P25 Skip Question

[Ensnared]

Back when Houston PD was very active, I used to hear them from time to time in Waco, Texas using analog UHF. Although the signal would fade a bit, it was still possible to follow the action.

Today, I was reading a post that prompted me to ask myself, "how does skip affect P25 transmissions, particularly on VHF trunking or VHF conventional?

I would appreciate some feedback on this.

 

[nd5y]

"how does skip affect P25 transmissions, particularly on VHF trunking or VHF conventional?

I would appreciate some feedback on this.

Tropospheric propagation on VHF and higher bands should not affect a digital signal any different than an analog signal. It normally isn't like ionospheric propagation on HF where you often have multipath phase distortion.

Weak P25 signals don't decdode as well as strong local ones and usually when there is a band opening on the VHF and higher bands the signals are a lot weaker than local ones.

 

[Ensnared]

Skip Question Answered

Tropospheric propagation on VHF and higher bands should not affect a digital signal any different than an analog signal. It normally isn't like ionospheric propagation on HF where you often have multipath phase distortion.

Weak P25 signals don't decdode as well as strong local ones and usually when there is a band opening on the VHF and higher bands the signals are a lot weaker than local ones.

Thank you for your answer to my post. I've already experienced what a diminished signal sounds like in digital mode. I chuckle when I read about someone associating weak P25 signals with encryption. Yes, there is some similarity in sound.