Multiple alias lists on the same system?

[ken...@gmail.com]

I was trying to make multiple Alias Lists for the same system, and switch between them on the "Channels" tab.  For example, one alias list with fire talkgroups, and another with police talkgroups.  

When I switch the list and then save, it plays all talkgroups whether they're enabled or not.  

Should this be possible?  What might I be doing wrong?

[Eric F.]

It's something on my wish list. I'd like aliases to be able to exist on multiple alias lists. Then be able to enable or disable a list. Instead one must recreate the alias on a different list.
My table-top scanner does this making it very easy to switch things on and off. Have the basics on in the background for example, then when actively listening I can switch on a more thorough list. Or switch a county on and off, and so on. I've been meaning for some time to post my wish list, haven't gotten around to it. I love the program but there's a few things I wish it did differently, combining how it operates with how GRE/Whistler scanners operate. There's a lot this software could do. I'd love to replace the table top scanner.

[ken...@gmail.com]

In attempting this, I also found that while you can clone or move aliases, you can't clone or copy an entire alias list at once.  You have to do each alias one at a time.  Even so, you have to re enter the talkgroup identifier for each alias, as these don't seem to be copied over.  

[Ben Saladino]

If you're really careful, much of what you all are talking about can be done by using a text editor to edit the playlist file. It involves, copy, pasting, and using find and replace. It's also very easy to jack things up, so make sure you backup the file before attempting anything.

[Eric F.]

I've done lots of editing that way. And it works okay. However, the system I'm monitoring has many thousands of users and a few thousand talk groups. I have dozens of ranges and groups with aliases set to ignore. Since there's no means to monitor only aliases set to listen or record all unwanted known groups have to be programmed as well, to each alias list, making the task ridiculous. So separate channel lists holding only 1 alias list is easier, but not nearly as neat or convenient as being able to simply select or deselect an alias list.
Which brings me to another wish-list item, a wildcard mode. With wildcard mode off, only aliases programmed to listen (or record) will be heard, ignoring everything else by default. While with the mode on it would work as it does now, hearing everything, unless explicitly programmed to ignore. Or perhaps there could be types of wildcard monitoring, as first described and an overriding mode which hears everything regardless of whether a group is known or not.

[Erik Swan]

The way sdtrunk works is that it will by default play audio from any talkgroup ID that isn't in the alias list. In order for a talkgroup ID to be ignored, it either has to be in the alias list and set to not play, or you can add a Talkgroup Range from 0 - 65535 to the alias list and set it to not play which will set the default behavior for any talkgroup ID that isn't individually in the alias list. This is explained here: https://github.com/DSheirer/sdrtrunk/discussions/1888#discussioncomment-9126173

To accomplish what you are trying to do, I imported the talkgroups for my system from Radio Reference into multiple different alias lists and then I renamed them and toggled the "Listen" switch on different talkgroups in the different alias lists. Although there is no way to clone an entire alias list from the GUI, if you are familiar with XML you can effectively clone the alias list by manually editing the playlist.xml file at C:\Users\[username]\SDRTrunk\playlists\default.xml (make a backup before editing).

In short, the easiest way to accomplish what you are looking for is just to add a Talkgroup Range from 0 - 65355 and set "Listen" to off for all of your alias lists. Then it should work as you expect and you will still hear any talkgroup IDs that are individually in the alias list with "Listen" enabled.

I do wish there was an easier way to quickly switch between alias lists without having to go into the Playlist Editor, change the alias list under the channel configuration, and restart the channel to get the change to take effect.

[Eric F.]

"sdtrunk works is that it will by default play audio from any talkgroup ID"

Exactly. 
Setting a range from 0 to 65535 to not listen and then configure things you do wish to hear does indeed work as suggested, priority behaves as it ought.

'Wildcard' listening is difficult. What if I want to listen for new groups? The only way is to have all known groups set for not to listen.

[Eric F.]

This also breaks using "Identifier Overlap" to find problems. Any range also in the 'ignore' range will appear as an overlap. Individual groups are not bothered.

[ken...@gmail.com]

I ended up cloning the system, and making a separate alias list for each system.  I blacklisted talkgroup range from 0 to 65535 in each alias list, and then added only the talkgroups I wanted to monitor in each alias list. I.E., one for fire, one for tactical, one for police, etc.