2021 SDR Guide Episode 9 : $25 DSDPlus P25 LSM trunking walkthrough using 1 x $25 RTL-SDRv3

[@scottw.8614]

Just purchased the Fastlane package and thanks to your channel, I was able to start decoding within a few hours. Outstanding videos! 👍🏻

[@FrugalRadio]

Good to hear. Thanks for your comment, and wishing you all the best with your monitoring!

[@Wayne-Pr]

Another great video. I was having dinner with a mate in Canberra ( Australia's) capital on Wed night 6/1 who like me was an absolute radio but until work & life got in the road, all our communications infrastructure we always brought together and would spend hours every night at our seperate houses monitoring comms and calling and emailing each other with our finds. Now we are both waiting to purchase new SDR gear once suppliers go back to work & re open after the Christmas break ( not counting Airspy) who I still have not been successful in making contact with 😭, I was telling my mate about your channel & he asked me to share it with him so he can get up to the same point as me on SDR 's. Interesting point I picked up from this video that if you want to stop the "Trunking & thus the conversation from constantly changing you have to hit the space bar, I remember back in the "Good Old Days" when I used to monitor MPT1327 & 1343 networks with the software that we used to use " Trunkview " it would stop on a trunked conversation until either the conversation ended or you manually clicked to continue to return to monitoring the control channel, to memory you also used to set a conversation time out after which trunkview would return to monitoring the control channel. Does this software not do or oiffer the same, also in Trunkview you could also "Lockout" particular trunk users & just choose to monitor your chosen users. So I have it on good authority that some "nerds" are writing / have writing some software to "unencrypt" some P25 encryptions using some SDR's. Love the latest video hope you had a great Christmas, stay safe & look forward to the next video. Rgs Wayne.

[@FrugalRadio]

Hi Wayne. Good to hear of your exploits, and that you and your mate are going to get set up again. DSDPlus doesn't seem to have a delay feature, but it does support locking out talkgroups. A few clicks of the mouse, or a brief edit of the dsdplus.groups text file will take care of that. Hope you manage to get some new gear sorted soon.

[@Wayne-Pr]

Thanks @@FrugalRadio for your informative reply as usual I'll be sure to kerp you in the loop as & when we get our new gear, we are going to setup an Australian server as well as one does not currently exist.

[@FrugalRadio]

Sounds like you have a good plan. Hope it all comes together well!

[@jj2me]

Greatly appreciate you sharing this knowledge. I'm always eager to learn more about SDR and the airwaves around us, and this truly helps. Thanks and Happy New Year!!

[@FrugalRadio]

I'm glad these videos are helpful, and appreciate your comments. Thank you for being part of the community.

[@jj2me]

@@FrugalRadio was quite fascinated by your video, and would like to do the same, but am a bit confused.. each time I try to go to the DSD Fastlane page (from the DSDplus website) to copy the email paypal address to subscribe for the fastlane updates I get taken to an all black webpage with an "X" in the upper corner. Am I doing something wrong?

[@FrugalRadio]

I just checked, and I see what you mean. Looks like something odd going on with the site. Perhaps just highlight & copy the email address, then paste into your PayPal, along with the requested comment?

[@pirate959]

Thanks for the information. I bought a rtl-sdr and having lots of fun with the information in your videos.

[@FrugalRadio]

Good to hear Dave. There is so much to discover with these amazing devices!

[@royromex1912]

Thanks for the video. I'd like to know if DSD+ fastline has a scan option. I'd like also to know if in the next your videos you can show how the DSD+ fastline decoded signals "appear and sound" in SDR#, because many time I have difficulty to recognize the type of signal in SDR# and if it can be decoded with DSD+ fastline. Also a video about how to use a scanner plugin in SDR# could be appreciated. Only some ideas for your next videos that I enjoy very much. Thank you.

[@FrugalRadio]

Hi Roy. Thanks for these video ideas. It is always helpful to know what users are looking for. Thank you for taking the time to explain! DSD+ automatically scans & tracks activity on digital trunked networks (like scanning a set of talkgroups with a scanner). However it doesn't have a frequency search mode. You generally need to know what frequency to click on. There is also a website called Sigwiki that you may be interested in. It has audio samples of most digital modes. So you can look up DMR, P25, NXDN etc and play an audio file that lets you hear what each model sounds like. Again, thanks for the suggestions - I have made note of them. And thanks for being a follower of the channel 😃

[@MatthewJohnCrittenden]

Thanks and Happy New Year. I was researching this just yesterday and have downloaded all the software and subscribed to Radio Reference immediately. Just need my first SDR dongle to arrive now.

[@FrugalRadio]

That's great Matt. What will be the first thing you try to monitor? Is there a specific system or type of user (e.g. aviation, military etc)?

[@MatthewJohnCrittenden]

@@FrugalRadio I have a long standing interest in aviation so looking there first but the trunking stuff also has an appeal so will be getting mobile with the laptop. I live a bit in the sticks so will have a travel for coverage I think.

[@FrugalRadio]

Ah ok. Thankfully aviation signals travel quite far, sir even if you are a little off the beaten track, you ought to be able to receive something. If the terrain around you is flat, you might be able to pick up signals from 30+ miles away, depending on your antenna system.

[@MatthewJohnCrittenden]

@@FrugalRadio Dongle arrived just now actually. I was playing with airband radios back in the 80s in the UK so good to get into the new tech. We are pretty flat out here (Queensland, Australia) so hoping for some good Rx around Brisbane/Amberley/Archerfield traffic.

[@FrugalRadio]

Exciting news! Enjoy your first experiments today :-)

[@spaceclouds5156]

hi, I am a noob to all of this stuff, asking this for a friend... it looks like the RCMP in your area use a APCO phase 1 system, is this an encrypted system or is it just encoded? i have read many things online by people who I assume have no idea what they are talking about, some have said that a phase 1 system can not be encrypted. Thanks for the channel and all the good infos you are spreading. this is the best SDR channel I have come across

[@FrugalRadio]

Hi. Thanks for your kind comments. The Provincial RCMP system is P25 phase 1 running encryption. Encrypted voice transmissions cannot be decoded.

[@Josh_FSD]

great video!! could you show us how you set this all up??

[@FrugalRadio]

If you check out the DMR episode, you'll get a few tips on the set up, and how the DSDPlus files work 😃

[@starstreetadventures]

Do you have a video where you show which files need to be opened? I have Fastlane and I have two dongles but it is not easy for me to tell how to start from scratch and get this working. FYI, I am in Ontario. Thanks

[@FrugalRadio]

No, I've never made a how to on getting DSD+ FL up and running. All I can really suggest is reading the text files that come with it. The key is in setting up your batch file, and FMP config files.

[@steveweston4444]

happy new year Rob, thanks for another informative radio. i experimented with this last week, but got nothing, so i must have something configured wrong. all the good stuff is encrypted here in NS. but recently even the transit busses have disappeared from my 436HP. spending most of my time on L band, but due to the lack of flights audio is slim picking on here too. stay safe bud.

[@FrugalRadio]

Hey Steve, good to hear from you again. Yeah even my ADSB tracking is a lot quieter compared to last year. Such is the way of life right now. Hopefully you get DSDPlus picking up plenty of data on the control channel out there. You'll soon be able to ascertain if even the transit have gone enc. Best wishes!

[@larryearlgosnell]

How did you get the DSD+ Current Groups window to pull up? appreciate it and really enjoy your videos.

[@FrugalRadio]

Go to the Event Log window, click Window, then select Current / Seen selections from there. You'll need to be running Fastlane version.

[@yosi2025]

i realy like your videos few issues with DSD+, i cant see all features you showed on this video, is it because i use basic version vs fastlane version? is it limited with options

[@FrugalRadio]

Hello. Yes, you are right. The free version does not have all the features that Fastlane has. It also doesn't receive updates like Fastlane.

[@yosi2025]

@@FrugalRadio can i use dsd+ to get P25 phase2?

[@FrugalRadio]

Yes. Fastlane supports phase 2 decoding, but requires 2 dongles to accomplish it 😃

[@yosi2025]

@@FrugalRadio i'm new to SDR, can you please walk me thru this procedure of how to do that? should i run dsd from SDR# then set the control channel on one of the sdr dungles? should i use only dsd+ to do that? its not that clear to me, i see peoples use sdrtrunk to do so...

[@FrugalRadio]

I have actually never monitored a P25 phase 2 system, so I am unsure of exactly how it works. All I have seen are the DSD+ Fastlane instructions (in one of the text files that is included with the download). You have to use FMP to set the frequency though, so you would not use SDR#. SDRTrunk may well decode the P25 phase 2, but again, this is not something I have tried as I don't have a strong phase 2 system nearby. Your best bet would be to read through some of the forums at RadioReference.com and see how people there have managed it.

[@T1000cy]

Any method for TIII (MOT) decoding with dsdplus FL?

[@FrugalRadio]

I don't have any TIII nearby, so I don't know how well it works for such systems I'm afraid.

[@world2give78]

Thank you very much for your time in explaining this... My area just started using TDMA mode and I cant afford Phase 2 scanners right now... I took delivery of the RTL DSD dongle yesterday but since then, I am not having any luck finding a download for DSDplus fastlane... Am I doing something wrong? The website I believe to belong to the author, It keeps taking me to a blank page when trying to download no matter what browser I use.

[@world2give78]

The reason I am asking is because the site only refers to updates? Nothing is mentioned about getting the program itself. I am confused as to why they would even have a download link then?

[@FrugalRadio]

Good morning! There is no download for Fastlane, as each copy is registered to an individual owner. I just checked the site at DSDPlus.com and it seems to be working here. From the home page, click on the DSDPlus Fast Lane Program link in the Recent Posts section on the right. Use the email address listed there to send your $10 or $25 amount via PayPal, and make sure you include your email address in the comments. You will receive a link to DSDPlus via email. Enjoy!

[@world2give78]

@@FrugalRadio I did read the comment you put in your description of this video but when I went to the Fast Lane page all it spoke about was updates and nothing about how to get the actual program.... It really threw me for a loop because there was a download button and I thought possibly something had changed in last 6 months..... So basically if I am understanding you correctly I cannot put this program on my computer until they send me a link... Hmm... well ok then... Thank you so kindly for the reply, and again for the tour of this program which will hopefully be very handy with our simulcast issues here in Ohio County WV.... ... Good day to you sir...

[@FrugalRadio]

You can download the free version of the software, just not Fastlane. For that you need the link. If it is for decoding P25, you can also try SDRTrunk which is free and works well with simulcast systems. They both take a bit of time to get up and running.

[@danedewaard8215]

Very Informative!!! Just wondering if the the software can decode P25 Phase 2 transmissions??? I have two scanners that will decode Phase 1 but I'm looking for a way to decode Phase 2. Thanks! By the way, kudos for blocking out private info!

[@FrugalRadio]

Hi Dan. Yes DSDPlus Fsatlane will decode P25 phase 2. However I believe it requires 2 dongles to be in use in order to do so, and you must be using FMP (as in this video), not virtual cables etc. I haven't actually monitored Phase 2, but here is 1 system around here that uses it, so maybe I'll give it a go sometime and make a video. Good luck!

[@danedewaard8215]

Oh Yes!!!! That would be G R E A T !!!! Thanks!

[@xray9alpha]

the last few fastlane fmp24 releases can follow trunked P25 phase 2 our statewide system uses with a single rtl-sdr

[@FrugalRadio]

Excellent!

[@youknow5569]

10/23/2022 NO GO NONE OF THE LINKS WORK???

[@karlkarlsson6635]

Hope all is good :) excited for next episode ☺️

[@FrugalRadio]

Actually it's been a rather tough week. Sometimes life isn't easy. So I hope it's been a better week for you than it has for me. Further episodes are behind schedule, because of life, but they are still in process!

[@karlkarlsson6635]

@@FrugalRadio Best wishes! stay strong! 💪 🤠🥃

[@thehulkster2707]

Is the antenna your using information anywhere ? Make model availability? Thank you for this video.

[@FrugalRadio]

I have 2 antennas I use on 700MHz systems. A pre made Larson 150/450/800 and a homemade dipole. You can see the Larson at www.hamradio.com/detail.cfm?pid=H0-005891

[@EverydayJ1786]

This information is great ! . I'll definitely be trying DSD Fastlane !

[@FrugalRadio]

Yes, it's worth spending some time setting up if you have digital systems in your area. Once you get over the initial leaning curve, it becomes a pleasure to use.

[@EverydayJ1786]

@@FrugalRadio I'm excited to start trying it out . I live about 50kms north of you . I am doubting my quality of antenna . Do you have a link to the 700mhz antenna you use . Or do you have any recommendations towards a long range antenna that would help .

[@FrugalRadio]

I just built a hall wave dipole, using a terminal block (aka choc box) strip. I used parts I had lying around, and hooked it up with a length of RG6 cable coax (much lower loss at 772 MHz than RG58). Mine is about 40ft above the shack. From there I can receive 11 sites on a normal day, and up to 28 on a good day. That's the nice thing about the Prairies! electronics-diy.com/electronic_schematic.php?id=542 shows how to make a simple dipole.

[@EverydayJ1786]

@@FrugalRadio very good thank you sir

[@FrugalRadio]

@Abde Abde, it is not possible to decrypt transmissions with DSD+. I expect in most countries it would also be illegal to decrypt encrypted transmissions anyway. All the software I show on this channel is for monitoring clear transmissions only. I also don't offer remote programming.

[@Leojim650]

clicking on the DSD+ page simply sets it Black. wtf ? what kind of site is that ? will DSD+ Fastlane decode any better than the public release ? because I've had the public program go ' garbled ' and unusable.

[@FrugalRadio]

Hi Paul. The link www.dsdplus.com/dsdplus-fast-lane-program/ is working fine here. The Fastlane release is better. It gets updated very regularly. If you are receiving garbled communications, make sure your signal level is appropriate, and your bandwidth & mode are correct (if not using FMP).

[@eonrucm]

Hi your videos are always excellent and I appreciate the way you explain the subject matter. Is there anyway to email you I don't see a contact option on your website

[@FrugalRadio]

Hello Mark. Thank you for your kind comments. At the moment I don't have a contact method published, but I do monitor and respond to comments here.

[@eonrucm]

@@FrugalRadio I understand I will post my questions and possible video suggestions under the relevant videos.

[@FrugalRadio]

Great, thank you!

[@eonrucm]

Thank you so much for your videos, the way you explain the subject is excellent. I watch them multiple times, I then stop-start the video as I copy the software setup as explained by you. No matter what I have tried or following any information on forums I could not get DSD+ to work with full keyboard command function on my SDRplay RSPdx or my RSPduo using the FMP version. So, I purchased an RTL-SDR V3 dongle and have now moved on to using SDRTrunk permanently. I am finding SDRtrunk shows far more network commands which can be mistaken for Talk Groups than DSD+, the audio is clearer, and it is far easier to look at than Unitrunker.

[@FrugalRadio]

Glad you stuck at it until you came up with a solution that works for you. We have some great softwares choices at our disposal!

[@TheFerroafondo]

Thanks for the video.

[@FrugalRadio]

You're very welcome.

[@kevincartwright4028]

Is this better than sdr# would you say?

[@FrugalRadio]

It is designed for a different purpose than SDR#, so I would hesitate to compare them. SDR# is a general purpose receive software. It could be compared with other software like SDR Console v3, SDR Angel, HD-SDR etc. It can be used to monitor the analog modes, and to resolve SSB. DSDPlus focuses on demodulating digital audio, and controlling SDR tuning in order to enable you to follow activity on a trunked system. It also handles digital audio from conventional repeaters and simplex transmissions. But you couldn't use DSDPlus to monitor a USB utility station in the HF bands. For that you want a general coverage piece of software. Personally, I use both SDR# and DSDPlus, each at different times and for different activities.

[@odalaigh]

Where do I get the fastlane software?

[@FrugalRadio]

Ah, thanks for mentioning that. I'll put a link in the description!

[@wassimmenjah3965]

Thanks for sharing!

[@FrugalRadio]

No problem Wassim. Good to have you here.

[@highflyermw0lkx311]

This is so very helpful, thankyou

[@FrugalRadio]

You are very welcome. Thanks for commenting!

[@KonstantinSDR]

Super!

[@FrugalRadio]

Thank you very much!

[@KonstantinSDR]

@@FrugalRadio Разместил видео в нашей группе про SDR vk.com/dvb_tv?w=wall-45213244_26623%2Fall

[@FrugalRadio]

Thanks for the promotion!

[@dieussoitsainvil8702]

Hello

[@FrugalRadio]

Hello

[@WXFD-Media]

Great information to those just getting into DSD+. I've been running it for nearly 6 years, so most of it is old news to mean, but learned a few new things today! WX9SAR

[@FrugalRadio]

That's great Terry. Lots of things hidden away in DSD+.