Berkeley Co P25 Questions

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mayerjj

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Hi All,

I'm new to P25 scanning but have been doing trunked scanning for over 10 years. It seems like I've been struggling a bit since the switch over to P25 of the palmetto 800. I'm struggling with a few questions and wonder if anyone here could help clear the air for me.

I'm currently running off the Moncks Corner site and live only a few miles away

1. Are any of the Dorchester / Charleston Co talkgroups being transitioned to this site? I have a BCD996P2 running ID search and it seems like only SCHP and Berkeley Co transmissions

2. Any ideas as to what talkgroups are being carried on the Ruseelville site? I'm close enough to receive this site but don't seem to be getting any talkgroup hits.

3. I'm seeing that there are now 2 tower setups for Charleston Simulcast. One is County and One is State. I'm barely in range to pick up Charleston Co on occasion.

Thanks again for any help
 

jamiewmorris

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Berkeley Co P25

Not much is transmitted over the Russellville site except some Berkeley Co law talk groups and SCHP, if any of the troopers are near that area. Charleston County stuff doesn't get transmitted over this site and I think doesn't get rebroadcasted on any Berkeley Co site (I may be wrong, but I haven't heard them on any on my travels through).
If you are closer to Moncks Corner site, you probably will hear more on that site: like Moncks Corner PD and others.
 

brian

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My answers -

2. I don't think you're likely to hear much from Dorchester County agencies on the Berkeley site. I think the intent is to minimize the number of sites used. Agencies pay (more) for each additional tower site they use, so there's an incentive not to use more sites than necessary.

2. You're not not likely to hear any Charleston County agencies on the Moncks Corner site for the reasons listed in #1 and #3.

3. Charleston County operates and has operated their own system that is tied into (part of) Palmetto P25 but is independently managed by Charleston County. Hence, Charleston County agencies operate on the sites labeled "County" in the database. State agencies (and other county agencies such as Dorchester, Berkeley and Colleton) in the Charleston area operate on the sites labeled "State" just like they used to do on Palmetto 800. So, depending on which agencies (County or State) you want to monitor will determine which sites to monitor.

Overall, depending on your location, a better antenna may allow you to hear sites further away from your location, and therefore, more and different radio traffic.

Hope that helps.

Brian
 

INDY72

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Each county also has specific tgs for roaming in addition to interop and local mutual aid. SCHP though can use pretty much any site though they may have specific tg for some such as the Charleston COUNTY simulcast. I am not sure if the primary tg can be used on it without a good reason such as the Charleston STATE simulcast crashing etc...

Sent from my LG-K330 using Tapatalk
 

mayerjj

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Thanks for the help Brian! I get the whole tower subscription fee deal. I guess my years in Columbia spoiled me because there was a to of traffic on the Lexington simulcast.

I knew chareston county was an early adopter of P25. I didn't realize that simulcast was totally understand their control.

Any suggestions on antennas? I'd like to see if I can pick up some more traffic. My only limitation is that the antenna needs to be indoor with me renting this house.
 

brian

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What radio and and antenna are you using now? If you're using a stock antenna, try the Remtronix 800MHz duck antenna. See if that helps.

Or, Google search "800MHz yagi" and you should get some hits on some inexpensive model options. It'd get a minimum of a 5-element model. Also order a 15' jumper with the correct connector ends. Get a minimum of RG-6, an RG-8 flavor would be even better.

Go to a home improvement store and pick up a 10' section of chain link fence top rail or 1 1/4" metal EMT conduit. Attach the antenna to one end of the pole and prop it up against the house. Turn it and see what sort of reception you get.

This would at least give you an idea of what's possible with an outdoor antenna.
 

mayerjj

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Ok thanks Brian. I'm a bit stuck with indoor antennas at the moment. The standard antenna with the BCD996P2 is what I'm using.
 

peeta725

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I thought I was the only Moncks Cornerer on here.

Yeah, the MC site is only carrying Berkeley County and SCHP. Russellville site doesn't have anything the MC site doesn't. You might be able to pick up the Summerville or Knightsville site for Dorchester County.

Oh, and don't forget the Reg Gov and interop channels. Berkeley County is region 6. They do weekly radio checks although I forget the times.
 

brian

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Site 1-12 labeled in the database as Summerville is a Charleston County site, so you won't hear Dorchester County talkgroups on that site.

Site 1-18 Knightsville is the site you'll hear Dorchester County talkgroups on most reliably.
 
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