How can I determine unidentified Talkgroups?

[markgmeyer]

I have a RS Pro-106 scanner, and monitor the ARMER system used in Minnesota.
I use a 'wildcard talkgroup ID' to capture any talkgroups not already stored in my scanner.
These talkgroups are not yet listed in the radio reference database, or in the wiki section for a local county.
How can I figure out who these belong to?
Do counties have any public records available that would identify the talkgroups?
Thanks in advance, for any ideas.
Mark

 

[ka3jjz]

Post these talkgroups in our Minnesota forum, or on a Yahoo group or mailing list devoted to your area (some of which are listed here (note: all links are in blue). Sometimes these talkgroups are known, but no one has taken the time to submit them to the database (or don't want to have them made public, for various reasons)

If all else fails, it's detective work. Listen and try to get a sense of what kind of traffic these talkgroups are passing. Record them and make a list of these recordings so you can back up your assumptions. The freeware package IDTracker III (scroll to the bottom of the page) will work with your scanner. It's tedious work, but doable with time and patience

73 Mike

 

[markgmeyer]

Thanks for the reply.
I was hoping there would be an easier method, such as some type of public record, or FCC license info, etc. One would think that systems paid for with taxpayer money would be required to provide this type on info.

 

[fineshot1]

Thanks for the reply.
I was hoping there would be an easier method, such as some type of public record, or FCC license info, etc. One would think that systems paid for with taxpayer money would be required to provide this type on info.

There are no fcc records for this as the fcc does not record this type of info
and there is no requirement for the county (or any other agency) to provide
any such info.

This type of info is provided by folks just like you and I and there is no EASY
answer to some of these types of questions. Its part of the fun of this hobby
to find out the answers to these sort of questions and when you are 100%
certain you have the answer submit the info for inclusion in the RR DB.

 

[wb0wao]

Two words - traffic analysis. Look for commonalities between traffic on known TG's and the unknown TG's such as unit numbers or the subject of the traffic. Listen for and note any addresses that you monitor - especially if it is a large agency with multiple "districts". As fineshot wrote, there is no "official" publically available listing of the TG's - just what we derive and post here and on other sites.

Normally (but not always the case), when the system is first being set up, blocks of TG's are allocated to the different services and agencies taking part in the system to include current usage as well as future expansion if needed. If your unknown TG happens to fall in the middle of a block assigned to department X, then it is _probable_ that it is a TG used by that agency. It may take weeks or months to positively identify a TG, but you should be able to get a rough idea of who and what the TG is used for in a fairly short amount of time, depending on the amount of traffic on it.

Dennis

 

[jrholm]

With the 106 a good method to help is if you enable the radio id. Then track a radio number on the unknown talkgroup and see where it appears on known talkgroups. Gives a good idea of who is using those groups.