Trunk Recorder - v3.3

Note: v3.3 changes the format of the config.json file. Modulation type, Squelch and audio levels are now set in each System instead of under a Source. See sample config files in the /example folder. Config files are also now versioned, to help catch misconfigurations. After you have updated your config file, add "ver": 2, to the top. The processing of SmartNet talkgroup numbers as also been fixed. The decimal talkgroup numbers will now match what is in Radio Reference. Please update your talkgroup.csv, if needed.

Note: v3.1.1 changes from using ffmpeg to fdkaac and sox for compressing audio for OpenMHz. Both utilities can be easily installed using apt-get

Note: v3.1.3 adds a dependency for libcurl, you can install it thru apt-get with sudo apt-get install libcurl4-openssl-dev.

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Overview

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- Google Groups - and don't forget the Wiki

Trunk Recorder is able to record the calls on trunked and conventional radio systems. It uses 1 or more Software Defined Radios (SDRs) to do this. The SDRs capture large swatches of RF and then use software to process what was received. GNURadio is used to do this processing because it provides lots of convenient RF blocks that can be pieced together to allow for complex RF processing. The libraries from the amazing OP25 project are used for a lot of the P25 functionality. Multiple radio systems can be recorded at the same time.

Trunk Recorder currently supports the following:

• Trunked P25 & SmartNet Systems
• Conventional P25 & analog systems, where each group has a dedicated RF channel
• SDRs that use the OsmoSDR source (HackRF, RTL - TV Dongles, BladeRF, and more)
• Ettus USRPs
• P25 Phase 1, P25 Phase 2 & Analog voice channels

Trunk Recorder has been tested on Ubuntu (14.04, 16.04, 16.10, 17.04, 17.10, 18.04 & 20.04), Arch Linux (2017.03.01), Debian 9.x and macOS (10.10, 10.11, 10.12, 10.13, 10.14). It has been successfully used with several SDRs including the Ettus USRP B200, B210, B205, a bank of 3 RTL-SDR dongles, and the HackRF Jawbreaker.

Wiki Pages

Install

Install Required Prequisites

• Docker
• Ubuntu
• Ubuntu minimal
• Arch Linux
• macOS
• Raspberry Pi Buster Install (Also works for the ASUS Tinker Board [S])

Building

• Building Trunk Recorder

Setup

• Configuring a system

Running

• Running Trunk Recorder

Playback & Sharing

By default, Trunk Recorder just dumps a lot of recorded files into a directory. Here are a couple of options to make it easier to browse through recordings and share them on the Internet.

• OpenMHz - This is my free hosted platform for sharing recordings

• Trunk Player - A great Python based server, if you want to you want to run your own

• Rdio Scanner - Provide a good looking, scanner style interface for listening to Trunk Recorder

• FAQ

Configure

Configuring Trunk Recorder and getting things setup can be rather complex. I am looking to make things simpler in the future.

config.json

This file is used to configure how Trunk Recorder is setup. It defines the SDRs that are available and the trunk system that will be recorded. Trunk Recorder will look for a config.json file in the same directory as it is being run in. You can point it to a different config file by using the --config argument on the command line, for example: ./recorder --config=examples/config-wmata-rtl.json. The following is an example for my local system in DC, using an Ettus B200:

{
    "sources": [{
        "center": 857000000.0,
        "rate": 8000000.0,
        "squelch": -50,
        "error": 0,
        "gain": 40,
        "antenna": "TX/RX",
        "digitalRecorders": 2,
        "driver": "usrp",
        "device": "",
        "modulation": "qpsk"
    }],
    "systems": [{
        "control_channels": [855462500],
        "type": "p25",
        "talkgroupsFile": "ChanList.csv",
        "unitTagsFile": "UnitTags.csv"
    }]
}

Here are the different arguments:

• ver - the version of formatting for the config file. This should be set to 2. Trunk Recorder will not start without this set.
• sources - an array of JSON objects that define the different SDRs available. The following options are used to configure each Source:
  • center - the center frequency in Hz to tune the SDR to
  • rate - the sampling rate to set the SDR to, in samples / second
  • error - the tuning error for the SDR in Hz. This is the difference between the target value and the actual value. So if you wanted to recv 856MHz but you had to tune your SDR to 855MHz (when set to 0ppm) to actually receive it, you would set this to -1000000. You should also probably get a new SDR if it is off by this much.
  • ppm - the tuning error for the SDR in ppm (parts per million), as an alternative to error above. Use a program like GQRX to find an accurate value.
  • agc - whether or not to enable the SDR's automatic gain control (if supported). This is false by default. It is not recommended to set this as it often yields worse performance compared to a manual gain setting.
  • gain - the RF gain to set the SDR to. Use a program like GQRX to find a good value.
  • ifGain - [AirSpy/hackrf only] sets the if gain.
  • bbGain - [hackrf only] sets the bb gain.
  • mixGain - [AirSpy only] sets the mix gain.
  • lnaGain - [AirSpy/bladeRF only] sets the lna gain.
  • vga1Gain - [bladeRF only] sets the vga1 gain.
  • vga2Gain - [bladeRF only] sets the vga2 gain.
  • antenna - [usrp] lets you select which antenna jack to user on devices that support it
  • digitalRecorders - the number of Digital Recorders to have attached to this source. This is essentially the number of simultaneous calls you can record at the same time in the frequency range that this Source will be tuned to. It is limited by the CPU power of the machine. Some experimentation might be needed to find the appropriate number.
  • analogRecorders - the number of Analog Recorder to have attached to this source. This is the same as Digital Recorders except for Analog Voice channels.
  • debugRecorders - the number of Debug Recorder to have attached to this source. Debug Recorders capture a raw sample that you can examine later using GNURadio Companion. This is helpful if you want to fine tune your the error and gain for this Source.
  • driver - the GNURadio block you wish to use for the SDR. The options are usrp & osmosdr.
  • device - osmosdr device name and possibly serial number or index of the device, see osmosdr page for each device and parameters. You only need to do this if there are more than one. (bladerf=00001 for BladeRF with serial 00001 or rtl=00923838 for RTL-SDR with serial 00923838, just airspy for an airspy) It seems that when you have 5 or more RTLSDRs on one system you need to decrease the buffer size. I think it has something to do with the driver. Try adding buflen: "device": "rtl=serial_num,buflen=65536", there should be no space between buflen and the comma
• systems - An array of JSON objects that define the trunking systems that will be recorded. The following options are used to configure each System.
  • control_channels - (For trunked systems) an array of the control channel frequencies for the system, in Hz. The frequencies will automatically be cycled through if the system moves to an alternate channel.
  • analogLevels - the amount of amplification that will be applied to the analog audio. The value should be between 1-32. The default value is 8.
  • digitalLevels - the amount of amplification that will be applied to the digital audio. The value should be between 1-16. The default value is 1.
  • modulation - the type of modulation that the system uses. The options are qpsk & fsk4. It is possible to have a mix of sources using fsk4 and qpsk demodulation.
  • squelch - Squelch in DB, this needs to be set for all convetional systems. The squelch setting is also used for analog talkgroups in a SmartNet system. I generally use -60 for my rtl-sdr. Defaults to 0, which is disabled.
  • maxDev - Allows you to set the maximum deviation for analog channels. The default is 4000. If you analog recordings sound good or if you have a completely digital system, then there is no need to tough this.
  • channels - (For conventional systems) an array of the channel frequencies, in Hz, used for the system. The channels get assigned a virtual talkgroup number based upon their position in the array. Squelch levels need to be specified for the Source(s) being used.
  • alphatags - (Optional, For conventional systems) an array of the alpha tags, these will be outputed to the logfiles talkgroupDisplayFormat is set to include tags. Alpha tags will be applied to the channels in the order the values appear in the array.
  • type - the type of trunking system. The options are smartnet, p25, conventional & conventionalP25.
  • talkgroupsFile - this is a CSV file that provides information about the talkgroups. It determines whether a talkgroup is analog or digital, and what priority it should have. This file should be located in the same directory as the trunk-recorder executable.
  • unitTagsFile - this is a CSV files that provides information about the unit tags. It allows a Unit ID to be assigned a name. This file should be located in the same directory as the trunk-recorder executable. The format is 2 columns, the first being the decimal number of the Unit ID, the second is the Unit Name,
  • recordUnknown - record talkgroups if they are not listed in the Talkgroups File. The options are true and false (without quotes). The default is true.
  • shortName - this is a nickname for the system. It is used to help name and organize the recordings from this system. It should be 4-6 letters with no spaces.
  • uploadScript - this script is called after each recording has finished. Checkout encode-upload.sh.sample as an example. The script should be located in the same directory as the trunk-recorder executable.
  • unitScript - (Optional) run a script when a unit radio registers (is turned on), affiliates (joins a talk group), deregisters (is turned off), sends an acknowledgment response or transmits. Passed as parameters: shortName radio ID on|join|off|ackresp|call. On joins and transmissions, <talk group> is passed as a fourth parameter.
  • apiKey - (Optional, only if uploadServer set) System-specific API key for uploading calls to OpenMHz.com. See the Config tab for your system in OpenMHz to find what the value should be.
  • broadcastifyApiKey - (Optional) System-specific API key for Broadcastify Calls
  • broadcastifySystemId - (Optional) System ID for Broadcastify Calls (this is an integer, and different from the RadioReference system ID)
  • audioArchive - should the recorded audio files be kept after successfully uploading them. The options are true and false (without quotes). The default is true.
  • callLog - should a json file with the call details be kept after successful uploads. The options are true and false (without quotes). The default is true.
  • minDuration - the minimum call (transmission) duration in seconds (decimals allowed), calls below this number will have recordings deleted and will not be uploaded. The default is 0 (no minimum duration).
  • bandplan - [SmartNet only] this is the SmartNet bandplan that will be used. The options are 800_standard, 800_reband, 800_splinter, and 400_custom. 800_standard is the default.
  • bandplanBase - [SmartNet, 400_custom only] this is for the 400_custom bandplan only. This is the base frequency, specified in Hz.
  • bandplanHigh - [SmartNet, 400_custom only] this is the highest channel in the system, specified in Hz.
  • bandplanSpacing - [SmartNet, 400_custom only] this is the channel spacing, specified in Hz. Typically this is 25000.
  • bandplanOffset - [SmartNet, 400_custom only] this is the offset used to calculate frequencies.
  • talkgroupDisplayFormat - the display format for talkgroups in the console and log file. the options are id, id_tag, tag_id. The default is id. [id_tag and tag_id is only valid if talkgroupsFile is specified]
  • hideEncrypted - hide encrypted talkgroups log entries, The options are true or false, without quotes. The default is false.
  • hideUnknownTalkgroups - hide unknown talkgroups from log, The options are true or false, without quotes. The default is false.
  • decodeMDC - (Optional, For conventional systems) enable the MDC-1200 signaling decoder. The options are true or false, without quotes. The default is false.
  • decodeFSync - (Optional, For conventional systems) enable the Fleet Sync signaling decoder. The options are true or false, without quotes. The default is false.
  • decodeStar - (Optional, For conventional systems) enable the Star signaling decoder. The options are true or false, without quotes. The default is false.
  • decodeTPS - (Optional, For conventional systems) enable the Motorola Tactical Public Safety (aka FDNY Fireground) signaling decoder. The options are true or false, without quotes. The default is false.
• defaultMode - Default mode to use when a talkgroups is not listed in the talkgroupsFile. The options are digital or analog. The default is digital. This argument is global and not system-specific, and only affects Type II smartnet trunking systems which can have both analog and digital talkpaths whereas p25 trunking systems don't have analog talkpaths.
• captureDir - the complete path to the directory where recordings should be saved.
• callTimeout - a Call will stop recording and save if it has not received anything on the control channel, after this many seconds. The default is 3.
• logFile - save the console output to a file. The options are true or false, without quotes. The default is false.
• frequencyFormat - the display format for frequencies to display in the console and log file. The options are exp, mhz & hz. The default is exp.
• controlWarnRate - Log the control channel decode rate when it falls bellow this threshold. The default is 10. The value of -1 will always log the decode rate.
• statusAsString - Show status as strings instead of numeric values The options are true or false, without quotes. The default is true.
• statusServer - The URL for a WebSocket connect. Trunk Recorder will send JSON formatted update message to this address. HTTPS is currently not supported, but will be in the future. OpenMHz does not support this currently. JSON format of messages
• broadcastSignals - (Optional) Broadcast decoded signals to the status server. The default is false.
• uploadServer - (Optional) The URL for uploading to OpenMHz. The default is an empty string. See the Config tab for your system in OpenMHz to find what the value should be.
• broadcastifyCallsServer - (Optional) The URL for uploading to Broadcastify Calls. The default is an empty string. Refer to Broadcastify's wiki for the upload URL.
• logLevel - (Optional) the logging level to display in the console and log file. The options are trace, debug, info, warning, error & fatal. The default is info.
• debugRecorder - Will attach a debug recorder to each Source. The debug recorder will allow you to examine the channel of a call be recorded. There is a single Recorder per Source. It will monitor a recording and when it is done, it will monitor the next recording started. The information is sent over a network connection and can be viewed using the udp-debug.grc graph in GnuRadio Companion. The setting is either true or false and the default is false.
• debugRecorderPort - The network port that the Debug Recorders will start on. For each Source an additional Debug Recorder will be added and the port used will be one higher than the last one. For example the ports for a system with 3 Sources would be: 1234, 12345, 1236. The default value is 1234.
• debugRecorderAddress - The network address of the computer that will be monitoring the Debug Recorders. UDP packets will be sent from Trunk Recorder to this computer. The default is "127.0.0.1" which is the address used for monitoring on the same computer as Trunk Recorder.

talkgroupsFile

This file provides info on the different talkgroups in a trunking system. A lot of this info can be found on the Radio Reference website. You need to be a Radio Reference member to download the table for your system preformatted as a CSV file. If you are not a Radio Reference member, try clicking on the "List All in one table" link, selecting everything in the table and copying it into Excel or a spreadsheet, and then exporting or saving as a CSV file.

Note - Fields in preformatted CSV downloads from Radio Reference are now in a different order than Trunk Recorder expects. See below for the correct field order. Additionally, Radio Reference inserts a header line at the tope of the CSV file which should be removed.

You may add an additional column that adds a priority for each talkgroup. The priority field specifies the number of recorders the system must have available to record a new call for the talkgroup. For example, a priority of 1, the highest means as long as at least a single recorder is available, the system will record the new call. If the priority is 2, the system would at least 2 free recorders to record the new call, and so on. If there is no priority set for a talkgroup entry, a prioity of 1 is assumed.

The Trunk Record program really only uses the priority information and the Dec Talkgroup ID. The Website uses the same file though to help display information about each talkgroup.

Here are the column headers and some sample data:

Multiple SDR

Most trunk systems use a wide range of spectrum. Often a more powerful SDR is needed to have enough bandwidth to capture all of the potential channels that a system may broadcast on. However it is possible to use multiple SDRs working together to cover all of the channels. This means that you can use a bunch of cheap RTL-SDR to capture an entire system.

In addition to being able to use a cheaper SDR, it also helps with performance. When a single SDR is used, each of the Recorders gets fed all of the sampled signal. Each Recorder needs to cut down the multi-megasamples per second into a small 12.5Khz sliver. When you use multiple SDRs, each SDR is capturing only partial slice of the system so the Recorders have to cut down a much smaller amount of sample to get to the sliver they are interested in. This menans that you can have a lot more recorders running!

To use mutliple SDRs, simply define additional Sources in the Source array. The confing-multi-rtl.json.sample has an example of how to do this. In order to tell the different SDRs apart and make sure they get the right error correction value, give them a serial number using the rtl_eeprom -s command and then specifying that number in the device setting for that Source, rtl=2.

How Trunking Works

Here is a little background on trunking radio systems, for those not familiar. In a Trunking system, one of the radio channels is set aside for to manage the assignment of radio channels to talkgroups. When someone wants to talk, they send a message on the control channel. The system then assigns them a channel and sends a Channel Grant message on the control channel. This lets the talker know what channel to transmit on and anyone who is a member of the talkgroup know that they should listen to that channel.

In order to follow all of the transmissions, this system constantly listens to and decodes the control channel. When a channel is granted to a talkgroup, the system creates a monitoring process. This process will start to process and decode the part of the radio spectrum for that channel which the SDR is already pulling in.

No message is transmitted on the control channel when a talkgroup’s conversation is over. So instead the monitoring process keeps track of transmissions and if there has been no activity for 5 seconds, it ends the recording.