Erie County/Hamburg NY (scanner upgrade and frequency questions)

[Double-J]

First, here is my original thread in the new members section, which gives a little background into what's shaking.

With the recent weather we're having, I tried plugging in all of the signals on the Erie County reference page here (many of which were already in the memory but a few new/slightly different ones), but still am unsure about this "F2" frequency. Would my Bearcat 220 be capable of getting this signal? Is it just another frequency, or would this require newer technology to be able to receive? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Traditionally, we get most of the radio chatter in the police/fire/ems but once they go to "F2" (as they state over the radios), we lose most of the traffic and instead get the occasional - and oftentimes routine - chatter.

Similarly, if the Bearcat 220 can do the job, I'd be ecstatic. But if it can't - regardless - I'd be interested in upgrading my Mum to a new scanner for Christmas. Any recommendations/minimum specs for a new one would be most greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks,
JJ

 

[wnyemt628]

F2

JJ,
The F2 frequency used by Erie County is the low band backup for all the fire controls in the county. They often will switch to that channel for reasons of distance, operations, or heavy radio traffic on their primary frequency. You may also hear their fire police, or just general chatter on it. It is a statewide frequency and used more many tings depending on where you go. Neighboring Wyoming uses F2 for operations, etc...
It is a channel around since the 1950's, so you should have no problem getting that channel, and you might get more from F2 than many fire control's F1 (if they are still on low band).

73

 

[Double-J]

JJ,
The F2 frequency used by Erie County is the low band backup for all the fire controls in the county. They often will switch to that channel for reasons of distance, operations, or heavy radio traffic on their primary frequency. You may also hear their fire police, or just general chatter on it. It is a statewide frequency and used more many tings depending on where you go. Neighboring Wyoming uses F2 for operations, etc...
It is a channel around since the 1950's, so you should have no problem getting that channel, and you might get more from F2 than many fire control's F1 (if they are still on low band).

73

Many thanks! Do you know (offhand) the frequency for this channel? I checked the reference page for Erie County but none seem to be indicative of whether it is F2 or otherwise. Any help in identifying this would be most greatly appreciated.

 

[WNYscan]

Most likely 46.38

 

[BTFire21]

Hamburg Fire Control is still on the 1950's Low Band VHF radio system. The channel listing is below.

F1-46.20 Dispatch
F2-46.38 County Wide Frequency
F3-46.30 Fire Police
F4-46.22 Fireground Operations
F5-47.54 Training.General Use

Also depending on the type of antenna you have you may only hear mobile or portable radios if they are withing a few miles of you.

 

[Double-J]

Many thanks! I've been trying to figure this out for ages but never really looked into a forum like this. Much obliged for the assistance.

 

[Ben830]

Hamburg Police Frequency

Did Hamburg Police change thier freq? The last few days all I can pick up is Evans Police on their freq. Fire seems to be using the same freq. Any help would be great.
Thanks

 

[jt1000]

This maybe Hamburg PD

Hamburg Pd 454.1875 Mhz DPL 343

 

[Double-J]

Did Hamburg Police change thier freq? The last few days all I can pick up is Evans Police on their freq. Fire seems to be using the same freq. Any help would be great.
Thanks

I have noticed an "ERR" on one of my Bearcat presets recently, which is odd because it hasn't changed since I started this thread and updated codes. I'll have to pay closer attention and try the code jt added above.

 

[Ben830]

This is the correct freq. Thanks

 

[BTFire21]

They are using 454.1875 right now while they await a new frequency pair from the FCC. They currently have a license pending for a UHF frequency pair which I would assume is what they will switch to.

 

[Double-J]

@BTFire21 - Many thanks! Would you happen to know what the new UHF frequency will be/when it goes into effect? Or how we could find that out?

 

[Lorna68fs]

The frequency they will probably be using is 460.3375 MHz. I found this info on the FCC website. This is a new license which was granted this past March.

 

[BTFire21]

The frequency mentioned above or they currently have a license pending for 460.4125 and 460.4375. Also they may switch to P25 digital as they have been testing in P25 over the last month or so.

 

[Double-J]

The frequency mentioned above or they currently have a license pending for 460.4125 and 460.4375. Also they may switch to P25 digital as they have been testing in P25 over the last month or so.

Do you know if they have made or will make the change in the near future? I haven't upgraded my scanner as of yet, but am looking to do so soon. If I need a digital scanner, I'd rather wait until absolutely necessary. Thanks

 

[David4223]

Do you know if they have made or will make the change in the near future? I haven't upgraded my scanner as of yet, but am looking to do so soon. If I need a digital scanner, I'd rather wait until absolutely necessary. Thanks

From what I've heard (one of our fire department members is a dispatcher for Hamburg) -- they have no plans to switch to digital in the near future.