Need help programming San Fran Public Safety System

[cbrookhart]

I am having a really hard time getting my scanner to function correctly with the San Francisco Public Safety system programmed. I have one other trunked system setup in my scanner. That system is a type II system and is programmed in bank 3 with the talkgroups programmed at memory location 201. The San Francisco system is programmed in bank 4 at memory location 301. The first system is a plan 1 system. San Francisco has a plan 2 system. According to the TRS database, all frequencies listed are primary control frequencies. I entered all the frequencies in red text and set the plan type to 2. I then entered the talkgroups that I wanted.

The problem is that the scanner will not go into trunk mode. Pressing the scan button doesn't do anything while the scanner is in conventional mode. Pressing trunk, holds the scan. Pressing trunk again brings up the trunk programming menu. Pressing search brings up the search range screen. I have tried e-mailing Uniden customer service about this issue, but haven't been able to get much help.

Please help me get this system programmed and get my scanner operating properly. I posted a message regarding this same problem a couple of weeks ago, but there hasn't been any reply.

 

[Eng74]

The San Francisco system is an easy one it was one of the first I got to use, and why I got trunking scanners. First what radio do you have? if it is the pro93/95 all you need is the cc's. For the last two years the cc's for SF have been 866.22500 or 866.96250. All you need to do is put those two inand it should work. Your talkgroups should been in the same bank that your cc's are in. One last thing make sure your bank is set to trunk and so are your channels.

 

[cbrookhart]

I have the bc-250d scanner with the digital card installed and turned on.

The frequencies I entered were 866.2250, 866.9625, 856.2375, 857.2375, 858.2375. I set the first frequency as the control channel for plan 2.

I think the bank and channels are setup for trunking, because I followed the programming steps in the manual.

 

[Eng74]

San Francisco is not digital. I do not have a 250 so I do not know if that would be the problem.

 

[cbrookhart]

According to the TRS database, San Francisco has a system type of ASTRO 3600 baud and it's an Apco-25 digital type. That would seem to indicate that it's a digital system. I can hear San Francisco when I do the public safety search on the scanner, but the digital card is enabled at the same time so I don't know if that is what is allowing me to hear what is going on.

I wish that I could get the scanner to operate correctly. I have been corresponding with uniden by e-mail for the past two weeks and haven't been able to get the issue resolved yet.

 

[Eng74]

I was just in San Francisco on June 28th. I use a Pro-93 and a Pro-2067/92. I was still abe to get SFFD on my radios. I know they had been talk that they were going to go to an ASTRO system but they just started with there trunked system in I think 2000. I think it will be one or two more yearss tell they go digital.

 

[WayneH]

Make sure you are entering the right site in. The main traffic is on Site 1 along with the digital stuff. Site 2 is the old 800MHz system that was migrated into the new SZ system. If you are entering in the *.2375 freqs then you are entering the wrong site.

-Wayne

 

[cbrookhart]

I entered only the site one frequencies this time and set the plan type to 2. The scanner still will not go into ID search or scan.

 

[Eng74]

Wayne_h has SFFD went digital?

 

[Ben96cal]

s.f. is ANALOG for the most part with a few digital tg's(ems 1 &2 and narc freq's). the CC channels you need to put in for system 1 is 2250 & 9625. System 2 is mainly used for pub works. disregard system 2 is you want pub safety..

 

[inetinfo2]

s.f. is ANALOG for the most part with a few digital tg's(ems 1 &2 and narc freq's). the CC channels you need to put in for system 1 is 2250 & 9625. System 2 is mainly used for pub works. disregard system 2 is you want pub safety..

OK, so it's a year later now, and this website says that the SF system is a Motorola ASTRO 3600 Baud system. I also have Richard Kelty's latest green book. Neither have base, offset, and spacing data like they do for the San Mateo system (for example).

What's the latest on this system? Is everything still simulcast in analog or do I need the base, spacing, and offset data that's normally needed for a digital system? I'm a newbie to ASTRO systems so I'm sorry if this is a dumb question.

Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Eng74]

I am in SF right now and with my Pro-2053 and Pro-95, it is still anolog and nothing has changed. You didn't say what kind of scanner you are useing and where you are at when you try to scan SF. So I am not sure what to tell you.

 

[WayneH]

OK, so it's a year later now, and this website says that the SF system is a Motorola ASTRO 3600 Baud system. I also have Richard Kelty's latest green book. Neither have base, offset, and spacing data like they do for the San Mateo system (for example).

Jeff,

Base, offset, and spacing are for trunked systems that have frequencies in the VHF or UHF band. With 800 and 900 a radio or scanner will have a default setting for them.

-Wayne

 

[ECPD279]

SF is a mixed mode system. The only digital TG's they use are for medics, and those are also encrypted.

 

[JoeyC]

I want to know whether the guy ever got it to work. Sounds like he didn't enter the freqs in trunked mode.

 

[inetinfo2]

I am in SF right now and with my Pro-2053 and Pro-95, it is still anolog and nothing has changed. You didn't say what kind of scanner you are useing and where you are at when you try to scan SF. So I am not sure what to tell you.

I'm at the Los Altos / Palo Alto border, and am using a 796D. I entered the data per Kelty and it works but I get very low signal strength. Alameda County and the Oakland system both come booming in compared to this SF system.
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[inetinfo2]

OK, so it's a year later now, and this website says that the SF system is a Motorola ASTRO 3600 Baud system. I also have Richard Kelty's latest green book. Neither have base, offset, and spacing data like they do for the San Mateo system (for example).

Jeff,

Base, offset, and spacing are for trunked systems that have frequencies in the VHF or UHF band. With 800 and 900 a radio or scanner will have a default setting for them.

-Wayne

Thanks for the info Wayne. I didn't know that. As I posted just a moment ago, I got the system programmed and running but with very low signal strength, I'll probably scrap it. I heard come police and fire dispatch, but that was about it. I have to wonder what their rational for what channels are analog, digital, and digital with encryption...

 

[inetinfo2]

SF is a mixed mode system. The only digital TG's they use are for medics, and those are also encrypted.

Thanks for the info. Anyone know the rationale for why the medics talk groups are run digital and encrypted? Kelty has a whole long list of other far more interesting (to me at least) talk groups (vice, narcotics, special investigations, etc) and I would think _those_ would be the TG's that were encrypted. Anyway, thanks to everone who answered.
-Jeff

 

[inetinfo2]

I am in SF right now and with my Pro-2053 and Pro-95, it is still anolog and nothing has changed. You didn't say what kind of scanner you are useing and where you are at when you try to scan SF. So I am not sure what to tell you.

I'm at the Los Altos / Palo Alto border, and am using a 796D. I entered the data per Kelty and it works but I get very low signal strength. Alameda County and the Oakland system both come booming in compared to this SF system.
Thanks,
Jeff

I probably need more height - all I've got is a discone that's probably only 20' off the ground (with 50 ft of 9913 coax). Does anyone from the South Bay listen to SF and get decent signal strength? Sounds like it's time for another antenna project....

 

[SAR923]

Don't know about the South Bay but I've got a discone on a 40 foot mast up here in the North Bay and my Pro-96 is completely deaf to the SF trunk system. I can occasionally just hear the control channel if conditions are perfect. The SF system seem to have a really weird radiation pattern. I can get everything around it (ALCO, Oakland, Richmond, BART, CalTrans, and UCB) but nothing out of SF. If you do a search here, you'll find a coverage map and it seems to node out signals to the north and south.

The encrypted medic channels are an overreaction by San Francisco to the federal HIPPA regulations regarding patient privacy.