eddieforg
Member
Does anyone know if SPEN in bergen county is still analog? I'm guessing it is as not all towns have digital capabilities yet. Does anyone have the frequency handy? TIA!
BERGEN COUNTY SPEN - ANALOG OR DIGITAL?
- Thread starter eddieforg
- Start date
bunangst
Member
SPEN 1 is still analog statewide...154.680.
It's listed in the database. Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the database listings, especially the statewide categories. I suspect most of your questions can be self-answered once you spend a few hours getting acquainted with it.
NJ Interoperability (New Jersey) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference
Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for NJ Interoperability (New Jersey)
www.radioreference.com
railtrailbiker
Member
Reportedly, there is an inter-agency talk group on the Bergen County public safety 700 MHz trunk system that is P 25 fully encrypted.
bunangst
Member
Correct, I have seen a base station for that TG at one of the PDs. I don't know much else about it.
jaymatt1978
Member
SPEN1 -- 154.6800-- i s was an alway will be analog.
iamrftechnj
Member
- Joined
- Feb 27, 2023
- Messages
- 32
going digital is not an end user benefit, going narrow band has no end user benefit. it was an industry / FCC collaboration to keep salesman and corporations happy.
magic_lantern
Member
- Joined
- Jun 2, 2013
- Messages
- 118
you can sure say that again, how true.
bunangst
Member
In the state with the highest population density in the nation...set between the NYC and Philly Metropolitan areas...with ever increasing calls for service for police, fire, and ems...oh suuure, spectrum efficiency isn't important...
902
Member
Can we say that history is repeating, considering Bergen County's history of trying to push BC Alert as its SPEN alternative in the late 70s and early 80s? They had 470 MHz base stations installed at all of the law enforcement dispatch points and Motorola M04CNB receivers installed in every law enforcement supervisor vehicle with "oil derrick" antennas drilled into the rear cowling.
The only problem was that SPEN was simple, cheap, meant to be stand-alone (originally intentionally not in anyone's console, to the extent they used funky GE DC keying), and virtually everywhere in the state before everyone broke out into regional trunked radio silos.
And even before that, there was 37.38 MHz with Plectrons. Seems like the JINS shelter had a lot of elopements back in the day...
And, the biggest problem, aside from everyone seeing the UID of who's transmitting - no one to say, "Knock it off, North Bergen!" at 3 AM.
jaymatt1978
Member
Correct. its an APX consolette with an E5 head and only one encrypted talkgroup programmed. County does not want other TGs programmed.
railtrailbiker
Member
Do you know if this TG is monitored in every BCSO patrol vehicle? I heard that the County would prefer agencies use this TG instead of SPEN when making station to station calls.
Wow, you just jogged my memory. I have a Plectron sitting on the shelf in my shack. It has labels on the front "Bergen County Police" and "KEA 334" made on a Dymo machine.
Back label: Serial # R519BO-4533
Radio Frequency: 37.38
Tone: 1287-1820
Frequency: 672-1820
Shipped: 1-6-70
I bought it on Ebay maybe 10 years ago. Never heard a thing on it with the tone open. I thought something would pop up during a band opening.
902
Member
We had quite a few discussions on here about 37.38. Search KEA334 in the search box and you'll get 3 old threads, each with a bunch of history. Also plug in "all cars and stations" and you'll get one thread with good stuff in it. Some of it was with Mark Robbins (ex-WB2ZNP and later W2MR) before he died. He was involved in some of the early days, especially the Plectron system with B&C.
Circa 1978, Bergen County was extremely active on 37.38. You would have heard these tones every time they made a broadcast on the old County Alert Plectrons. Check this out!
As for Alert on T-Band, SPEN 1 pretty much took it out before it had a chance to take off. Each of the towns had a consolette and a Yagi pointed toward Stag Hill or the PIP Maintenance Garage in Alpine, and may have had cars with Maxar-80s and Motorola monitor receivers mounted in them.
I suspect another major incident with one guy on NJICS, another on Bergen Co., another on Fort Lee, another on Essex Co., and someone on some conventional channel somewhere, and someone will rediscover how simple it was to just put a cheap VHF mobile in every car and set up a base with an antenna in town instead of running on everyone's different talkgroups - even with ISSI and patching.
Unknown. I only hooked up one and tested on it. They answered me. Ive never heard a single transmission take place since I have been around it.
jaymatt1978
Member
That's not accurate what so ever! Just because we can't hear it doesn't means it isn't being used!~
