Programming TRX1 for Maryland's First Responder Network

[neilhuss]

Think i'm a little lost on figuring this system out right now .. Did the download that came with the TRX 1 , Still nothing ..

Trying to program Maryland's First Res ponder Network into my TRX 1 , Not having much luck with it though Must be missing a step while i'm programing it ? My County goes live in Mid June , But there are some active groups using the system now .. Just need a little guidance on what i need to do ?

 

[maus92]

Think i'm a little lost on figuring this system out right now .. Did the download that came with the TRX 1 , Still nothing ..

I don't have a TRX-1 so I can't help you program it, but there is a Whistler subforum on this site. I'm sure they can help you get it up and running.

https://forums.radioreference.com/forums/whistler-scanners.247/

 

[neilhuss]

Thank You Sir , You have been very helpful

 

[maus92]

No T , But Delaware is coming in clear ... I'm getting 4 bars today , But a S in a black box net to signal strength .

- If you aren't getting a "T" in a black box, then you are not receiving a control channel for FIRST. This is likely why you don't hear the system. It means that either the radio is programmed improperly, or you are out of range of the system. The "S" simply means the squelch gate is open.


Service search mode Public safety band , frequency is in right , The signal pops up as fm is that right ?

- Not sure how "Service Search" mode works, nor what "frequency is in right" means. FIRST is FM - like all Public Safety radio, although FIRST is technically NFM.

- Can you do a screen grab of the EZScan Trunked Radio Systems tab / page like what I did?

 

[maus92]

EDIT: OK, reading through the manual, all a "Service Search" does is find an active frequency in the target band. It does not set up the radio to decode and follow trunked radio systems.

 

[neilhuss]

Does anyone know how many towers are on this system ? And their locations ?

 

[maus92]

The entire system has / will have well over 150 sites. Cecil County is covered by a simulcast cell that has tower sites in at JFK Hwy HQ, Sylmar, Fair Hill, Elkton, Elkton SHA, Cecil 911 Center, Chesapeake City, and very soon, a standalone site in Cecilton. It also is covered by tower sites in neighboring counties.

 

[neilhuss]

Ok , at least now i know the area is in range ..

 

[neilhuss]

Anyone on here have Cecil in their trx 1 ? And if so how far away from cecil are you receiving their signal ?

 

[neilhuss]

Quick question for you all , Do i need to program the off set and base freq's to moniter the system ?? don't know a lot about programing scanners.

 

[maus92]

Quick question for you all , Do i need to program the off set and base freq's to moniter the system ?? don't know a lot about programing scanners.

No. Band plan is part of the information communicated to the radio via the P25 control channel.

 

[maus92]

Anyone on here have Cecil in their trx 1 ? And if so how far away from cecil are you receiving their signal ?

I rerouted a work trip to take me through Glasgow DE today. I was able to receive the FIRST Cecil Simulcast cell with no issue in the parking lot of Peoples Plaza. I did notice the decode quality was not fantastic (varied between 48-80%), and the RSSI was a bit low at -78dB - but perfectly readable. This however was using a SDS200 radio, which is optimized to receive this type of system.

 

[maus92]

Comparing reception of two FIRST sites. The Cecil Simulcast site was monitored from Glasgow DE. The AA Simulcast site was monitored from Annapolis. Glasgow is outside of the system's operational footprint. Annapolis is inside the system's footprint. The tool used in this comparison is Unitrunker 2. RSSI (the blue bar) in this program is expressed as a linear value between 1-100, not in dBm, Decode rate (Green bar) is also a linear value, expressed as a percentage. A Nooelec SmaSDR radio was used as the receiver, connected to an on-glass antenna with performance similar or perhaps slightly better than a stock duck antenna.

As you can see, and as one should expect, system performance is better within the system's intended service area. However, the SDS200 was able to receive perfectly in Glasgow, and Unitrunker was able to successfully decode the Cecil Simulcast control channel. Thus my conclusion is that either the TRX-1 radio is not capable of receiving FIRST at these signal and decode levels, or the radio is not programmed properly. If using the stock antenna, you can change it to a Remtronics antenna to see if that improves reception. I also suggest testing the radio inside Cecil County where the signal is stronger, and to verify if the programming is correct. There is an outside chance that the radio is somehow defective. If it were me, I would sell it and buy an SDS100 or Unication G4/G5 pager - both are proven to work with this system at locations outside the intended service area.

 

[fredva]

I would second the recommendation to move your scanner around. The site you are trying to receive is simulcast, and reception of a simulcast system on a Whistler scanner is hit-or-miss depending on location.

 

[neilhuss]

I see on your comparison chart you have a different frequency listed ?? Thought the control channel was 773.30625 ??

 

[maus92]

I see on your comparison chart you have a different frequency listed ?? Thought the control channel was 773.30625 ??

That is simply a comparison between relative signal strength when measured inside and outside the system service area. Cecil Simulcast cch is indeed 773.30635. If you were using the radio within Cecil County, the signal quality would similar to what is illustrated by the Anne Arundel Simulcast graphic. As you can see, the signal quality in Glasgow is not fantastic, but it is usable. That's because Glasgow is outside of the system's intended footprint. Radio systems like FIRST are designed to keep their signals within their service area to limit interference with neighboring systems. If your radio is programmed correctly, it *should* receive FIRST. However, as noted above, TRX-1 radios are not the best radios to use with TDMA systems like FIRST, so you are starting at a disadvantage.

The question remains if you have taken your radio into Cecil County to see if it works there. If it doesn't, then your programming is incorrect. If it does work within Cecil County, then you should buy a better antenna, and see if that helps reception in Glasgow. If it doesn't, then you need a different radio. I've tested a SDS200 in Glasgow, and that radio works perfectly when monitoring the Cecil Simulcast site, so it is possible to receive FIRST in Glasgow.

 

[neilhuss]

Ok , Thank You .. Tried to program this morning , Looks like the SD Micro Card just stopped working .. All i get is error codes now .. I appreciate all your help in this situation .. Guess i'll go back to the old pro 96 and just listen to fire dispatch that way ..

 

[Mark]

Just my 2 cents but I have 436HP with rubber duckie and I get Cecil simulcast
full strength just a couple miles into Cecil from Del line.Think may be from Ches City or EOC
on rte 40 at Del line. Will have to try a Glasgow road test as am up there a lot.. a 10 minute drive.
Also get Delaware trunked sytem with 1 bar here but mostly reads ok.
Good scanner the 436

 

[neilhuss]

I'm up by Glasgow High School , Got a new sd card formatted it . Going to try this programing all over again now

 

[neilhuss]

Quick question , Is this system considered P25 Phase II or DMR ?? 5 bars signal strength with my old pro 96 antenna on the TRX 1 , No voice though .. T in the black box pops on and off ..