Johnson County (Texas) P25 700 Mhz system

[Russell]

Absolutely. Remember though that that simulcast sites act as a single site. Fort Worth Simulcast will not carry Johnson County Simulcast traffic unless a radio on a Johnson County talkgroup is affiliated with the Fort Worth site. In other words you ill hear nothing on the Fort Worth side unless a Johnson County unit is in the Fort Worth Coverage area *and* tuned to the talkgroup you are interested in. The opposite is also true you will only hear Fort Worth units in Johnson County only if they have moved into the Johnson County coverage area (and they're not encrypted).

 

[ab5r]

All this post is OLD information. I am sitting over here in SE Johnson County waiting. I've programmed what little is available, but a squeek received. The one frequency heard is the control channel used for testing, I suppose.

Looking foward to when it is fully implemented.

Regards,
Jerry

 

[jasonsmith559]

New tower

Does anyone know when the new tower will be online in the northwestern part of the county? Also will there be any new frequencies when it comes online or will it simply be transmitting the same 8 from the new site?

 

[ce2576]

All this post is OLD information. I am sitting over here in SE Johnson County waiting. I've programmed what little is available, but a squeek received. The one frequency heard is the control channel used for testing, I suppose.

Looking foward to when it is fully implemented.

Regards,
Jerry

Jerry,

What part of this thread contains 'old' information? Not sure I understand what you are getting at. I'm hearing JoCo SO traffic loud and clear right now. At present they are using both their old VHF analog frequency and the new system. It should't be much longer before there is more traffic on the new system.

 

[ce2576]

Does anyone know when the new tower will be online in the northwestern part of the county? Also will there be any new frequencies when it comes online or will it simply be transmitting the same 8 from the new site?

Jason,

Not sure when it will come online, but according to the DB admins the frequencies should be the same as the other JoCo towers.

 

[ab5r]

Chris, My BAD. I didn't read ALL the threads, but still not receiving anything on receiver. And, I am confused about Johnson Co. merging etc. I certainally cannot hear Ft Worth traffic down here in Grandview without yagi antenna and additional height.

I'm using RR to gain DB info and Ard XT Pro to program the 996XT. Guess that I am at a total loss, huh.
Regards,
Jerry

 

[ce2576]

Chris, My BAD. I didn't read ALL the threads, but still not receiving anything on receiver. And, I am confused about Johnson Co. merging etc. I certainally cannot hear Ft Worth traffic down here in Grandview without yagi antenna and additional height.

I'm using RR to gain DB info and Ard XT Pro to program the 996XT. Guess that I am at a total loss, huh.
Regards,
Jerry

The database admins merged the JoCo P25 and the Fort Worth P25 because they are essentially the same system, except that Johnson County agencies use site 004 and FW agencies will use site 001. Think of it in the same fashion as the TxWARN system. As you can see it's one large P25 system connected by multiple tower sites. All on the same system just different sites and frequencies.

All you should need to do is setup the system as P25 and then program all the frequencies for site 004 listed here:Fort Worth Regional Radio System
And then of course plug in whatever talkgroups you want to listen to.

I wouldn't even bother with the frequencies for the Fort Worth site (Site 001) because that part of the system is going to be completely encrypted. You won't hear a thing.

As far as Johnson County (Site 004) their isn't a whole lot of activity as of yet. I'm hearing a lot more JoCo SO traffic, but as noted before they haven't completely moved off of their old VHF analog frequencies. My hunch is that SO as well as Cleburne PD are probably still programming handhelds and getting radios installed in all of their respective vehicles. It shouldn't be much longer before activity picks up even more.

Let me know if I can be of further assistance in troubleshooting why your not hearing anything. I have two Uniden scanners, so I am very familiar with how they work and how to program them.

 

[NC5267]

FW Fire is not going to be encrypted from what I have heard from a friend who works for the department, as with any new system you never know until everyone makes the switch to it.

 

[loumaag]

Networked systems sometimes are hard to understand, you really just need to grasp the concept that it is one system but that not all conversations are contained on all sites. Reading Trunking Basics on our Wiki will explain this in greater detail.

 

[ab5r]

Thanks Chris. That info helps. I had programmed using the Johnson Co. database ONLY files on RR. It contained the correct frequencies, but basically not TG's. When I get time, I'll delete that and load the FW Regional Radio Sys. database. and exclude the FW portion. That should do the trick.

Should I need help, is this the best way to communicate or directly via email?

FYI I have been involved with scanners and ham radio for many years, but not recently. Therefore, I have a lot to learn.
Thanks again,
Jerry

 

[rgv1971]

I have a Pro 106 and can hardly hear anyhting on the old system. Any help would be great.

 

[ce2576]

I have a Pro 106 and can hardly hear anyhting on the old system. Any help lwould be great.

What old system are you talking about? The only thing that changed is they merged both the Johnson County P25 and Fort Worth P25 into one system. No frequencies changed at all. They did add a bunch of new talkgroups to both sites, but other than that nothing changed. Make sure you load your data from the FW Regional Radio system.

What are you trying to hear, Johnson County or Fort Worth?

 

[ce2576]

Thanks Chris. That info helps. I had programmed using the Johnson Co. database ONLY files on RR. It contained the correct frequencies, but basically not TG's. When I get time, I'll delete that and load the FW Regional Radio Sys. database. and exclude the FW portion. That should do the trick.

Should I need help, is this the best way to communicate or directly via email?

FYI I have been involved with scanners and ham radio for many years, but not recently. Therefore, I have a lot to learn.
Thanks again,
Jerry

Well, I am more confused now than before. If you had originally programmed the Johnson County P25 and left the system in ID SEARCH mode, it wouldn't matter whether or not you had talkgroups plugged in at all. You would pick up any and all active talkgroups. Sounds like you might have put the system into ID SCAN mode. Without any talkgoups plugged in and with the scanner in ID SCAN mode you wouldn't have heard anything.

ID SCAN mode basically tells the scanner to stop ONLY on the talkgroups that you have programmed in, not every talkgroup on the system. ID SEARCH on the other hand tells the scanner to stop on any active talkgroup regardless if it's programmed in to the scanner or not.

Your welcome to continue to contact me on here. I get e-mail updates when there are updates to the Texas Forum. It's probably better here, as anything that's posted may be of help to not only you but others as well.

 

[rgv1971]

What old system are you talking about? The only thing that changed is they merged both the Johnson County P25 and Fort Worth P25 into one system. No frequencies changed at all. They did add a bunch of new talkgroups to both sites, but other than that nothing changed. Make sure you load your data from the FW Regional Radio system.

What are you trying to hear, Johnson County or Fort Worth?

I still have the VHF prequencies programmed into my scanner.

 

[ab5r]

Chris, I do not even know what ID SEARCH is or where to find it. I am using ARC XT Pro to program. I used it and downloaded directly from RR the Johnson Co. database. It contained NO talk groups other than dispatch. I had to manually install the correct frequencies. I a not manually programming.

Since then, you advised me of the Fort Worth Area merge etc.. I have deleted the above and tried to install the FW Area database, excluding the FW part as suggested. Again, it did not automatically install the frequencies, which I manually installed.

Sorry for your confusion. I guess that I could delete the whole receiver and just concentrate on Johnson County until it is working, and then put Ellis and Hill counties back. They work fine, but of course they are old school VHF systems.

 

[hiegtx]

Chris, I do not even know what ID SEARCH is or where to find it. I am using ARC XT Pro to program. I used it and downloaded directly from RR the Johnson Co. database. It contained NO talk groups other than dispatch. I had to manually install the correct frequencies. I a not manually programming.

Since then, you advised me of the Fort Worth Area merge etc.. I have deleted the above and tried to install the FW Area database, excluding the FW part as suggested. Again, it did not automatically install the frequencies, which I manually installed.

Sorry for your confusion. I guess that I could delete the whole receiver and just concentrate on Johnson County until it is working, and then put Ellis and Hill counties back. They work fine, but of course they are old school VHF systems.

If you are not 'getting the frequencies' during import, then I suspect you are not selecting the sites (Johnson County or Fort Worth), only the talkgroups.

Be sure, when importing, that you select the desired transmit site, for the system that you importing (on a multi site system, this is normally the one closest to you), as well as the talkgroups used in your area. I'm not using ARC-XT, so I can't give you much further than that. In FreeSCAN, you can select only the talkgroups, and the site(s) of interest. I suspect ARC-XT would be similar.

 

[ce2576]

Chris, I do not even know what ID SEARCH is or where to find it. I am using ARC XT Pro to program. I used it and downloaded directly from RR the Johnson Co. database. It contained NO talk groups other than dispatch. I had to manually install the correct frequencies. I a not manually programming.

Since then, you advised me of the Fort Worth Area merge etc.. I have deleted the above and tried to install the FW Area database, excluding the FW part as suggested. Again, it did not automatically install the frequencies, which I manually installed.

Sorry for your confusion. I guess that I could delete the whole receiver and just concentrate on Johnson County until it is working, and then put Ellis and Hill counties back. They work fine, but of course they are old school VHF systems.

For a better understanding on ID SEARCH and ID SCAN see this site:
Easier to Read BCD996XT Digital Scanner Manual

After opening the dialogue box in ARC XT where you connect to RR and import from the database, do the following:
1. Select State
2. Select County
3. Click on the yellow 'Trunk Systems' tab
4. On the 'Trunk Systems' drop down box, choose 'Fort Worth Regional Radio System / Project P25'
5. On the left side of the 'Data' tab tick mark the box where it says 'Johnson County Channels'
6. On the right side of the 'Data' tab tick mark all boxes for Johnson County
7. Click on 'Import'

I see now where your problem lies. For some reason, the frequencies for the Johnson County site do not load automatically. They do appear in the data tab under Johnson County channels, but for some reason they do not load into the software. However the above instructions will load the talkgroups for Johnson County (47 of them). For now you will have to manually enter the frequencies into the software. I'm presuming you know where and how to do that.

Following the instructions above this should get the new JoCo P25 system correctly programmed and working in your scanner.

 

[ce2576]

I still have the VHF prequencies programmed into my scanner.

There is still activity on the VHF frequencies. However if you want to listen to the new P25 digital system that is in use (partially) in Johnson County, then you will need to program the frequencies from 'Site 004' and the talkgroups listed for Johnson County from here: Fort Worth Regional Radio System Trunking System, Tarrant, Johnson Counties, Texas - Scanner Frequencies'

I have VERY limited knowledge of the PRO 106 and object oriented scanning. I just recently helped a buddy of mine program the new P25 system into his new PRO 106. He picks up the system just fine. That is the one and hopefully ONLY time I will ever have to mess with object oriented scanning. Personally I found it to be a VERY difficult, frustrating and somewhat ridiculous method of storing trunked and conventional data into a scanner. Mind you I had to program the scanner manually as he didn't have cable to allow programming via software.

And perhaps I'm a little biased coming from years of using Uniden scanner's. I think their method of storing data is much more simplistic. IMHO

 

[hiegtx]

There is still activity on the VHF frequencies. However if you want to listen to the new P25 digital system that is in use (partially) in Johnson County, then you will need to program the frequencies from 'Site 004' and the talkgroups listed for Johnson County from here: Fort Worth Regional Radio System Trunking System, Tarrant, Johnson Counties, Texas - Scanner Frequencies'

I have VERY limited knowledge of the PRO 106 and object oriented scanning. I just recently helped a buddy of mine program the new P25 system into his new PRO 106. He picks up the system just fine. That is the one and hopefully ONLY time I will ever have to mess with object oriented scanning. Personally I found it to be a VERY difficult, frustrating and somewhat ridiculous method of storing trunked and conventional data into a scanner. Mind you I had to program the scanner manually as he didn't have cable to allow programming via software.

And perhaps I'm a little biased coming from years of using Uniden scanner's. I think their method of storing data is much more simplistic. IMHO

I prefer the DMA system as well, but have gotten used to Object Oriented as well, since I also have a PSR-500 (the GRE labeled handheld that is functionally equivalent to the Pro-106.

I have a Pro 106 and can hardly hear anyhting on the old system. Any help would be great.

If you have the pc cable, and either have software, or will download & try the software (all three programs have a 30-day free trial period), I can create you a file. I have both Win500 & PSREdit500.

I see now where your problem lies. For some reason, the frequencies for the Johnson County site do not load automatically. They do appear in the data tab under Johnson County channels, but for some reason they do not load into the software. However the above instructions will load the talkgroups for Johnson County (47 of them). For now you will have to manually enter the frequencies into the software. I'm presuming you know where and how to do that.

Following the instructions above this should get the new JoCo P25 system correctly programmed and working in your scanner.

Chris,
As I indicated previously, I don't have ARC-XT, but both the Johnson County & Fort Worth Simulcast site frequencies download correctly when doing an import of the Fort Worth Regional Radio System using FreeSCAN. Why that's not the case with the ARC-XT software is a question that perhaps Gommert (with Butel) could answer. After tomorrow's database download, I'll see whether the Home Patrol-1 database has the updated information. It should, since it pulls data on Sunday, for the Monday release.

 

[ab5r]

CHRIS: Thanks, somehow I've got it working. I did have to manually insert the frequencies for soem reason. I've save the Easy Read andsaved it. I had it, along with tons of other documents. GROINK!

I'll let it perolate awhile, and then add the Ellis & Hill Co. freqs.

Thanks for you help!!!