University of Akron Trunked System (NEXEDGE48 - System ID 83)

[mtindor]

Hi Folks,

Historically, U of Akron has had a networked LTR system for years. In recent years they started replacing this system with a NEXEDGE48 trunked system. That NEXEDGE48 system has been online for some time, with the old LTR system remaining online and functional to facilitate a nice transition from the old technology to new.

I was recently contacted (by a person who gave me some useful information about this trunked system earlier on). This person indicated that at this time the old UAkron LTR system has been totally decommissioned, and that the new NEXEDGE48 trunked system is fully operational.

Only certain Whistler scanners, as well as DSDPlus and perhaps other software based solutions, can monitor this NXDN system at this time.

This is currently a three-site system, with the main site being at University of Akron (Summit Co) and other sites being at Wayne College (Wayne Co) and at Medina County University Center (Medina Co).

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=9004

NOTE: The database currently ONLY reflects that which has been confirmed. However, all sites should be online, and my guess would be that most of the frequencies assigned on the licenses are in use.

UAKRON: WPRU679

WAYNE COLLEGE: WQOV271 and WQRE213

MEDINA UNIVERSITY CENTER: WQJB561

Presumably, with a Whistler scanner that supports NXDN, you could set up a NXDN trunked system with three sites, each site containing all of the frequencies on the respective licenses for that location, and it would trunk and you would hear traffic (and thus could report back your findings).

However, we really need to get more concrete information regarding what frequencies are active, as well as what their official NXDN channel numbers are. If you weren't aware, every NXDN frequency active at a particular site has a "channel number" associated with it. Hardware (scanners) and software (DSDPlus) that properly do trunktracking will rely upon knowing the exact mapping of CH # <--> Frequency.

So, IF you live within range of one of the sites, and IF you know how to use DSDPlus and have a Dongle or Airspy and can monitor the active control channel for that site, you can watch DSDPlus display the CH #s in use on the system if you allow DSDPlus to sit on the control channel for that site for an extended period of time. Those channel numbers are very important, and we would appreciate it if somebody out there could obtain that information.

In addition, assuming you have both the ability to use DSDPlus and have a scanner (regardless of whether the scanner handles NXDN or not), you could program the site's frequencies in as a bank of conventional frequencies and then scan them (locking out the active control channel). Then, you could watch in DSDPlus as voice traffic is occurring, and you could correlate the CH#s that you see active in DSDPlus with activity you hear on a particular frequency on your scanner.

So, if you live in one of the areas above, please consider helping us map out this system in its entirety.

Please post any questions or findings related to this trunked system in this thread.

Thank you,

Mike

 

[mtindor]

Below is a list of all of the frequencies for each site, with confirmed CH # <--> frequency pairings (marked as confirmed) and speculative CH # <--> frequency pairings.

Site 1:  U of Akron (Summit Co)

CH#	frequency
---	---------
  3	423.0125	confirmed
  7	423.0375	confirmed
 23	423.1375	confirmed
 27	423.1625	confirmed
 51	423.3125	confirmed
 59	423.3625
 63	423.3875
 71	423.4375
 75	423.4625
 83	423.5125
 91	423.5625
 99	423.6125
107	423.6625
111	423.6875
187	424.1625

Site 2:  Wayne College (Wayne Co)

CH#	frequency
---	---------
491	460.0625
511	460.1875
525	460.275		confirmed
535	460.3375	confirmed
574	460.58125	confirmed

Site 3:  Medina Co University Center (Medina)

CH#	frequency
---	---------
 55	423.3375
127	423.7875
163	424.0125

Mike

 

[mtindor]

Although the "non" confirmed ch# / frequency pairings above could change, they likely will not and likely are accurate.

As such, if you have a Whistler scanner that handles NXDN, manually program in a new NXDN trunked system with three sites, and in each site add all of the frequencies listed for that site. Set appropriate wildcards. You should then be able to fully track any of those sites.

And similarly, if you are using DSDPlus (especially with two dongles, so that you can actually trunktrack instead of just monitor a single channel), you should easily be able to get that going with the confirmed / unconfirmed information above.

If anyone is game and can report on talkgroup activity on any/all sites of this system, that would be awesome. I am too far away from any of them to pick them up reliably, and I'm sure they aren't high power since they are serving just a very local area.

NOTE: If you are using a scanner, remember that the scope/range of those sites is small . You may hear the site from 10 miles away, but if you are using location-based scanning in your scanner the scanner may not even attempt to listen to the site because the sites scope/range is set small and your scanner will not listen to anything not "local" to you.

Mike

 

[mtindor]

Anybody have a guess to what "SOE PATROL" would be? All of the radios on TG 15 of this system have an alias of SOE PATROL ###, where ### is the radio ID of the unit I think.

The SOE is the mystery acronym here.

Mike

 

[wa8pyr]

Anybody have a guess to what "SOE PATROL" would be? All of the radios on TG 15 of this system have an alias of SOE PATROL ###, where ### is the radio ID of the unit I think.

The SOE is the mystery acronym here.

Mike

School Of. . . . Engineering? Education?

Special Operations Executive?

State Owned Enterprise? (this might be possible; I think it refers to facilities owned by the state but leased to private entities for business development or whatever)

 

[mtindor]

School Of. . . . Engineering? Education?

Special Operations Executive?

State Owned Enterprise? (this might be possible; I think it refers to facilities owned by the state but leased to private entities for business development or whatever)

I guess it could be one of those. But I would have thought any "patrol" would have been done by the university police. If this is the university police, their verbage doesn't give me any indication that they are. Maybe the system will be busier tomorrow and I'll hear more. It's pretty weak from Barberton with a SDR dongle antenna.

Mike

 

[fpo701]

SOE Patrol should be the campus escort service.

https://www.uakron.edu/safety/ there's a SMART MOVES section.

I've been trying to figure out the SOE portion. It isn't Engineering. I thought maybe education. The traffic does seem about moving someone from point a to point b.

 

[jdolina]

Student Officer Escort?

 

[W8SQY]

Are we sure it's SOE and not SOC - Safety Off Campus?
https://www.uakron.edu/offcampus/safety

 

[mtindor]

IT's definitely "SOE Patrol"

mike

 

[W8SQY]

Ok. I couldn't find a reference anywhere on the web of SOE Patrol. Safety of Everyone (LOL)
~~~
I suppose someone could call them and ask......

 

[Swipesy]

Over the last ten years the UA timely warnings or &#8220;Safety Advisories&#8221; peaked in 2010-11 AY at 26 with many of those occurring off campus. The most common number per year is between ten and twelve. The current academic year as of the first of August has had five.

James Gilbride
Lieutenant
Midnight Shift & SOE Supervisor

 

[MtnBiker2005]

Maybe ask this person

James Gilbride
Lieutenant
Midnight Shift & SOE Supervisor
https://www.uakron.edu/provost/docs/aar/Campus Safety with charts 8-8-18 CFO.pdf

 

[fpo701]

That PDF helped get a good name. I searched for "patrol" and found this:

UAPD is responsible for Campus Patrol, a student group supervised by the department
providing student escorts, building and room lock-out assistance, and emergency vehicle
services.

Sounds like "Campus Patrol" is a good name.

 

[W8SQY]

Meaning of SOE is still unknown though.

 

[N8MWY]

I thought I read somewhere that the BCD536HP will do NXDN with an upgrade, is that true and if so has anyone had any success?

 

[mtindor]

I thought I read somewhere that the BCD536HP will do NXDN with an upgrade, is that true and if so has anyone had any success?

Yes it will, and it works just fine as long as you know the LCNs or use the LCN finder to find them. That is all programming/operation related. the 536 works fine on NXDN.

mike

 

[LTR]

SOE = South Of Exchange

 

[mtindor]

SOE = South Of Exchange

After googling, I think I understand why you say South of Exchange. But do you know this to be fact or are you guessing based upon Googling?

Is the area South of Exchange Street the hood or something? They don't seem to have talkgroups dedicated to patrols other than SOE PATROL. So that leads me to believe that either SOE means something else, or that South of Exchange St is a much worse part of the area than anywhere else around UAkron and thus they are focusing on it.

Mike

 

[LTR]

The SOE Patrols are done by a hired company called Block by Block. The link below tells all about it if you scroll down to the Off-Campus Patrol paragraph, with the map right above it with the area South of Exchange highlighted in blue.

https://www.uakron.edu/safety/annual-safety-report/police-authority.dot