MSP Zone 20

[burnstransport]

Has anyone had any luck listening to MSP Zone 20 in the northeast Mass area? According to the RR database and Scan New England MASS Wiki, Zone 20 has a tower site on Ayers Hill, Haverhill, MA. I live just over the border in seacoast NH (North Hampton) and for some reason Zone 5 Multicast comes in strong (many times accompanied by static, noise and general interference) but the CCs for Zone 20 barely register on my Pro 163 with my ST-2 antenna. I realize the ST-2 is a poor choice for the 800Mhz band but why does Zone 5 come in much stronger when the two nearest antennas are 42 and 45 miles away (line of sight)?

 

[Matt0691]

It's an extension site. Its patched into zone 5 its because that area of I495 is a dead zone for State Police Zone 5, having this system allows for adequate communications.

 

[zerg901]

Have you checked the various tower sites on a map? Some might be blocked from your location. The further ones might not be blocked. Maybe some of the sites use directional antennas or very low antennas (or low power). Checking the FCC licenses might give you clues on this. Maybe you get interference on some channels worse than others. Peter Sz

 

[garys]

To expand bit on what Matt said. Zone 20 exists only to fill in dead spots in it's more or less immediate area. You won't hear anything on it that you won't hear on Zone 5. In fact, if you could receive it, you'd likely hear less since it will only carry traffic when a mobile unit affiliates with it.

If you can receive Zone 5, then you are going to get all of the TGs on Zone 5 so there is no need to try to listen to Zone 20.

 

[ecps92]

Also to add to the confussion, remember Zone 5's CC is in the 860's where Zone 20's CC is in the 868's. [for now]

Depending on where you are
a.) Height
b.) Hills between you and Zone 5 / Zone 20
c.) What Nextel Freq's are in-use near you [Desensitize your Radio]
d.) What other 800 might be in-use near you

If you get Zone 5 all the better to use, as you will hear more of the Adjacent zones. Zone 20 is an Inteli-Site and [depending on how the Techs have it programmed] some TG's will only appear when someone is Affiliated to it, others might/can be full-time.

Has anyone had any luck listening to MSP Zone 20 in the northeast Mass area? According to the RR database and Scan New England MASS Wiki, Zone 20 has a tower site on Ayers Hill, Haverhill, MA. I live just over the border in seacoast NH (North Hampton) and for some reason Zone 5 Multicast comes in strong (many times accompanied by static, noise and general interference) but the CCs for Zone 20 barely register on my Pro 163 with my ST-2 antenna. I realize the ST-2 is a poor choice for the 800Mhz band but why does Zone 5 come in much stronger when the two nearest antennas are 42 and 45 miles away (line of sight)?