700 MHz opening from LA to TX - 31 Jan 09

[motorola_otaku]

I was down in Texas City on Saturday scanning the upper portion of the 700 band looking for new Harris County Regional/Starnet P25 sites and found a control channel on 764.16875 broadcasting a SysID of 1BD and a site ID of 126. Three days later I find out it was the Rockefeller site of LATIE. :O Equipment used was a BCD996T and a Laird/Antenex low-profile 800 MHz transit antenna in the car. What made it even more amazing was that I was at least two miles from Galveston Bay in town and parked under heavy foliage when I heard it. So yeah, moral of the story is don't write off 700/800 P25 for band openings. especially along the coast.

 

[fineshot1]

I was down in Texas City on Saturday scanning the upper portion of the 700 band looking for new Harris County Regional/Starnet P25 sites and found a control channel on 764.16875 broadcasting a SysID of 1BD and a site ID of 126. Three days later I find out it was the Rockefeller site of LATIE. :O Equipment used was a BCD996T and a Laird/Antenex low-profile 800 MHz transit antenna in the car. What made it even more amazing was that I was at least two miles from Galveston Bay in town and parked under heavy foliage when I heard it. So yeah, moral of the story is don't write off 700/800 P25 for band openings. especially along the coast.

I am not sure how far that is but for a shot across the water that is not all that uncommon along coastal areas. I once had a qso with a fella about 120 miles away on his 1.2ghz repeater while I was mobile and the shot was almost all over water along the nj coast across long island and over to the ct coast.

 

[kkn50]

When I lived in the Texas City area (1981) near the dike we had frequent openings to the east on two meters and the VHF marine band. Louisiana was heard regularly. I remember Coast Guard comms from Mobile, AL.

Here is a photo of my vehicle parked on the levee last August, before Hurricane Ike, working six meter CW.

http://picasaweb.google.com/OkieSam/20080815TexasCity

It is an interesting area for propagation.

 

[N5PCX]

Tropo Ducting

I live in kenner, La. and worked some stations in Lafayette, La(about 150 miles on 2m)and acouple of stations in mobile that night. The band stayed open for about 4-5 hrs.


Wes

 

[poltergeisty]

FWIW, I've heard 700 MHz is susceptible to atmospheric ducting/ temperature inversion and hench one reason why an agency might not want to use that frequency band.

Tropospheric Ducting Forecast for VHF & UHF Radio & TV