REALLY Wierd Reception 155.6325

SiouxCitySlim · #1 (**permalink**) 09-26-2012, 6:00 PM

Hello,

Since Sept 14, I've been receiving communications on 155.6325 T151.4 which I have determined to be emanating from Linn County, Oregon. Funny thing is, I'm in the Fraser Valley in southwest B.C.!

Background: I have 155.6325 T151.4 in my scanner as this freq is licensed to Skagit County 911 and I can normally hear Skagit 911 fire dispatch on 154.430 T136.5 with a strong signal at my location. I use a few different receivers, from a Bearcat BC898T with a roof mounted discone, to a Radio Shack PRO-106 with different rubber duckie type antennas (including a Larsen cut to 154 MHz). I have yet to hear Skagit 911 on this particular freq, but 10 days ago I started hearing police type comms.

After listening to different clues in the transmissions, ie:

-vehicle registered owner addresses in "Bend", "Eugene"
-an officer doing a traffic stop at "Hwy 228 and Sunset"
-dispatcher mentioning an incident in "Sweet Home",

I consulted the mapping app on my iPad and determined this would put the origination of these comms in Linn County, Oregon. These are very strong signals (full quieting of the squelch in many cases), but they seem to come and go. I can hear the comms, or parts of comms, then they disappear for maybe an hour or two.

I've sat on this frequency with the squelch CSQ and this agency using T151.4 is the only thing I hear. Further, I'm not hearing any other long distance comms on other frequencies.

Alright, so I must be hearing some tropospheric ducting. We have had variable weather lately.

But here's where it gets even stranger. I can't find any info that indicates any agency in Linn County uses this frequency! The RR FCC database (and the FCC site itself) only lists 155.6325 to Saint Helens, Columbia County, Oregon.

According to the RR database, Linn County Sheriff use the frequency 154.710 with a couple of repeaters using different PL tones. However, one of the tones used on the Scott Mt. repeater is 151.4. "Things that make you say Hmmmmm...".

Anyway I posted my story to the Washington forum because I want to know if anyone else in NW Washington/SW B.C. can hear this. I'm getting great reception on three different receivers, including my Yaesu FT-60R while mobile in the car.

I'm going to post to the Oregon forum to ask if anyone in Linn County hears these comms on 155.6325 T151.4. Maybe an agency in that county has recently acquired it as a new frequency.

My only other thought is it is some type of spurious emission.

Cheers,

Paul, VA7XQ

petnrdx · #2 (**permalink**) 09-26-2012, 10:26 PM

Depending on where you are in BC, stations in OR would not be a surprise to me at all.
I lived in Seattle for 50 years, and I often heard OR and CA stuff with a little favorable ducting.
You might go play with the online "path profiler" at something like HeyWhatsThat Path Profiler
Its kinda clunky to learn, but works pretty well.
I ran a quick path profile from one of the western peaks in Linn that was like 3400 ft, to a hill north of Abbotsford, and while it is 300 plus miles, there was very little obstruction.
I work for Kittcom in Ellensburg WA and we hear Woodburn OR so well that we are having to change freq to get away from their interference.
You might just be in a sweet spot for that part of OR.

DickH · #3 (**permalink**) 09-27-2012, 8:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SiouxCitySlim

... Alright, so I must be hearing some tropospheric ducting. We have had variable weather lately. ...

Sounds like ducting to me. When I lived in Boston, many summer nights we would hear Brooklyn, NY Fire on 154.37, Manhatten on 154.25, etc. all night long sometimes and strong enough to interfere with local stations. And it would come and go as you describe. It was about 200 air miles to NY from Boston.

dkf435 · #4 (**permalink**) 09-27-2012, 4:58 PM

The input of the 154.710 frequency is 155.595.

They have been doing some work on radios and have had some issues in the last few weeks. Oregon State Police have had some adjacent channel or co-channel interference last week also. Hard to tell as everybody is doing alot of work on the sites to get done before winter snow hits and cuts off access. The narrow banding deadline is first of the year and the state says they will not be ready and have asked for waivers, time will tell I guess.

David Kb7uns
Sweet Home

SiouxCitySlim · #5 (**permalink**) 09-27-2012, 9:53 PM

Thanks for that info, David. If you wouldn't mind keeping an ear on that frequency (on one of your gazillion radios!!) And let me know if you hear anything. I can accept that this likely ducting along a 400 mile path as Dick mentioned,I'm just really curious as to why I'm hearing it on 155.6325. There is probably some technical explanation for this phenonmena, I've just never encountered it before.

Cheers,
Paul, VA7XQ

SiouxCitySlim · #6 (**permalink**) 09-27-2012, 10:10 PM

Hi Petnrdx. Thanks for the line on the "path profiler". I'll have a look at that program. My mapping app gives me a driving distance of 392 miles from my residence to Halsey, OR in Linn County. That's quite the duct, eh? I'm still receiving comms from this region on that frequency. This is like day 11 (and that's just since I noticed it).

I'd be very curious to know if this affecting Skagit Co 911 in some way? It's using the same PL tone. Or if it is bypassing them and I'm the lucky scannist in the sweet spot (as you very aptly put it!).

If I muster up the cajones to call and ask Skagit Co's radio tech, I'll let you know. About a half sack of Kokanee should do it (I'm a cheap drunk)!

Paul, VA7XQ

burner50 · #7 (**permalink**) 09-28-2012, 3:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SiouxCitySlim

Hello,

I've cross-posted this to the Washington state forum as well.

And that's where you went wrong...

Quote:

Originally Posted by SiouxCitySkim

Anyway I posted my story to the Washington forum because I want to know if anyone else in NW Washington/SW B.C. can hear this. But I also want someone in Linn County to monitor this frequency and tell me what they are hearing. I'm getting great reception on three different receivers, including my Yaesu FT-60R portable while mobile in the car (trunk mounted antenna).

But it still belongs in the Oregon forum, or possibly in your regional forum... not both places.

Cross posting fragments the information making it difficult for people to keep track of what was in which thread...

Either way, I have merged your threads together and placed them in the Oregon forum.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

Fielder3 · #8 (**permalink**) 09-28-2012, 10:31 AM

I will monitor that freq too, since I'm curious ! Marion County SO and OSP are rebanding currently on VHF High.

Speaking of Radio skips, several years back I was bedridden and sick. Great time to monitor low band VHF (33.000 mhz, - 45.000 mhz) in the winter time and kept a log handy. I picked up radio skips from the south of Chicago Great Lakes area ..as time went on in the morning skips moved SE to the Carolina's and then stopped. --FROM the westside of Portland Oregon. Base scanner with back of set telescopic antenna only. Awesome!!

SiouxCitySlim · #9 (**permalink**) 09-28-2012, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by burner50

And that's where you went wrong...

But it still belongs in the Oregon forum, or possibly in your regional forum... not both places.

Cross posting fragments the information making it difficult for people to keep track of what was in which thread...

Either way, I have merged your threads together and placed them in the Oregon forum.

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

Oops. My apology for the forum faux pas! I'll confine my posts to one forum from now on.