monroe county fire dispatch

tjacks34 · #1 (**permalink**) 10-17-2009, 08:21 PM

Does anyone know why monroe county fire dispatch sounds so bad? I have a radio shack scanner and if I am a few miles from monroe county i loose them, I am listening to them on vhf not digital. On the other hand i can hear dearborn fire mobiles uhf just fine when i am in monroe county so i think it is not the scanner. So i was wondering if anyone had any ideas. thanks for the help

freqs · #2 (**permalink**) 10-17-2009, 10:16 PM

I can pick them up on 159.0900 from time to time up in Warren .Its not the best sounding .

rdale · #3 (**permalink**) 10-17-2009, 11:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjacks34

Does anyone know why monroe county fire dispatch sounds so bad?

Sounds just fine to me. Maybe you are thinking of the mobiles, which are linked from the digital side.

Quote:

I have a radio shack scanner and if I am a few miles from monroe county i loose them,

Check your antenna, I've heard them 20+ miles outside of the county just fine.

tjacks34 · #4 (**permalink**) 10-18-2009, 08:33 AM

ok thank you, i will check the antenna but like i said i pick up dearborn when i am in south rockwood but cant pick up monroe county when i am in dearborn? i will check thank you

rdale · #5 (**permalink**) 10-20-2009, 08:32 AM

I've heard them west and south - maybe their antenna isn't pointed as much north?

SEMTTP · #6 (**permalink**) 10-21-2009, 03:52 AM

Because Monroe Co Fire VHF is PATCHED from the digital system. That is why it sounds the way it does. The only reason there is a VHF frequency was because all the firefighters that had portables wanted to be able to hear dispatch.

Thunderbolt · #7 (**permalink**) 10-21-2009, 04:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SEMTTP

Because Monroe Co Fire VHF is PATCHED from the digital system. That is why it sounds the way it does. The only reason there is a VHF frequency was because all the firefighters that had portables wanted to be able to hear dispatch.

Don't forget they need the VHF frequency, in order to tone-out fire department personnel on their pagers, and to set their outdoor sirens off. Paging tones will not decode over a Project 25 radio system at this time. Several other counties across state, have erected similar VHF-High band simulcast paging systems for their fire dispatching needs.

73s

Ron

rcvmo · #8 (**permalink**) 10-21-2009, 06:57 AM

Don't forget they are also simlucast too.
rcvmo

rdale · #9 (**permalink**) 10-21-2009, 08:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rcvmo

Don't forget they are also simlucast too.
rcvmo

He's questioning why he can't hear in Dearborn, which has nothing to do with CQPSK, or digital link, or anything else.

Josh · #10 (**permalink**) 10-21-2009, 09:06 AM

The VHF is simulcast as well. I hear the misphasing from time to time from my location in Wayne County.

I agree that the quality and signal strength isn't too great outside of of the county. The coverage was designed to stay within the county for the most part. The Monroe Simulcast tower closest to me has a VHF folded dipole array (if I recall correctly), could have been a yagi mounted on the South leg of the tower aimed into the county.

I can barely get them on my portable in side the house, outside may be another story I don't really listen to them much outside the home.

fireresq2825 · #11 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009, 05:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdale

He's questioning why he can't hear in Dearborn, which has nothing to do with CQPSK, or digital link, or anything else.

Actually simulcast may everything to do with it. He is listening on the VHF side, and the VHF side is a 4 site analog SIMULCAST system. The Berlin and Whiteford transmitters are both yagis pointed to the center of the county, Dundee a 4 pole omni dipole, and Monroe is set to favor toward the center of the county.

The simulcast overlap / interference is so bad in Milan (in the county) that it is on occasion difficult to pick up on a real portable. Some areas outside the county have a very poor signal from either simulcast interference or just weak signal.

rdale · #12 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009, 06:21 PM

I'm talking about the MPSCS simulcast - which was brought up above. The fact that CQPSK is in use on the 800MHz side doesn't make a difference for the VHF.

fireresq2825 · #13 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009, 09:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdale

I'm talking about the MPSCS simulcast - which was brought up above. The fact that CQPSK is in use on the 800MHz side doesn't make a difference for the VHF.

You might be talking about the 800, but the original post was about the VHF.

rdale · #14 (**permalink**) 10-22-2009, 09:40 PM

Right. It drifted into 800 with the early followups - but there's no connection between VHF reception and the 800 link.

Wyandotte · #15 (**permalink**) 10-23-2009, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fireresq2825

You might be talking about the 800, but the original post was about the VHF.

Seeing that it appears you may be a firefighter, let me ask you a question?

Would you want to carry your 800 handheld everywhere you go, if it did have the ability to tone out?

Or would rather keep the handheld in the car, and just carry something smaller, like a Minitor, when you are out and about?

This question is the result of a conversation I was listening to between a Herkimer tech and some Rockwood firefighters. Since I'm assuming you are an actual first responder, your opinion would be appreciated.

rdale · #16 (**permalink**) 10-23-2009, 09:32 PM

If you could fit an 800MHz radio w/paging capability into the size of a pager -- people would love it. If you are wondering if anyone would carry the brick on their belt like they do a pager now -- no way.

tjacks34 · #17 (**permalink**) 10-23-2009, 09:39 PM

yes i am an asst chief for south rockwood, i would love it if they could just page alpha-numerically, but since that will never happen the minitor is fine. And yes i hate carrying the brick 800 radio

fireresq2825 · #18 (**permalink**) 10-24-2009, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wyandotte

Seeing that it appears you may be a firefighter, let me ask you a question?

Would you want to carry your 800 handheld everywhere you go, if it did have the ability to tone out?

Or would rather keep the handheld in the car, and just carry something smaller, like a Minitor, when you are out and about?

This question is the result of a conversation I was listening to between a Herkimer tech and some Rockwood firefighters. Since I'm assuming you are an actual first responder, your opinion would be appreciated.

I've been a FF for almost 26 years between here and in WNY, and is would be sweet if they (Motorola) would make a pager that would work with the 800. There has been discussions on this since at least the mid 80's and it seems as if the big M can't grasp the need for that one.

Moto does make a lot of cool stuff, but I feel they have missed the boat on that one. The 1st mfgr that ever comes out with one will corner the market if it isn't a piece-o-junk.

rdale · #19 (**permalink**) 10-24-2009, 02:26 PM

The problem is - you can't make it like any other pager that exists today. You'd have to change the entire setup, basically making a trunked receiver in a small package. That's not good for reception. Any audio broadcast over digital isn't going to spit out true sounds, so you couldn't use regular tones for the most part.

So you'd be looking at something the size of the radio today, and at a cost of $2000 or more. That won't corner the pager market.

fireresq2825 · #20 (**permalink**) 10-24-2009, 04:15 PM

Of course we are way off topic here, but if they can make a cell phone that is smaller than a pager (and of course the ever shrinking digital scanner) there should be no big tech reason they can't make a minitor sized pager to work with trunking. Probably comes down to developmental costs vs sales volume. I've been in the two-way biz full time for 20 + years and I'd bet that's what it comes down to.

I'm sure we've beat this horse to death enough here..