SDS150: Is There A Way To Scan A Sequential Group Of Frequencies And Just Receive One Specific Digital Mode?

JASII

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One of my banks of frequencies is 450-455 and 460-465 in 6.25 kHz steps. I know that by selecting:

SQ Mode P25 and SQ Code Search I will get all digital modes without any analog traffic.

With the SDS150, would there be a way to get just one specific digital mode, say DMR only or P25 only?

I assume not, but I just want to throw this out there in case someone does know of a way.
 

Randyk4661

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What are you trying to listen to?
You will need to program the system in the scanner to get only what you want to listen to.
Give us better information to better help you.
 

Whiskey3JMC

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With the SDS150, would there be a way to get just one specific digital mode, say DMR only or P25 only?
No. Even if you were to program every frequency in those ranges conventionally into a favorites list and set audio type to digital for each one, there's no way to further discriminate tone searches based on NAC, color code or RAN code. Only if you set a known code would it know if it's P25/DMR/NXDN. Though I guess you could achieve this via creating P25 one frequency, DMR one frequency or NXDN one frequency systems but that'd be terribly inefficient
 
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Ubbe

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First check what the bandplan have set for a channel step size, that cannot be 6,25KHz. It has to be at least a 12,5KHz channel space so that will then double the scan speed. If not already done you create conventional channel banks with individual channels that are set to receive both analog and digital modes by setting each channels Audio Option to Search. In Sentinel when you want to change something like Audio Option you first change the setting to the one you want and right click on it and Copy. Then you click on the first line of that column, then have to cancel the popup window, and mark the last line holding down shift, and again have to cancel the popup window, and then right click in the column and Paste the value and it will change all lines.

For each channel you set something like a negative 5 sec delay and you set to record everything to the SD card. Let it scan for a full day. Easiest way are to then use Universal Scanner Audio Player and dump all recording to it and let it present the result and sort in frequency order. You will then see if it has recorded any digital system types to any frequencies and what type it is. You can then edit in Sentinel what digital channels of the wrong type to avoid and which to still scan to evaluate more by setting a -10 sec delay or a positive delay to those that isn't a continuos control channel, or find even more hits from frequencies that wasn't discovered during the first run.

/Ubbe
 

pb_lonny

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I don't think this is possible but to me it would be a useful feature. We can set:
- Analouge: AM / FM / WFM / FMB / NFM
- Digital:

Add (via a firmware update):
- Digital: P25 / DMR / NXDN
 

dmfalk

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The way the SDS scanners are designed, they only understand "analogue" and "digital", although you can set a mode in analogue, "digital" just sends the digital signal to the processor to decode, which it attempts to do, much like a multi-purpose codec.

As for a frequency range, I don't think one can set a range on device and you can't do it in Sentinel, but Butel's ARC536 (Pro) does have a range set that can be saved to a Favourites List for import, and I think ProScan does as well.
 

Ubbe

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I don't think this is possible but to me it would be a useful feature. We can set:
- Analouge: AM / FM / WFM / FMB / NFM
If someone speak quitly it would detect as NFM and if they raise their voice it would come out as FM. It might be possible to do a function to detect different modulations but it would be unreliable.
- Digital:

Add (via a firmware update):
- Digital: P25 / DMR / NXDN
That's what Whistler are doing and it's usually the case that Whistler has some patents and Uniden others so due to patent rights Uniden may never be able to filter on digital modes.

/Ubbe
 

JASII

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First check what the bandplan have set for a channel step size, that cannot be 6,25KHz. It has to be at least a 12,5KHz channel space so that will then double the scan speed.

I do need to use 6.25 KHz because some of the NXDN frequencies are like this: 454.13125 MHz.

I have been running the Uniden SDS150 in the digital only mode and checking the History Log. It is doing a nice job logging the various active frequencies and modes. In fact, while I have no evidence to support this, it seems like the SDS150 might be decoding digital signals slightly quicker.


What are you trying to listen to?
You will need to program the system in the scanner to get only what you want to listen to.
Give us better information to better help you.

I am trying to find out what trunked systems are in use near me. Seeing several frequencies logging the same CAP+ stamp and the same Color Code is an indicated that they might be part of the same system.
 

dmfalk

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If someone speak quitly it would detect as NFM and if they raise their voice it would come out as FM. It might be possible to do a function to detect different modulations but it would be unreliable.
The difference between NFM and FM (and WFM as well) is the nominal deviation, which is consistent. The volume will change the deviation, but only within that nominal deviation. Only the audio frequency adds to the deviation.
 

Ubbe

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I do need to use 6.25 KHz because some of the NXDN frequencies are like this: 454.13125 MHz.
Yes, but the next valid frequency isn't 6,25 higher at 454.1375 and will instead be 454.14375 that are 12,5KHz higher.
Uniden cannot be used with 6,25 offset channels in search mode like some other scanners can and when doing a search 454-455 it needs to use 6,25KHz steps.

So you'll have to create a channel list to scan and not use search to not waste time checking unvalid frequencies.
Also when doing Avoid in search mode you only have a 250 channel memory to use and will usually run out memory and the first entry will be thrown out as in FIFO mode making that frequency unavoided and memory will also be cleared when powering off the scanner and you'll have to start over again to Avoid frequencies you do not want to search, compared to a scan list where you can do permanent Avoids.

/Ubbe
 

dave3825

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As for a frequency range, I don't think one can set a range on device and you can't do it in Sentinel,

You can defiantly set ranges in Sentinel, in fact, there are two ways. First is enter the lowest desired freq into excel and have it increase each row by the desired spacing. Then copy desired rows into a fav list. Second way is in the profile editor under custom search.
 

dmfalk

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Actually, you're right, in a way.... There is a Custom Search in the menu of SDS receivers, which I've long forgotten.
 
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