More Mass state PD Trunking help needed!

[w1av]

Hello, I have been monitoring alot of activity on my Radio Shack Pro 2055. Trunking and listening to Troop D Mass State Police. However I am still confused as to what CONTROL CHANNELS to use. There is different information on the "Scan New England" page compared to the Mass State Police page on Radio Reference. I sometimes hear strange talk groups. I have managed to program in a bunch of talk group numbers from here on RR. I can pull in some transmissions out of Boston but not sure EXACT information as far as control channels. Where control channels are listed ton here, there are some in RED, alternate ones in BLUE and other freqs in GREY. I have been entering them all but do I really only need 1? The information on the Scan New England web page is helpful with talk groups but the frequencies on there are not saying if they are control freqs or not. CONFUSING!

 

[cdant]

In general, Scan New England has more current and accurate information than the RR database.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[w1av]

In general, Scan New England has more current and accurate information than the RR database.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes there is better organized data but I am not sure what the control channels are (new to this trunking) on the site. I am mostly interested in TROOP D Mass State Police. I put in the RED and BLUE control channels from the RR database page. Seems to be somewhat working....but I hear Provincetown PD on talk group "38416" or at least thats what comes up when I search the talk groups. I also heard the Mass DOT with some activity in one of those Boston tunnels.....

 

[Analog-Surf-1963]

Hello
Don't know anything about the 2055 scanner i'm using the Uniden models like the 996 and 15X.

How many trunk systems can you load in that radio - I had a Radio Shack years back that could only do 1 trunk
at a time or scan conventional - I though it was annoying and dated.

Example is my Uniden 15X I'm running 3 seperate trunk systems Zone 3, Zone 4 and the Bristol Sheriff.
each zone has a (red)control channel and a (Blue)backup plus the (grey) talking frequencies - with their
associated Talk group ID Markers.

The Control manages the talk groups - 1 control per zone of 5-9 channels

Now my old Uniden 760 is not Trunk but I can load the 855 Mhz frequencies in and hear the conversations
just because I cant manage the control channel I have no ID's nor Multi channel management.

I live down the road from you say 20 miles so I know what your talking about.

Pete N1EXA

 

[cdant]

Not sure what RR has for control channels, but the channels marked “CC” on Scan New England for Zone 3 and Zone 4 are the right control channels for Troop D—the webmaster for SNE lives in Troop D as best I can tell.

If you are looking for the off-Cape Troop D activity use the four Zone 3 control channels, for the Cape use Zone 4. You can cross-reference the RR control channels with SNE if you want to know which RE channels to use, but I just enter them from SNE


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[ecps92]

Troop D has 3 Different Zones/Sites
1. Mainland aka 3
2. Cape Cod (most of it) 4
3. Outer Cap 6

Which Zone/Site are you programming for, is the info needed first to make an informed reply

If you are hearing Boston traffic you are likely on 3 and will heard Adjacent Zone TGs regularly.

As to SNE lists the control channels as CC aka Control Channel or Alt-CC aka Alternate Control Channel

Hello, I have been monitoring alot of activity on my Radio Shack Pro 2055. Trunking and listening to Troop D Mass State Police. However I am still confused as to what CONTROL CHANNELS to use. There is different information on the "Scan New England" page compared to the Mass State Police page on Radio Reference. I sometimes hear strange talk groups. I have managed to program in a bunch of talk group numbers from here on RR. I can pull in some transmissions out of Boston but not sure EXACT information as far as control channels. Where control channels are listed ton here, there are some in RED, alternate ones in BLUE and other freqs in GREY. I have been entering them all but do I really only need 1? The information on the Scan New England web page is helpful with talk groups but the frequencies on there are not saying if they are control freqs or not. CONFUSING!

 

[Analog-Surf-1963]

you wrote-
.but I hear Provincetown PD on talk group "38416" or at least thats what comes up when I search the talk groups. I also heard the Mass DOT with some activity in one of those Boston tunnels.....
Answer-
The answer is your going to receive all of these in zone 3. Many of the groups
will over lay into this system.

With the Uniden you can lock out Talk Groups you don't want to listen to

With my Uniden 785D you can scan the ID list you made or scan the trunk open ended.

Pete N1EXA

 

[w1av]

OK the "control channels" I have are the following: 859.8375, 859.2875, 858.3625, 855.9125, 855.6625, 855.6375, 855.3625. I got these freqs off BOTH Radio Reference on the Mass. State Police page and the Scan NE page. Initially I was told to monitor TROOP D (Bristol County) cause thats closest to where I live (In Cranston RI) as the crow flies. I have these frequencies programming in bank 4 on scanner. This scanner has 10 banks containing 100 channels. I tried to set up the BOSTON area but I get weak signals. Also I am using a 1/2 wave vertical dipole up 20' cut for VHF. I am in process of replacing coax on my discone and raising that antenna higher. Prob wont get to that till warmer weather. But I still get very good signals using the dipole. So I am listening to ZONE 3 (southeast Mass) Troop "D" as far as I know but I am hearing talkgroups from all over. Thats fine cause I write them down as I hear them and look them up. When scanner stops on a transmission, the display shows the talkgroup. Also another confusing thing is hearing talkgroups that I never programmed! I programmed in a bunch of talkgroups off the Scan NE page.....maybe about 20. But I am hearing ones I didnt program. Does this radio automatically pick up unprogrammed TG's???? Alot of Cape Cod......statewide prisoner transport......DOT in Boston....Provincetown.... Also some of the ZONES on the scan NE page are labeled "rebranded" so I don't think I can use them? Yes, eventually I WILL get a digital scanner! Between the trunking and regular analog stuff I can hear from my location I have plenty to hear. It's just the trunking is very confusing. Confusing because the data on RR is a little different than the data on Scan NE as far as talk groups and control freqs.

 

[ecps92]

Looking at both pages, the data is not different, but we will leave that till later.

Control Channels
859.8375 is Zone 3
859.2875 is Zone 3
858.3625 is Zone 3
855.9125 is Zone 3

Zone 3 Voice Channels - Not Control Channels
855.6625 is a voice channel, your scanner should only need to be programmed with the control channels. [GRE/RS product]
855.6375 see above
855.3625 see above

So now we have confirmed you are listening to Zone 3 [D Troop - Mainland]

As for TG's you have not programmed, maybe your in Search mode, which will show any/all TG that comes across that Zone.

TG's allowed on Zone 3 are [subject to slight variations, as we are Scannists, not the Operator of the System]
a. All TG's for D-Troop
b. Adjacent Zone TG's
c. Specific Statewide Unit TG's
d. Any Radio that is turned on, hits the D-Troop Tower to say Hello, and then is on an Authorized/Allowed TG to become active in that Zone.
e Any other not covered as determined by the system operator, due to operations on-going, Planned, Pre-Planned or Urgent.

OK the "control channels" I have are the following: 859.8375, 859.2875, 858.3625, 855.9125, 855.6625, 855.6375, 855.3625. I got these freqs off BOTH Radio Reference on the Mass. State Police page and the Scan NE page. Initially I was told to monitor TROOP D (Bristol County) cause thats closest to where I live (In Cranston RI) as the crow flies. I have these frequencies programming in bank 4 on scanner. This scanner has 10 banks containing 100 channels. I tried to set up the BOSTON area but I get weak signals. Also I am using a 1/2 wave vertical dipole up 20' cut for VHF. I am in process of replacing coax on my discone and raising that antenna higher. Prob wont get to that till warmer weather. But I still get very good signals using the dipole. So I am listening to ZONE 3 (southeast Mass) Troop "D" as far as I know but I am hearing talkgroups from all over. Thats fine cause I write them down as I hear them and look them up. When scanner stops on a transmission, the display shows the talkgroup. Also another confusing thing is hearing talkgroups that I never programmed! I programmed in a bunch of talkgroups off the Scan NE page.....maybe about 20. But I am hearing ones I didnt program. Does this radio automatically pick up unprogrammed TG's???? Alot of Cape Cod......statewide prisoner transport......DOT in Boston....Provincetown.... Also some of the ZONES on the scan NE page are labeled "rebranded" so I don't think I can use them? Yes, eventually I WILL get a digital scanner! Between the trunking and regular analog stuff I can hear from my location I have plenty to hear. It's just the trunking is very confusing. Confusing because the data on RR is a little different than the data on Scan NE as far as talk groups and control freqs.

 

[ecps92]

Rebanded not Branded - allowed more 800 Frequencies, not all scanners could handle them, and the Pro2055 is one of them, so any Zones that indicate Rebanding was done, you will miss traffic as the radio can not handle the new Freq Allocation [channel #]

OK the "control channels" I have are the following: 859.8375, 859.2875, 858.3625, 855.9125, 855.6625, 855.6375, 855.3625. I got these freqs off BOTH Radio Reference on the Mass. State Police page and the Scan NE page. Initially I was told to monitor TROOP D (Bristol County) cause thats closest to where I live (In Cranston RI) as the crow flies. I have these frequencies programming in bank 4 on scanner. This scanner has 10 banks containing 100 channels. I tried to set up the BOSTON area but I get weak signals. Also I am using a 1/2 wave vertical dipole up 20' cut for VHF. I am in process of replacing coax on my discone and raising that antenna higher. Prob wont get to that till warmer weather. But I still get very good signals using the dipole. So I am listening to ZONE 3 (southeast Mass) Troop "D" as far as I know but I am hearing talkgroups from all over. Thats fine cause I write them down as I hear them and look them up. When scanner stops on a transmission, the display shows the talkgroup. Also another confusing thing is hearing talkgroups that I never programmed! I programmed in a bunch of talkgroups off the Scan NE page.....maybe about 20. But I am hearing ones I didnt program. Does this radio automatically pick up unprogrammed TG's???? Alot of Cape Cod......statewide prisoner transport......DOT in Boston....Provincetown.... Also some of the ZONES on the scan NE page are labeled "rebranded" so I don't think I can use them? Yes, eventually I WILL get a digital scanner! Between the trunking and regular analog stuff I can hear from my location I have plenty to hear. It's just the trunking is very confusing. Confusing because the data on RR is a little different than the data on Scan NE as far as talk groups and control freqs.

 

[Analog-Surf-1963]

You wrote:
I have these frequencies programming in bank 4 on scanner. This scanner has 10 banks containing 100 channels.

As with my Uniden 785D it works with Banks where the Uniden 996 uses Systems which is completely different.

1 Bank should be zone 3 with the control channel first then all of the other channels after
Make the next bank Zone 4 with the control channel first then all the other frequencies.

each zone has a talk group number list with the associated name. example 34000 is troop D dartmouth

Putting everything into 1 bank would have all the control channels running over each other

each bank should represent a Smart Zone

Hope this helps

Pete N1EXA

 

[garys]

Going back in my memory bank, I seem to remember that before rebanding the MSP didn't use the above 860.00 frequencies, so even older scanners would work with the new frequencies. I think the major change was for the ITAC frequencies. You can check me on that if my memory is faulty.

I think you're right about his scanner being in "Search" or "Open" mode. That's certainly what it sounds like.

I think Analog-Surf-1963 has a good point about not loading more than one trunk site in any bank. That will require programming in the TG information multiple times. Which will allow him to exclude TGs that he doesn't want to hear in more than one bank.

Rebanded not Branded - allowed more 800 Frequencies, not all scanners could handle them, and the Pro2055 is one of them, so any Zones that indicate Rebanding was done, you will miss traffic as the radio can not handle the new Freq Allocation [channel #]

 

[ecps92]

https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Rebanding

Going back in my memory bank, I seem to remember that before rebanding the MSP didn't use the above 860.00 frequencies, so even older scanners would work with the new frequencies. I think the major change was for the ITAC frequencies. You can check me on that if my memory is faulty.

I think you're right about his scanner being in "Search" or "Open" mode. That's certainly what it sounds like.

I think Analog-Surf-1963 has a good point about not loading more than one trunk site in any bank. That will require programming in the TG information multiple times. Which will allow him to exclude TGs that he doesn't want to hear in more than one bank.

 

[garys]

Read the specs on the Pro 2055. Not quite the same, but we were told that the BC780 wouldn't work and it works fine on the MSP system. As I recall the MSP system was one of the systems with minimal disruption due to rebanding.

https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Rebanding

 

[w1av]

you wrote-
.but I hear Provincetown PD on talk group "38416" or at least thats what comes up when I search the talk groups. I also heard the Mass DOT with some activity in one of those Boston tunnels.....
Answer-
The answer is your going to receive all of these in zone 3. Many of the groups
will over lay into this system.

With the Uniden you can lock out Talk Groups you don't want to listen to

With my Uniden 785D you can scan the ID list you made or scan the trunk open ended.

Pete N1EXA

OK thank you, that clears that up!

 

[w1av]

You wrote:
I have these frequencies programming in bank 4 on scanner. This scanner has 10 banks containing 100 channels.

As with my Uniden 785D it works with Banks where the Uniden 996 uses Systems which is completely different.

1 Bank should be zone 3 with the control channel first then all of the other channels after
Make the next bank Zone 4 with the control channel first then all the other frequencies.

each zone has a talk group number list with the associated name. example 34000 is troop D dartmouth

Putting everything into 1 bank would have all the control channels running over each other

each bank should represent a Smart Zone

Hope this helps

Pete N1EXA

OK I have only one zone (3) in a single bank. I understand not to mix control freqs from other zones. I am understanding a little better.

 

[Analog-Surf-1963]

W1AV
Ok - I still think your scanning the trunk ( open ) and not the list you made inthe radio
. Like on my Uniden 785D you can select either mode....OPEN or LIST

My Uniden 785D and my uniden 760 The MA Trunk 3 and 4 were not rebanded because both radio's work
fine.

The other thing is Aplha tagging the Talk groups Meaning type in talk Group 34000 does it ask you to tag
it a Name ? Like TROOP D DARTMOUTH

You mention the talk group comes up but it does not have a name ? Thats where Alpha tagging comes in.

Pete N1EXA

 

[w1av]

W1AV
Ok - I still think your scanning the trunk ( open ) and not the list you made inthe radio
. Like on my Uniden 785D you can select either mode....OPEN or LIST

My Uniden 785D and my uniden 760 The MA Trunk 3 and 4 were not rebanded because both radio's work
fine.

The other thing is Aplha tagging the Talk groups Meaning type in talk Group 34000 does it ask you to tag
it a Name ? Like TROOP D DARTMOUTH

You mention the talk group comes up but it does not have a name ? Thats where Alpha tagging comes in.

Pete N1EXA

Hi Pete, I have radio set in trunking for "OPEN" . I do have capability to TAG talk groups but havent done that yet cause I am unsure some of them are actually what the Scan NE site labels them. I have programmed in about 20 talkgroups for the zone I monitor. But sometimes a talkgroup number shows up that I DIDNT program. I just keep looking them all up when they come in while scanning. I have a list I typed up of all the talkgroups I have. I just add to it when a new one shows up. I did notice there is alot of overlap (in talkgroups) from other trunk systems too. My radio does not ask if I want to TAG a talkgroup but there is the option to manually tag talk groups, channels and banks. I am not sure if the radio has the option to set for automatically alpha tagging talkgroups it finds.

 

[Analog-Surf-1963]

To W1AV
Your learning all about this stuff like the rest of us. I think thumb bumping all this info in and trail and error teaches you more about Trunking and all the things like talk groups control channels then buying a big rig putting in you zip code an learn nothing.
Experimenting with home made antenna's and coax is the fun part for me.
Also for the fun of listening try the CMED Frequencies the Hospitals (463Mhz) and the ambulances ( 468 Mhz) there is a ton of traffic in this area. Ri Hospital and Hasbro are on 463.000 with a phone patch but all the other channels are active too.

Pete N1EXA

 

[ecps92]

Alpha TAGS are personal preference. What is in RR is what a lot of folks have suggested and/or what might have actually been seen in a REAL Agency Radio. Also, keep in mind, TG's come , TG's go, what might still be in RR/SNE as assigned to Unit xyz, might now be assigned to Unit zyx, but no one has Reported/Submitted or even noticed it.

There should be NO TG's from other systems, All TG's are from the MSP [Commonwealths system], maybe what you meant was from other Zones ? Yes that is by design [as mentioned earlier in these threads]

Hi Pete, I have radio set in trunking for "OPEN" . I do have capability to TAG talk groups but havent done that yet cause I am unsure some of them are actually what the Scan NE site labels them. I have programmed in about 20 talkgroups for the zone I monitor. But sometimes a talkgroup number shows up that I DIDNT program. I just keep looking them all up when they come in while scanning. I have a list I typed up of all the talkgroups I have. I just add to it when a new one shows up. I did notice there is alot of overlap (in talkgroups) from other trunk systems too. My radio does not ask if I want to TAG a talkgroup but there is the option to manually tag talk groups, channels and banks. I am not sure if the radio has the option to set for automatically alpha tagging talkgroups it finds.