I've Never Figured This Out..Help Please

[greggk]

I am using BUTEL ARC 500 software for my Pro 106 for a little over one year now. There is one thing I cannot understand.

An Example: I am looking under the "trunking" tab to find a system I want to scan. On the right side of the selection box, there is the tab I am looking for--Its Illinois Emergency Management.

So, I select those boxes. When I go to upload them, I get a notice that says I need to pick at least one site from the left side.

Thats the problem. How do I know which site I need to pick which will contain the necessary frequencies to make it work??

There are many, many sites to pick from on the left. I thought the ARC 500 would do it itself, but no such luck.

Can anyone tell me how I know what frequencies to pick? It would really help.

I do not mean for just the example I gave above. I'm asking about everytime I try to load a new system and get the same problem. This is not a problem with the conventional channels or the "agency" tabs; just for the trunked systems. Thanks.

Greg

 

[phask]

The one(s) that are closet to you, the ones you can receive.

Under RR's database for the system it will list sites by county - use that to figure it out.

 

[ka3jjz]

Well...maybe. There are a few caveats with that kind of advice. Since this is a more general trunk concept, let's delve into a few things.

In order to receive the talkgroups you want to hear, you must first understand the trunk system and it's general operation. More specifically you need to determine if all talkgroups are broadcast on all towers, or are they segregated by region or a specific site. Folks that are very familiar with how each site in the system handles this can give you more specific information.

For example, if you have a system where you have 2 regions - north and south - and there are talkgroups unique to the south site, and here's the key - they are NOT rebroadcast on the north site - then it becomes obvious that you need to program in the south site frequencies, assuming you can hear them. We have a couple of such systems here in Maryland. (And before someone jumps on me, yes, I'm deliberately ignoring the neat GRE/RS Roam features here...let's keep this simple so that the OP gets some understanding of what is going on).

If however those talkgroups are broadcast on both regions (sometimes systems are set up as 'zones') then it won't matter which site you program in - as long as you can hear a control channel well, chances are you'll hear what you want at some point.

Now you must consider which site(s) are the ones you can hear, and yes, the closest ones to you are the most obvious choices. However in a mobile situation, that can and will change, depending on where you're driving.

HTH...Mike

 

[greggk]

Thanks Phask and Mike.

Mike..you seem to have 17,000 + posts here. Are you sure about that answer ?:lol::lol: Only Joking.

I wil take all that info and print it out. One issue I run into here is that, for example, I will pick a state-wide site, such as State Emergency Management. There are many sites, but there is always a North Simulcast, a South Simulucast, then a plain North then Plain South.???

And yet, when I look under the frequency table in ARC 500 under the trunked system, it only shows me several frequencies.

One last question: Will it do any harm if I have more than one site (frequency groups) in any one system, such as a North and a South when I may only need one?

If I can get that right, then I have enough info to experiment with.

Thanks Guys.

Greg

 

[ka3jjz]

It likely won't hurt much in a stationary situation (using it in your home) since you may not be able to hear the other site (you'd simply be wasting a second or two of scan time for a site you can't hear...), but if you're mobile, that can add another layer of complexity, since you'd be potentially moving from one site to another. Whether the talkgroups you want to hear are being broadcast on that site (or zone) is very hard to say without specific information about the system you're trying to use. It would help folks out greatly if you posted the URL for the desired system from the DB here.

That way folks in the Illinois area can hopefully spot what you're doing and give a more detailed answer. It sounds like you have at least 4 sets of sites, with at least 2 zones, but that's strictly a WAG and may not represent reality. We need to see what you're working with here.

Those Illinois scannists are pretty darn good - they'll get you straight in short order, I have no doubt.

Mike

 

[greggk]

When I look directly at the RR data base, it shows the control channels and is much different looking than what I get thru Sentinel or the ARC 500 programs. There seems to be much more info there.

I know there is a way, I think, to transfer a RR site to the PRO 106 and/or 436. Also, even if I go thru the sentinel or arc software as before, I can at least see what the corresponding control channels are, so I can match them up.

Would that work?

Thanks again.

Greg

 

[greggk]

Sorry I could not get to this sooner, but here is just one example of what I go thru...and it really causes me a lot of "wasted time."

The first link below is a sample of a P25 system I would like to monitor.

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?action=tgCatInfo&tgCatId=7242

Now this link below, if you scroll way down on the page to where it says "SYSTEM FREQUENCIES", it shows all the different "sites" I can pick to make the talk group work. This is where I have the problem. I just cannot figure out what site to pick.

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=2324

I appreciate any help. It gets really frustrating never picking the right site (frequencies) to use. I hope this clarifies my issue.

Thanks.

Greg

 

[ka3jjz]

OK I'm dancing around TStorms right now, but a couple of new concepts are needed here...

The system you are trying to hear has some talkgroups that have a mode of T or E. Forget anything that's marked with 'E' - they're encrypted, and no scanner can hear them. You can also forget hearing those talkgroups marked 'T'; these are Phase 2 TDMA, and only the Uniden 436HP, 536HP or (if you can find one) a GRE PSR-800 will hear these.

Your 106 will hear any of the talkgroups marked 'D' (digital). Looks like the IEMA talkgroups are all 'D' so you should be good to go - for now. You would be wise to find out if the entire state is migrating to Phase 2 - our Illinois forum is the place to go, and I wouldn't doubt there's a dedicated sticky for that system somewhere in there.

Now what you need to find out - the Illinois forum is, once again a better bet here (unless someone from the area jumps in here) is to find out whether these talkgroups - which are users on STARCOM, and not a separate system unto themselves - are echoed everywhere on the system, or on just certain towers when/where they are needed (which is what I would tend to believe). With this information in hand, you should be able to make a more informed decision. I would also go through the list of sites and see which one(s) would be ones you might need to program.

Gotta run - lightning...Mike

 

[greggk]

Mike...Thanks for taking the time and effort to respond. I appreciate you taking a chunk out of your day to help out.

The "T" and "E" concept went totally over my head! If you had not pointed that out, I would probably not figured that out...at least for a while.

I using the Sentinel software for my 436, and the ARC 500 for the 106, and at my age and with my issues its tough to keep both of them in my head.

Again, thanks Mike. I will print this all out. I know duplicate posts are not allowed, but perhaps I could post this in the Illinois Threads.

Greg

 

[ka3jjz]

A hint -- if you ask about hearing the IEMA talkgroups you might avoid the trap of double posting...Mike

 

[greggk]