I want to track trunks with my computer

[plaws]

OK, several years with my BC780XLT and ARC780. A year+ with my BCD396T and AVC396/UASD. Now I want to track systems with my PC, especially with the upcoming mergers, etc. Don't care if it's Winders or Linux.

Bottom line: What mods do I need to make to the 780? Do I absolutely need a discriminator tap? Or is there an audio solution?

Which software packages are best?

I looked at http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Trunked_Radio_Decoders , but that's just a list of software. I need actual information.

 

[rdale]

What do you mean by trunktrack? Have the computer control the scanner? If so - you'll need two scanners and yes you'll have to tap one.

Not quite sure what the reasoning would be?

 

[car2back]

I like using Trunker; it's freeware and runs good on Windoose XP; the creator is also a active member her on RR- rfmobile. You'll need a scanner with a discriminator tap installed, which taps into the unfiltered, unamplified audio and allows you to run it to your sound card. here's a link to a walkthough on how to tap a BC780: link If you don't feel comfortable opening up your scanner and soldering tiny components, Brett Miller offers an afforable solution: Tap mod service If you have any serious questions about control channel decoding, you may want to post in the Trunker/Etrunker/T4Win Decoders forum.

 

[SCPD]

I like using Trunker; it's freeware and runs good on Windoose XP; the creator is also a active member here on RR- rfmobile.

Phil - I'm not the creator of Trunker. Besides, I'm pushing Unitrunker these days.

Plaws - Phil just gave some good overall info. The first paragraph of the wiki (from your link above) answered your bottom line question for the most part. I'll magnify Phil's info with some suggestions below - all free software.

Here are the exceptions:

1. MPT1327 does not require a discriminator tap - the waveform survives the speech filters.
2. PRO96Com with a PRO-96 (or 2096) uses the radio's PC/IF port and covers P25 trunking only.
3. ID-Tracker and/or ID-Tracker II work with several Uniden models - taking advantage of some of the trunking related features built-in to the radio. If you want to track group ids and channels - this should cover your needs.
4. TrunkPCR - the program is designed to work with the Icom R100/R1000/R1500/R2500 radios. These radios include a factory tap so you don't have to void your warranty. Program supports EDACS and Motorola.

Everything else I can think of requires discriminator audio. Some radios include a factory tap - but not the Uniden models you've mentioned.

With discriminator audio you can either purchase / build a slicer or feed the discriminator audio directly into a sound input (microphone or line input).

First, there's Trunker and ETrunk. These are DOS programs that require a slicer. They've evolved over the last eight years. Most folks are able to get these running on Windows 9X/ME/2K/XP. There have been at least three Windows ports of Trunker. The one to consider is Eric's wTrunker - both Motorola and EDACS flavors. This program retains all original Trunker functionality but trades slicer input for direct sound input (plus some helpful bug fixes and enhancements).

Next up is Trunk88. This is (I think) a DOS program that provides Motorola only decoding. Offers flexibility of a data slicer attached to a serial port or sound blaster emulated audio input. Lots of functionality from what I hear. Folks using this program seem to be very happy with it.

What else? Mmmm ... okay ...

If you have MPT1327 in your area - you'll want to test TrunkView.

Treport - this is another Motorola monitoring program - oriented towards systems monitoring and logging. There are DOS / Slicer and Windows / audio input versions available.

You may also hear about a program called "Trunker for Windows" or T4Win. That is a program I threw together in 2002/2003 - using heavily modified Trunker/Etrunk decoders - to create a native Windows application. As such, it suffers some of the same deficiencies as the older DOS programs. Despite this, some folks still swear by it for their monitoring.

In 2004 I released the first public beta of Unitrunker followed by two more beta releases. We're about to see the fourth public beta become available very soon. This is a Windows program that runs inside a command window (to look like a DOS program)and decodes from a direct sound input. Initial release covered APCO P25, EDACS and Motorola trunking. MPT1327 decoding appeared some time later. The program also allows subscribers to download data from the Radio Reference database (no typing or messing with spreadsheets to import hundreds of talkgroups). The impending release greatly expands the number of receivers supported for voice following (the Unidens are covered). More info is available on the wiki.

The plan is to grow Unitrunker into a full-fledged Windows application that replaces T4Win.

-rick

 

[plaws]

Thanks!

Plaws - Phil just gave some good overall info. The first paragraph of the wiki (from your link above) answered your bottom line question for the most part. I'll magnify Phil's info with some suggestions below - all free software.

I was hoping to get away with plug-and-play, but I'll have to do the discriminator tap ... sigh ... that just puts it further back in the queue. On the plus side, my "Radio PC" already has two sound chips in it, an SB Live! for RTTY, et al, and the on-board, which I can use for this.

I'm really interested in "exploring" the systems we have here in Central OK, which are all Moto with the exception of OKC (EDACS w/ProVoice) and you've pointed me at some likely candidates. In fact, one of the things pushing me to do this is that I got all the DPS TGs (manually) from the DB and tried to load them into my BCD396T ... and hit the 200 TG/System limit in a hurry! With Norman, Edmond, and Shawnee all being merged into the DPS system over the next year, that makes it imperative that I go beyond the radio for exploring.

BTW, your message was much clearer than what's at the top of the article I linked to - I may edit said article and add your words!

 

[mam1081]

THe 780 is not hard to tap at all - I've tapped mine, and put a nice little jack on the back so it's not too bad looking.

We tapped a bunch of scanners at one of our OKC dinner meets (I think you're in Norman, right?) - maybe we can do that in our Decembver or January meetings again. Check in on that thread, and we'll try to get some help your way.

If you run the DOS style, you'll also need a data slicer. I've run most of those variants, but I seem to like the DOS trunker/etrunk because of the easy user interface and single-level menus. The Unitrunker is nice, but it almost does too much, and it's not as logical for me to understand. Also, I'd rather put some old 133 MHz machines to work then my 3 GHz machine to run trunking programs!

 

[car2back]

Phil - I'm not the creator of Trunker. Besides, I'm pushing Unitrunker these days.

whoops, sorry RF, I meant to say (or type) unitrunker... just a brain fart!