How to setup DSD+ FASTLANE DMR TIII frequencies, talkgroup and networks

[nightsbird]

I am trying to get this Megahertz Technology Trunking System, Dallas/Fort Worth, Multi-State - Scanner Frequencies site set up (Site5 cedar hill).
I have 3 dongles and am using dsd+ also tried sdrtrunk.
Both work and play anything on the 1st frequency TS2 but the rest do not play even though they show activity.

dsd frequencies(Mine are a little different that listed as I gues the dongle is a little off)
Con+, 120, 005, 1, 454.1, 0.0, 0
Con+, 120, 005, 3, 454.4, 0.0, 0
Con+, 120, 005, 5, 461.77, 0.0, 0
Con+, 120, 005, 7, 452.6, 0.0, 0
Con+, 120, 005, 9, 461.82, 0.0, 0
Con+, 120, 005, 15, 461.089, 0.0, 0

dsd groups
Con+, 120, 8801, 50, Normal, 13, 2021/06/28 23:17, "CareFlite Hill County"
Con+, 120, 8802, 50, Normal, 47, 2021/06/28 23:19, "CareFlite Dallas County"
Con+, 120, 8803, 50, Normal, 6, 2021/06/28 22:46, "CareFlite Helo"
Con+, 120, 8805, 50, Normal, 6, 2021/06/28 22:46, "CareFlite Medical Transportation"
Con+, 120, 8806, 50, Normal, 6, 2021/06/28 22:46, "CareFlite Helos Air to Air"

dsd sites
CON+,120,005,"Cedar Hill"

dsd event (only Ch=2 plays)
2021/06/28 23:06:27 Current network: 120
2021/06/28 23:06:27 Current site: 120-5 Cedar Hill
2021/06/28 23:06:27 120-5 neighbor: Site 120-1
2021/06/28 23:06:27 120-5 neighbor: Site 120-3
2021/06/28 23:06:27 120-5 neighbor: Site 120-7
2021/06/28 23:06:27 120-5 neighbor: Site 120-8
2021/06/28 23:06:27 120-5 neighbor: Site 120-9
2021/06/28 23:06:36 Group call; TG=8802 [CareFlite Dallas County] RID=88043 Ch=7 17s
2021/06/28 23:09:37 Group call; TG=8802 [CareFlite Dallas County] RID=88217 Ch=8 19s
2021/06/28 23:09:47 Group call; TG=8801 [CareFlite Hill County] RID=88056 Ch=9 6s
2021/06/28 23:09:59 Group call; TG=8801 [CareFlite Hill County] RID=88278 Ch=10 9s
2021/06/28 23:10:09 Group call; TG=8801 [CareFlite Hill County] RID=88278 Ch=15 6s
2021/06/28 23:10:58 Group call; TG=8802 [CareFlite Dallas County] RID=88043 Ch=16 6s
2021/06/28 23:11:07 Group call; TG=8802 [CareFlite Dallas County] RID=88277 Ch=2 13s
2021/06/28 23:11:22 Group call; TG=8802 [CareFlite Dallas County] RID=88043 Ch=3 5s
2021/06/28 23:11:53 Group call; TG=8802 [CareFlite Dallas County] RID=88250 Ch=4 8s

fmp24-cc.bat is FMP24 -i2 -o20001 -P0.0 -f454.1 -g45.4 -rc


Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks
Jeff

 

[mwjones]

The entries in the DSDPlus.frequencies file have the wrong frequencies. Here's mine for that site:

CON+, 120, 5, 1, 454.1250, 0.0, 0
CON+, 120, 5, 3, 454.4125, 0.0, 0
CON+, 120, 5, 7, 452.6250, 0.0, 0
CON+, 120, 5, 9, 461.8375, 0.0, 0
CON+, 120, 5, 15, 461.1000, 0.0, 0

Likewise, update the fmp24-cc.bat:

fmp24-cc.bat is FMP24 -i2 -o20001 -P0.0 -f454.125 -g45.4 -rc

I'm in Frisco so I can't pick up Cedar Hill from here, but I do get other sites on this System, and know it works well.

 

[nightsbird]

My rtlsdr's show the frequencies offset a bit. If I use the frequencies listed I dont get any data. My logs with my frequencies show communication and reception. It just doesnt play the audio it shows it received. Other than on channel 2(the main freq TS2)

 

[cg]

you probably need to adjust the PPM for the FMP24 dongle. The auto center tuning helps but it is better to be close first. Use the P/p command while on a good signal to get the +/- value next to the frequency as close to zero as you can. Once you have that PPM setting, it can be incorporated into your batch file using the -Px.x option.

chris

 

[nightsbird]

you probably need to adjust the PPM for the FMP24 dongle. The auto center tuning helps but it is better to be close first. Use the P/p command while on a good signal to get the +/- value next to the frequency as close to zero as you can. Once you have that PPM setting, it can be incorporated into your batch file using the -Px.x option.

chris

So adjusting the ppm will make all the other frequencies/channels play their audio even though dsd already sees the channel talking?

 

[cg]

That is the beginning. You then should be able to correctly land on the proper frequencies.
It sounds like you are not trunktracking and are only hearing the second slot of the control channel frequency. Unless you want to use priority in the DMR system, it isn't really necessary
Also, not sure if it matters but you have leading zeros in the site number (005). Simply using 5 should do.

So something like:
fmp24.bat is FMP24 -i2 -o20001 -P0.0 -f454.125 -g45.4
Most of the DSDPlus options you would use are the defaults unless you want recordings so your DSDPlus.bat file might only be:
DSDPlus.exe

 

[nightsbird]

Im really new to dsdplus. Which of the windows do I press the P/p to adjust it in? This system has a ton of traffic and like 10 channels acutally it may have changed too yesterday. the 424.125 no longer shows a steady carrier. Instead it only shows when channel 1 ts1 or ts2 talks. Now the steady carrier is around 454.375. Does dsd only use 2 dongles or can it use more to make it easier to follow the hops?

 

[cg]

- Use 1 SDR
- correct your frequencies file, I am assuming the other poster that says he has it working has the correct setup.
- replace the FMP24 batch file with the one he suggested above but change the frequency to 454.4125

You adjust the PPM with the FMP24 window highlighted. If you look next to the frequency in the top margin, you will see the frequency and then a number after it. You adjust the PPM to get the number closest to 0. Depending on the quality of the SDR, the adjustment may be big or small. I use orange Flightaware SDRs and they seem to take a -1.9 setting. Yours may be substantially higher

 

[slicerwizard]

My logs with my frequencies show communication and reception. It just doesnt play the audio it shows it received. Other than on channel 2(the main freq TS2)

What version of DSD+ are you using and what mode are you running it in?

 

[nightsbird]

I just purchased fastlane last night, 2.324 .. i dont know the mode I followed a setup on youtube. i launch fmp24-cc then fmp24-vc then cc and finally vc if that helps any

 

[slicerwizard]

Most YouTube videos are years old and they don't age well, although it looks like it got you part way there with the system data entry.


Straight from the Notes.txt file:

Using DSD+ with supported SDR devices

DSD+ directly supports trunk tracking (control/rest channel following and voice channel
following) of NEXEDGE, Capacity Plus, Connect Plus, Tier III and P25 Phase I/II systems
when coupled with one or two RTL2832U-based DVB-T dongles, Airspys or SDRPlay RSP2s.

When one device is used for trunk tracking, one copy of DSD+ is used to switch between
control/rest channel monitoring and voice/data call following. For most system types,
DSD+ will monitor each voice call until it completes before switching back to the
rest/control channel. However, on most P25 systems, voice channels carry more system data,
which allows DSD+ to immediately switch from monitoring a lower priority call
to a higher priority call.

DSD+ interfaces with RTL2832U-based DVB-T dongles via the FMP24 program. FMP24 performs
the required tuning, filtering and demodulation SDR functions.

Single-dongle monitoring:

To use a single device, run the 1R.bat file to start DSD+,
then run the appropriate batch file for your device:

DVB-T dongle: FMP24-CC.bat

DSD+ and the FMPx SDR software (FMP24, FMPA or FMPP) should start talking to each other
and raw demodulated audio waveforms should be displayed in DSD+'s Source Audio window.
The Windows Firewall may prompt you to allow FMPx to act as a server / accept connections;
click the check boxes to allow FMPx to function properly.

Tune your SDR by left-clicking in the FMPx RF spectrum window or by using the left/right
cursor keys or by directly typing in a radio frequency (in MHz) and pressing Enter.

Pressing '?' will list all of the FMPx keyboard commands in the FMPx console window.
Commonly used commands relate to RF gain levels, tuning step sizes and channel filtering
bandwidths.

If FMPx is tuned to a P25 control channel, DSD+ will automatically start trunk tracking
and decoding unencrypted Phase I and Phase II voice traffic.

For some NEXEDGE and Tier III control channels, DSD+ will automatically start trunk tracking.

For most NEXEDGE and Tier III systems and for all Capacity Plus and Connect Plus systems,
accurate channel data for the site being monitored has to be added to the DSDPlus.frequencies
file to enable trunk tracking.


So run the original 1R.bat and FMP24-CC.bat files that came with Fast Lane, then manually tune FMP24 to the control channel. If you have the RTL tuning error corrected and proper channel data present in the DSDPlus.frequencies file, voice following will happen.

If you want DSD+ to monitor that site at startup, use the Startup Options in the DSD+ Control menu to set it up.

 

[nightsbird]

Ok so I made all the changes. Its running on 1 dongle and it shows traffic just like it did with two. However there is still no audio even though it shows a number of seconds for transmission. Every once in a while I hear a brief snippet of audio. What else could I be doing wrong

 

[smithjordan1037]

What type and version of DSD+ are you using?

 

[slicerwizard]

You have to be observant. Is it tuning to voice calls? Can you see the RF signals in the spectrum display? Is the dongle on frequency every time?

 

[nightsbird]

What type and version of DSD+ are you using?

I have rtl-sdr dongle, and fastlane most current version 2.324

 

[nightsbird]

You have to be observant. Is it tuning to voice calls? Can you see the RF signals in the spectrum display? Is the dongle on frequency every time?

Looking at the fmp24 window (hard to see some they are blips). The control channel is spot on(sometimes randomly this system switches the control channel to one not listed) when the sdr tunes to one of the other frequencies sometimes its left of the frequency and sometimes its right of the frequency. Is there a per channel/frequency ppm value setting?

 

[nightsbird]

Ok I think I figured it out, it seems to be working. Since the control channel changes randomly but isnt listed on radio reference can I just add a frequency entry and it work ok? Will multiple dongles work better at decoding when there is a lot of traffic? Can you use more than 2 dongles?

 

[ka3jjz]

This discussion has centered on using a SDR; how about if someone were trying to use this with a 996P2 or 325P2 to analyze a DMR network? The audio could be had using the Control Channel Data Output option. These scanners lack the Analyze or LCN Finder options of their HP scanner big brothers.

Yes you could go with using a pair of RTL-SDRs but if you can do it with the P2s, and you already own one, why not? Mike

 

[nightsbird]

I only have rtl-sdrs not sure I can help you with that

 

[merlin]

My rtlsdr's show the frequencies offset a bit. If I use the frequencies listed I dont get any data. My logs with my frequencies show communication and reception. It just doesnt play the audio it shows it received. Other than on channel 2(the main freq TS2)

Use the frequencies displayed by your SDR software. that or do the offset correction thing.