SCHP Troop 3

[Mitch618]

I haven't heard anything on talkgroup 50233 Ch 35 Pickens/Oconee in a long time. I can hear 50213 Ch 36 Greenville and 50211 Ch 33 Anderson. I live in Easley. For some reason I can't get the sites in Anderson county but can hear traffic on the Pickens and Greenville sites. Any information would be appreciated.

 

[KF4JYE]

SCHP channel 35 is quite active on the Anderson and Seneca sites. I hear it every day. Can you receive the Long Mountain site in Oconee County? It is out of range for me, but may be within your range. It probably also carries channel 35.

 

[KF4JYE]

Something else to consider if you are using the Uniden SDS100: This scanner allows the use of Site NAC's. The site NAC for the Anderson site is incorrect in the RR database, which would cause you to not receive this site. You can change the Site NAC to "SRCH" on your favorites lists. This link provides more information: https://forums.radioreference.com/u...s-will-cause-problems-sds100.html#post2956433. I have submitted a change request to Radio Reference, but it has not yet been processed.

This is not an issue for other Uniden scanners, which do not use site specific NAC's. I don't know if it is or is not a problem on Whistlers.

 

[lite_c]

Pickens/Oconee/35 is typically active on Spartanburg Simulcast and sometimes Thicketty as well. Long Mountain more than likely carries activity also.

 

[Mitch618]

Thank you for your replies. I think the Long Mountain site in Oconee County would be too far for me with me being on the other side of Pickens county. You say that Ch 35 Pickens/Oconee is active on the Anderson site. For some reason, I can't get the Anderson site. Seems like I should be able to but it sounds like I'm just out of range. I get bits and pieces of traffic. The data base has SCHP CH 35 as Pickens/Oconee. So why doesn't that channel come from the Pickens site on Glassy Mountain in Pickens county.

 

[brian]

It's not unusual for some SCHP dispatch talkgroups to be patched together at times. This allows a single dispatcher to work more than one channel as if it was a single channel, and does not require any change on the subscriber radios. This is very common in Troop 7.

It may be that when the Pickens/Oconee and Anderson dispatch channels are patched, the "master" talkgroup is the Anderson channel. Depending on the radio you're using and how it handles patched talkgroups, you may not be able to tell what's happening.

Example, occasionally the Greenville and Spartanburg SCHP channels are patched, usually overnight and morning times. I generally have Spartanburg unlocked and Greenville locked out. On my GRE/RadioShack/Whistler scanners, the Spartanburg group will be active, but instead of seeing "TGRP" in the display, I see "ptch". Indicating that the Spartanburg group is patched and is not the "master" talkgroup of the patch.

Some scanners don't support patching, and the talkgroup will be silent even if it's part of a patch and active.

 

[Mitch618]

Thank you for that info. I'm using a Whistler TRX-2. I seem to be just out of good reception range of that Anderson site. An outside antenna might do the trick but I don't see that happening. Thanks again.

 

[brian]

So the TRX-2 should behave like I mentioned reagarding patches. If a talkgroup you have programmed is part of a patch but not the "master" talkgroup of the patch, you should still hear traffic on it, but you'll see the "ptch" on the 2nd line of the display rather than TGRP.

 

[Mitch618]

Hey brian. It seems to be like you said. When I monitor the Pickens/Oconee TG I can hear radio traffic and see "patch" in the display. If I press the scan button while there's a conversation going on, The scanner stops on the Anderson TG and I can hear the same conversation.
But when I'm scanning the scanner dosn't stop on the Pickens/Oconee TG. I can only hear it when I monitor it.

 

[brian]

If you lock out the "master talkgroup" (which in your example was the Anderson talkgroup), then the radio will stop on the other patched talkgroup when you scan. But if you have both the master talkgroup and the patched talkgroup(s) (it can be more than 1) active in in your scan list (not locked out) then it will always show the master talkgroup. You should be able to lock out the Anderson talkgroup and always hear the Pickens/Oconee group. Sometimes it will display TGRP and sometimes ptch.

 

[Mitch618]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to help me with this. I know the basics of trunking but I can't wrap my mind around the relationship between sites and talk groups. Thanks brian.