Allegany County - Emergency communication to get better

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c0untyb0y

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BELMONT - All first responders in Allegany County will communicate via digital high-band radio by 2010 with the aid of a state grant of $1.7 million accepted by Allegany County legislators on Monday.

On Monday, the Allegany County Board of Legislators accepted the grant while also taking on a $423,118 local match, which must be paid with non-Federal dollars so the grant can be implemented.

Last week, the Allegany County Board of Legislators held a joint Public Safety and Ways and Means meeting to hold the discussion, hearing insight from emergency workers and 911 Coordinator Russ Hall, who applied for the grant.

Mr. Hall said that each department will receive a new digital radio base, new digital radios for each department vehicle, and three portable radios for administrators. He hopes to have the transition made by 2010.

The grant will allow the county’s police, EMTS, and firefighters - many who currently operate with low-band equipment - to take advantage of the clarity and power of digital high-band.

http://www.oleantimesherald.com/articles/2008/08/27/news/doc48b4035702412637532384.txt
 

radiomanNJ1

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What would be more relevant is not letting the unions run the fire dept. Career or volunteer the ideas for "safety" come from the IAFF.

Digital works like it or not. Time to save your pennies for a digital radio.

I guess they don't believe in the SKY is FALLING radio system from Tyco that they can't get to work statewide or locally.
 

IceBlueEyes579

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Allegany County Update

Hey everyone!

I was wondering if Allegany County went digital. Are there any new frequencies that are not in the data base. Also is Wellsville on a trunking system and if so does anyone have any talk groups.

Thanks

Andrew
 

c0untyb0y

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since I only infrequently visit there anymore, I am not sure. best I can tell is that the county is starting or has started their migration to narrowband. 9-1-1 law and fire cross band seem to be narrowbanded already. as far as digital goes, doubtful yet an avid listener or an insider would have that data.

nice to see an old post again :)
 

nyemt774

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I live in Cattaraugus County and monitor Allegany County Fire and EMS. As of this moment they are still dispatching on Low Band 46.360 and High Band simulcast repeater 154.295. The migration to any narrowband has either stopped or slowed to a complete crawl.

Andrew, as for the Digital changeover, something has gone wrong someplace, like I said they're still broadcasting on the same frequencies as they have for years and I monitor them with Analog scanners. The 2010 implementation date has LONG since gone and nothing appears to have changed.

I do hear rumors from time to time that a changeover to high band is coming but digital communications I feel is a HUGE stretch. I could be wrong, but due to Allegany Counties rural area and their tax base can't be the greatest. Also, certainly if Erie County couldn't afford to switch to digital than it's hard for me to believe Allegany County could even attempt to do it and pay for it.
 
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Mtnrider

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I have property out that way i visit from time to time....i'll have to remember next month when i go to load the scanner and see what happens. I do look at the FCC database now and then and noticed a lot of town highways going to Highband....some new systems and some changeovers from Low..
 

n2ops

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Narrowband Changeover

As listed in the Radio Reference Database the changeover has already taken place. Fire and EMS is 155.5425 127.3 and Police and Sheriff are on 155.8125 94.8.
 

nyemt774

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n2ops...Hi....quick question or comment for you!!! As I am sitting here I just heard Andover get toned for a call...Loud and clear on 46.360. I'm wondering really about the changeover...Still also hearing trucks responding on 154.295, also...So are you hearing them on the 155.5425 narrowband?? I'm just really wondering IF the changeover has occured because to me it would seem that if it had they would have stopped transmitting on 46.360 or 154.295....Thanks!!!!
 

IceBlueEyes579

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Thanks Guys

The reason why I was wondering is because Im from Western NY but moved away six years ago. Im making a trip up next month and was wondering if anything had change. So am I right to assume that Wellsville is not on the trunking system? I did hear that Erie was going digital but I guess there not now. Im kinda glad their not. Where I live its all digital trunking. I miss analog.

Andrew
 

eriepascannist

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High band makes sense, ... but digital in Allegany county? I think the whole thing is pretty crazy, and I will miss analog a TON if the Erie PA area ever transitions.

I feel like reception across rural Chautauqua county would be improved with a high-band migration.
 

n2ops

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Allegany County Changeover

As to the actual changeover to narrowband units in the vehicles I'm not sure as I'm located in Livingston County. Anyone in Allegany County that can fill us in?
 

c0untyb0y

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As listed in the Radio Reference Database the changeover has already taken place. Fire and EMS is 155.5425 127.3 and Police and Sheriff are on 155.8125 94.8.

that sounds about right from my trip last month back that way. I'll have to fire up the ole PSR 600 to get the exact data, but that's probably it.

(and FYI my listening post would be in Hinsdale, about 6 miles form downtown Cuba, using just the stock antenna with the 600 about mid way up one of the hills there.)
 

c0untyb0y

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n2ops...Hi....quick question or comment for you!!! As I am sitting here I just heard Andover get toned for a call...Loud and clear on 46.360. I'm wondering really about the changeover...Still also hearing trucks responding on 154.295, also...So are you hearing them on the 155.5425 narrowband?? I'm just really wondering IF the changeover has occured because to me it would seem that if it had they would have stopped transmitting on 46.360 or 154.295....Thanks!!!!

thought that 295 was Wellsville's and the county had the new narrowband cross band repeater, no?

so who/what is using the narrowband channel? or is it just in testing phase for eventual transition over? like posters before me mention, Allegany County hasn't the financial wherewithall to convert form low to high band 100%. I'd imagine the pagers stay on low band and the rest goes high band, so long as the county pays for the new gear (DHS/FEMA grant?). that's a helluva cost to replace pagers that the local FDs can't bear. are they gonna sell chicken BBQs every weekend to raise those funds?
 

nyemt774

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Not sure who's using the narrowband frequency. The 155.5425 has a type of a mobile repeater and shows it's simulcasting 46.360, so maybe it's just a signal booster to the 46.360 dispatch. Probably the county has handed out a few radios to those departments who have had some reception problems as a cheaper fix. With radios having repeater capabilities now, there's no need to reband and purchase new pagers, etc. And yes 154.295 is still Wellsville's link to 46.360. Wellsville doesn't sound like they are trunking either.
 

k2hz

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The 155.4525 is a multi-site countywide simulcast system, not a mobile repeater. It has a good signal that can be heard all the way to Rochester. I don't know the status of migration from low band to this new system.

This frequency became active about the same time as the Sheriff's narrow band 155.8125. Both are on the same license. The license (WQNA318) does allow P25 digital as well as narrow band analog so they may plan to go digital at some future time.
 

nyemt774

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k2hz...Thanks for the info...I'll have to give the analog narrowband capable scanner I have a try to see how it receives the signals. Hopefully digital isn't in the long-term plans..Maybe with that simulcast system in place they won't. I'm assuming that simulcasting means that their low-band 46.360 dispatch will remain in place then????
 

k2hz

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I'm assuming that simulcasting means that their low-band 46.360 dispatch will remain in place then????

There would be no reason to keep Low Band once the migration to VHF is complete. Other counties that went trunked kept Low Band for pagers and sirens or put in new conventional paging channels on UHF. Since Allegany is not going to be trunked, paging would work better on the new VHF channel than Low Band. The only reason I can see to keep Low Band is if they did not want to spend the money for new pagers and siren receivers now.

There is an Allegany County application pending to add 155.415 and 151.235 to the multi-site system. It is held up due to objections from Canada. Allegany has asked the FCC for permission to conduct tests with Canada on 151.235 to evaluate the interference problem. I suspect 155.415 will be for EMS.

I have no idea what Wellsville is doing with 154.295. This is licensed to Wellsville, not the County, as part of a Village trunked system. The license expires in October and, while some of the other system frequencies are narrow band, 154.295 is wide band and they have not applied to change it.
 

nyemt774

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k2hz...Thanks again for the inside info!!! I agree that having to purchase new pagers and radios is quite costly!! And I bet there are plenty of FD's which are wondering where the heck are they going to come up with funds to go to the new frequency??? Once things for sure, it certainly won't get cheaper whether they do it now or later...
 
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