Hcfas

[newsnick175]

It sounds like Huntington Community First Aid Squad has converted its simplex VHF [155.385] into a repeater system! Nothing on the FCC site under their call sign {KQT860] seams to have changed. In the past they had Mr. Fox work on getting them a couple of T-band channels, did they give-up or run out of cash?

 

[cifd64]

Probably both.

 

[IW_RADIO]

Actually, the "repeater" you are hearing is a re-broadcast of 483.825 MHz which is in APCO25 digital mode. Why they chose to run P25 is anyone's guess considering no one else does for fire/ems ops in the county!

 

[cifd64]

The simple answer is they are elitists. Completely insane.

 

[securitymikey]

I was talking to a member of HCFAS today and he said they went digital because they thought the coverage was better with the digital than I guess the straight anolog. The system seems to work good using portables from up north in Lloyd Harbor all the way out east to Yaphank. I still think its overkill using the P25 when nobody else is really using it anyway. Anyone know what the NAC receive code is for the digital to put in the scanner?

 

[cifd64]

Apparently the FCC DB hasnt been updated, and dont think it is here yet.

 

[IW_RADIO]

They are now using 482.4750 MHz / PL 77.0 in the analog mode and it is being re-broadcasted onto their old VHF 155.3850 MHz with very poor audio quality and a much weaker signal on the UHF side. The digital P25 is also active at the same time on 483.8250 MHz. I doubt that this new costly UHF system is going to give them better coverage than the old VHF.

 

[newsnick175]

The P25 channel [483.825] has an NAC of 215

 

[w2lie]

Added both UHF Frequencies for HCFAS to the database as they were still missing...

 

[cifd64]

If I remember from my dispatching days, wasnt Lloyd Harbor always a dead spot? What did they do for the hundred or so years before P25? Stil doesnt make sense to me, but its their money.

 

[IW_RADIO]

Actually, it's the poor taxpayer's money that was wasted on this project! P25 was totally unnecessary for what is essentially a high call volume "scoop and run" EMS agency. The Village of Lloyd Harbor is still full of dead spots even on the new system. Their transmitter is on the Boxer Court tower now so that in itself should improve coverage up north just using analog. The P25 is just something their "expensive consultant" and the vendor sold them on because is was more money in their pockets.