P25 Phase 2 Firmware update for PSR 800

[loumaag]

Looks like about 40 systems on that list - but which ones have converted from X2 to Phase II?

There is no conversion. A system is either X2 or Phase 2. It is unlikely that who ever is footing the bill is going to pay to convert a system, well actually buy a new system, with Phase 2 if they already have X2 in place.

Remember that the big news is that the 800 can be upgraded to understand the Phase 2 (Rick please note my repeated use of the Arabic numeral two) TDMA instead of just the X2 TDMA it was designed for. This is great news, especially for those of us with active or soon to be active Phase 2 systems.

 

[loumaag]

...least one of them is Phase II but is still flagged X2 for some reason.

Where is that? Was it an old one before anyone thought Phase 2 was rolled out?

 

[rbrtklamp2]

I got through the update very smoothly but I have some questions for those who are using the radio on Phase 2 Systems. I noticed a lot of new options in the Band Plan Tables. Could somebody please explain what these options are for and when they should be used.

PII FDMA 12.5 Half
PII FDMA 12.5 Full
PII FDMA 6.25 Half
PII TDMA

When is it appropriate to program these modes in the band plan and what circumstances call for which mode to be used?

Thank You,
Bob

 

[SCPD]

Seattle area

I'm checking our P25 systems in the area but so far haven't found any that are hitting the "D2" indicator.

King County Metro Transit uses the X2-TDMA but it's not showing the "D2" so it must still be on the X2-TDMA standard. I would presume they could probably just upgrade the master controller and push the firmware down to individual radios?

 

[SCPD]

Ok, first bug? TDMA mode ENC isn't handled gracefully at all when set to "Audio Tone" and -24dBm.

The busy tone sounds at the reduced audio level and the digital noise blasts out over the tone at full volume.

I noticed my keypad beep volume is about half of what it used to be... after a data upload though (from the software) it's back to normal volume.

 

[KevinC]

Confirmed listing to riverside county on Motorola X2-TDMA only thing is the table will not fill in have to manual enter them

If you set it to "Auto Fill" it should work. And the PSR-800 has always done X2-TDMA, the update added Phase 2 TDMA.

 

[gr8rcall]

Anyone know if soon, they'll put out Object Oriented Phase II (Like the PSR-500 or the Pro-106) scanners for GRE/RadioShack? I saw some posts saying people had called GRE. just wondering if that came up during the phone conversation.

Also, thinking of buying a PSR-800. Should I go ahead and buy now, or should I wait till scanners like the ones above come out.

 

[tilt404]

For those who didn't notice, in the ezscan software after the 1.07 update from yesterday in the audio tab, there's a new 'read disk' button, letting you import/read audio files you previously moved off the scanner and view them once again in ezscan with all the attached data on the files intact like tgid, rid, time, ect. This is a feature I've been asking for and glad to see.

 

[kruser]

There are none yet, right?

None around my area at all, yet.

 

[loco-lee]

For some reason the tables didn't auto-fill, once I manually edited them it seems to work well on Phase 2 TDMA.

SWEEEEET! Working like a champ so far . Updating was as smooth as glass.

Can you each tell us what system(s) you are decoding in true Phase II?

 

[loco-lee]

There is no conversion. A system is either X2 or Phase 2. It is unlikely that who ever is footing the bill is going to pay to convert a system, well actually buy a new system, with Phase 2 if they already have X2 in place.

Not True! Everyone who has an X2 system has an upgrade path available to them. And it takes quite a conversion path to get from one to the other. If they paid for that from MOTO is another story. You can call it an upgrade if you want. Its a software thing in the infrastructure. Either way, its a complicated process I can detail offline for anyone who might be interested and sends me a PM. And, frankly, who in their right mind would want to remain on X2 anyway.

 

[KevinC]

Can you each tell us what system(s) you are decoding in true Phase II?

Texas Wide Area Radio Network (TxWARN) Project 25 Trunking System, Various, Texas - Scanner Frequencies

 

[loco-lee]

King County Metro Transit uses the X2-TDMA but it's not showing the "D2" so it must still be on the X2-TDMA standard. I would presume they could probably just upgrade the master controller and push the firmware down to individual radios?

Not only do they have to touch a check box in every individual radio, likely by hand. They also have to hit every dispatch console too. Finally, they have to manually load new software on every radio site in a multi-step process. The entire conversion process from X2 to Phase II is very complicated.

 

[loco-lee]

Texas Wide Area Radio Network (TxWARN) Project 25 Trunking System, Various, Texas - Scanner Frequencies

Thank you Sir. I'll go read more about it in the TX Forum.

 

[KevinC]

Not True! Everyone who has an X2 system has an upgrade path available to them. And it takes quite a conversion path to get from one to the other. If they paid for that from MOTO is another story. You can call it an upgrade if you want. Its a software thing in the infrastructure. Either way, its a complicated process I can detail offline for anyone who might be interested and sends me a PM. And, frankly, who in their right mind would want to remain on X2 anyway.

And if you want dual-branch RX diversity (to overcome the slight loss in signal due to TDMA) it's a hardware upgrade also.

 

[loumaag]

Not True! Everyone who has an X2 system has an upgrade path available to them. And it takes quite a conversion path to get from one to the other. If they paid for that from MOTO is another story. You can call it an upgrade if you want. Its a software thing in the infrastructure. Either way, its a complicated process I can detail offline for anyone who might be interested and sends me a PM. And, frankly, who in their right mind would want to remain on X2 anyway.

Yeah, it was late and what I was trying to do is calm down the (incorrect) rhetoric that seemed to indicate folks thought their was an automatic path from FDMA -> X2 -> P2. The bottom line, that you also pointed out, is that it is possible but difficult and let's face it, /\/\ is not going to "give" that away.:wink:

 

[loco-lee]

Thanks Lou. I agree there is way too much confusion around Phase II anyway.

Bottom line is this: the new beta Firmware and beta DSP make a huge difference and make this scanner the ultimate above any other. (Looks like it is time to update my video review of this scanner.)

Uniden better jump on the TDMA bandwagon soon!

 

[Spitfire8520]

Uniden better jump on the TDMA bandwagon soon!

Too bad Uniden didn't invest into X2 TDMA at all. GRE just proved that by investing in X2 TDMA decoding, all they needed was a simple firmware update to allow Phase II monitoring. Uniden now has to start developing a TDMA decoder from the ground up and probably won't be a competition for GRE for at least a few years in the Phase II field.

 

[troymail]

Can you each tell us what system(s) you are decoding in true Phase II?

First Responders Interoperable Radio System Team (FIRST) Trunking System, Various, Maryland - Scanner Frequencies

 

[DonS]

all they needed was a simple firmware update to allow Phase II monitoring.

For limited definitions of "simple".