154.785 Montgomery Co NY

[KB2RSK]

Has anyone else had problems with low audio comming through the 154.785 Montgomery Co Repeater?
There seems to be intermitting and very low audio from the cars and portables,but the dispatch appears to be ok. Wondering if they are using a different system ??
Thanks

 

[studgeman]

assuming there isn't some other problem, they could have narrowbanded the subscriber radios and haven't reprogrammed the infrastructure yet. My guess would be a narrowband transition.

 

[KB2RSK]

I have a pro 107 and other types of scanners used to receive. Is Narrow banding an option ?

 

[chaser915]

I have not experienced this with 154.785. Is this something you just started to notice, or is it ongoing for awhile?

 

[KB2RSK]

154.785

It appears to have been consistant since last Fall of 2011.
I monitor the Repeater in association with our Amatuer radio activities,and notice that it has become awkward at times that the Dipatchers audio appears to be alot louder than the units reporting back in through the repeater.I have also listened along side the 154.785 freq with the input of 156.090 and they both receive about the same in audio quality.That is why I am wondering if they went to a different format or digital,or as sugessted narrow banding. If that is the case, are the related scanner models on the market cababple of receiveing narrow banding ?
Thanks
KB2RSK

 

[SteveC0625]

Montgomery County's license on 154.785 (KZB383) has yet to be modified for narrowband emissions.

Fulton County also has several licenses on that (and other shared frequencies) as the two counties have a mutual backup plan in place for public safety communications. Fulton County's licenses are modified for NB, but I do not believe that they have made any switches on the law enforcement side. I can verify that Fire and EMS remain wideband in Fulton County as of now.

My guess is that the low audio issue is caused by something other than narrowbanding.

 

[62Truck]

Montgomery County's license on 154.785 (KZB383) has yet to be modified for narrowband emissions.

Fulton County also has several licenses on that (and other shared frequencies) as the two counties have a mutual backup plan in place for public safety communications. Fulton County's licenses are modified for NB, but I do not believe that they have made any switches on the law enforcement side. I can verify that Fire and EMS remain wideband in Fulton County as of now.

My guess is that the low audio issue is caused by something other than narrowbanding.

Being that the license wasn't modified doesn't mean anything really. It could be possible they bought new radios and the vendor programmed them for NB.

 

[KB2RSK]

Thanks for the replies,
Have either of you been listening to this freq ( 154.785) and noticed any changes ?
I have studied the antenna lines and listened on other scanners in line,and it appears to be about the same quality of audio.
Wondering if they are upgrading and havne't completed the process yet.
KB2RSK
Jim

 

[Warthog1]

I locked one radio on 154.785 after reading this, and the audio has seemed to be good on both base and mobiles. I will continue to monitor this and see what happens..

 

[SteveVHFD]

Montgomery county mat be doing the same thing as Herkimer county. Herk. is slowly switching over the station units to NB while operating on both WB and NB. Some departments have already purchased and use NB gear while others are waiting for the county/state to issue finalized plans on radio gear before jumping into new gear. We are supposed to be getting our new gear shortly. Then we will get to find out how many new dead spots we have....

 

[chaser915]

I paid greater attention since your post and I still do not notice anything really out of the ordinary. But thats not saying your're wrong by any means. Just in my location, it appears to be okay.

One thing I DO have happen with this frequency from time to time- and I may have trouble explaining it- is that when either dispatch or a unit in the field ends their transmission, I get non-stop static and I have to manually move off of that frequency. Most times it is fine, but occasionally this happens. The noise it makes when they are done transmitting is the same as it would be if I went over and opened up the squelch. Crazy stuff.

Sorry I couldnt be of greater assistance.

 

[KB2RSK]

154.785

If somwhow I could snd you and audio clip of what Iam receiving maybe you can compare it to how you are receiving it,
Also the qestion of NB and WB. Is this an option in the scanners set up ?
I would like to try that approach as well to see if there is a difference on audio receive.
KB2RSK
JIM

 

[SteveVHFD]

Jim,
I'm likely to the west of you (Stark) Don't seem to have a problem but I'll keep an ear out.

I know if you're monitoring Herkimer county at all you will hear a LOT of up/down signal strength until the end of the year. Then we are supposed to all be over on NB gear.

 

[KB2RSK]

Thanks Steve,
Let me know if you hear anything out of the ordinary.
I have tried receiving on different scanners in different locations of the area with hand helds, and it seems to be consistant through out the villege.
I am wondring if it could be NB, and if so if the scanners I own have the option of changing the mode form Wb to NB
Thanks again'
KB2RSK'

 

[DaveNF2G]

I have been listening from Waterford since yesterday afternoon. Except for the signal being a little scratchy due to distance and terrain, MCSD comes in well. One dispatcher (female) seems to get less audio out than the others.

 

[KB2RSK]

Thank again Dave,
The audio from different cars and portables appear to be the ones that are being received with low audio.
Not all of them, but certain ones as they are being brought into 154.785 output.
There input as I found at times is not always on 156.090. Though the license credentials indicate this as being the input, I sometimes hear them dirrect on 154.785 and beieve it or not on 159.210 which is not even listed.
The question of the pro 106 and pro 107 from Radio Shack. Do these automatically tune to NB and WB when they find a freq, or do you need to manually set these up ?
I think that might be the probelm as well, that these 2 freq's might be doing NB and Wb at the same time.
Your thought ?
Thanks
KB2RSK
Maybe we can do a QSO on HF sometime and compare notes ?

 

[Warthog1]

I have heard low audio on a couple of instances, but it sounds more like not talking directly into the mic, or not close enough. Heck...here in Fulton County, there is one deputy that mumbles the end of his transmission and shield. The dispatchers must have to listen close !

 

[KB2RSK]

Thanks for the info
Maybe we can compare notes on HF with a QSO or work 2 meters from your area.
I am possibly hearing something that goes with age, hearing loss ?
Or maybe it's time to go to another type os scanner that receives and has better VOL output

73's
KB2RSK

 

[KD2DXF]

Goes the same for Oneida County, if a dispatcher is looking at the computer or doing somethign else, and dispatching at the same time, the audio will go up and down do to his movements getting close the the mic, then moving away again. Ive seen a dispatcher who will bring in his own headset, to alleviate this problem.

 

[SteveC0625]

Goes the same for Oneida County, if a dispatcher is looking at the computer or doing somethign else, and dispatching at the same time, the audio will go up and down do to his movements getting close the the mic, then moving away again. Ive seen a dispatcher who will bring in his own headset, to alleviate this problem.

My career dispatch center solved that problem over 30 years ago by issuing headsets to all dispatchers and phone operators and removing the mics from the consoles. And the reasoning was exactly the problem noted here.