Trouble hearing Norman OK

[Marxhere]

Hi everyone this is my first post ever. I am not picking up any Norman traffic lately. I programed my scanner using the pro-500 software and radioreference database. I just bought a pro-197 and the guy at radio shack said Norman is going all digital and would be cganging frequencies. When I do a search on my scanner I can pick it up. Does anyone know if there are any new news about this or if anyone else has this problem?

Thanks

 

[plaws]

and the guy at radio shack said Norman is going all digital and would be cganging frequencies. When I do a search on my scanner I can pick it up. Does anyone know if there are any new news about this or if anyone else has this problem

I had the system up on Unitrunker today. Looked all normal to me.

As for digital ... well ... Radio Shack ... maybe a way to sell you a P25 scanner?

 

[plaws]

I had the system up on Unitrunker today. Looked all normal to me.

Except those patches. And what I didn't do was listen to the radio or at least didn't listen long enough.

FD is *only* on 25360 and PD is *only* on 25392. Still patched, I'm guessing, but won't know until I can look at UniTrunker later.

Could it be they moved them and have the patches up for stray radios that haven't been reprogrammed?

 

[n5bew1]

Today NPD dispatch is on 25424 now??

 

[plaws]

Today NPD dispatch is on 25424 now??

That's what it sounds like. It's a PD, definitely, and it sounds like Norman.

Weird.


Edit: FD seems back on 48880

 

[fast2okc]

Norman Patches

It appears to me that Norman is doing some sort of maintenance or working on a problem. They had several different patches this afternoon and the radio techs were "testing 1,2,3" on the system. Watching on UniTrunker, the only radios using the new talkgroups were the radio techs. The other radios were using the original talkgroups through the patch.

Earlier today, Norman PD was patched to RMA 2E and Norman Fire was patched to RMA 2F.

--fast2okc

 

[bsummers]

Glad I'm not alone

I've only been able to pick up ambulance to hospital and animal control calls for the past couple of weeks. Any more info on what's up?

 

[HogDriver]

Yea...I've noticed my talkgroup for Norman PD has been quiet for the last week or so. Let us know if the changes are permanent.

 

[bsummers]

Anyone notice any problems with OUDPS, CCSO, or any other users of the Norman site?

 

[plaws]

Anyone notice any problems with OUDPS, CCSO, or any other users of the Norman site?

They don't seem to be patched anywhere else, only PD and FD. Will start logging here in a bit and see if PD has moved again (I don't have UniTrunker at work ... yet ...)

 

[clegett]

Thanks but no

I had the system up on Unitrunker today. Looked all normal to me.

As for digital ... well ... Radio Shack ... maybe a way to sell you a P25 scanner?

Well Mr. Laws, you know me personally, and seeing as I'm the "guy at RadioShack" that was not my intention at all.
I've talked to our Emergency Management Coordinator (I think you know his name) and he has confirmed that Norman will be going digital on the 800MHz system. I don't know the timeline for the switch but it is going to happen with select groups on the Norman site.

I am always completely honest with my customers and have never lied (even lies of omission) to a customer to make a sale. Please feel free to come into the store and I'll tell you everything I know. Which is mostly information that's posted here already...

-Chip Legett, WX9EMT

 

[bsummers]

Chip,

So am I understanding correctly...only select functions will go digital in Norman? PD/FD? Is there a scanner you have that can pick that up, or will it be like OKC's EDACS system and un-listenable without permission?

 

[bsummers]

If I have to run two scanners, especially just a few talkgroups on one, that's going to annoy me a bit.

 

[clegett]

One scanner will do the job. On the scanner I have set up in our store right now I just set up two trunking systems on the same scanner. One looks for the analog talk groups while the other looks to the same frequencies and listens for P25 traffic. There may be a more elegant way to do it but I haven't had time to get too far into the user manual yet.

I'm not sure who is going to digital or when yet. One customer was under the impression that PD was going to replace existing mobiles slowly at first as maintenance is required. I don't know if I believe that as it would seem to be a horribly inefficient way of doing things. My guess is that they'll just put the new radios in and leave everyone on analog until everything's in place then just throw the switch and go to digital. No official information there though, just all IMHO.

-Chip

 

[plaws]

has confirmed that Norman will be going digital on the 800MHz system. I don't know the timeline for the switch but it is going to happen with select groups on the Norman site.

There are already P25 talkgroups used by the techs on the state system. There are also Encrypted P25 talkgroups used by EMSA and others.

As for Norman, I'll believe it when I see it.

AFAIK, Norman still owns the two sites ("Site 40") that it has linked into the Tulsa/DPS system. If they were to upgrade their site controllers to a real P25 system (as opposed to just having P25 audio on some groups), that would be a big enough expenditure that we'd have seen something in the paper (and I do watch for that).

I have no idea if upgraded site controllers could even be linked to the rest of the system, tho' surely the Mot salesman would say "Sure! No problem!" before you signed the contract.

The city has applied for 2 new pairs in the low end of the band and speculation is that this is a cheap-and-easy rebanding to replace the two pairs on Site 40 that are in the Nextel Zone, but we'll see.

 

[plaws]

Chip,

So am I understanding correctly...only select functions will go digital in Norman? PD/FD? Is there a scanner you have that can pick that up, or will it be like OKC's EDACS system and un-listenable without permission?

Norman is linked to the Tulsa/DPS system. That system is Motorola. AFAIK, Mot has only P25 and encrypted P25 as voice options on these systems beyond analog voice (corrections welcome but with examples of actual use, please!). Certainly that's been the case so far on the Tulsa/DPS/Norman system.

Any scanner that can demodulate P25 audio can listen to P25 talkgroups (or frequencies). No consumer radio that can demodulate P25 audio can unencrypt encrypted P25. It's encrypted. Even if you had a "real" P25 radio, you'd need the decryption key and none of us are getting that (though some here will surely pretend they can).

Any scanner that can demodulate P25 audio can also monitor analog talkgroups or frequencies. You just program in everything as normal and if a message comes through that is P25, the radio will demodulate it.

No accessories are needed, no second radio, no special "digital antenna with special low-loss gold-plated connectors".

 

[plaws]

They don't seem to be patched anywhere else, only PD and FD. Will start logging here in a bit and see if PD has moved again (I don't have UniTrunker at work ... yet ...)

 Super ID     Super Label          Subord   Subordinate Label       
    25360                          48624    NPD DC                   
    25424                          25424                          
    25424                          49136    OUPD Dispatch            
    48880     NFD Dispatch         48880    NFD Dispatch

This is what I was seeing recently.

 

[KX5MOT]

Well i havn't heard anything from our agency about our TG's going digital anytime soon, but we may be the last ones to know.

 

[dstew67]

Well i havn't heard anything from our agency about our TG's going digital anytime soon, but we may be the last ones to know.

"Dear Cleveland County, the reason your radios don't work is that your talkgroups went digital last week and you need to buy new radios, love radio administrator." :wink:

 

[JeffersonSpyplane]

"Dear Cleveland County, the reason your radios don't work is that your talkgroups went digital last week and you need to buy new radios, love radio administrator." :wink:

HA HA! that was awesome!