MOTOTRBO programming QUESTIONS

[2wayradiodogs]

I set up a new favorites group for monitoring a cruise ship, which is shown as a MOTOTURBO system with 4 UHF frequencies.



I have the DMR/TRBO paid upgrade.

To set up this new favorites group I tried choosing:
1. DMR SINGLE CHANNEL, then 2. MOTOTRBO TRUNKED AND FINALLY 3. CONVENTIONAL, setting MODULATION TYPE to AUTO.

The only choice that finally worked( allowed me to load and scan this group ) was the CONVENTIONAL, using AUTO modulation. The previous system type choices, 1 and 2, resulted in a message on the scanner that there was nothing to scan in that favorites group. I will not be able to test this for a few months. The ship is the VIKING SEA.


Cruise Ship & Maritime Frequencies

Any thoughts, suggestions, first hand knowledge will be greatly appreciated.
P.S. I programmed some Ham DMR repeaters using the CONVENTIONAL method described above. They worked and automatically changed to DMR. It is my hope that the MOTOTRBO will automatically engage on these ship frequencies, as it does on the ham DMR frequencies, using the above described CONVENTIONAL SYSTEM method.
Thanks.

 

[edweirdFL]

I'm still pretty new to Sentinel and the SDS200, but I think you'd do it like this.

Add the new Favorite
Add the new MotoTRBO Trunk System to it
Set the ID Search option on that system to ON
Click on the System and then Add a Department, OK to leave the default entry
Click back on the System and add a Site
Click on the Site and add your freqs and LCNs color Code Search can be on

 

[2wayradiodogs]

I'm still pretty new to Sentinel and the SDS200, but I think you'd do it like this.

Add the new Favorite
Add the new MotoTRBO Trunk System to it
Set the ID Search option on that system to ON
Click on the System and then Add a Department, OK to leave the default entry
Click back on the System and add a Site
Click on the Site and add your freqs and LCNs color Code Search can be on

Thanks! I'll try that. The info on that ship does not indicate trunked or not.

 

[letarotor]

I'm still pretty new to Sentinel and the SDS200, but I think you'd do it like this.

Add the new Favorite
Add the new MotoTRBO Trunk System to it
Set the ID Search option on that system to ON
Click on the System and then Add a Department, OK to leave the default entry
Click back on the System and add a Site
Click on the Site and add your freqs and LCNs color Code Search can be on

Hmm, that's an interesting thought. If I understand right you are saying to create a favorites list, add the different frequencies as individual systems, and then fill in the other info as you get it like the color codes. And then when you scan that favorites list just set each system to ID search and the talk group information will of course show up for whatever frequency it's receiving a transmission on. That sounds like it would work for any DMR system.

I may have done that myself on the first system I created in my SDS100? I know I created two or three favorites lists trying different types of TRS DMR programming on the local school district that has two frequencies in my area. I didn't really know what type of DMR system it was so I created a few to see if I could figure it out. I do know that when I programmed it as a single frequency system the same talk groups were showing up and being used on both frequencies. That made me wonder if it might not be a single frequency type of system?

I'm about to get back into figuring out some DMR systems in my area. I do have one that downloaded from RadioReference and I think it's a MOTOTRBO but I'd have to look again. Thankfully it was already researched and I just imported it. But I've been listening to it for the last six or seven months and it really works great. I've noticed that there are different users on this DMR TRS and that there are at least two color codes that get used. I think there's somewhere between 7 and 12 frequencies on that system and I know it's not a single channel system. But theoretically, I should be able to do the same thing if each of those frequencies were programmed as a system into thats list it sounds like. Does that make sense?

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Brian (COMMSCAN)

 

[Ubbe]

The display should indicate what system type it is, cap+ being the most common one. If you see different color codes and the signal are strong enough so that it isn't a false decode, it most probably are two different sites. I have never seen that one site uses different color codes for different frequencies.

/Ubbe

 

[UPMan]

"Nothing to Scan" means that you programmed it as OFT or Trunked (which is probably correct) but failed to include any TGIDs and had it in ID Scan mode. You would need to either create a department with some channels or select ID Search mode for the trunked system.

 

[2wayradiodogs]

Hmm, that's an interesting thought. If I understand right you are saying to create a favorites list, add the different frequencies as individual systems, and then fill in the other info as you get it like the color codes. And then when you scan that favorites list just set each system to ID search and the talk group information will of course show up for whatever frequency it's receiving a transmission on. That sounds like it would work for any DMR system.

I may have done that myself on the first system I created in my SDS100? I know I created two or three favorites lists trying different types of TRS DMR programming on the local school district that has two frequencies in my area. I didn't really know what type of DMR system it was so I created a few to see if I could figure it out. I do know that when I programmed it as a single frequency system the same talk groups were showing up and being used on both frequencies. That made me wonder if it might not be a single frequency type of system?

I'm about to get back into figuring out some DMR systems in my area. I do have one that downloaded from RadioReference and I think it's a MOTOTRBO but I'd have to look again. Thankfully it was already researched and I just imported it. But I've been listening to it for the last six or seven months and it really works great. I've noticed that there are different users on this DMR TRS and that there are at least two color codes that get used. I think there's somewhere between 7 and 12 frequencies on that system and I know it's not a single channel system. But theoretically, I should be able to do the same thing if each of those frequencies were programmed as a system into thats list it sounds like. Does that make sense?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Sent using Google Voice to Text. Please excuse any errors I could not see or catch.

Brian (COMMSCAN)

The problem is that : 1. the listing for that ship only indicated that is is a Mototrbo system, not if each channel is part of trunking or just a stand alone conventional Mototrbo frequency.
2. Since I can't try it out without being on the ship, I will program it both ways and see which works.
I am open to any new thoughts as well.
thanks.

Thanks! I'll try that. The info on that ship does not indicate trunked or not.

Using MOTOTRBO TRUNKED

 

[2wayradiodogs]

Thanks! I'll try that. The info on that ship does not indicate trunked or not.

I tried this. I could not find either a place to enter frequencies and LCNs or a color Code Search box. I have no TGID info.

Thanks! I'll try that. The info on that ship does not indicate trunked or not.

 

[2wayradiodogs]

"Nothing to Scan" means that you programmed it as OFT or Trunked (which is probably correct) but failed to include any TGIDs and had it in ID Scan mode. You would need to either create a department with some channels or select ID Search mode for the trunked system.

Thanks

 

[letarotor]

Thanks

You might also look at the very first option inside of the scanners menu. Make sure that if you do have new systems created, especially more than one, that they are turned on. I don't know why the default seems to be set to off on newly created systems when they are manually created through the keypad at least on the radio. I always thought that was kind of strange but I've learned to go in to the very first menu option, and I'm not looking at it now so I don't want to say something incorrect, that gives you the option of making sure that favorites lists and systems are turned on or off. If it is turned off you will get that nothing to scan message. But it is the very first / top menu options when you go into the menu on the radio. I think it's called "set lists to scan".

And speaking of the LCN settings, I have not seen those either when I have manually created DMR favorites list entries through the keypad. I'm sure I probably have overlooked it but I'm wondering since I look at everything when I do something like that.

I have been manually creating many of my favorites lists and in fact probably most of them through the radio and keypad. I like to know how to do it that way so that if I need to add something new or change something out in the field I know how to do it as fast and easy as possible. I have done my fair share of RadioReference downloads as well, especially on larger systems, and then I have gone back and fixed alpha tags and made other changes that I like through the radio or software. Sentinel does seem to have most everything covered but there are some times when I think it's a lot easier going through the actual menu on the radio. It helps me to understand better what I am doing and what needs to be done. That might just be me but anyhow...

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Sent using Google Voice to Text. Please excuse any errors I could not see or catch.

Brian (COMMSCAN)

 

[dkscan]

And speaking of the LCN settings, I have not seen those either when I have manually created DMR favorites list entries through the keypad. I'm sure I probably have overlooked it but I'm wondering since I look at everything when I do something like that.

If SDS200 is like the other Unidens you are prompted for LCN when you enter a frequency for a site.

 

[Ubbe]

You at least see the LCNs when you edit the frequency and hit one extra time on the enter button. It then shows the LCN value that also can be changed.
Some ships I monitor use super narrow modulation, a more narrow modulation than NFM, and the audio level are then lower for the decoding process to handle and needs a cleaner signal without noise and also some laboration with the theshold settings might be needed. I usually have 6 as a more sensitive setting. You can program the frequencies as conventional but set them to NFM and to manual threshold 6 and digital waiting time can be set to 0 as it otherwise mutes the audio for that time when you first receive a signal.

/Ubbe

 

[DataSquid]

Digital threshold settings aren't present on the SDS200 like earlier gen scanners.

 

[letarotor]

If SDS200 is like the other Unidens you are prompted for LCN when you enter a frequency for a site.

That does make perfect sense and I was probably creating single frequency types of systems at the time and that's why I didn't get prompted for the LCN. Thanks for that info.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Sent using Google Voice to Text. Please excuse any errors I could not see or catch.

Brian (COMMSCAN)

 

[2wayradiodogs]

You might also look at the very first option inside of the scanners menu. Make sure that if you do have new systems created, especially more than one, that they are turned on. I don't know why the default seems to be set to off on newly created systems when they are manually created through the keypad at least on the radio. I always thought that was kind of strange but I've learned to go in to the very first menu option, and I'm not looking at it now so I don't want to say something incorrect, that gives you the option of making sure that favorites lists and systems are turned on or off. If it is turned off you will get that nothing to scan message. But it is the very first / top menu options when you go into the menu on the radio. I think it's called "set lists to scan".

And speaking of the LCN settings, I have not seen those either when I have manually created DMR favorites list entries through the keypad. I'm sure I probably have overlooked it but I'm wondering since I look at everything when I do something like that.

I have been manually creating many of my favorites lists and in fact probably most of them through the radio and keypad. I like to know how to do it that way so that if I need to add something new or change something out in the field I know how to do it as fast and easy as possible. I have done my fair share of RadioReference downloads as well, especially on larger systems, and then I have gone back and fixed alpha tags and made other changes that I like through the radio or software. Sentinel does seem to have most everything covered but there are some times when I think it's a lot easier going through the actual menu on the radio. It helps me to understand better what I am doing and what needs to be done. That might just be me but anyhow...

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

Sent using Google Voice to Text. Please excuse any errors I could not see or catch.

Brian (COMMSCAN)

Thanks,
I have all the applicable lists turned ON. Another problem is that when I remove favorites list from Sentinel, save the changes, and write to the scanner, the removed list continues to appear on the scanner, but not in Sentinel. I have to delete that"removed" list manually on the scanner. maybe a bug in the software.

 

[letarotor]

Thanks,
I have all the applicable lists turned ON. Another problem is that when I remove favorites list from Sentinel, save the changes, and write to the scanner, the removed list continues to appear on the scanner, but not in Sentinel. I have to delete that"removed" list manually on the scanner. maybe a bug in the software.

Yeah I know know what you're talking about. It's kind of frustrating the way it does that. I think it has something to do with changing things like the favorites list or systems alpha tags that creates that problem. I usually make most of my changes on the radio itself and then I read it with Sentinel. I've had it duplicated in Sentinel before also but that hasn't happened lately. But if I do see a duplicate I just delete the older one that isn't up-to-date with the changes I made. Since I already have my radio programmed for the most part, I pretty much only use Sentinels when I'm doing a lot of changes or I'm adding in a lot of data that hasn't been programmed yet. I don't know why the radio and software can't just work off of the favorites list assigned number? And if you don't notice this happening quickly enough oh, it's really easy to make changes on either the radio or the software and then have the changes being made in the wrong place. That's something that I hope Uniden fixes in Sentinel because I think it originates there but I can't say for sure.

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Sent using Google Voice to Text. Please excuse any errors I could not see or catch.

Brian (COMMSCAN)

 

[Technoguy58]

Upon looking at the web page you got your info from, I would be willing to bet that each frequency listed is a conventional frequency. Without knowing how old this info is, it could be out of date. As there is an "R" behind each frequency listed, that would suggest that each frequency listed is a "repeater", probably conventional. If you look at some other listings on that page, some of the frequencies have an "S","R", or "I" behind the frequency listed. This would either be "Simplex", "Repeated", or "Input". Without knowing how old this info is, I would suspect you need to program the "Repeater Simplex" column as conventional.

 

[Technoguy58]

By the way, this not the correct forum to post questions about whether one should program frequencies as TRBO trunked, DMR single site, or conventional. The moderator will probably move it to a better forum where you will probably get more comments on your question.

 

[letarotor]

If you were able to look up the frequencies on the FCC ULS database, it might help with determining if it is DMR?

I asked somebody I know who is familiar with this and they sent me this email with the FCC emissions codes for DMR. Here's a copy and paste of their reply.

"Assuming they actually licensed it properly, it should be 7K60FXD for data and 7K60FXE for voice"

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Sent using Google Voice to Text. Please excuse any errors I could not see or catch.

Brian (COMMSCAN)

 

[RF23]

Thanks,
I have all the applicable lists turned ON. Another problem is that when I remove favorites list from Sentinel, save the changes, and write to the scanner, the removed list continues to appear on the scanner, but not in Sentinel. I have to delete that"removed" list manually on the scanner. maybe a bug in the software.

I think if you check the box under “Write Options” labeled “Erase Favorites Lists on Scanner” before clicking “OK” to write to your scanner from Sentinel this should take care of having OLD FL material still on your scanner.