Newb questions

[Ex911FF]

Hello all, I just bought a SDS100 and have a few questions about the statewide radio Matrix and how it works. I live in the Wright County area and generally do a site lock on the Wright/Sherburne simulcast. I have noticed that sometimes I pick up Isanti county and Sometimes Stearns but not all the time. If I am locked onto that simulcast shouldnt I hear it all the time if its feeding to that site?

I am also curious what channels and site would be best to lock onto in the Downtown Minneapolis area should there be any unrest (I work down there)

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[sonm10]

DOT NOT LOCK OUT THE SITE

You will have to go into the menu to unlock the site. You want to do SITE HOLD instead. Press function button (round knob) and middle Grey button for site hold.

Also, you scan the channels. Just set the service types you are interested in. If you want to listen to the police, turn on all police and tac service types. If you want to listen to fire, turn on the fire service types

 

[Ex911FF]

Yeah I guess that is what I meant. I site hold but I dont always hear the same channels on the same site.

 

[stmills]

Talkgroups have different access options : Always on a system, on the system when a radio connects to the system on that channel, Not allowed on the system. The Talkgroups you hear sometimes are because a radio on the system is in that talkgroup. City of Minneapolis Talkgroups are 100% on 1-009 then basically splint 50-50 between 1-001 and 2-001. Anything involving multiple agencies will likely be on either the ME Tacs or Ltacs & STacs which will be on any of the metro systems.

 

[ofd8001]

1-009 is also known as Minneapolis N-S. That's the "home" site for Minneapolis talkgroups. Minneapolis City Center is the "home" site for state talkgroups along with EMS.

METCOM is a real good talkgroup to monitor. It is kind of a "ringdown" or intercom between dispatch centers. Lot of good stuff is heard on that one.

You might be getting those Isanti and Stearns units on the Wright site because they are roaming into the Wright coverage area and the signal is stronger. So thru the magic of the system, they could be allowed to use another site to maintain coverage past home area.

My rule of thumb is to program all the talkgroups that I'm interested in monitoring, regardless of where I am. The adverse impact is negligible if at all. I will turn on just those sites that are in range of where I am. There are a couple of ways to do that, my method is to use Quick Keys.

With all the law enforcement mutual aid potential, I wonder if additional talkgroups have been "created" specific for the near future. If so, they may not have found their way into the full database. So one might consider turning on ID search to see if there are new talkgroups to spring up.

 

[JASII]

...If so, they may not have found their way into the full database. So one might consider turning on ID search to see if there are new talkgroups to spring up.

That is pretty much always good advice. While I haven't done it much just lately, I have been known to run two radios on ARMER. One for the known talkgroups that I want to monitor and another, in the ID SEARCH mode, simply to look for other talkgroups. It is often interesting to hear what pops up when you least expect it!

 

[bearcatrp]

Are you doing scanning by zip code or favorites?

 

[Ex911FF]

Thanks guys, all great info. To answer the question I am scanning by zip code. Another issue I see is I am scanning sites that I cant pick up. Is there an easy way to lock out certain sites that I just dont pick up?

Thanks again everyone.

 

[ofd8001]

What Range value have you chosen? Having a larger Range value, extends the "reach" of the scanner.

My suggestion is to set this for 10 and make incremental changes up or down (just gotta experiment) to see what you get. If you get even one or two bars, that's enough on digital (I even receive fine on a site when I have no bars).

This assumes you use location control. If you do not, you might assign Department/Site Quick Keys and "close" sites on one key and the others on a second. Leave the second off until you leave your area.

You can avoid sites too, but that isn't "easy".

 

[bearcatrp]

Have noticed on my SDS 200 that even though I selected 10 miles for my range, I still pick up west side of metro, brainard and cambridge from clearwater area. Am assuming there transmissions are being picked up on one of the 4 simulcast stations around me.

 

[ofd8001]

Are you talking about receiving West Metro, Brainard and Cambridge sites, talkgroups, or units? Owing to what you are receiving, the explanation could vary.

This is a complex system and for every "rule" there are two or three exceptions.

 

[bearcatrp]

Pretty sure its units. Seems very specific on who I listen to.

 

[ofd8001]

It's possible that these units may have permission to speak on local talkgroups. Any number of reasons for that from joint operations, training etc.

If it is talkgroups on a local site, then it could be those talkgroups are roaming into your area. They are allowed to affiliate to the local sites in order to maintain a communications link to the folks back home.

 

[marksand81]

I’d like to search Wright County for those not listed in Radio Reference. Specifically near Buffalo. Any suggestions welcome. I have a SDS200 and still haven’t mastered this equipment.

 

[sonm10]

I would use the search function. I like to set custom search ranges, such as 150-160 and 450-470. There is a lot of DMR in those ranges so you might want to buy the DMR upgrade

Also, if you want to find any unknown talkgroups on ARMER, change from ID Scan to ID Search

 

[marksand81]

I would use the search function. I like to set custom search ranges, such as 150-160 and 450-470. There is a lot of DMR in those ranges so you might want to buy the DMR upgrade

Also, if you want to find any unknown talkgroups on ARMER, change from ID Scan to ID Search

The ID scan to search I may have to check the online manual. Ha! I do have the DMR and NXDN upgrades. The local transportation company utilizes DMR.