each frequency, with the Color Code set as Search. Set your ‘system’ to ID Search, and be sure to create a Department with at least one ‘dummy’ talkgroup (I use a 1). While they may not use a number of individually assigned talkgroups, a TGID likely will be used, even if they use the same one for everyone. If and when they start using DMR, I suspect that that the only frequency that you hear traffic on will be the one assigned as base, unless you are close enough to hear the weaker transmissions from handheld units. Even if you are that close, you likely would hear all activity on the base channel, in which case I would delete the ‘site’ for the mobile channel.

Thanks Steve, I’ll try that. Watched the users for about 30 minutes, it is a Harbor master and five valet drivers that launch and recover boats in the Ohio River. Using handhelds to coordinate traffic on the ramp. If there will be a base it will likely be in the Harbormasters office.

 

[jeffhochberg]

I have reuploaded the files, you should be able to grab a zip with the files from here:
DMR-MARC-7-2-2016-UIDs-paste.zip

I need to go refresh this data when I get some time.
Good luck!

Thank you!!!

 

[MississippiPI]

W

You can use this link to dump the full user database to a .csv file, and then import that into excel.

http://www.dmr-marc.net/cgi-bin/trbo-database/datadump.cgi?table=users&format=csv&header=1

Here is more info:
http://www.dmr-marc.net/cgi-bin/trbo-database/datadump.cgi

 

[MississippiPI]

Here is my fist pass at a setup up a setup guide for a single channel DMR system using a Uniden 436 and the latest release candidate (2).
I am monitoring my local amateur DMR repeaters who are all part of the PRN DMR repeater network.
This gives us some interesting monitoring opportunities now that DMR systems are supported.

First, I will share some critical web resources for amateur DMR monitoring:


First, here are some of the tools to help.
-----------------
Reference:
DMR repeater listing (this is for NC, but all states are listed):
North Carolina DMR Amateur Radio Repeaters

DMR-MARC UID Repeater and Database:
DMR-MARC Network

PRN Talkgroups:
Talkgroups | PRN
--------------------

Once you find a local repeater, you can use my guide at a the system to your radio.
I will use this system in my example:
Cary 443.78750 KB4CTS North Carolina Repeater


Now, lets get started building a system in Sentinel.
Start the Sentinel software, I usually do a full “Read from Scanner” before I start programming a new system.

To enter a new Favorite list, do the following:
Select "Edit" and then "Edit Favorites List"
Then hit the "New Favorites List" button and create a new favorite list.
"Raleigh NC - PRN DMR Network"

Click on the "Options" tab and set this to a favorite (FL Quick Key) and favorite tag (FL Number Tag)

Next Click on "Systems" tab
Click on the green plus sign
For "System Name" I used:
"KB4CTS DMR Ham-Cary NC PRN Network Repeater"
then I selected "System Type" of "DMR One Frequency" the hit OK.

Click on "ID-Search" to enable ID-Search, set "Quick Key" and "Number Tag" to whatever you want (1 in my example), I also like to set the "Emergency Alert Light" as well.

Now click on the name of the new system name in the left box of Sentinel, which will show the system details.

Click on "Sites" and hit the green + button.
Enter a Site name:
"Cary NC KB4CTS - DMR -443.7875"
in my case, and I assigned a quick key of 1.

Now click on the new Site name in the left box of Sentinel, which will show the site options.

On the "Frequencies" tab hit the green + button and, enter the repeaters frequency (443.7875), leave "Color Code" as "Color Code Search".

Now click back on the System name in the left box of Sentinel, which will show the system options.

In the Excel spreadsheet, select the 2 columns with the callsign-name-state and the unitID as the 2 columns.
I used column C and D from the "full-US-copy-paste" tab in the spreadsheet.
The first column needs to be the unit name, and the second column needs to be the Unit ID.
Once you select the data, hit Edit - Copy.

In Sentinel, click on "Unit IDs" and then hit the green + button.
After you click on the green + and creating an empty row, float over the box on the empty box at the top on the number column, DO NOT SELECT IT WITH A LEFT MOUSE CLICK, hit the RIGHT mouse button and select "Paste"
If you do not do this exactly, Sentinel will give you an error message "Paste Operation Failed..."
Do the paste steps exactly as I have written, it is important not to left mouse click and select anything or else the paste operation will fail (if it does fail, delete all of the IDs and then try the process again, it can be tricky).

Sentinel will go "not responsive" if you paste a large amount of data, but it will recover.
After about 1 or 2 minutes, Sentinel will regain it's composure and the pasting will be successful.
Before you do anything, hit File and then Save on Sentinel because it will sometimes crash after the paste operation.

I have added one more enhancement, which has added even more data on the display (TGID info).
Click on the department tab, and hit the green button:
I have named it "PRN System - 443.3375 - Digital Amateur Network" and set the quick key (to 1).

If you click on the "department" name on the left hand box in Sentinel, you can add "Channels" to the "Department"
The TGIDs for the PRN network are on the last sheet of the spreadsheet (the tab PRN-TGIDs-paste).
Go to the excel spreadsheet, select the 5 column and 12 rows of the TGID info, hit "edit" then "copy".


Go to the excel spreadsheet and select the TGID-paste sheet data (it is a 12x5 table) and then hit edit -> copy.

Now go to the "Channels" tab and hit the green + button.
Float the mouse over to empty box at the top of the column and hit the right mouse button and select "paste"

At the top of Spectrum, hit "file" then "save" then exit Spectrum.
Select the Favorites List in Spectrum, select your new favorite with a right mouse click and then "Monitor Favorites List" and turn it "On"

Now connect your scanner and "Write to scanner".


Now, upload this to you scanner, enable the favorite list, select the favorite list.
Enjoy the nice enhanced info!



--------------
Tips-
The full USA UID database is 16820 rows, If you make the "Unit ID Name" CALLSIGN-NAME-STATE, the full USA database is too big for 1M limit for a single system.
If you make it 15000 rows, it will then fit. I have also created lists where the description field uses the state abbreviation rather than the name in order to simply the area identification.

The UID dataset is so large that I can't have more than one copy of it in a single favorite list (it hits the 1M limit with 2 copies).
I have one System (the one I can receive the best) with the full US database dumped to it.

For my local monitoring I have a single group with 4 DMR systems in it. Each of these "DMR single channel systems" has a copy of the NC UID dataset (it is 1680 lines long).
I have tried to put all 4 repeaters frequencies in the full USA system that I created above, but when I did that the radio would never stop and receiver on any of the frequencies.
Maybe someone out there can suggest a solution. For now I am putting my home state and the surrounding states into a regional UID group. Ill add other states as I receive them.
Use too many and you will see the dreaded "Favorites List is over 1M. Too big." Message...

Maybe someone else has a good solution for my issue above?

In any case please feel free to provide feedback and further optimizations as I am interested any any tips or best practices that others may have found.

Attached is link to a zipped copy of the excel spreadsheets that I have used in the above example.
I have also included a .csv file so others without excel can play with the data, but if you use the .csv file you will have to create your own, custom callsign-user-state column.
The zip seems to be too large to attach to the forum post...

DMR-MARC-7-2-2016-UIDs-paste.zip

Enjoy!

 

[MississippiPI]

What else will it work for? Great info by the way.

Be safe