STARS Mobile Site is at Obici Hospital in Suffolk

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RagnarD

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Hi Folks,

The STARS mobile site is up and operational in a parking lot on the Northwest corner of Obici Hospital. You can see it from Godwin Blvd. (Route 10). It is parked next to one of VSP's mobile command posts.

I ran a quick dump on Pro96Com and have the frequencies used by the trailer:
Primary CC 868.6125
Alt CC 867.2375
Voice 866.9
Voice 866.5875
Voice 866.1

Callsign for the trailer is WQFZ347.

I have seen only 2 talkgroups active (6162 and 6163).

Activity is somewhat sporadic. I heard earlier what sounded like City of Suffolk simulcast traffic asking someone to go to "1 David" which is how Suffolk PD refers to their talkgroup 57776. I also heard a question about the power type for the generators on the portable lights in the neighborhood. I was mobile at the time and only had my PSR-600 with me in the truck.

I always carry at least a PSR 500 and often times my BCD-396T too and I should of known to take them when I took my son to Tae Kwon Do tonight at the YMCA across the street from the damaged areas but didn't. Stupid me.

Im getting ready to call it a day but I will let the instance of PRO96Com run until the batteries die in my 500 tonight.

I just correlated that talkgroup 6163 is a simulcast of Suffolk PD's talkgroup 1 George (ID 57872). There was a dispatch for a shots fired call on Burnetts Court and I heard it on the Suffolk City TRS and the STARS portable site.

I submitted this information to the DB for update/corrections.

73
de
chris
kq4z
 
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n4jri

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Chris,

Next time you're in range of the trailer, could you check the CC in Tune mode for a SYSID, and a voice channel for its apparent NAC? This would be extremely handy info for times when we have to try and find this unit and it's frequencies in an 800-heavy environment.

Also, I'm seeing different NAC readings on STARS voice channels (first two characters are 19, but third character seems to vary with site) It would be interesting to compare the trailer to this other stuff.

The nature of the trailer's temporary license indicates that frequencies may vary from division to division, and it would be great to have the tools dig it out. (something I didn't manage to do when Queen Elizabeth visited Richmond)

73/Allen (N4JRI)
 

RagnarD

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Hi Allen,

By way the crow flies I am only a few miles from the location and here is the information you requested.

The Sys ID is 19E.
Voice frequency NAC is 190

I also noticed a while back that each STARS sites voice frequencies display a different NAC code using the 19x format.
73
de
chris
kq4z
 

fmon

Silent Key Jan. 14, 2012
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The site is 11 miles as the crow flies.

Pro96Com verifies tower 120 and 5 freqs as Chris listed. Running it on a 2096 because neither of the PSR's will pick it up well enough at this distance. TG 6162 and 6163 are affiliated and the call sign broadcast at top of hour.

Think I'll keep this running throughout the day.

Edit: Chris, wouldn't it be nice if you had a bridge to cross on Kings Highway?
 
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RagnarD

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Hi Frank,

Yes a bridge would be nice. My subdivision is right off of Nansemond Parkway about a half mile east of Driver proper so getting around isn't such a bad thing for us except if we need to go to Chuckatuck.

We hid in the laundry closet as the tornado came through Driver. We could hear it standing on the front porch and high tailed it into the house.

My XYL was under it twice. Her office is over at Northgate (between Walgreens and the Bank on Godwin) and they let them go early Monday due to the wx. Her and a co-worker left the office at the same time. My XYL cleared the lights at Food Lion and the YMCA but her co worker got caught up at both of them. Just as my wife was coming around the ramp to get onto 58 east from Godwin it was touching down in Sadler Heights. She was under the over pass when it crossed 58. Looking at the debris field it came across 58 right on the overpass.

Her co-worker wasn't so lucky, she got caught up in it, it flipped her mini van twice and she has some pretty big lacerations on her thigh and her hand. She had to walk to the ER at Obici by way of Suffolk Pediatrics. She is alright for the most part.

My wife was then coming up Nanesmond Parkway just east of the high school when it touched down on Bennetts Pasture Road and went into Driver.

Needless to say we were glad for her to get home. We were on the cell phone with her the whole time. I had her on the phone and a PSR-500 in the other hand.

She was pretty shaken up but no worse for the wear.

I don't know if you copied any of the radio traffic as it happend but we have a very good public safety team (LE and Fire/EMS) in our city. Mutual aid was so fast and in such high volume within a few hours they were turning away help.

Folks can say what they want about regionalism around here but when the stuff hits the fan the first responders were quicker than I think than anyone could of imagined.

It was nice to get some gouge on the STARS mobile site but I wish it would of been under different circumstances.

We were at a restaurant last night on N. Main street and Chief Outlaw came him with someone I assume was his wife. I wanted to go buy his dinner and thank him for his work but I figured that he hadn't spent much time with his family this week so I left him alone.

He has a very nice vehicle to drive, BTW. A burgandy Burb with one of those low profile 800 antennas on the roof and 2 led's above the rear view mirror.


73
de
chris
kq4z

Edit: The older generation GRE"s show the SYS ID and the tower number for the mobile site too. Interesting...
 
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Grog

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I don't swing by the VA forum too much, but it sounds like you had a rough time up there. We had a couple in Lincoln County NC as well, but nowhere as bad as what you guys had.
 

fmon

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Hey Chris,

Boy, what a stoplight can do to one. What an ordeal for your wife and her friend. Thankful she is doing ok.

I agree with you on our PS teams and tell them so whenever I get a chance. Both Btn Chiefs are outstanding tacticians when engaging an emergency situation.

The Midwest is really getting hammered today by tornadoes.

Not currently getting any voice on the Mobile site but they are continuing to affiliate.
 

n4jri

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kq4z said:
Hi Allen,

By way the crow flies I am only a few miles from the location and here is the information you requested.

The Sys ID is 19E.
Voice frequency NAC is 190

I also noticed a while back that each STARS sites voice frequencies display a different NAC code using the 19x format.
73
de
chris
kq4z

Thanks, Chris.

The frequencies are right in line with the license for Div.5. The only other freq listed for that area are 866.0625, and the ITAC's.

I'm mighty sorry to hear that things went so bad in Suffolk. I was actually hoping that they'd bring the trailer to the NASCAR race in Richmond this weekend and give me a chance to see if it used different freqs, site# or voice NAC when in this division.

I'll keep my fingers crossed for the September race.

73/Allen (N4JRI)
 

dtscho

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kq4z said:
I have seen only 2 talkgroups active (6162 and 6163).

Do we know the names of these talkgroups? I see that 6162 was used last year for command post operations at Jamestown 2007.

Thanks,
Dave
 

fmon

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Dave,

I've been running Pro96Com all day (been outside some) and have not heard a voice transmission yet. Have a 2096 on the control with a 785D for voice. When activity is present on the Pro96Com screen, the 785 often changes freqs to match the affiliation but does not un-mute. I also have a PSR-600 scanning the two talkgroups plus two wildcards and it will occasionally light up with the alert I have selected, but does not indicate a talkgroup, so could be lighting off on a Private wildcard (patch).

Edit: Channel Grants are in abundance.
 

fmon

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Apparently the Mobile site was removed yesterday morning. Logged the last activity at 10:20 AM with radio un-affiliating.
 
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