would this be a PassPort system?

[AZhummer]

If I saw a HT 1250 LS that would say "searching" and randomly show two different repeater site alpha tags come up.. As if it was in range of two repeater sites and automatically seeking the closest..

and the home channel for the system has a idle blip every 3 seconds. and I hear occasional simulcasting of a transmission on 2 different repeater sites.

or is there such thing as this "smartzone" style in another LTR flavor.. just trying to see how I can go about in playing with the LTR decoding utilities - by first identifying the system type...

also, I tried putting the home channel into a BC780XLT and marked the freq as an "L" for LTR trunk mode... it would not spit out ID's during transmissions.. If I recall correctly a regular LTR system would show ID's just by hearing the transmissions.

TIA

 

[EricCottrell]

Hello,

Some models of the HT1250 LS will do Passport LTR and if there are no audible signaling tones then I would say it is a Passport System.

Passport uses a different data frame size so the BC780 will not decode it. Passport also allows seamless (automatic) roaming and some groups will appear on multiple sites. It is similar to Smartzone.

This program with the right data slicer (or using Slicer point 'A' in the BC780) will detect the three major types of LTR.
http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=10074

Knowledge of Passport LTR is growing every month as systems are monitored. This thread gives a running history from last November. You can see how the view of the data format has changed.
http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=5949

Any logging of a Passport system would be great because alot of the "on-the-ground" details of how it works are lacking.

73 Eric

 

[mr_hankey]

another trick is to use a program like Eric's LTRTrunker to figure out the size of each site and then program the INPUTS into a handheld scanner.

you would get a conversation from the LTR Passport system if it's users were within about a mile from you and your scanner.

yesterday, a friend called and told me the old PRO-63 actually squelches out the LTR "blip" - he was using it to monitor one of the Passport systems we are decoding and mentioned the conversations were blip-free...still not terribly trackable, but at least blip-free.

AZ, it's interesting that you mention the 2 different repeater alpha tags - i'm using Eric's program to monitor 2 Passport sites near me and notice that sometimes the EXACT SAME conversation comes up on 463.6625 and 463.7750, although the 2 sites map out as sysid 1034 and 1037...might be an indication as to how Passport works (like a cellphone network).

also, i've noticed some local LTR Regular systems suddenly flash "LTR Passport" when a certain user wanders into the network - could be that we here in San Antonio are running a mixed Regular/Passport LTR network...

 

[INDY72]

I have also noticed when monitoring an LTR Passport system with two scanners, that the same comms will be on two different chans. And from what I have been told, any LTR capable radio can use any of the LTR systems it travels through. EX: A deputy sheriff that is in an LTR regular system travels into a Passport area, his mobile is able to broadcast on the Passport system with no difficulty, and so forth. In many ways similar to how some Motorola systems work...say a type II radio can operate on a type I system. It is logical to assume that LTR systems are desinged to be interoperable with other LTR systems no matter what flavor... I would be curious to see if it holds out for Multinet as well.

 

[EricCottrell]

Hello,

I generally find that Multinet radios will also do Regular LTR and Conventional. Passport radios will also do Regular LTR and Conventional. I have not seen a radio that does all three. If a user needs to use a Regular LTR system and a Passport system then the radio shop will set it up. It all depends on the system.

I hear it is possible to combine both Regular LTR and Passport on one system but I do not know the details. Passport and Regular frames may appear on the same frequency and I do not know if the LTRDump/LTRTrunk will handle it properly.

I am planning on a run down to CT to do some more checking on the "local" Passport system. Some of the sites used by the Passport system in CT are licensed for alot of frequencies and only 4 or 5 are used for Passport. The web site mentions both a roaming and non-roaming services. I suspect that each site may have separate groups of frequencies for roaming and non-roaming.

The Sysid is really the site ID and both sites are part of the same system. I assume a group is on a site because at least one mobile on that group has registered. I guess I need to see if there is a real network ID and to use it with the site id similar to Motorola Smartzone on mtrunker.

I would be interested in any logs. It would help greatly in figuring out Passport especially if it is mixed Regular LTR/Passport.

Thanks and 73 Eric

 

[mr_hankey]

ok, this is weird.

i was monitoring a local Passport site last night (1037) when, sometime after midnight, the system started logging as a Regular LTR!

there were no users, and no LCN's were logged, so i'm not sure what's going on with that...

will keep looking at this after work.

 

[LTR]

Motorola makes 2 different versions of the HT-1250LS radio.

The HT-1250LS is a LTR/conventional radio and an HT-1250LS+ is an LTR/PassPort/conventional radio.

You can also have both LTR and PassPort running on the same system. The idle channel packets on frequencies that are LTR are usually at 10 seconds, while the PassPort frequencies are at 2-3 seconds.

The only PassPort frequencies that need to be at 2-3 seconds are the home channels, (although all of them can be at 2-3 seconds). So a frequency can be set up as a "trunk off" channel for either PassPort or LTR with a 10 second idle packet.