Talk Group ? s

MichMar · #1 (**permalink**) 12-13-2006, 08:46 AM

So the way I understand it, I program in tower sites that are in my area. And then talk groups are used, which transmit from the tower frequency that the unit is nearest, correct? So if a trooper is travelling from South Haven to Muskegon for some reason, I could pick up their same talk group number first on the South Haven site, then Fennville, then Allendale, as they travel north. Or something to that effect.

So I'm wondering how I'm getting some of these talk groups from relatively far away. I've gotten Oceana County, Barry County and Van Buren County 911 dispatchers, and a MSP District 2 talk group came up last night, which I think is in SE Michigan. The tower sites I have programmed in (since I didn't know how far the range would be and I had the room anyway) are: Paw Paw, Coloma, Fennville, South Haven, Wayland, Plainwell, Cedar Springs, Cannonsburg, Wolf Lake, Allendale, Hesperia, Stanton, and Kalamazoo.

The only tower sites that I've seen pop up so far during transmissions are Fennville, Plainwell, Wayland, Allendale, Cedar Springs and I think Cannonsburg did once.

But yet I get transmissions talking about Paw Paw and Kalamazoo addresses, and that one talk group was from District 2, and one was an Oceana County tg. How does this happen? Are these trooper or DNR people or whoever, just driving all over the place, so I pick them up when they're near one of my towers, or what?

seamusg · #2 (**permalink**) 12-13-2006, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichMar

So the way I understand it, I program in tower sites that are in my area. And then talk groups are used, which transmit from the tower frequency that the unit is nearest, correct? So if a trooper is travelling from South Haven to Muskegon for some reason, I could pick up their same talk group number first on the South Haven site, then Fennville, then Allendale, as they travel north. Or something to that effect.

So I'm wondering how I'm getting some of these talk groups from relatively far away. I've gotten Oceana County, Barry County and Van Buren County 911 dispatchers, and a MSP District 2 talk group came up last night, which I think is in SE Michigan. The tower sites I have programmed in (since I didn't know how far the range would be and I had the room anyway) are: Paw Paw, Coloma, Fennville, South Haven, Wayland, Plainwell, Cedar Springs, Cannonsburg, Wolf Lake, Allendale, Hesperia, Stanton, and Kalamazoo.

The only tower sites that I've seen pop up so far during transmissions are Fennville, Plainwell, Wayland, Allendale, Cedar Springs and I think Cannonsburg did once.

But yet I get transmissions talking about Paw Paw and Kalamazoo addresses, and that one talk group was from District 2, and one was an Oceana County tg. How does this happen? Are these trooper or DNR people or whoever, just driving all over the place, so I pick them up when they're near one of my towers, or what?

If a radio on a District 2 TG Affiliates with a tower in your area all of that TG's traffic will be carried on that tower, and every other tower that has a radio on that TG Affiliated with it.

k8tmk · #3 (**permalink**) 12-13-2006, 09:31 AM

I suspect that you are picking up distant stations on one of the statewide talkgroups. You will hear distant traffic on a statewide talkgroup only if one of their units happens to be within range of one of your towers (the technical term is "affiliated" with that tower).

At least that's they way I understand it.

Randy

bigbluemsp · #4 (**permalink**) 12-13-2006, 09:36 AM

What was the TG ID number?

I know you will pick up TGs from D2 if one of the Troops from D2 is over there and hasn't changed the TGS on his prep. It will relay his tg to that tower.

Also it could have been that K9 or a EST member had his prep on scan which is also another reason for you picking it up.

MichMar · #5 (**permalink**) 12-13-2006, 09:41 AM

I don't recall right now which TG number it was. But I have all the banks in my scanner in Open mode, and when any new TG number pops up on my trunked bank, I program it in, then look up the number on the list provided from this database, and change it to its Alpha tag so the next time I know what I'm listening to. And most of them are not "statewide event" tgs - the ones I've mentioned were specifically Barry County 911, or Van Buren County 911, or Kalamazoo Transit, and that one was specifically an Oceana County tg according to the TG listing in the MPSCS data here on this site.