Woodway, Texas Trunking

[Ensnared]

Current Status

Yesterday, I was riding around the area. Still, to this day, I'm not hearing anything outside of the immediate area of Woodway. For a system that has been heard by this listener in remote areas like Hamilton, Mexia, etc., this system is not on full power.

When I was leaving Waco moving south at highway 84 and highway 6 south, I could barely get a reading in analyze mode. Back when Woodway was working on the system, I could no longer hear them at the intersection of Waco Drive and New Road.

For those of you attempting to figure this out, I'm still working on it.

Here is what perplexes me. Typically, when I run Pro96Com, I see a control channel and at least one AC showing up. But, now I'm only seeing the CC, several A-V frequencies, & one "I" frequency in operation. That dog don't hunt.

Perhaps, I need to draft a freedom of information form & submit it to find the actual fleet maps, the plan given to me by Waco PD.

Oh, well, back to Oklahoma to attend another funeral.

 

[KevinC]

A channel showing as "AC" means your saved information for that system has seen this frequency as an active control channel (A=Alternate CC, C=Control channel). So a frequency now showing as an "A" only means you haven't seen it as an active control channel, the system is broadcasting it as an alternate CC though. You probably somehow dumped the old saved information, are using a different computer or started a fresh system config file.

 

[Ensnared]

Fresh Readings

A channel showing as "AC" means your saved information for that system has seen this frequency as an active control channel (A=Alternate CC, C=Control channel). So a frequency now showing as an "A" only means you haven't seen it as an active control channel, the system is broadcasting it as an alternate CC though. You probably somehow dumped the old saved information, are using a different computer or started a fresh system config file.

The three options metioned: a) no, I didn't dump saved information since I don't save them; b) using same computer; c) yes, this is a fresh system configuration that reads differently from the original Pro96Com reading.

When I came into town last night, I could not hear Woodway, Lorena, or Hewitt. This is most unusual and uncharacteristic of this system when it is working well.

I will be running another analysis later today, possibly into the evening hours when this system is very active.

 

[Russell]

I was in Waco this past weekend and had a short opportunity to run UniTrunker on Woodway. Right off the bat I noticed the control channels did not match the DB. I believe Ensnared posted this information previously but it did not register (to me). Entering all frequencies as he has suggested will avoid the "No Control Channel" thing when they switch things around. The frequencies posted do match UniTrunker.

Russell

 

[Ensnared]

Thanks, Very Much!

I was in Waco this past weekend and had a short opportunity to run UniTrunker on Woodway. Right off the bat I noticed the control channels did not match the DB. I believe Ensnared posted this information previously but it did not register (to me). Entering all frequencies as he has suggested will avoid the "No Control Channel" thing when they switch things around. The frequencies posted do match UniTrunker.

Russell

I was going to re-submit the operating frequencies to you, but I have been very busy programming for a trip to Alabama. I have a new clean way of submitting what I see on Pro96Com.

Recently, I've noticed a substantial increase in the signal strength across town.

Again, when the system switched over to the marine frequencies, I was able to see all of the existing system frequencies. Since then, when I've run this program, all of the original post-marine frequencies have not appeared. To me, this indicates that the system demand has not elicited the entire system frequencies. Well, that is my take on it.

If you like, I will re-submit the information showing the original post-marine frequencies along with the current ones. Let me know. Otherwise, I will assume you are making the corrections to the RR DB.

Bravo!

 

[Ensnared]

Woodway TSYS-Stable

It should be noted that the RR DB does not accurately reflect the CC's or AC's of the TSYS. It should be understood that anyone wishing to download this system do so in a manner that includes all of the system frequencies listed.

At present, the Pro96Com reading shows the following:

02-2135 161.8125 c
02-2150 161.8500 av
02-2170 161.9000 av
02-2190 161.9500 i

So, I've communicated with the person who is responsible for changing the RR DB & this is the way things are going to stay on this system.

Again, when Woodway was installing the new marine band frequencies, I was able to see all of the system frequencies operating. Readers can review the list of frequencies I previously posted if they want to include all of the system frequencies identified.

At present, there is very little activity on the Woodway System. It tends to get more active in the evening hours when they are harvesting drivers on the highway 84 corridor. If you are toting any cannabis & speeding through this area, you will likely meet the K9 unit. That dog earns his keep.

I should also indicate that I'm receiving this system quite well around the area. It seems that Woodway has two sites listed under their call sign. One of these is located at 300 Merrifield Drive. I don't know whether there will be different readings, but I aim to park beneath the other site to get another reading. The location of these two sites does not show in the RR DB under locations.

 

[Ensnared]

TG 53 Monitored Yesterday

The other day, when I was running Pro96Com on the Woodway system, I happened to run across a talk group I've not heard in some time. I searched the thread & did not find any reference to it. So, I will be parked on this TG today to determine who is talking.

 

[Ensnared]

Analysis with PSR 800

I am within 5km of the repeater and having a *really* hard time picking this system up indoors using a PSR-800 with a RH77CA. Outdoors I can pick it up marginally, but there tends to be a lot of drop-outs. Last night, it seemed like the system was completely down as I wasn't even able to hear a raw CC on 161.08250 with a 396xt connected to an external antenna.

I'd be worried if I was an officer who had to rely on this system with my life.

I am rather curious about whether or not you're able to hear Woodway now that they seem to have increased power back to normal.

I am curious. Back when GRE used to provide support via email, I learned that my PSR 500 was not setup to analyze P25 VHF trunking systems like Woodway. Hence, my radio does not show the same amount of data I see on the screen when analyzing a P25 700/800 mhz trunking system. The GRE representative stated that the PSR 800 works well with analyzing P25 VHF trunking systems.

Have you tried running an analysis? Also, are you receiving Woodway better than before?

 

[Ensnared]

Unitrunker

I was in Waco this past weekend and had a short opportunity to run UniTrunker on Woodway. Right off the bat I noticed the control channels did not match the DB. I believe Ensnared posted this information previously but it did not register (to me). Entering all frequencies as he has suggested will avoid the "No Control Channel" thing when they switch things around. The frequencies posted do match UniTrunker.

Russell

To me, Unitrunker is a very complicated program. I thought Pro96Com was to be used for P25 systems. Yes, I've noticed that Unitrunker has P25 capabilities listed, but I cannot seem to get it to work on my PSR 500. Do I need a discriminator tap to get this to work on Unitrunker, particularly for Woodway.

On Unitrunker, there are various tables set for 800 mhz systems, but I never observed a band plan for P25 VHF. Do you have any help pages? The Unitrunker Guide does not seem to help me much.

 

[nd5y]

You should not need a discriminator tap on a PSR 500. I don't have a GRE scanner so I don't know if you need to do anything special to it to make the control channel data come out of the jack.

In Unitrunker you need to go to the receiver window and set the receiver type to "inline" and model to "PSR 500".

You do not need a band plan for pure P25 systems like Woodway. On those the band plan tab only shows the band plan data it receives from the control channel.

 

[Ensnared]

Next Venture: Unitrunker for Woodwy

You should not need a discriminator tap on a PSR 500. I don't have a GRE scanner so I don't know if you need to do anything special to it to make the control channel data come out of the jack.

In Unitrunker you need to go to the receiver window and set the receiver type to "inline" and model to "PSR 500".

You do not need a band plan for pure P25 systems like Woodway. On those the band plan tab only shows the band plan data it receives from the control channel.

I've printed the various pages associated with setting Unitrunker up. I intend to go through each page & explicitly follow the instructions.

In the past, I've actually seen the icon associated with the "receiver window", but not now. It was a rectangular-shaped icon. Now, I cannot seem to find it. I've never successfully tracked any P25 system using Unitrunker, but I'm going to give it a go on Woodway.

Today, as I indicated, I heard new activity on TG53. To me, it sounded like someone setting up on someone watching & waiting. There was a 45 gap between two radio transmissions between LE officers today. They were watching someone. But, I could not discern what, where or who. Otherwise, I would have made a trip to the area to do direct observation.

I don't know whether I would receive better data using Unitrunker as opposed to Pro96Com. But, I will attempt this tomorrow when I have a fresh 5 cups of Java in my veins and brain.

Thanks.

 

[KevinC]

I don't have a GRE scanner so I don't know if you need to do anything special to it to make the control channel data come out of the jack.

You have to have "Enable CC Dump" checked.

 

[Ensnared]

Snag Encountered

You have to have "Enable CC Dump" checked.

From the very start of getting this program to work, I've already encountered an issue that is not really explained in the "Unitrunker Guide." The instructions mentioned going to "Motorola" and then selecting the 800 mhz drop down menu. Well, this is certainly not 800 mhz, it is VHF. Still, I'm going to follow these instructions to the letter and see what flies.

 

[Ensnared]

Unitrunker: Running Now

I followed the instructions, line by line. Consequently, I managed to get this working. However, the data obtained from this program did not yield any different information than what was obtained through Pro96Com. I'm still seeing the four frequencies. At least I got it working.

Back to the issue of determining the Talk Group 54. Yesterday, I heard two LE officers talking to one another. The two LE officers talking were wanting to meet near "the buses and railroad track." So, I marched out toward one of the schools nearby. I did not find a track and bus barn nearby, but I did observe a black Crown Victoria coming down the road. They also talked about meeting at the court house. This might be a detective channel. I will continue to monitor this TG.

 

[Ensnared]

New Talk Group

Today, I heard someone on the Woodway TSYS keying up. It was TG5. I could not identify who was talking, but they were ordering BBQ. It sounded like a talk channel. In the background, I heard an echo like it was in a day room or very large room.

 

[Ensnared]

Woodway TG5 Very Active

Last night, I heard TG5 with a significant increase in traffic. I heard Detectives & traffic about Rescue & fire hoses. I'm not sure if this is not a Multi-tactical channel. But, I will continue to monitor before submitting.

 

[Ensnared]

Unitrunker Vs Pro96Com

I was in Waco this past weekend and had a short opportunity to run UniTrunker on Woodway. Right off the bat I noticed the control channels did not match the DB. I believe Ensnared posted this information previously but it did not register (to me). Entering all frequencies as he has suggested will avoid the "No Control Channel" thing when they switch things around. The frequencies posted do match UniTrunker.

Russell

Now that I believe Woodway has finally finished their installation & is working with a stronger signal, I am running two different analysis systems, Pro96Com & Unitrunker. Hence, I believe the system is finally stable.

Both of these are showing the same basic information; however, Pro-96Com is showing an additional frequency not reflected in Unitrunker, the "i" channel. Otherwise, everything else is showing the same information.

I have not seen the following frequencies being used as I once indicated in post 194:

155.310 c
155.535 cv
155.730 iv
155.955 iv

So, here are the following frequencies I'm seeing in Pro96Com as of this date (see attached pic). If you agree with my reading, I will make a formal submission to you to update the RR DB. Since I don't want to submit inaccurate information, I would like some feedback first.

Also, I'm still hearing Woodway analog transmissions on 155.88, the same as the P25 traffic.

Cheers

 

[nd5y]

I have not seen the following frequencies being used as I once indicated in post 194:

155.310 c
155.535 cv
155.730 iv
155.955 iv

It is possible that one or more of those are still part of the system but set to only be used when all of the 161 MHz frequencies are busy.

 

[Ensnared]

System Is Stable

It is possible that one or more of those are still part of the system but set to only be used when all of the 161 MHz frequencies are busy.

That is what I thought, but was unsure of such. In fact, I've made that comment before; however, since I don't install these radio systems, I was only guessing.

Woodway is hardly ever overwhelmed with radio traffic. So, a demand on the system is hardly ever experienced based on what I've witnessed.

But, if something wild ever occurs, I will certainly activate one of these two analyzing systems.

Thanks.

 

[nd5y]

ULS License - Public Safety Pool, Conventional License - WQSV950 - WOODWAY, CITY OF
New license issued to Woodway. I don't know if it is part of the trunked system or something else.