Raleigh PD 800-MHZ frequencies

[johnm27616]

I recently read a post in this North Carolina Radio Discussion Forum by Marshall (KE4NZR) that Raleigh PD is transitioning over to the Wake County/VIPER/State of NC 800Mhz system. Yet, when I look up the State of North Carolina VIPER System frequency information, it shows the following frequencies in the 700-MHZ band:
Raleigh/Wake EMS 700Mhz/800Mhz Conventional Frequencies:

Raleigh/Wake Public Safety has several 700Mhz Frequencies to be used on scenes where 800MHz penetration into buildings is less than useable.

The Frequencies are as follows: Direct_1 Direct_2 Direct_3 Direct_4 VEHRPTR
764.150Mhz 764.175Mhz 764.200Mhz 764.400Mhz 794.400Mhz 764.400Mhz

Since my Pro-97 is only capable of receiving trunked frequencies in the 806-960 range, I have never been able to listen to any of the VIPER frequencies in the 700-MHZ range.

My question is does anyone have any frequency information on the new Raleigh PD system and will I still be able to listen using my existing Pro-97, or am I going to need to convert to a digital scanner capable of picking up frequencies in the 700-MHZ range?

Thanks,
John M in North Raleigh

[matthoward]

The 700 mhz frequencies are not part of the VIPER system, but are conventional frequencies “to be used on scenes where 800MHz penetration into buildings is less than useable” (http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=4087). I don’t believe the Pro-97 can receive any frequencies in the 700mhz range, so you would need a new scanner. I’m not sure how much RPD would use these “direct” channels, if at all. The Raleigh FD uses them occasionally but you have to be close to the incident to hear them (I don’t believe they are repeated).

The more important issue is that you will need to upgrade to a digital scanner in order to receive RPD at all on VIPER, since all of their communications are digital. Once you get your scanner, refer to the database for the frequency and talkgroup information for programming (http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=4087).

[johnm27616]

Raleigh PD 800-MHZ frequencies

Originally Posted by matthoward

The 700 mhz frequencies are not part of the VIPER system, but are conventional frequencies “to be used on scenes where 800MHz penetration into buildings is less than useable” (http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=4087). I don’t believe the Pro-97 can receive any frequencies in the 700mhz range, so you would need a new scanner. I’m not sure how much RPD would use these “direct” channels, if at all. The Raleigh FD uses them occasionally but you have to be close to the incident to hear them (I don’t believe they are repeated).

The more important issue is that you will need to upgrade to a digital scanner in order to receive RPD at all on VIPER, since all of their communications are digital. Once you get your scanner, refer to the database for the frequency and talkgroup information for programming (http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=4087).

Matt,
Thanks for the info. That makes sense about the Direct frequencies. I had already previously looked at the database at (http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=4087). Actually, there is where I got the frequency information I submitted in my original post, but I did not see anything on there about the new Raleigh 800-MHZ frequencies (either analog or digital). All I saw was Wake County:

System Frequencies
Red* are Primary Control Channels | Blue* are alternate control channels | Click a Site Name for additional site information

Site Name Freqs
101 *Wake County (Alias WAKE) 866.03750 866.20000 866.26250 866.28750 866.46250 866.53750 866.62500 866.67500 866.76250
866.96250 867.15000 867.26250 867.37500 867.53750 867.78750 867.96250 868.03750 868.15000
868.20000 868.26250 868.53750 868.56250* 868.65000 868.78750*

Actually, I can receive all of these frequencies for the Wake County SO (Sheriff’s Office) on my Pro-97, so all of their communications on VIPER must not be digital. Also, I can hear all the Wake County SO frequencies when listening with the online scanner at http://home.nc.rr.com/exithere/ncscanner.asx. But, I do agree that the new Raleigh PD 800-MHZ frequencies will be digital, as that is the way they show up with the online scanner. I guess we will have to wait for someone to update the Radio Reference database with the new Raleigh PD frequencies similar to what appears there now for Wake County.

Thanks again for the help.

[matthoward]

You have the right frequencies for the VIPER system in Wake County. What you need now are the Raleigh PD talkgroups, which are in the database just above the Wake SO talkgroups (http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=4087). Also, what you’re hearing is probably not Wake SO. Almost all of their talkgroups are digital. SHP is analog, so maybe that’s what you’re hearing.

After re-reading your post and reply, it sounds like you are just scanning the frequencies conventionally. What you need to do is program the trunked system with the frequencies you have and with the talkgroups listed in the database. The RR Wiki has some great information regarding the basics of trunking: http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Trunking. It also has directions for programming a trunked system into your scanner: http://myweb.cableone.net/marksscann...unking_systems.

But again, the only way you will be able to listen to Wake SO, Raleigh PD/FD, and almost anything else in Wake County is with a digital capable trunking scanner.