Birmingham TRS & Jefferson County TRS

[Metrofire31]

I was visiting in Mountain Brook this weekend and trying to figure out through this forum's posts sand through the RR database what the current situation is with these two 800 MHz systems. Are they operating as ONE system now or are they still TWO systems and just share some frequencies? I wasn't sure how to program them so I entered them in my BC396XT as TWO systems and noticed that each one of them locked on their respective control channels.

Can anyone shed some light on what's happening with them?

[scanrfan]

Birmingham and Jefferson County share the system, but use separate frequencies. RR database (entry for Birmingham) states that the 2 systems are separate but using the same system. I have programed my BC 396T with both systems as separate systems. Each system has the control frequencies for BOTH systems and I have the TGID's for both systems programed into each system. I then have the Bham TGID's locked out on JeffCo system and JeffCo system locked out on the Bham system so each system acts as if it were a separate system without having TGID's from one system showing up on the other (unless there is a new TGID that I don't have programed into either system shows up).

[Metrofire31]

Maybe there is no answer to this, but do you have any idea why they don't just create one system? Perhaps the answer lies in two governmental jurisdictions each wanting their own system yet still wanting to be able to interact with each other. Is that fairly accurate?

[scanrfan]

Short answer - POLITICS. I don't have an IN to know the real or full reason, but I suspect that the Bham City Council and JeffCo Commission want to keep the systems separate to "keep control" of the agencies/departments using their system. There was talk at one time of trying to create a "Joint Dispatch Center" that would dispatch for many, if not all, the cities/agencies in Jefferson County. No one could agree on whether to do so or not or where the center would be located. Just another fine example of local government cooperation! Bham Dispatcher may know more about the reason(s) for the separate systems.

[Metrofire31]

Thanks, Scarfan. I'll do as was suggested above and next time I come over, which will be for Father's Day (my in-laws live in Pell City), I'll cross-program the control channels.

Just another tidbit for Jefferson and St. Clair County scanner fans - as long as I've been visiting Pell City with my wife's family, I've wondered why I couldn't hear both the receive AND transmit frequency for Pell City Fire. I finally broke the code this past weekend. Pell City Fire has their input and output frequencies on SEPARATE CODES!!!! Here's the numbers you need:

PELL CITY FIRE: Output (Receive) 154.220 CTCSS code - 85.4
Input (Transmit) 158.985 DCS 226

This information has already been submitted to Radio Reference to update the database

[bob-the-scanner-man]

On my Pro-96, I tried programming them in as two separate systems but I kept having problems with the same TGs showing up on both systems. I then programmed them in as one system and everything worked fine. It's probably excessive but I programmed in all frequencies listed, not just controls. I have Birmingham PD and JeffCO Sheriff in two separate subgroups, each with their respective TGs, so I can listen to either one as I please. I have one subgroup for Birmingham Fire, and the last one is for anything else. It's kind of like what scanrfan did, I just divided Birmingham and Jeffco using subgroups instead of two systems.

I guess it's more of a personal preference than anything else.

[AlabamaRS]

you could split em up & put 1 system on closed ed mode, Thats the way I have mine.