Maricopa County new P25 system

[KD7JVRinAZ]

MCSO isn't DMR, it's P25 Phase 2

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Oh yeah. Okay. I guess I should've read the System Type before posting stupid questions.. I bought my p2 thinking I would have to do the upgrade to get MCSO. Good news for me. I'm happy to see not much is encrypted.

 

[p19997]

Remember too that while some talkgroups may be hardcoded to certain sites not all talkgroups will transmit on all sites all the time, it depends on system radio affiliations and system programming.

Because of this, to nail down what is East vs. West, we need to collect our findings here. I can only pick-up the Chandler-Mesa Simulcast. On it, TG 1001 is carrying the lion's share of patrol dispatch traffic, so I am assuming it is East Dispatch. 1007 is active much less of the time and seems to be carrying East-related traffic. 1009 is definitely Central and probably gets carried by West sites. I also get 1011, which is encrypted.

Which TG's are active on a clearly West-oriented site?

 

[shifty277]

I was wondering does anyone know what site they are using. i don’t have a scanner. i’m using a unication, just want to save time instead of going through all the sites. thanks for your help.


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I’m using Unication also and trying to narrow down the sites. I’m in Mesa and getting what seems to be east Dispatch crystal clear off the chandler/Mesa site if that helps for that one.

 

[Foresigt]

A possible correction. If MCSO's TG's and channels start at 1001, then 1009 would be A-09 Central Dispatch.

However, if the TG's and channels start at 1000, then 1008 would be A-09 Central Dispatch.

Just a thought.

John
Peoria

One thing to remember is that the talk group may not necessarily follow the channel numbers. Look at RWC for that example. Sometimes they start channel numbering from the bottom talk group or sometimes it makes no sense at all.

Remember to the users it's only a channel and they don't even know what a talk group is.

 

[KB7MIB]

For HEReAZ and anyone else trying to determine what site to program in:

Click on the name of a site on the system page. That will take you to a map page that will show you a rough coverage circle for that site. Pick 1 or 2 that best cover where you typically find yourself on a daily basis.

John
Peoria

 

[shifty277]

For HEReAZ and anyone else trying to determine what site to program in:

Click on the name of a site on the system page. That will take you to a map page that will show you a rough coverage circle for that site. Pick 1 or 2 that best cover where you typically find yourself on a daily basis.

John
Peoria

Problem (or solution however you look at it) with Unication though: it’ll lock on to the site with the best signal even if certain MCSO channels don’t use that site and he’ll hear nothing, that’s why he wants to narrow down the sites to which channels use them.

 

[KR7CQ]

Does anyone know what the optimum filter setting is for the system? I get a lot of talkgroup flashing on and off, and it's not due to encryption.

John
Peoria

The problem you are experiencing is the classic SDS issue with "interference", and you are right to start thinking filter. Filter settings usually vary by specific location / situation, and aren't something that can typically be shared with success for a wide area...but for me I use Wide Auto. This works well with the SDS100 and stock antenna at home, office, and driving between the two. The SDS200 with rooftop antenna is pretty much a lost cause on this system, though Wide Auto is still the best option, giving maybe 25% decode, with a lot of "talk group flashing" / "interference". Believe it or not, my BCD536HP hooked to the same outdoor antenna, is about 90% decode, so it is my base scanner of choice for this system. I see zero evidence of so called "simulcast distortion" on either my 536s or 436s, both work very well on this system, though the SDS100 seems to do a bit better than the 436 head to head. The Unication performs flawlessly, and can receive multiple different simulcasts from wherever I am. With my scanners, anything other than "downtown" (I think that name should be changed to "central") is spotty from my home and work locations.

 

[kb7kfc]

Here is my Observations on the Maricopa County P25 system.

TG 1009 MCSO - Central Dispatch
TG 1011 MCSO - Info "encrypted"
TG 1002 MCSO - West Dispatch

TG 1007 seems to be MCSO East Dispatch but iv heard TG 1001 1004 patched at times. I know on the old system they would Patch Lakes-1 to
East side when short on dispatchers.

All my listening is on the Chandler/Mesa simulcast sites.

John

 

[KB7MIB]

Problem (or solution however you look at it) with Unication though: it’ll lock on to the site with the best signal even if certain MCSO channels don’t use that site and he’ll hear nothing, that’s why he wants to narrow down the sites to which channels use them.

He may have to do some trial-and-error experimenting, but it's a starting place.

John
Peoria

 

[KB7MIB]

The problem you are experiencing is the classic SDS issue with "interference", and you are right to start thinking filter. Filter settings usually vary by specific location / situation, and aren't something that can typically be shared with success for a wide area...but for me I use Wide Auto. This works well with the SDS100 and stock antenna at home, office, and driving between the two. The SDS200 with rooftop antenna is pretty much a lost cause on this system, though Wide Auto is still the best option, giving maybe 25% decode, with a lot of "talk group flashing" / "interference". Believe it or not, my BCD536HP hooked to the same outdoor antenna, is about 90% decode, so it is my base scanner of choice for this system. I see zero evidence of so called "simulcast distortion" on either my 536s or 436s, both work very well on this system, though the SDS100 seems to do a bit better than the 436 head to head. The Unication performs flawlessly, and can receive multiple different simulcasts from wherever I am. With my scanners, anything other than "downtown" (I think that name should be changed to "central") is spotty from my home and work locations.

I don't have a problem with the RWC on the same radio, sitting in the same spot, so it's an issue specific to this system.

John
Peoria

 

[scanner23534]

Im only hearing 1002(WEST) & 1009 on White Tanks they arent carrying all the main TG's like the old system.

 

[kb7kfc]

Im only hearing 1002(WEST) & 1009 on White Tanks they arent carrying all the main TG's like the old system.

Try programing one of the Counties Simulcast System sites out by you and see what happens. This system might operate like the RWC does.

 

[shifty277]

Here is my Observations on the Maricopa County P25 system.

TG 1009 MCSO - Central Dispatch
TG 1011 MCSO - Info "encrypted"
TG 1002 MCSO - West Dispatch

TG 1007 seems to be MCSO East Dispatch but iv heard TG 1001 1004 patched at times. I know on the old system they would Patch Lakes-1 to
East side when short on dispatchers.

All my listening is on the Chandler/Mesa simulcast sites.

John

Are you getting west decently off the chandler/Mesa site? I seem to only get east, unless west was really slow yesterday lol

 

[KR7CQ]

I don't have a problem with the RWC on the same radio, sitting in the same spot, so it's an issue specific to this system.

John
Peoria

Yup, this type of issue is specific to the particular frequencies used on a given system, in relation to nearby frequencies which are interfering. I also have minimal issues on Simulcast A / B on the SDS200, same outdoor antenna...whereas the new MCSO system is mostly a lost cause, regardless of filter / attenuation settings.

Even though both systems are 700 MHz, small differences in frequencies between the two systems can and do make all the difference in the world in terms of how each system is received. This is the nature of these SDR scanners and their wide filtering. The 536 with more narrow filtering has no such issues on this new system.

 

[kb7kfc]

Are you getting west decently off the chandler/Mesa site? I seem to only get east, unless west was really slow yesterday lol

Yes i was getting TG - 1002 West Dispatch on Chandler/Mesa Simulcast yesterday morning i havent check today as i have been trying to sort out the east talk groups.

 

[HEReAZ]

Shifty277
thx. for ur input, if u don’t mind what did you put in on the system id & wacn. cause once input the info on pps software. and i system program. on my unication come up out of range.

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[Ravenfalls]

Check SDS settings that MCSO using X2 TDMA & not regular P25 Phase 1 decode. Had use Butel manually change setting.

1000 SHERIFF
1001 DIST 1
1002 DIST 2
1003 DIST 3
1004 DIST 4
1005 LAKES DIST 500
1006 DIST 6
1007 DIST 7
1008 LAKES DIST 800
1009 INFO / CENTRAL DISPATCH
1011 SID 1
1021 CALLBOX
1038 ENC
1636 JAIL TRANSPORT
1637 JAIL TRANSPORT TALK
3201 SCW POSSE

 

[KB7MIB]

District 8 is Mountain District, not Lakes. They're the old Parks & Trails District 6 when 6 was shared between them and Queen Creek, and before that they were the Maricopa County Park Police.

Having 1 main countywide Dispatch channel, and separate district Tac channels, makes a lot of sense, and for those of us who want to tailor our listening to a specific district, and not have to listen to everything on East or West, it makes it easier for us. (And it was one of my wishes for the new setup. I wonder if they read and liked my idea, or if great minds simply think alike? lol)

John
Peoria

 

[p19997]

It sounds to me like they have 2 dispatch channels: East and West. When they have an alert-toned dispatch, it is broadcast over both East and West dispatch channels.

 

[rpgaun]

Here's my impressions from what I've heard so far;

1002 - West District 2 - off of White Tks
1003 - West District 3 - off of White Tks
1007 - East District 7 - off of Thompson Pk
1009 - ancillary units dispatch - off of White Tks & Thompson Pk

When in the search mode I did get several new TGs and some that are listed in the DB