georgia state patrol

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gahunter33

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Ive always wondered why it seems to be difficult to pick up geogia state patrol cars talking to base during traffic stops and what not. Im close to the thomson post and I would say my average hearing distance with my outside antenna is about 4-5 miles on a good day. On occasion when they are chatting car to car on the same frequency, I can hear them 15-20 miles away( 154.680). I can hear the base in thomson so well, that I have to use the attenuator on my pro 95. Does it have anything with the tone being CSQ and could someone enlighten me on exactly what CSQ means even if it doesnt have anything to do with it? Anyone else in this area hearing them any better than me?
 

Julian1

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Birmingham, AL
GSP Car to Base vs Car to Car

:)

Receiving GSP cars regardless of the frequency is dependent on terrain and distance. This is because unlike your local county or Ga Dept of Natural Resources (DNR) units which are on repeaters, GSP cars are "Simplex". Simplex means that you hear only what you receive directly from the transmitting source. GSP Posts are simplex as are the cars.

I live in Troup County (Lagrange) and pick them up only when they are in close proximity. I can't tell you specifics as to how far away because it depends on if the GSP Car is up on a hill or down at the bottom of one.

I do most of my monitoring while driving around the state. I'm a sales rep so I live in my car.

CSQ stands for "Carrier Squelch". Basically it means that no "private line" or "channel guard" tone is used. Just straight signal.

FYI....if you are within about a half mile of a trooper car and have 458.4375 programmed, you will hear whatever comes through the troopers car radio and is transmitted to his portable / handheld radio. Called an extender or mobile repeater, you'll hear their car radio whenever it receives a signal. There radios scan so you'll hear area agencies as well as GSP cars or GSP post. You'll hear a popping or burst two or three times a second. That is the priority jumping over to check the Base to Car (154.680) or car to base (154.800). When either of those two are being received you shouldn't hear that popping sound. These two channels are their two priority channels. GSP's own nickname for this is a "pac-rat". Motorola actually brands the device as a Pac-RT. Think of an extender or pac-rat as a remote control to the car's radio via a walkie-talkie.

In addition to this great site, another very good one for Georgia info is www.ScanAtlanta.com website. You can join that webring for free also if you haven't already. Lots of good info goes back and forth.

Any other questions, feel free to write to julian780@bellsouth.net.

Good luck and take care,
Julian 8)
 
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Julian,

This is some good info on the simplex system. As of about two weeks ago I only had the 154.6800 and 154.8000 frequencies programmed. I decided to add the mobile extender frequency 458.4875 as a priority channel and had something interesting happen. I was heading down 441S towards Milledgeville and picked up a GSP officer's transmission on the mobile extender frequency. When his transmission ended I pickup up the exact same transmission a second or two later on the 154.8000 frequency. Obviously he was transmitting from his mobile radio to his car radio, but should there be a delay like I heard? On a side note, what exactly is NLEEF/car to car on frequency 155.4750? Lastly, when if ever do the GSP use the statewide frequencies, VHF Hi and Low bands?
Thanks,

Clayton

Edit: I just found the answer to one of my questions, NLEEF = National Law Enforcement Emergency Frequency, but now I have another question.... when if ever do the GSP use this frequency?
 

Julian1

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Ga State Patrol

Hi !!

Glad my first note was of help.

Extenders / Pac-Rt's are real time. No delay. Hearing the same thing stated on 154.800 after hearing it on 458.4875 could have been the result of the post dispatcher asking the trooper to repeat his traffic.

458.4875 is the freq being broadcast off of that little 4-inch antenna you see on a GSP car. The trooper's portable is receiving 458.4875.

When the trooper keys the "mike", the portable transmitts TO the car on 453.4875 Mhz. So if you are listening to 458.4875 and you see the trooper key the mike, you will not hear them unless you are either on 154.800 OR the portable tranmit freq of 453.4875 Mhz.

When listening to 154.800, you can tell if a trooper is on their portable/pac-rt because the audio will have a heavier bass tone to it. Also you will hear a stong "hiss" sound before the signal drops off. That "hiss" is squelch tail (static burst) of the car's repeater (pac-rt) dropping off.

Here's what I listen to for GSP:
154.680 / 154.800 / 154.935 / 154.905 / 155.370 / 458.4875 / 155.475

154.935 & 154.905 are called "State Band" or just "State". 154.905 is base to car and car to car. 154.935 is car to base and base to base. If a county dispatch wants to speak to a GSP post, they do it on 154.935.

If a county car wants to speak to a trooper, they use 154.905 which is also known as Channel - 4 or "State Car to Car".

If a county sheriff deputy wants to call a GSP post, his car will transmit on 154.935 while the post will broadcast on 154.905.

If a trooper wants to speak to a county deputy or 911, troopers usually have the counties they patrol programmed into their radios. This is as long as they are on vhf (154, 155, etc). In those cases, the trooper will switch and speak directly on the county system. Here in Lagrange, a trooper will call in by saying, "GSP 745 to Troup 911". Same for DNR (game wardens). They too can and do access county systems in addition to their own DNR repeaters.
Officially, city agencies are to communicate with troopers or other towns via 155.370 which is an Inter-city channel. This usually ends up being used as a tactical channel by some towns. Instead, towns ususally go ahead and use "State Band" as descirbed above.

The first time I ever heard GSP on 155.475 was on a bicycle race coming through LaGrange. Usually 155.475 is used as another tactical channel by counties or towns.

Russell County, Alabama refers to 155.475 as "Pursuit". This I suppose since if they pursued a car into Georgia, they'd use 155.475 since it is to be a common channel nationwide.

If you think of anything else, please write. I hope you get to hear all you want.

By the way........if you are close enough to the Augusta area, they link into South Carolina's "Palmetto 800" statewide system. Trunked 800.

Need anything else, just drop a note.

Also, check www.ScanAtlanta.com which is another great site for Georgia info.

Take care,
Julian 8)
julian780@bellsouth.net
Member www.ScanAtlanta.com Webring.
 

Julian1

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Birmingham, AL
GSP Low Band VHF

GSP Low Band.........

No, no, no, they don't go down that low................... uh, sorry.

Low band hasn't been used in years. If it was, you would see approx 5-foot long whip antenna w/ large spring at the base. That antenna would be mounted to the side of the fender.

Tennesse is on low band. SC has it in their cars but now uses their Palmetto 800. Florida used to but is now digital 800. California is on low band as are many other states. Low band carries so well. Too bad they don't use it.

Take care,
Julian
 

dhutsell

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ALL low band freq's licensed to the State of Georgia are used by GEMA and Forestry only.
 

MysticalOS

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About only thing left unasnwered, is what 154.680 really is. From what i can tell it's a repeater or simalcast of 154.800. Which one is better to monitor of the two?
 

MysticalOS

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Oh yeah, and is there any way to squelch the NOAA interference on the GSP bands. Fairly often, at least in my area the channels become usless to monitor because weather radio is being broadcast over all GSP stations for a good 5-10 min.
 

Julian1

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Messages
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Birmingham, AL
Ga State Patrol

154.680 Mhz is the freq used by State Patrol Posts (dispatcher) to x-mit to State Patrol Cars. Base to Car. Also used as State Patrol Car to Car.

That is pretty much it.

Of course, the State Patrol Cars x-mit back to the Post using 154.800 Mhz.

No repeaters used. It is all simplex.

Hope this helps. Any questions.........feel free to write me either here or on my email
julian780@bellsouth.net

Good luck and take care,
Julian
 

Julian1

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NOAA WX Interference

If your squelch will knock it out, great.

You are close to a WX transmitter.

I get bleed over on other frequencies too at times.

You might try setting your attenuator on for that freq. If it doesn't block out the Trooper Post(s) you wish to listen to, then you're set.

www.grove-ent.com offers filters to block out such interference. Available for blocking out pager interference on 158, WX-162.55-etc, 152, and some UHF sources of interference.

Each freq listed has it's own filter specifically designed to "squelch" the offending frequency.

I heard through a GSP mobile extender on my scanner, his scanning radio was getting WX interference on one of the counties his radio was scanning.

Best Regards,
Julian
 

MysticalOS

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Collins, GA
thanks for quick response. I wish georgia would just get a statewide system like good ole SC and IL seem to be doing so much of lately. I still find even attempting to monitor GSP anywhere in my area disappointing. About the only freq i can pick up is 154.680 and that's because our local dispatching office is using that one to call cars, but it's extremely rare a car is in range to ever hear reply on ANY of the frequencies, so in my area generally about all i ever hear is dispatcher talking to herself. :) I noticed the WX is worse at night, most likely do to less interference. There is a WX station about 30 miles from me. So i suspect it's that one that causes the heavy bleed-over. But i find it strange though, if WX is in 160s range, how can it have such an effect on frequencies down in 155? GSP is touchy. The gas station i get my gas at, the pump causes rough static to appear on GSP stations (and only GSP) heh.
 

MysticalOS

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I just got done looking through their products, They are all BNC unfortunately, and stay far away from using the adapter unless i apsolutely have to. Know of any good SMA filters or amps?
 
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I was back home in DeKalb County last weekend for the UGA vs. GT football game and was looking forward to hearing the metro GSP on the state of Georgia TRS. To my disappointment the scanner was completely silent on 4208, 4240 and 2832. At first I thought I wasn’t picking up the control channel, but after taking it out of trunking mode I could hear the control channel crystal clear. Then I plugged in some Georgia State University talk groups and was getting lots of conversations. Finally, I tried the conventional 155.9100 repeater and 155.1900 input frequencies and got plenty of traffic. Is the TRS coverage area so small that there was just no traffic when I was listening, or is the metro TRS so new that the GSP have not fully merged onto it? I am thinking it is the later as the Georgia Tech police are not on it yet, using a conventional 800MHz repeater (a voice channel in the TRS frequencies), even though they have designated talk groups on the TRS which are not active.
Also, I am interested to know what kind of VHF antennas they have on their cars to pull in multiple county dispatchers plus their weak simplex frequencies. When I pick up their UHF mobile repeaters I can always hear other surrounding counties. With my multiband Valor PMM3B mag mount I can’t come close to picking up the same distant counties. I am guessing they are using some tuned ½ to 1/4 wave antenna to bring them in. Any ideas?
On an unrelated side note, I talked to a local GSP officer a couple of weeks ago here in Oconee county about the use of CB in their cars. I noticed that about 1/5 of troopers have CB whips on their cars. I was thinking that they monitored Ch 9 for emergencies, but the trooper told me that they only listen to Ch 19 for the truckers and never tune down to 9. I guess this would explain why I got a nasty look from a passing trooper a while back when I called out to another CB'er to slow down in front of me, that a GSP unit was coming up from behind shooting radar. . .

-Clayton
 
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MysticalOS,

I also have they same problem you do; being able to hear the dispatcher and not the car. It can be extremely frustrating to only hear one side of a conversation. I am wondering if there is a magical antenna out there that will bring them in.
 
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It would be nice to have a statewide repeater system in place for the GSP. I have to wonder how well an 800MHz TRS would work for the entire state. Up in the North GA counties I would think 800MHz would be ineffective, as line of site in a mountainous area could be very difficult. I would be happy with a conventional repeater system. Even with the limited number of repeater sites in the metro area (no idea how many), I was still picking up a weak signal on 155.9100 in Barrow county traveling up 78 to Athens.
 

INDY72

Monitoring since 1982, using radios since 1991.
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Considering that the Northern GA area is very simular to Northwestern Upstate SC, and Western NC, and that the Palmetto 800 of SC works great, and the being built out VIPER of NC should work just as well... if GA continues outbuilding its state 800 TRS, it should also work fairly well. If the repeater sites are placed properly, then coverage should be no problem. From personal experience in monitoring the Palmetto 800 sites from Asheville, NC... There is not that much interference from the mountians considering.
 

BANDIT

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Gainesville, Ga
Try pluging the GSP tags in the Atlanta TRS system. Thats where they are most of the time when on I285 and inside 285.
 

MysticalOS

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Location
Collins, GA
greateratlanta said:
MysticalOS,

I also have they same problem you do; being able to hear the dispatcher and not the car. It can be extremely frustrating to only hear one side of a conversation. I am wondering if there is a magical antenna out there that will bring them in.

I know i'm using a NMO mag mount from antennex with 12 inch cord and SMA connector on end.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Antenex-NMO-Mag...980134QQcategoryZ4672QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

with an antennex 150/450/800 antenna
http://cgi.ebay.com/Antenex-VHF-UHF...34231QQcategoryZ14956QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

and find that range is greatly increased on 150 band vs the stock scanner antenna on my Uniden 396T, but 450 and 800 are actually only equal to the scanner antenna, I'm still no expert on mobile antenna's. Do i need an amp to see the gain in having a good antenna on car? or is there a hindering effect of a mag mount magnet interfering with signal?
 
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Just wanted to thank you guys for the info on the metro GSP. When I was home for Christmas I was able to pick them up just fine on the City of Atlanta TRS. I'm just wondering why they have inactive talk groups on the State of Georgia TRS. On a side note, I received a BC246T as a gift and have really been enjoying the DCS/CTCSS decode feature. I noticed that I can pick up the PL tones for the agencies being retransmitted through the GSP mobile extender frequency. I thought this was neat as it is an easy way to identify who they are monitoring.
 
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