Go back and re-read the thread. He mentioned he owns a SDS series scanner, so simulcast is not the issue. I've personally used my scanner on a number of simulcast systems and it works phenomenally on them. His issue is overload.
SDS 100 and NYS Thruway
- Thread starter jgorman21
- Start date
The Thruway dispatch channel reception issue is a SDS100 spurious response or overload mixing problem reported by users in both Buffalo and Albany. I can receive the 453.525 on my SDS100 here in Rochester but with apparent noise interference although I am not far from the transmitter. Reception is perfectly clear on any other radio. The 453.425 distant Zone 3 signal from Manchester can be heard marginally on other radios and nothing on the SDS100 which shows constant 5 bars of noise. The noise is apparently from overload rather than internal in the radio since it goes away when antenna disconnected.
5 bars of crud on various frequencies due to desense is typical in a high RF environment. I have experimented with the filter settings and found Wide Invert improved the NOAA weather channels from almost useless to fair reception. Attempts to tweak for other frequency bands have generally been futile and I find Wide Invert gives the best results. Filter settings depend on the local RF environment so YMMV. I also tried external band pass filters which generally have been of no value since the apparent interference sources are in-band.
As was reported, use of the Attenuator function is too aggressive and simply kills almost all reception. Use of a stubby, (1") antenna does somewhat mitigate the overload issue while still receiving local signals. But, the only solution I have found to eliminate the SDS100 issues is to get in an environment away from strong RF sources.
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2020
- Messages
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I have heard NOTHING in digital yet. I can't wait for them to go digital though, their current uhf analog system is not that good. I have heard from time to time the police officers complaining that reception is really bad in some areas and "too much static" and constantly repeating messages or info, whether its the officers asking dispatch to repeat or dispatch asking the officers to repeat message or info. I don't listen much to the maintenance side.
joespca
Member
How do you know it will be encrypted?
I can't see the tway authority going encrypted, maybe i am wrong....
so the Main dispatch channel will not by encrypted then?
Sorry. Strapped is a slang radio term for encryption on by default. Since it's trunking maybe they won't have the road crews encrypted but Law Enforcement talk groups will be. It was a specific system requirement in the RFP that was issued.
At the risk of another "NYPD ENCRYPTION!" 💩 show...I'm not seeing anything definitive in the RFP stating that all talkgroups will be strapped secure. I see the bit below requiring LE radios to have AES-256, and for the system to be able to support AES-256.
Of course all LE subscribers, i.e. NYSP radios, must support AES-256 as they would be expected to be capable of operating on encrypted non-Troop T NYSP channels. So that takes care of the first paragraph. As for the infrastructure being capable, there could be the desire to implement secure talkgroups, not necessarily all talkgroups (or all LE talkgroups).
Keep in mind that the current Thruway channels have mixed usage, and at this point we don't know definitively if they will segregate Troop T's dispatch/routine activity from the rest of the system users by way of separate talkgroups.
To be clear, I'm not arguing either way, just pointing out that the wording is a bit ambiguous. If you have something else that I missed in that RFP, please share it, I'm happy to be corrected!
on the tway the troopers, tow trucks, traffic safety and maint trucks all use the same channel. Maintenance units do have their own channels now for the past 5-7 years.
Yes, I understand how the system works, thanks. Anyway, no reason to get all worked up about a system that is still a number of years from seeing the light of day. Still plenty to listen to now and for the next few years at minimum.
If they want any federal funding, it has to be P25. Of course, NYS was going to spend $3 trillion of taxpayer money on an encrypted OpenSky network without federal support, so it's probably not an issue for NYTA, either. On the practical side, it makes more sense to use an interoperable P25 system for any State law enforcement as NYSP is piggybacking on the various regional P25 networks already.
Funding and interoperability for Troop T units was probably the motivation for the P25 and AES-256 spec in the RFP.
Wow! Terrific info and discussion!
in the meantime I can get all NYSTA current channels fine on radios other than the SDS 100! It became a “challenge” of sorts, not the end of the world! Looking back in the thread, I still need to go up to that cell tower with the old field strength meter!
Thank you all!
in the meantime I can get all NYSTA current channels fine on radios other than the SDS 100! It became a “challenge” of sorts, not the end of the world! Looking back in the thread, I still need to go up to that cell tower with the old field strength meter!
Thank you all!
FYI For this old Thread with respect to NYSTA and the SDS 100. After trying numerous other settings I turned the filter "off" and I think its the best it's going to be. Like I said before. Its DFQ on ALL other receivers I have!
SDS Scanners are suppose to be the "top dog". But I'll never give up my 996p2's. SDS are just too complicated.
I'll be honest. IMHO it's "ok" on simulcast" (I prefer my Unication G5). But as a "receiver" on most other things it falls short from my experience with it.
