trx1 and NXDN

[scruggsy]

can someone tell me if the Whistler Trx1 uses trunk tracking when monitoring NXDN also does it follow the control channel?

 

[troymail]

Analysis and reports by several users in these forums indicate they do not use the control channel.

 

[scruggsy]

and how does this affect the monitoring of NXDN

 

[Boy77777777777]

I had to put the dwell time on 2 seconds or it would miss conversations. It still tracks nothing like the p25 trunking.

 

[troymail]

and how does this affect the monitoring of NXDN

As is always the case.... it depends.

There are a lot of different types of NXDN systems out there. On most systems, it works just fine.

From my experience, there are two things that will impact performance more than in other cases:

- if the trunked system "aggressively" changes frequencies between voice calls on the same talkgroup (i.e. responses), you can miss a lot of responses - particularly short responses like "10-4" or other one or two word messages.

- the other would be if they system/site has a large number of frequencies (which can also make the above worse)

Other things to consider include multi-site.... unlike other systems like P25, you'll only want to enable the closest site(s).

Also, from what I've seen, there are some larger NXDN systems that are simply a total mess when it comes to what we know about them.... and this can impact performance as well. I have a site for a multi state/site system near me that doesn't even seem to have a valid active licence which complicates things even further.

On the other hand, since no other scanner does NXDN, I'll stick my neck out and say it does NXDN better than any otger....

 

[wbswetnam]

It does not 'trunk track' DMR systems either, I believe. Fortunately in my area all DMR systems are single-frequency users.

 

[scruggsy]

right now i'm using SDR to monitor these frequencies, i am able to monitor PD, FD, and local utilities.
i also know that the CC changes daily, There are only 7 frequencies on this system if that gives you any indication as to how small the town is, so I'm not sure weather it would be worth purchasing for that reason only as i already have the bcd436 that covers everything else. BUT I would probably look to sell the 436 to get this one!

 

[scruggsy]

right now i'm using SDR to monitor these frequencies, i am able to monitor PD, FD, and local utilities.
i also know that the CC changes daily, There are only 7 frequencies on this system if that gives you any indication as to how small the town is, so I'm not sure weather it would be worth purchasing for that reason only as i already have the bcd436 that covers everything else. BUT I would probably look to sell the 436 to get this one!

 

[troymail]

I use all of my radios in way way or another for what they can do.... having said that, I get annoyed when the Unidentified stops on a NXDN frequency and all I get is digital noise.

 

[lanemls]

NXDN and RR monitoring.

While I can't myself answer about NXDN and trunking, I can say the TRX1 is working well in conventional NXDN railroad monitoring. While running deliveries in the Sonoma County (CA) area yesterday (Sept. 22), I could easily pickup ALL communications (dispatchers, train crews) from SMART (Sonoma-Marin Rapid Transit), which runs a portion of the old NW Pacific line (San Rafael to near Windsor). I am quite happy that Whistler added NXDN to the TRX 1. Now, I can continue to monitor future RR communications.

 

[AggieCon]

It's a medium sized system. I can't remember if the channels are in frequency order, I think they might be swapped... Pretty sure each call is on new channel.

Is there anyone nearby who could test the system? I'll send you a EZ Scan archive file with it configured.

 

[scruggsy]

It's a medium sized system. I can't remember if the channels are in frequency order, I think they might be swapped... Pretty sure each call is on new channel.

Is there anyone nearby who could test the system? I'll send you a EZ Scan archive file with it configured.

thanks, but I don't know of anyone in the area that has a way of testing it.
I may just get it anyway, it looks as if it is very comparable to the Uniden BCD436HP.