Rangecast FAQ
[FAQ-1140] How to restore trunking configuration (broadcast tower / receive site) to a prior working state


Page Type: SOLUTION


OVERVIEW

Sometimes reception of a trunked system is broken by the hub's programming changes to the selected broadcast tower and receive site. (This is most common when transitioning from the Java system to the HTML5 programming system.) This process describes how to choose a combination of broadcast tower and receive site that restores a prior known working configuration.


METHOD

1) Determine the prior date when there was good reception of the trunked radio system. (If you do not have this information, it is not possible to know what to restore.)

2) On the status page for the hub, go to the Programming tab [img-sean-statuspage]

3) In the archive of prior RCHAN files, identify the file in effect when there was good reception (note: the dates shown are the upload dates, so choose the first date from before the known good date.) [img-status-rchan-archival]

4) In that RCHAN file, find the trunked radio system

5) Locate the RSITE lines (at the top of the lines relating to the trunked radio system) [img-rchan_rsite]

6) Note the Rangecast feed site indicated for these RSITE lines (this is a two-digit number in the second column)

7) Note the name shown on these RSITE lines for the trunked system broadcast tower (fifth column)

Keep the RSITE lines available while proceeding with the following steps.

8) Open the HTML5 programmer for this hub, and navigate to the Trunking tab

9) In the table titled "Trunked System - Choose Broadcast Tower", locate the row for the trunked radio system in question [img-programmer_trunking_collapsed]

10) In the drop-down list of available broadcast towers for that trunked system, see if you can match the tower name from step 7 to one of the options. If so, select that option.

11) If you could not select a broadcast tower in the prior step:

a) Search the Rangecast channel database for a talkgroup known to be part of the trunked radio system


[FAQ-1111] Use of the RCDB (Rangecast Channel Database) query utility

The RCDB query utility is a website available for looking up channel information from the master channel database used in the HTML5 Rangecast system.




b) In the results table, on the row for a talkgroup in the trunked radio system, read the system ID (SID) from the third column [img-rcdb_sid]

c) Go back to the database query page, and search with the SID in the first filter box titled "ID (matches channel, group, system, or county)" [img-rcdb_query]

d) Near the end of the results page, there is a list of all currently known broadcast towers in the trunked radio system. Compare the list of broadcast frequencies for each site to the broadcast frequencies shown in the RSITE lines identified in step 5 [img-rcdb-site-freqs]

e) If you find a broadcast tower with matching frequencies, note the name of that broadcast tower, and in the HTML5 programmer select that broadcast tower for the trunked radio system in the table titled "Trunked System - Choose Broadcast Tower"

12) In the HTML5 programmer, in the table titled "Trunked System - Choose Scanners", find the row corresponding to this trunked system and broadcast tower. [img-programmer_trunking_sites]

13) If the feed site shown as the selected drop-down option is different from the feed site number identified in step 6 -- in that drop-down, choose the feed site identified in step 6

14) Go to the Save Options tab, and Save

15) Make the resulting RCHAN file live on the server


EXCEPTIONS

To use this process,

a) you must know a prior date when there was good reception of the trunked radio system;

b) at that time, the trunked radio system must have been received at a single Rangecast feed site;

c) at that time, the trunked radio system must have been received from a single broadcast tower;

d) the trunked radio system must still be operational

e) the formerly received broadcast tower in that trunked radio system must still be operational, and still broadcasting the talkgroups of interest

f) you must not have forced talkgroups to particular other broadcast towers as a "hub override" action (so setting a default broadcast tower for the trunked system will correct the tower selection for all of your talkgroups)


CITATIONS

INDEX


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