458.5125 (146.2 PL) in Sussex County?

[Chauffeur6]

Apparently there is a UHF rebroadcast of 155.640 (146.2 PL) on 458.5125 (146.2 PL) in Sussex County, although there is definitely no FCC license issued for that frequency anywhere in the county or any of the surrounding counties. Has anyone else heard this?

[EJM]

I have in my notes 458.3875 PL 146.2 is the UHF link form Sparta Dispatch to Stillwater PD cars.

[Chauffeur6]

Yup, I already have 458.3875, but for some odd reason I'm also picking it up on 458.5125.

Incidentally, I can't find an FCC license for 458.3875 either. Quite a few non-licensed frequencies being used in Sussex it seems, with high power transmitters/repeaters operating on them no less.

[robbinsj2]

If they're using radio links with multiple satellite receivers and/or multiple relayed channels then there'll be a different frequency for each receiver/channel. I've heard some which are constant carrier so the dispatcher knows immediately and certainly if they go down, and others which only pass on received signals. When I'm bored I try to track down the exact locations of the ones with constant carrier -- often they're nondescript metal boxes mounted on utility poles, with a small whip sticking up. Start with a little knowledge of the town and topography and just watch signal strength.

It isn't necessarily high-power, if the receiver is on top of a mountain then a measly few watts will go pretty far.

Jim

[SCANdal]

6,

Do you know who has the contract to perform radio maintenance for the Sparta and/or Stillwater PDs? The reason why I ask is because, as j2 suggests above, it's quite possible that a relay system is set up somewhere nearby. I've seen one such constant carrier system set up in a town in Orange for it's fire radios - and - due to interference issues - they are using a a pair of frequencies licensed to the radio contractor (at the office address) instead of the pair licensed to the Town itself. The contractor is based two counties away. While both halves of the pair are only transmitting one watt a piece, the sites they are transmitting from practically cover the entire core area of the town.

SCANdal

[Chauffeur6]

SCAN,

I'm not sure who their radio vendor is, but a few exhaustive searches of the frequencies in question came up empty for either the municipalities themselves, or for any businesses that would fit the mold. 458.5125 isn't even licensed by anyone in Sussex, and searches in neighboring counties just don't add up. In fact, nearly all the results I got on those UHF frequencies were for low power 2 watt operation. I'm hearing these transmissions from 25 miles away pretty clearly, so while I would normally agree with robbinj2's point about low powered transmitters at high elevations, it just doesn't make much sense unless they have something at the very top of High Point.

I've run across a few other frequencies in Sussex that are in unlicensed use, so this wouldn't be the first. Not that I really care, I'm not the FCC police, but it does make it very frustrating trying to figure out some of the stuff you hear. KC2KZZ's scanning guides for the area are very helpful, but at the end of the day it's still nice to put an FCC call sign to a frequency.