Erie County P25 System

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MarkPalmer

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The contract for the “Next Generation” P25 Phase II communication system in Erie county was awarded to EF Johnson/Kenwood and construction will be under way. It will be a 21 site two cell six channel trunked system. It is proposed to be in operation by spring of 2017. I anticipate seeing a lot of old analog scanners in the garbage piles soon.

-Mark-
 

jscott02

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Interesting. I am moving to the area in that time frame, and was just thinking all my digital stuff was going to be overkill. Guess not :)
 

scnrfrq

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The contract for the “Next Generation” P25 Phase II communication system in Erie county was awarded to EF Johnson/Kenwood and construction will be under way. It will be a 21 site two cell six channel trunked system. It is proposed to be in operation by spring of 2017. I anticipate seeing a lot of old analog scanners in the garbage piles soon.

-Mark-

I believe it won't be operating until the end of 2017-early 2018.
 

Railbender

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I anticipate seeing a lot of old analog scanners in the garbage piles soon.

-Mark-
That depends which agencies actually op into the system. All that has been reported in the media is "First responders". Time will tell.
 

scnrfrq

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I anticipate heavy participation in the new system. Those opting out will face lots of expenses to operate on their own. There will be 2 public hearings on 8/23 to discuss progress. I went to the last one in March - very interesting stuff! There is more background info on the Erie County Gov. web site too.
 

scnrfrq

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I'll be at the 1:00 meeting on Tue., and will report back on anything worthwhile. I also have a contact at the 911 Center if any questions arise.
 

scnrfrq

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I'll be at the 1:00 meeting on Tue., and will report back on anything worthwhile. I also have a contact at the 911 Center if any questions arise.

Great meeting! Turns out all public safety agencies in Erie County opted in to the new system. If not, they would have had to pay 100% of costs on their own to interact with the system. E.F. Johnson was there and showed off their Viking radios for the new system. They will be providing 95% transmit/receive capability in the whole county. Info from the meeting may show up on the Erie County Gov't. web site.
 

jland138

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Pending FCC application for Erie County Public Safety System

There's now a pending application for the initial deployment of the trunked multisite simulcast UHF P25 Phase II Erie County Public Safety Radio System: ULS Application - Public Safety Pool, Trunked - 0007585887 - ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Sites and frequencies listed on this application are:

Erie 40, Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA:
460.25, 460.35, 460.45. 460.55, 460.025, 460.125

Erie 93, 8450 Station Rd., North East, PA:
453.05,453.4125, 453.55, 453.65, 453.75, 453.85

650 East Smith St., Corry, PA:
453.05 453.175, 453.4125, 453.55, 453.65, 453.75, 453.85

Erie 92, North Side of US Route 6N, Edinboro, PA:
453.05, 453.175, 453.4125, 453.55, 453.65, 453.75, 453.85

Erie 91, 0.65 Miles East of Albion PA on Route 6N, Albion, PA:
453.05, 453.175,453.4125, 453.55, 453.65, 453.75, 453.85

Elk Creek Access Rd., Lake City, PA:
453.05, 453.175, 453.4125, 453.55, 453.65, 453.75, 453.85

Being within 50 miles of Canada (i.e. Line A) and requiring coordination, as well as possibly utilizing up to 20 sites, the application says that system won't be completed until December, 2018.
 

scnrfrq

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There's now a pending application for the initial deployment of the trunked multisite simulcast UHF P25 Phase II Erie County Public Safety Radio System: ULS Application - Public Safety Pool, Trunked - 0007585887 - ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Sites and frequencies listed on this application are:

Erie 40, Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA:
460.25, 460.35, 460.45. 460.55, 460.025, 460.125

Erie 93, 8450 Station Rd., North East, PA:
453.05,453.4125, 453.55, 453.65, 453.75, 453.85

650 East Smith St., Corry, PA:
453.05 453.175, 453.4125, 453.55, 453.65, 453.75, 453.85

Erie 92, North Side of US Route 6N, Edinboro, PA:
453.05, 453.175, 453.4125, 453.55, 453.65, 453.75, 453.85

Erie 91, 0.65 Miles East of Albion PA on Route 6N, Albion, PA:
453.05, 453.175,453.4125, 453.55, 453.65, 453.75, 453.85

Elk Creek Access Rd., Lake City, PA:
453.05, 453.175, 453.4125, 453.55, 453.65, 453.75, 453.85

Being within 50 miles of Canada (i.e. Line A) and requiring coordination, as well as possibly utilizing up to 20 sites, the application says that system won't be completed until December, 2018.

Here is some new information from the Director of the Erie County 911 Center:

"Erie County Government awarded the contract to EF Johnson on August 16, 2016 for the procurement and implementation of the new public safety radio system. The implementation of the new radio system is December 31, 2017; however, Erie County will begin transitioning public safety users onto the new radio system in early January through March 2018. As part of the new system design, the new radio system infrastructure will consist of 17 tower sites; eight of the sites will be new construction. MCM Consulting Group is actively making application for frequencies through the APCO Frequency Coordinator and the Federal Communications Commission. The project completion date is December 31, 2018."
 

kg4pbd

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Deleted post, just read the report and it mentions there will be one analog frequency for paging purposes.
 
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scnrfrq

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Can someone explain the simulcast feature of this system? I hear that even the best scanners out there now will have trouble hearing this type of system clearly. Has to do with all the towers broadcasting the same messages at the same time. If you are between towers the scanner can't decide which signal to listen to. Anyone have any experience with this type of system?
 

rrbum

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Can someone explain the simulcast feature of this system? I hear that even the best scanners out there now will have trouble hearing this type of system clearly. Has to do with all the towers broadcasting the same messages at the same time. If you are between towers the scanner can't decide which signal to listen to. Anyone have any experience with this type of system?


Have you read this? Simulcast digital distortion - The RadioReference Wiki
 

jscott02

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Can someone explain the simulcast feature of this system? I hear that even the best scanners out there now will have trouble hearing this type of system clearly. Has to do with all the towers broadcasting the same messages at the same time. If you are between towers the scanner can't decide which signal to listen to. Anyone have any experience with this type of system?

We just went to a P25 simulcast system in Franklin County, OH last year. I can tell you that at work (911 dispatcher) the audio quality is great. At home, my 996p2 does pretty good, but I'm pretty close to one of the tower sites. The link listed in the reply above is a good read. Our system is 7/800 MHz, not sure if it would be any different in the 400 MHz range. Some users here have had great success with the new Unication receivers, but those come with a hefty price tag. This will be interesting to follow as I'm moving to the area this year.
 

Phelanhome

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Simulcast in NJ

Simulcast can be a challenge at times depending on your location and the location of the broadcasting towers. I have a BCD536 located at my job that is about 1/2 a mile away from one of four towers. This scanner comes in perfect. I have another 536 at home which is located between two towers. The distance between the two towers and my house is almost the same. The important word here is ALMOST. One tower is less than a 1/4 mile different in distance. I have spent 100's of dollars on different antennas and cables trying to get it perfect at my house. I have moved the antennas all over my house and outside.I have even tried different scanners (996P2). The 996 has even more issues with simulcast than the 536. I have read every article in RR about simulcast and have tried all. My last step is to sell my house and move closer to one of the towers. (if my wife lets me)
 

scnrfrq

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Towers

I've attached a map of the towers for this new system. My location is shown by the red X in the middle. Based on my location and the nearest towers, do you think I'll have trouble hearing this simulcast system?
 

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Phelanhome

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Simulcast

Yes I think you will have trouble depending on the exact distance between the two towers close to our home. What scanner will you be using? What type of antenna are you using?
 

scnrfrq

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Yes I think you will have trouble depending on the exact distance between the two towers close to our home. What scanner will you be using? What type of antenna are you using?

The system won't even be testing till late this year. I plan to start with one of the Uniden scanners, with a good indoor back-of-set antenna. If that doesn't work, I guess I'll keep trying.
 
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