ProCom96 feeder?

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kb8q

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I roam the Detroit simulcast, Macomb simulcast and the Eastern Wayne Conference site 224 with the P25RX. I get about 20,000 records a day from the talk group log the P25RX generates. I simply change .TXT to .CSV and open it in a spreadsheet**. I'm not sure what would be gained by sending information to the Pro96Com software. For 8 months, I was building a database from Pro96Com data. In 2 months, the P25RX has updated 4 times the amount of data I got from Pro96Com in 8 months. **sometimes I have to first open the TXT file with a text editor and eliminate spaces in the first AlphaTag entry for everything to line up properly when I open it as a CSV. If the first record has a 5-digit TG, I also have to drop the space there. Learned that from trial and error.
 

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Silent Key
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Hello James!

I've been considering a P25RX. I live in Macomb Township, in Macomb County, Michigan. How does the P25RX cope with the stubborn problems associated with MPSCS simulcast? At my particular location I've been lucky with just about all Uniden & Whistler scanners and the issues that many experience on simulcast, so I'm thinking the P25RX should perform just fine. Have you used the P25RX in your vehicle?

Thanks,
Bill
 

kb8q

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Hello James!

I've been considering a P25RX. I live in Macomb Township, in Macomb County, Michigan. How does the P25RX cope with the stubborn problems associated with MPSCS simulcast? At my particular location I've been lucky with just about all Uniden & Whistler scanners and the issues that many experience on simulcast, so I'm thinking the P25RX should perform just fine. Have you used the P25RX in your vehicle?

Thanks,
Bill
Haven't tried the P25RX mobile. My unit is on the 3rd floor of a townhouse in Ferndale. I'm 2.25 miles from 2 of the Detroit towers, 5.6 miles from the closest Macomb tower and 13 miles from the Grosse Pte Farms site which is not part of either simulcast. I get good audio on all of them with the P25RX using the small supplied helix mag mount antenna.

My experience using the Whistler TRX-1 radios mobile is the audio begins to garble as a function of distance from the site. The best radio I have for mobile are the Unication G5's. However, those don't have anywhere near the programming flexibility of the others.

Looks to me like the 2 closest sites to you would be either the one nor I-94 and 25 Mile Rd or the site near Ray Center. You can see those locations on the map here...


James
 

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Silent Key
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Haven't tried the P25RX mobile. My unit is on the 3rd floor of a townhouse in Ferndale. I'm 2.25 miles from 2 of the Detroit towers, 5.6 miles from the closest Macomb tower and 13 miles from the Grosse Pte Farms site which is not part of either simulcast. I get good audio on all of them with the P25RX using the small supplied helix mag mount antenna.

My experience using the Whistler TRX-1 radios mobile is the audio begins to garble as a function of distance from the site. The best radio I have for mobile are the Unication G5's. However, those don't have anywhere near the programming flexibility of the others.

Looks to me like the 2 closest sites to you would be either the one nor I-94 and 25 Mile Rd or the site near Ray Center. You can see those locations on the map here...


James


Sounds like you're in a ideal location, especially for Detroit reception!

Actually the closest tower to me is a newer site that was put up about two years ago at 51650 Card Rd between 23 & 24 Mile Rd in Macomb Township.

1631379201937.png

The tower on the right of the cellular tower.

1631379413158.png
 

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Silent Key
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My experience using the Whistler TRX-1 radios mobile is the audio begins to garble as a function of distance from the site.

James

The Whistler TRX-1 and TRX-2 worked excellent from my location. I'm currently using a BCD996P2 that works as well as the BCD536P2 and almost as good as my SDS200 did. I sold the SDS200 as I really didn't benefit that much for twice the price.
 

kb8q

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Sounds like you're in a ideal location, especially for Detroit reception!

Actually the closest tower to me is a newer site that was put up about two years ago at 51650 Card Rd between 23 & 24 Mile Rd in Macomb Township.

View attachment 109346

The tower on the right of the cellular tower.

View attachment 109347

Most of the time, I'm receiving the tower on the west side of the Detroit Zoo property.
 

krokus

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I'm not sure what would be gained by sending information to the Pro96Com software.

I was thinking the visual aspect, based in my limited exposure to the software. Getting reports of radio affiliation could be useful, when trying to ID new/unknown TG.
 

kb8q

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I'm using the data already coming out of the P25RX in a useable format to assist in identification of non-public talkgroups without having to tap a discriminator output to get an affiliation log into an additional piece of software. I do agree that the radio affiliation contributes to the equation. When you've got over 2,000 active talk groups in an area, more RID data (P25RX) contributes to the analysis than just the affiliation log.
 

kruser

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I'm using the data already coming out of the P25RX in a useable format to assist in identification of non-public talkgroups without having to tap a discriminator output to get an affiliation log into an additional piece of software. I do agree that the radio affiliation contributes to the equation. When you've got over 2,000 active talk groups in an area, more RID data (P25RX) contributes to the analysis than just the affiliation log.
The P25RX nor its BTConfig software was never intended to compete with Pro96com and its fantastic logging abilities. Some goes for the similar abilities of Unitrunker and DSD+.
Pro96com logs different aspects of data from a given control channel and saves individual files with each field sort-able however you like.
The logged data from BTCONFIG does not come close to the data that is logged and can be obtained from Pro96com logs.
BTConfig's logs do not contain much of the data that Pro96com can log if desired.
I love my P25RX but the log it produces is night and day different when compared with a program such as Pro96com which was made to do just that, and that only, log the control channel.
The P25RX was made to monitor a P25 signal or trunked system but logging was never its main point.
The logging abilities BTConfig offers are more of a convenience or luxury if you will.

More power to you if you want to take the time to parse the data from BTConfig's logs and it gives you what makes you happy. It still doesn't compare with other software made exclusively for control channel logging.
If the P25RX is your only receiver, then I could see where you would be happy with the logs its software provides.

More power to Todd if he worked with Mikey60 and offered a Pro96com compatible output, that would be great but as it is, I'd leave well enough alone.
Todd's P25RX and BTConfig software work fantastic for what they were designed to do.
Todd could probably add different logging formats if he wished but I think his goal is to produce a P25 receiver that works on simulcast systems and is affordable, not in it's ability to provide logs like Pro96com or DSD+ or Unitrunker already offer.
Why compete in those areas that would require more code be written when there are already superior programs out there that do just that.

I think what Todd does with BTConfig and the P25RX (and probably the yet to be released model) is perfect.
I know I enjoy my P25RX greatly. I just wish I had the time to be more active in testing new releases as Todd releases them.
 

btt

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I downloaded the Pro96com application to get an idea of what would be required. It looks like it needs 2 serial ports to be complete (control + data). I can't do this easily, but adding support for data only would probably be an easy thing to do. I need to know what format the data port is expecting. If it is as simple as send the binary bits from the control channel out the data serial port, then that should be easy. I could add another power-up mode called "Pro96Com Data" and then you would configure the Pro96Com serial port to collect the data. I probably won't be able to get to this for at least 2-3 weeks, but it may be a relatively easy thing to do.
 

kb8q

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I spent about half the day yesterday compiling, consolidating and analyzing about 330,000 Pro96Com grant log records for the largest simulcast in Michigan. The data covered the past 3 months. At the end of the day, I had discovered 4 "new" talk groups previously undetected and not public. With only one RID for each of those 4 talk groups and no other evidence of traffic on any of the 4 any time in the last 10 months, there isn't much information yet to allow ascertainment of the agency or the user. One of them does appear to be a law enforcement encrypted TG at the state capitol based on it's proximity to another TG and where else the one RID shows up. 6,500 of those grant log records are now resident as updates in my overall database and will eventually be overwritten as I only keep the most current record for any particular RID/TG combination.

I've found the P25RX data from actual transmissions to be more useful in analysis of who's who and what's what. I started this project in early November. Today, I've got about 75,000 unique records. In 10 weeks of data from the P25RX, that unit has produced 53% of the system data I've gotten in 10 months. That's more information than the other 6 radios and various data feeds (including Pro96Com data) combined over 10 months.

Regardless of collection method, the common denominators for all of this are the RID, TGID, ENC flag and the timestamp. The 2,400+ active TGs in my area include literally hundreds that are not "public". One of the greatest discovery features with the P25RX is the population of the TG Log table with "unknown" TG's. I've got all 2,415 TG's with known activity in the area programmed into the unit. The moment something new shows up, it's quite visible at the bottom of the TG Log table.

I've been able to streamline everything I monitor with the 6 other radios as a result of what I've learned in 10 weeks collecting system info with the P25RX. I don't discount the value of any method to do this. I'm just perfectly happy with the amount of info I'm getting with very little effort from the P25RX. For me, it's quickly become the most important piece of equipment I have in the ongoing effort to determine who's who and what's what.

Perhaps the way I'm using this is incidental to the original design intent of the P25RX. I'm just really satisfied with the outcome for my purposes.
 

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Silent Key
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@kb8q where have you been hiding, you appear to have a lot to contribute to RR and it's members, and you're in Michigan too! Thanks for jumping in! :)

Bill
Macomb Twp, MI.
 

btt

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I downloaded a user manual for a PSR-600. The "CCDUMP" protocol that Pro96Com presumably uses is in there. That will be no problem to support. I will commit to adding support for this to the P25RX / P25RX-II.
 

btt

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Based on the PSR-500/PSR-600 user manuals, I thought the "CCDUMP" would look like this:
P25:T034A:09901040000000000000D6E5
P25:T034A:3C0000334A010204FD7058F4
P25:T034A:BA0000334A0101059970A47D
P25:T034A:05904080C00000000800BB73
P25:T034A:B0000004302B2EB7152C4B42
P25:T034A:3300233840640A251584484B
P25:T034A:330033A580640915756275FC
P25:T034A:B900010104F504059504F0D7
P25:T034A:16000040FFFFFFFF00015FCB
P25:T034A:09900C800000000000008CF3
P25:T034A:BC0000334A010204FD70BCC0
P25:T034A:3A0000334A01010599704049
P25:T034A:3B0000BEE0034A0599703DD5
P25:T034A:85904080C000000008005F47
P25:T034A:0B9000000000000005990552
P25:T034A:30000004302B2EB7155450E9
P25:T034A:BD000322D0320A2510A28794

Trying to import this data with the Decode Menu->decode from file option in Pro96Com, doesn't do anything. I tried a few variations, but none of them worked. Does anyone have an example file of this format that works? I'm going to be working on some new audio options for the next release (that an RR user paid for. Thank you!). If someone wants to help me out with this, Pro96Com support could be in there as well.
 
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