XPR7550 Roaming questions?

[kk4mei]

I have set up the roaming feature on my 7550 to with in my local system everything seems to work fine but as I am new I would like to know if it's working as it should?

When roaming if the PTT is pushed the radio attempts to wake up what ever channels are programed within that roam list. Once it finds an available channel it allows you to transmit. (all this woks fine)

After it finds a channel and after you transmit does the radio lock on to that channel or does it go back into roaming? Also what RSSI level are you using with roaming?

 

[TampaTyron]

Even if you have everything programmed up correctly, it will still take some experimentation to get the roaming RSSI thresh hold level adjusted properly. For example, an IP Site Connect system setup on towers along the Interstate has a very different level setting than say a large hotel complex with many underground floors. Your best best it to get the radio into RSSI mode and see what levels you are experiencing. TT

I have set up the roaming feature on my 7550 to with in my local system everything seems to work fine but as I am new I would like to know if it's working as it should?

When roaming if the PTT is pushed the radio attempts to wake up what ever channels are programed within that roam list. Once it finds an available channel it allows you to transmit. (all this woks fine)

After it finds a channel and after you transmit does the radio lock on to that channel or does it go back into roaming? Also what RSSI level are you using with roaming?

 

[mikewazowski]

When roaming if the PTT is pushed the radio attempts to wake up what ever channels are programed within that roam list. Once it finds an available channel it allows you to transmit. (all this woks fine)



After it finds a channel and after you transmit does the radio lock on to that channel or does it go back into roaming? Also what RSSI level are you using with roaming?

No, that's not how it works.

When in receive, your radio watches for the beacon from the local repeater. When it falls below a certain threshold, it will check the other repeaters in your roam list and attempt to find one with a better RSSI. As long as the beacon remains above that level, it will not roam. When it falls below that level, it will search out a better repeater.

Setup a dummy channel with a frequency not used in your area and after a while, your radio should indicate the repeater that it's found.

 

[kk4mei]

No, that's not how it works.

When in receive, your radio watches for the beacon from the local repeater. When it falls below a certain threshold, it will check the other repeaters in your roam list and attempt to find one with a better RSSI. As long as the beacon remains above that level, it will not roam. When it falls below that level, it will search out a better repeater.

Setup a dummy channel with a frequency not used in your area and after a while, your radio should indicate the repeater that it's found.

Is this setup using a roam list or the channel pool?

When roaming my radio doesn't lock onto a channel until I press the PTT then it seems to search for a repeater when it finds one I will get the transmit tone. The MARC system repeaters around me are very silent maybe the reason why the radio never finds a signal to lock onto.

 

[kk4mei]

Even if you have everything programmed up correctly, it will still take some experimentation to get the roaming RSSI thresh hold level adjusted properly. For example, an IP Site Connect system setup on towers along the Interstate has a very different level setting than say a large hotel complex with many underground floors. Your best best it to get the radio into RSSI mode and see what levels you are experiencing. TT

How would I get my radio into RSSI mode?

 

[mikewazowski]

Is this setup using a roam list or the channel pool?



When roaming my radio doesn't lock onto a channel until I press the PTT then it seems to search for a repeater when it finds one I will get the transmit tone. The MARC system repeaters around me are very silent maybe the reason why the radio never finds a signal to lock onto.

Roam list. Channel pool is a Capacity Plus feature.

Perhaps the MARC repeaters near you don't have their site beacon turned on.

 

[mikewazowski]

Sorry, my mistake. I was just looking through the Motorola System Planner and I see you can initiate a site scan by pressing the PTT button. That's known as an Active Search. Your radio will attempt to wake up the home repeater and if not successful, it will continue down the roam list attempting to wake up other repeaters.
The passive search is the method I described where the radio monitors the site RSSI and when it falls below a certain level, it will search out a new repeater.

 

[kk4mei]

Sorry, my mistake. I was just looking through the Motorola System Planner and I see you can initiate a site scan by pressing the PTT button. That's known as an Active Search. Your radio will attempt to wake up the home repeater and if not successful, it will continue down the roam list attempting to wake up other repeaters.
The passive search is the method I described where the radio monitors the site RSSI and when it falls below a certain level, it will search out a new repeater.

Okay so how do I set up passive roaming? I'm guessing by unchecking active roam when creating a roam list.

On another note I notice some digital repeaters don't put out their call sign. Do they follow a different set of rules than analog?

 

[TampaTyron]

Once the radio is powered up and sitting on a channel, rapidly press the Left arrow key three times, then the Right arrow key three times. You may need newer firmware as this feature was recently released (I know I had to update a few SL7550 to do RSSI display..... which is 3 up arrows, then 3 down arrows). TT

How would I get my radio into RSSI mode?

 

[kk4mei]

Once the radio is powered up and sitting on a channel, rapidly press the Left arrow key three times, then the Right arrow key three times. You may need newer firmware as this feature was recently released (I know I had to update a few SL7550 to do RSSI display..... which is 3 up arrows, then 3 down arrows). TT

okay thanks that worked but how do I use this information the help set the RSSI setting in roam?

 

[TampaTyron]

Unfortunately, that is where you will have to experiment a little. We use this information as well as in-building coverage enhancements to make ourselves very appealing to high profile customers. If I blabbed all of our secret sauce on the internet, then I would be out of a job! My advice is to to "think like a radio" which means look at what your radio can see and work through how the radio makes decisions.TT

okay thanks that worked but how do I use this information the help set the RSSI setting in roam?