Log all SmartZone TalkGroup activity

[n1moy]

Greetings!

Endeavor to use boatbod/op25 to monitor control channel data from a Motorola Type II SmartZone system and log all active TalkGroups. System voice is primarily analog with limited APCO-25. Have compliled and installed op25 on a Raspi 3B+ along with the osmocom/rtl-sdr driver. Operating system is Trixie Lite 64-bit with no desktop environment.

Using gqrx confirmed the current control channel at 854.5625MHz. Have found some info on the web, attempting to use this command and log.tg.json:

./multi_rx.py -c log.tg.json -v 2 2>stderr.log

{
"channels": [
{
"name": "SmartZone_CC",
"device": "sdr0",
"trunking_sysname": "msp",
"demod_type": "fsk4",
"filter_type": "p25",
"frequency": 855075000,
"manage": true
},
{
"name": "SmartZone_Voice",
"device": "sdr1",
"trunking_sysname": "msp",
"demod_type": "fsk4",
"filter_type": "p25",
"frequency": 0,
"manage": false
}
],
"trunking": {
"module": "tk_p25.py",
"chans": [
{
"sysname": "msp",
"control_channel_list": "854.0875,854.5625,854.6125,856.0625",
"tgid_tags_file": "tags.tsv",
"tdma_cc": false,
"crypt_behavior": 2
}
]
}
}

Should the tags.tsv file begin empty or with just a few known TGs.

Objective is to log all active TGs. Would prefer to suppress audio and omit the second RTL-SDR dongle. Is this feasible, steps to emplement ? SDR dongles have unique serial numbers but was unsure where to configure.

With two RTL-SDR dongles attached this stderr.log file resulted with an error.

---

thsk@op25:/op25/op25/gr-op25_repeater/apps $ cat stderr.log
Using Python /usr/bin/python3
Starting OP25 (pid = 1240)
04/07/26 10:45:21.845500 [msp] Initializing P25 system
04/07/26 10:45:21.845706 [msp] reading system tgid_tags_file: tags.tsv
Enabled trunking module: tk_p25.py
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/home/thsk/op25/op25/gr-op25_repeater/apps/./multi_rx.py", line 1096, in
rx = rx_main()
File "/home/thsk/op25/op25/gr-op25_repeater/apps/./multi_rx.py", line 1059, in init
self.tb = rx_block(options.verbosity, config = byteify(config))
~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
File "/home/thsk/op25/op25/gr-op25_repeater/apps/./multi_rx.py", line 587, in init
self.configure_devices(config['devices'])
~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^
KeyError: 'devices'
thsk@op25:/op25/op25/gr-op25_repeater/apps $

---

Requesting assistance to determine if this effort is possible and/or configuration corrections. Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

[boatbod]

There's a problem in the log.tg.json config related to the devices section, but without having the complete file it's hard to determine exactly what. Please can you post it as an attachment.

Smartzone does require a minimum of two dongles, so you are going to need both, even if you set the whitelist to contain a single tgid that you know doesn't exist. The tgid_tags_file does not have to be defined if you don't care about tgid priority or tgid naming.

[n1moy]

Thanks for your very quick reply!

Attached are the log.tg.json, tags.tsv & stderr.log files.

Is it possible to use the RTL-SDR serial numbers in the .json to identify the "SmartZone_CC" from the "SmartZone_Voice" dongle.

log.tg.json

tags.tsv

stderr.log

[boatbod]

Your config file is missing a whole lot of stuff, but specifically the "devices" section, which is how you tie the channels to the physical hardware. See smartnet_example.json

I'm pretty sure you can use the rtl serial number in the args field. Even without the serial number you can do "rtl=0", "rtl=1" and so on.

[n1moy]

Is there documentation for the .json & device section ?

How does "rtl=0", "rtl=1" translate to the physical devices ?

[boatbod]

Nothing beyond what's in the multitude of example json files found in the apps directory of the repo.On Apr 8, 2026 8:42 AM, Bob ***@***.***> wrote:n1moy left a comment (boatbod/op25#270) Is there documentation for the .json & device section ? —Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[n1moy]

Located an example to define the RTL-SDR serial number.
["rtl=0" or "rtl=serial_number"]

Attaching my updated log.tg.json using the smartnet_example.json sample file.

Also attaching stderr.log that is now reporting a KeyError: 'destination' error. This option that I used was taken directly from the smartnet_example file. Unsure what/where it points to ?

channel (dev sdr0): {'name': 'SmartZone_CC', 'device': 'sdr0', 'trunking_sysname': 'msp', 'demod_type': 'fsk4', 'filter_type': 'fsk4', 'raw_output': '', 'destination': 'smartnet', 'excess_bw': 0.35, 'if_rate': 18000, 'plot': 'mixer', 'enable_analog': 'off', 'symbol_rate': 3600, 'frequency': 855075000, 'manage': True}

log.tg.json

stderr.log

[boatbod]

The "destination" error was because your voice channel definition was missing that (and other) parameters. Also, I'm just curious, but what is the "manage" parameter? Is that for some custom code you've added?

log.tg.json.zip

[n1moy]

Somewhere on the web said.. "manage": true ..must be set for control channel tracking. Your question makes me wonder if this is true. I could just delete it ?

Don't require any audio, which channel parameters are required/missing ? Was trying to minimize the configuration, even omiting the second SDR dongle, if that had been possible.

Should I add these missing voice channel enties from the smartnet_example ?

        "meta_stream_name": "stream_0",
        "blacklist": "",
        "whitelist": "",
        "raw_output": "",
        "destination": "udp://127.0.0.1:23456",
        "enable_analog": "auto",
        "nbfm_deviation": 4000,
        "nbfm_squelch_threshold": -60,
        "nbfm_squelch_gain": 0.0050,
        "nbfm_raw_output": "",
        "nbfm_enable_subchannel": false,
        "excess_bw": 0.2,
        "filter_type": "widepulse",
        "plot": "",
        "symbol_rate": 4800

[boatbod]

"manage" is not a parameter that's part of my version of op25. The file "smartnet_example.json" has everything in it needed to get a single control channel and single voice channel up and running, other than setting your specific band plan and control channel freq(s).

If you don't want audio, you're still going to need to configure the voice channel, but give it a whitelist with a single tgid that doesn't exist in the system you are monitoring.

[n1moy]

Some progress!

Created a whitelist.tsv with a single tgid that probably doesn't exist.

Restarted fresh with the smartnet_example.json and some configuration adjustments. With two RTL-SDR blog dongles attached the application opened and appeared to function correctly.

./multi_rx.py -c log.tg.json -v 2 2>stderr.log

Long list of errors reported by stderr.log that include gnuplot "unable to open display", "X11 aborted" and "invalid" commands. Are these due to my .json configuration ?

Next step is to increase the logging verbosity to capture "tgid" data. Any suggestions on the best level to use ?

Thanks very much for your help with this endeavor!

log.tg.json

stderr.log

[wgbecks]

Bob, Were you logged into Linux from the local console or were you using SSH to login from a remote host? What Linux Distro are you running op25 on? If unsure, open a terminal and submit “lsb_release -a” without the quotes. It appears that either your Linux is missing dependencies to support x11, or that you may have been logged in via SSH from a remote host that doesn’t support x11. If the later is true and you initiated a terminal session from say a Windows system, then you’d need to install Xming to support x11 over your SSH connection before you can display any of the plot options. However, you can simply remove reference to the “mixer” plot in your SmartZone control channel configuration until above x11 issue(s) are resolved. For you intended use in logging Talkgroup activity only, you can blank out meta_stream_name and remove the icemeta.py module as they are not used unless streaming audio to a remote Icecast type server and where metadata is desired. In fact, you could also remove the sockaudio.py module too being don’t intend to listen to any of the active Talkgroups on the system. IE: { "channels": [ { "name": "SmartZone_CC", "trunking_sysname": "msp", "device": "sdr0", "raw_output": "", "demod_type": "fsk", "destination": "smartnet", "excess_bw": 0.35, "filter_type": "fsk2", "if_rate": 18000, "plot": "", "enable_analog": "off", "symbol_rate": 3600 }, { "name": "SmartZone_Voice", "trunking_sysname": "msp", "meta_stream_name": "", "device": "sdr1", "blacklist": "", "whitelist": "whitelist.tsv", "raw_output": "", "demod_type": "fsk4", "destination": "udp://127.0.0.1:23456", "enable_analog": "auto", "nbfm_deviation": 4000, "nbfm_squelch_threshold": -60, "nbfm_squelch_gain": 0.0050, "nbfm_raw_output": "", "nbfm_enable_subchannel": false, "excess_bw": 0.2, "filter_type": "widepulse", "if_rate": 24000, "plot": "", "symbol_rate": 4800 } ], "devices": [ { "args": "rtl=00002222", "frequency": 855075000, "gains": "LNA:39", "name": "sdr0", "offset": 0, "ppm": 0.0, "rate": 1000000, "tunable": true }, { "args": "rtl=00003333", "frequency": 855075000, "gains": "LNA:39", "name": "sdr1", "offset": 0, "ppm": 0.0, "rate": 1000000, "tunable": true } ], "trunking": { "module": "tk_smartnet.py", "chans": [ { "sysname": "msp", "control_channel_list": "854.0875,854.5625,854.6125,856.0625", "tgid_tags_file": "", "tgid_hold_time": 2.0, "blacklist": "", "whitelist": "", "bandplan_comment": "", "bandplan": "800_rebanded", "bp_comment": "", "bp_base": 141.015, "bp_base_spacing": 0.015, "bp_base_offset": 380, "bp_mid": 151.730, "bp_mid_spacing": 0.015, "bp_mid_offset": 579, "bp_high": 154.320, "bp_high_spacing": 0.015, "bp_high_offset": 632, "bp_tx_comment": "", "bp_tx_base": 141.015, "bp_tx_base_spacing": 0.015, "bp_tx_base_offset": 0, "bp_tx_mid": 151.730, "bp_tx_mid_spacing": 0.015, "bp_tx_mid_offset": 199, "bp_tx_high": 154.320, "bp_tx_high_spacing": 0.015, "bp_tx_high_offset": 252 } ] }, "metadata": { "module": "", "streams": [ { "stream_name": "stream_0", "meta_format_idle": "[idle]", "meta_format_tgid": "[%TGID%]", "meta_format_tag": "[%TGID%] %TAG%", "icecastServerAddress": "your_stream_host_and_port", "icecastMountpoint": "your_mountpoint_name", "icecastPass": "your_password", "icecastMountExt": ".xspf", "delay": 0.0 }, { "stream_name": "stream_1", "meta_format_idle": "[idle]", "meta_format_tgid": "[%TGID%]", "meta_format_tag": "[%TGID%] %TAG%", "icecastServerAddress": "your_second stream_host_and_port", "icecastMountpoint": "your_second_mountpoint_name", "icecastPass": "your_second_password", "icecastMountExt": ".xspf", "delay": 0.0 } ] }, "audio": { "module": "", "instances": [ { "instance_name": "audio0", "device_name": "default", "udp_port": 23456, "audio_gain": 1.0, "number_channels": 1 } ] }, "terminal": { "module": "terminal.py", "terminal_type": "curses", "#terminal_type": "http:127.0.0.1:8080", "curses_plot_interval": 0.2, "http_plot_interval": 1.0, "http_plot_directory": "../www/images", "tuning_step_large": 1200, "tuning_step_small": 100, "default_channel": "voice channel" } } From: Bob ***@***.***> Sent: Friday, April 10, 2026 7:59 AM To: boatbod/op25 ***@***.***> Cc: Subscribed ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [boatbod/op25] Log all SmartZone TalkGroup activity (Issue #270) <https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/151397459?s=20&v=4> n1moy left a comment (boatbod/op25#270) <#270 (comment)> Some progress! Created a whitelist.tsv with a single tgid that probably doesn't exist. Restarted fresh with the smartnet_example.json and some configuration adjustments. With two RTL-SDR blog dongles attached the application opened and appeared to function correctly. ./multi_rx.py -c log.tg.json -v 2 2>stderr.log Long list of errors reported by stderr.log that include gnuplot "unable to open display", "X11 aborted" and "invalid" commands. Are these due to my .json configuration ? Next step is to increase the logging verbosity to capture "tgid" data. Any suggestions on the best level to use ? Thanks very much for your help with this endeavor! log.tg.json <https://github.com/user-attachments/files/26630908/log.tg.json> stderr.log <https://github.com/user-attachments/files/26630910/stderr.log> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#270 (comment)> , or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AND3N573OGLABR6UEWXBCQL4VDVXVAVCNFSM6AAAAACXPTMY2KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DEMRTHA4TGMRTGQ> . You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread. <https://github.com/notifications/beacon/AND3N52LBZRASPBFJ7GI3DL4VDVXVBFCNFSM6AAAAACXPTMY2KWGG33NNVSW45C7OR4XAZNMJFZXG5LFINXW23LFNZ2KUY3PNVWWK3TUL5UWJTX3YN7PFJTSMVQXG33OVJZXKYTTMNZGSYTFMQ.gif> Message ID: ***@***.*** ***@***.***> >

[n1moy]

"Have compliled and installed op25 on a Raspi 3B+ along with the osmocom/rtl-sdr driver. Operating system is Trixie Lite 64-bit with no desktop environment." Access is via PuTTY on a Linux Mint 22.1 machine.

Removed these values from the .json
"channels": --> "plot": "mixer"
"channels": --> "meta_stream_name": "stream_0",
"metadata": --> "module": "icemeta.py"
"audio": --> "module": "sockaudio.py"

Very excellent! Appears to clear up these errors. A stderr.log file created using logging verbosity set to 5 is attached.

./multi_rx.py -c log.tg.json -v 5 2>stderr.log

Unclear about the variety of log lines in the stderr.log file.
add_patch:
add_adjacent_site:
set tgid=
new tgid=
add_alternate_cc_freq:
Objective is to log talk groups of real transmissions. Which types should I focus on ?

Perhaps there is a link to a primer that describes these lines in detail. Also is a log level of 5 best for my purpose ?

Thanks for your guidance!

stderr.log

[wgbecks]

Good job! The Raspbian Trixie Lite with no-desktop environment explains the gnuplot x-11 errors from your previous logfile. Not a big deal in the overall scheme of things as having opted or the Lite version does save CPU and memory resources, although the 3B+ would be fine either way in this application. The FFT and Mixer plots are useful with initial setup. It’s helpful to see signal level above the noise floor to aid in determining signal quality, in setting LNA gain, and to provide a visual aid in adjusting ppm to bring the SDR as close as possible to being on frequency. However, if you’re getting good decodes of the OSW’s on the system control channel, then mission accomplished. Look ahead to traffic logging, set the logging verbose to -v 5 that will provide enough data in the logfile to parse for Talkgroup activity. There is a script located in the apps folder named op25_stats.sh that you can use to parse the logfile to collect Talkgroup activity. This script does rely upon a tag file in addition to op25’s logfile. If you haven’t already done so, look up the Talkgroups for the MSP in the RRDB and create a tag file. Once you’ve collected system data for a while, you can run the script. In example, your logfile is named “msp.log” and the tag file is named “msp.tags” without the quotes, you would run the script as follows; ./op25_stats.sh msp.log msp.tag that will output several text files of compiled data. At some point, you may desire to run op25 as a system service that will run in the background without opening a terminal session and will restart at boot up. If interested, look at section #7 in README-rpi3-liquidsoap.md as it pertains to op25-rx.service. Note that the example op25-rx.service file found in the apps folder assumes a default login username of “pi”. However, it will be necessary to edit the service file if you login name was setup differently when flashing the MicroSD with the Raspbian OS. Make any edits prior to copying the service file into /etc/systemd/system and enabling and starting the script. One last important step to running op25 as a system service. You’ll need to edit the Termina Type in your JSON to comment out “curses” and uncomment the “http” terminal option. Bill, WA8WG From: Bob ***@***.***> Sent: Friday, April 10, 2026 12:27 PM To: boatbod/op25 ***@***.***> Cc: wgbecks ***@***.***>; Comment ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [boatbod/op25] Log all SmartZone TalkGroup activity (Issue #270) <https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/151397459?s=20&v=4> n1moy left a comment (boatbod/op25#270) <#270 (comment)> "Have compliled and installed op25 on a Raspi 3B+ along with the osmocom/rtl-sdr driver. Operating system is Trixie Lite 64-bit with no desktop environment." Access is via PuTTY on a Linux Mint 22.1 machine. Removed these values from the .json "channels": --> "plot": "mixer" "channels": --> "meta_stream_name": "stream_0", "metadata": --> "module": "icemeta.py" "audio": --> "module": "sockaudio.py" Very excellent! Appears to clear up these errors. A stderr.log file created using logging verbosity set to 5 is attached. ./multi_rx.py -c log.tg.json -v 5 2>stderr.log Unclear about the variety of log lines in the stderr.log file. add_patch: add_adjacent_site: set tgid= new tgid= add_alternate_cc_freq: Objective is to log talk groups of real transmissions. Which types should I focus on ? Perhaps there is a link to a primer that describes these lines in detail. Also is a log level of 5 best for my purpose ? Thanks for your guidance! stderr.log <https://github.com/user-attachments/files/26636558/stderr.log> — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#270 (comment)> , or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AND3N57KBXDC5HMJVKL3XHL4VEVGTAVCNFSM6AAAAACXPTMY2KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DEMRVGU2DAMBYGY> . You are receiving this because you commented. <https://github.com/notifications/beacon/AND3N56JFXVBY6LT2X5TK6L4VEVGTBFCNFSM6AAAAACXPTMY2KWGG33NNVSW45C7OR4XAZNMJFZXG5LFINXW23LFNZ2KUY3PNVWWK3TUL5UWJTX33SP7NJTSMVQXG33OU5RW63LNMVXHI.gif> Message ID: ***@***.*** ***@***.***> >

[n1moy]

The format of the "msp.tag" file is tab-separated values [TSV] ??

tgid[TAB]alpha[LF]

A systemd service might be something for the future.

Thanks again for your help!
73s,

[wgbecks]

Correct. Tag file has TGID (decimal) in the leftmost column followed by a <TAB> character and then the Alpha TAG (text) info. No need for the third column that can be used to signify scan priority per your logging only application. I have a script to download system info off of the RRDB that in turn creates tag files. I ran the tool for the MSP and have attached “msp.tags” if you’d like to use it. Feel free to rename it as desired, so long as it matches what you’ve specified in your JSON. BTW, My email address is good in QRZ if you'ld like to direct email that this issue can be closed. Best regards, Bill, WA8WG From: Bob ***@***.***> Sent: Friday, April 10, 2026 2:17 PM To: boatbod/op25 ***@***.***> Cc: wgbecks ***@***.***>; Comment ***@***.***> Subject: Re: [boatbod/op25] Log all SmartZone TalkGroup activity (Issue #270) <https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/151397459?s=20&v=4> n1moy left a comment (boatbod/op25#270) <#270 (comment)> The format of the "msp.tag" file is tab-separated values [TSV] ?? tgidalpha A systemd service might be something for the future. Thanks again for your help! 73s, — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#270 (comment)> , or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AND3N54E4N77YTBRG2JZGKD4VFCBZAVCNFSM6AAAAACXPTMY2KVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43OSLTON2WKQ3PNVWWK3TUHM2DEMRWGE3DINBTGM> . You are receiving this because you commented. <https://github.com/notifications/beacon/AND3N537JV6RFGWNUBJNRUD4VFCBZBFCNFSM6AAAAACXPTMY2KWGG33NNVSW45C7OR4XAZNMJFZXG5LFINXW23LFNZ2KUY3PNVWWK3TUL5UWJTX34YTNDJTSMVQXG33OU5RW63LNMVXHI.gif> Message ID: ***@***.*** ***@***.***> >