Unitrunker showing incorrect EDACS as current

[robbinsj2]

A couple weeks ago I did a fresh install of Unitrunker, then manually copied over the data file from a prior install which had otherwise been completely removed.

I monitor two EDACS systems -- Middlesex County NJ and South Brunswick NJ. Both are 800MHz but are not related in any way. I'm monitoring with a Pro-197 and the USB cable, no voice following. I move the data file between a desktop and a laptop (paired with a Pro-106) which I use for trunk decoding while traveling. On both the 106 and 197, I programmed bogus TGIDs for the trunked systems and I leave the scanner on that TGRP to follow the system without leaving for voice communications on a real talkgroup.

I have long had trouble differentiating the systems in the data files. Back in the days of Etrunk (with a tapped scanner into the sound card) I simply had separate installs for each system, which worked well. Unitrunker has not worked as well for me, confusing the systems or some other issue, so years ago I purged South Brunswick from the files and monitoring and focused on Middlesex County and nearby Motorola and P25 systems.

With the fresh install, I gave South Brunswick another try. As new data (frequencies, talkgroups, radio IDs) were populated, I edited them as needed. If I stopped and restarted Unitrunker then it would create a new system but when I edited the control channel frequency, it would revert to the stored South Brunswick system profile as it should.

Alas this has ended; I cannot get Unitrunker to realize that the system it is monitoring is, in fact, South Brunswick. Every time I restart Unitrunker it opens a "Limbo" or "Unknown" system and when I type in the actual control channel frequency, it reverts to an Unknown system it has created. If I delete the Unknown system, it stays on the Limbo system.

I've also tried taking the -197 and clicking through the TSYS object to the active control channel, with the same effect. Except if/when the control channel changes, I would lose the data stream.

Does anyone have any tips?

Question two: Unitrunker has worked very nicely on the Middlesex County system, except it starts a new system whenever the control channel changes to a different LCN (even when the scanner, sitting on the TGRP object, switches properly). From years ago I remember someone mentioning this or a similar problem and the solution was a "lock" option whereby, I think, Unitrunker locked on the system in the data files. I don't see that now, am I missing it or is there another solution?

Thanks,

Jim

 

[SCPD]

Hi Jim;

Make sure you have only one site with that site number, LCN and frequency combination. The channel must also be marked as a control channel. If you know ahead of time which channels are control channels, go ahead and check them. If two or more sites exist with the same channel, the program may pick the wrong one.

On the signal receiver's Info tab, there are three lock mode choices: none, site lock, and dedicated. If you are manually tuning different systems, use none. For sustained monitoring of any EDACS site, I suggest "dedicated".

 

[robbinsj2]

Excellent, thanks Rick. The two systems do not have any common frequencies so that wasn't an issue but I did not manually mark off the control channels for South Brunswick (SB) as the LCNs populated; I guess until now the system still used the same control channel as when I first tuned into it last week.

I was on a Motorola system in the interim, after your response I stopped the receiver, edited the SB channels in Unitrunker (added Control to them all since they all have been control at some point in history, and since no other EDACS around uses those frequencies), and I restarted the receiver (now set to the SB talkgroup). Like before it popped up with a new system but when I typed in the control frequency it reverted to South Brunswick.

Thanks for the info on the receiver lock. By experimenting I see that the lock is retained through a total shut-down and restart of Unitrunker. I would like to suggest this be changed to clear the lock upon shut-down, so that the lock is on the first decoded system during that session (but not necessarily for manual stop/restart of the receiver).

Jim

 

[SCPD]

For the models you named, the program *should* be able to pull the control channel frequency from the radio. I'll look into that ...

 

[robbinsj2]

Same thing on Motorola systems for me. It grabs the sysid, site, and control channel LCN from the data stream but doesn't grab the control channel frequency from the scanner (not normally an issue since the first three items are enough to function). I can't tell if it's getting P25 control channel frequencies from the control channel or from the scanner.

I have inconsistent results when I click into the TSYS then press Analyz and tune to the control channel manually. On both Motorola and EDACS, sometimes it doesn't do a thing; other times it gets the correct frequency; still other times (if I'm stepping through the whole list) it gets the system's adjacent frequency while showing the actual LCN, when they don't really match one another.

Could it be a port / communications issue with my OS or hardware? I'm using GRE's USB cable on Com 15, 9600/8/none/1 with no flow control. It's otherwise working for Unitrunker and Starrsoft applications. Windows Vista Home Premium. Same settings and, after brief testing, same issues on my laptop running Windows 7. Decode rates are 90%+.

 

[bravo14]

I have found 2 sites of FL SLERS Statewide Law Enforcement Radio System Trunking System, Statewide, Florida - Scanner Frequencies The one city is listed but I wonder the unitrunker will configure the LCN correction on the freq's? I have the psr800 and 396xt.

 

[robbinsj2]

On the signal receiver's Info tab, there are three lock mode choices: none, site lock, and dedicated. If you are manually tuning different systems, use none. For sustained monitoring of any EDACS site, I suggest "dedicated".

I left Unitrunker running on a single EDACS site and sometime yesterday (while unattended) it switched to a new system despite the receiver lock being set to Dedicated. I would guess this was the result of a control channel change though I'm not 100% sure. I removed that system while the receiver was running so it created a new system again, when I typed in the active control channel frequency it did revert to the proper system (South Brunswick).

Jim