Mattgeek43
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It alternates between, Junction City and SID: 0188h-0211 on the upper alphanumeric display line.
Need help with being able to hear audio on AWIN
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That's perfect. Correct system and site number. AWIN is 188 and Junction City is 2-11. Nothing is wrong there. In reference to your earlier post about CC being voice; P25 systems can and will alternate between control channels. Some don't often, some do every day. It is common practice to program all CC frequencies (prime and alternate) which you have done. That scanner does not require voice channels to be programmed in order to follow via trunking (someone else check me as I do not have this model!).
ID SEARCH vs ID SCAN: Both will pick up programmed talkgroups with no issue; the difference is that ID SEARCH will also monitor non-programmed groups in addition while ID SCAN will ignore these non-programmed groups. That is user preference.
All of my non SDS radios have P25 threshold on auto. I haven't really experimented as I only use them on a site that is within perfect signal, SDR is used for distant sites/systems.
Your programming looks as good as I can give my input for without owning that particular radio and monitoring that particular system/site. I do know that AWIN on the south central/south east sites is relatively quiet as most counties use local DMR. I've had DSD on Huttig for an hour now and have logged no voice grants, only radio connections. Since it is portable, I recommend taking the radio to a busier site. I only know about the radio connections because of SDR. From an actual radio, nothing is heard or seen unless someone talks. It may be just quiet. Other users with more experience on the system and radio can perhaps mention something that will help. I will continue to monitor the thread in case something jumps out at me.
Edit: Wait. I see FM on your frequencies. Try NFM or AUTO on the modulation.
Mattgeek43
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Anything else you can think of as far as settings go?
Mattgeek43
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I also have programmed the local Entergy P25 system. I have a question about P25 systems in general, can the towers be linked the same way as two amateur radio repeaters where when tower A receives a signal while linked to tower B and everyone tuned to tower B can hear what is being fed from tower A via the link?
It's not "linking" in the way you're thinking. It's a trunked system - sites are pretty much all linked but you will only hear traffic on particular talkgroups if a radio on that TG affiliates with the site. Read up here: Trunking Basics - The RadioReference Wiki
Short answer on P25 Trunked Systems
All sites are linked to give network wide access, for affiliated radios. A user doesn't really know the difference. For a scanner user; connect to a site and you can hear talkgroups affiliated with that site. As stated above. In a sense it is the "it only talks if there is someone there to hear it."
Entergy P25: Also a reletivly quiet system, especially at night outside of a storm.
All sites are linked to give network wide access, for affiliated radios. A user doesn't really know the difference. For a scanner user; connect to a site and you can hear talkgroups affiliated with that site. As stated above. In a sense it is the "it only talks if there is someone there to hear it."
Entergy P25: Also a reletivly quiet system, especially at night outside of a storm.
I'm curious, what sites are you close to for Entergy? Are Junction City and Huttig the only nearby sites for AWIN?
Mattgeek43
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I still have no voice audio on the AWIN control channel. Do I have to flip through the talk groups until I find the voice signal?
Mattgeek43
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There is a tower on Northwest Avenue in El Dorado.
There is no voice audio on an active P25 trunked control channel. The primary CC may change between a set of 2 or 3 (for those sites its 2) frequencies but while a channel is designated a CC, there is not going to be any voice. For the systems in question anyway.
Check out that wiki article that was posted. A trunked site that you are currently monitoring may not have any voice on it for quite some time. That was the reason for the site discussion: all listed sites are not very active.
Huttig is active finally with ASP talking on 1001. See if you can hear it.
Edit: Are you close enough to the border to pick up any LWIN sites? Nearly all of our public safety uses it (instead of DMR).
Edit: Are you close enough to the border to pick up any LWIN sites? Nearly all of our public safety uses it (instead of DMR).
Try taking it out of hold by hitting the Hold/Resume button, then turn on the SQK #1 by pressing the 1 key and finally turn the Squelch to about the 9 o'clock position.
Mattgeek43
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I think I barely picked up LWIN. It came in as a very weak signal. I could just barely hear the control channel data signal. I live 30 miles north of the Arkansas Louisiana border. Our local hospital monitors both the trauma talkgroups on AWIN and LWIN. However they have a tall antenna with UHF lobes on it of the roof and that is a 4 story building (not including the basement level).
An outside antenna is almost always going to be an improvement over the rubber duck that comes on a handheld scanner or radio. I say almost always because there are cases where someone is so close to a tower/site that they need to attenuate the signal for the scanner to decode it properly (and let's not even get into simulcast issues...). In your case, an outside antenna might help but if you have full or close to full signal bars already then it's probably good enough.
30 miles north of the border is a stretch for any radio not connected to an outside antenna....as stated. In theory you would be closer to AWIN sites (2-11 or 2-14).
There's two issues at play here:
1) distance from P25 sites / reception issues
2) programming
I would make sure the latter is solved and then we can work on the former. Entergy is not a good system to use for testing radios. AWIN should be fine, if not for the lack of use near here (ASP and random State Trauma interops is all I hear usually on those two sites). Sunshine is even quieter. I would say Camden or Warren would be your best bet to actually know if your programming is correct on AWIN. If you venture across the border, any LWIN site would be fine as we don't use DMR for public safety (except for Bossier).
As a distance example; I live a mere 7-8 miles from a LWIN P25 site. SDS100/200 is perfect on default antennas. 436/536HP does ok but I have to use Diamond RH789's. HP2 can't do anything no matter what, it stays in the vehicle. The newer radios just do better with digital signal. I have never owned a 325 but have read that it is a good little radio. But everything has a limit regardless. I would take it within a mile of a P25 site (that is actually active with voice) and see what happens.
This sightly bothers me. If monitoring a properly programmed P25 Trunked system you shouldn't hear any data signal. Now if you bypassed this and are monitoring in conventional mode, yes.
Same. Made me think programming isn't done correctly, as well.
Mattgeek43
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I guess I really haven't gave enough time to really sit on one of the talkgroups I programmed. I know I got a radio ID of 1001 before on the AWIN control channel on the Junction City site of the display once with an actual voice instead of the data noise.
Usually that happens when you're in conventional mode.
Mattgeek43
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I correctly programmed in the AWIN system as a P25 system. I previously posted a screenshot of all my configurations. I think I also at one point, configured a band plan and I think that is what made it work.
Some of your replies have indicated it was/is programmed incorrectly ("instead of the data noise", for example; shouldn't hear anything on the CC when it's programmed correctly). Thus my comment, and others', about that. It's hard to know for sure what's up since it isn't in front of us with the programming software, etc., so we have to ask or make mention of things.
Unless it's working now, I'd start over - clear the scanner, import AWIN into the software, configure what sites and what TGs you want to monitor, set it to ID Scan mode, and write it to the scanner.
I don't know exactly where you're located but I typically suggest adding in at least the three closest sites...sometimes they can be received even when we think they are too far away. But for sure two, which I think you had done.
Unless it's working now, I'd start over - clear the scanner, import AWIN into the software, configure what sites and what TGs you want to monitor, set it to ID Scan mode, and write it to the scanner.
I don't know exactly where you're located but I typically suggest adding in at least the three closest sites...sometimes they can be received even when we think they are too far away. But for sure two, which I think you had done.
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