Hillsborough County (EDACS and P25 32D.1E306)

[LH2428]

Have to say the JIM Scanner Booster has really boosted my FIRE channels and District 2 in Brandon! Very impressed with this device...... Voice is much clearer as well...

 

[LH2428]

Can you monitor state police in this area?

 

[batdude]

Can you monitor state police in this area?

Short answer = no. They are 100% encrypted.

 

[LH2428]

👍🏻

 

[LH2428]

The HCFR channels are countywide. The tac channels are not specific to a given area within the county.

If you want to listen for HCFR traffic in those areas, listen for Stations 7, 9, 11, 27, 33, 36, and 37.

Can you tell me where to find these channels? I am only seeing Fire Tactical Stations to 17 on the EDACS system

 

[zlandmedia]

Can you tell me where to find these channels? I am only seeing Fire Tactical Stations to 17 on the EDACS system

Those aren't channels. They're the numbers to the actual fire stations, specifically the ones in the a Brandon/Valrico area.

 

[LH2428]

Those aren't channels. They're the numbers to the actual fire stations, specifically the ones in the a Brandon/Valrico area.

Thank you, I noticed you have the SDS200 on your profile.... How is that radio for our area? Is that the radio that is future proof for the updates coming to HCSO. I have the Pro 197 right now picking up D-5 D-2 Well along with Fire

 

[LH2428]

DO we know when District 2 and District 5 is switching over to P25-II from P25-I (Phase 1)?

I am trying to see if I need to upgrade my PRO 197 to continue listening

 

[axmeone]

I have been listening to the EDACS talk groups for years but it's pretty obvious the timer is ticking.

I'm trying to decide which radio to pick up as my next toy.

Is there anyone here listening to the P25 talk groups (HCSO specifically) on an SDS100/200 and a Unication G4 or G5?

I'm hoping to hear from someone who has them both on this system and could share their thoughts and experiences.

 

[zlandmedia]

SDS scanners are the way for decoding simulcast. HCSO is fine with an SDS scanner.

 

[axmeone]

SDS scanners are the way for decoding simulcast. HCSO is fine with an SDS scanner.

Thanks, from what I've read, they work well for our area. Have you noticed any performance difference between the SDS100 and SDS200 when tracking HCSO TGs?

 

[zlandmedia]

They're the same scanner pretty much except one is handheld and the other is a base scanner. No differences in performance that I've noticed.

 

[axmeone]

Thanks for confirming.

Ultimately I'd like to get back to listening to multiple simultaneous TGs. But that gets expensive pretty quickly.

I think a potential solution might be having multiple SDRs.

So my next question is, can SDRs perform adequately well in our Simulcast P25 system? If so, is the quality even remotely close to the SDS100/200?

 

[zlandmedia]

If you go the SDR route, make sure it's the official RTL-SDR v3 dongle (those are the best for the price), would recommend 3 or 4 of them, and use SDRTrunk to listen. SDRTrunk is the only software on Windows that can properly decode P25 phase 2 and simulcast.

 

[axmeone]

SDR sounds almost too good to be true.

To clarify, why are you recommending 3 or 4?

How many simultaneous TGs would I be able to receive with 4 SDRs? Is it one SDR for control channels and then each additional SDR per TG for instance? so with a total of 4 dongles, I could receive 3 TGs or am I assuming incorrectly?

 

[zlandmedia]

A single dongle only has a usable window of 2.4 MHz at a given time, which is not enough to cover an entire site. With TDMA, you can hear two simultaneous calls per site.

For the SDRs, I say four because you would need at least two to fully scan the west site and another two for the east site. Otherwise, calls would go missed.

 

[axmeone]

Thank you! Great information. I purchased two last night so I can start playing.

I did take note to buy the official RTL SDR v3 like you had suggested.

Again thank you very much for your responses I greatly appreciate it.

 

[pandel]

I started out with an SDS100 but hated the audio quality. Switched over to the Unication G4.
BIG improvement!.
Having said that, I will also say I only listen to one district. The G4 programming was a bit challenging but most venders (Rays Pagers) should be happy to help you get setup and running. I now have y G4 set up almost exactly the same as my old M/A Com which makes my life very easy.
I've always used commercial equipment, and the SDS100 just didn't feel like it was built as tough as the G4 so that was another consideration for me.
Best of luck!

 

[6Paul21]

I agree with you on the G4/G5 as I now have 5 units. I can pick up Hillsborough County on most evenings in Sarasota County very well.


Ed

 

[CanesFan95]

The audio quality from dongles also depends on the software. OP25 and SDRTrunk have much better audio than DSD+.