Albany/Dougherty Co.

[ihornsby]

I just purchased my first Digital Scanner. A HP-1. Im having problems receiving City of Albany police, Dougherty Co. Police, and Fire and EMS. I'm scanning the two data bases listed. Is anyone out there able to hear these departments transmission. It can't be signal as I'm able to hear Albany State university police, Albany Transit system, and city works, at Chehaw park loud & clear.
Thx for any info.
D.L.

 

[ihornsby]

Tonight I started receiving some type of transmission on APD Dispatch, AFD Dispatch and APD car to car , but it's not conversation , it's a loud noise that comes through the squelch, not a test tone, but a really loud sound like a machine gun sound, had to Avoid the channels to continue the scan.

 

[N8IAA]

Tonight I started receiving some type of transmission on APD Dispatch, AFD Dispatch and APD car to car , but it's not conversation , it's a loud noise that comes through the squelch, not a test tone, but a really loud sound like a machine gun sound, had to Avoid the channels to continue the scan.

Which of the two trunked systems are you trying to receive? The machine gun sound is usually the Control Channel with the digital signal being broadcast. Maybe the frequency that shows on the screen would be helpful.
Larry

 

[ihornsby]

Which of the two trunked systems are you trying to receive? The machine gun sound is usually the Control Channel with the digital signal being broadcast. Maybe the frequency that shows on the screen would be helpful.
Larry

These are the 2 Data Bases I'm attempting to monitor.

Albany/Dougherty County (6D31) & Dougherty County/Thomas County

 

[kg4ojj]

Trust me, ignore the 6D31 system. That's the old analog system, which has little to no public safety traffic on it.

I haven't been in Albany in weeks, but during Thanksgiving the digital system worked well.

(Watch the cross-postings, the moderators don't like that. You'll get more help here in the Georgia forum.)

According to my notes, the control channels (what you are hearing) are accurate and should direct the scanner to the correct voice frequencies. I use UniTrunker to monitor the trunked systems, from time to time, to help discover new sites, talkgroups, and users. During Thanksgiving, I spent some time listening to the Albany digital system and it decoded fine. Now, I am using my GRE PSR-500 and cannot help you directly with the Home Patrol scanner.

One option would be to check with the local amateur radio club. They are a great bunch of folks and know a ton about scanners and radios in general. I know those folks, as I was once a member. The meetings are free and open to the public. See more details here: AARC Home Page
The next meeting is their annual holiday dinner meeting and officer elections on December 20th. They have monthly meetings restarting in January, so that would be a place for you to start.

Another option would be to purchase/download some programming software and tweak the settings for that trunked radio system. Again, I don't own a HP-1. The wiki shows some ... see here: HomePatrol-1 - The RadioReference Wiki

Otherwise, I would be happy to help you in-person, but I am not sure when I'll be in the area again. Likely, Christmas......

 

[ihornsby]

Out of that data base im still recieving Albany State police, Albany Transit and the City works at chehaw park are loud and clear. A buddy of mine has a Pro-106 that hes not using, im going to borrow it to test.
Thx Jay for the helpful information and your patience with me. I'll update you on what I figure out.
D.L.

 

[kg4ojj]

If you are hearing talkgroups numbered below 16,000, then you are listening to the "new" system.

The only exception to the "16,000 rule" is Thomas County and one DoCo talkgroup.

Chehaw Park and ASU are on the new system and you should be able to hear them.

Do the talkgroups and activity you hear match with what is in the RR database for the "new" system???

The PRO-106 is programmable via WIN500 (and the proper cable). If you have trouble with it, I can help, as I own the WIN500 program. The author of that software gives you a 30-day trial period, and it can be downloaded from here, if needed: Win500: PSR-500, PSR-600, PRO-106, PRO-197, PSR-310, PSR-410 Scanner Software for Data Management, Monitoring, and Control

 

[ihornsby]

If you are hearing talkgroups numbered below 16,000, then you are listening to the "new" system.

The only exception to the "16,000 rule" is Thomas County and one DoCo talkgroup.

Chehaw Park and ASU are on the new system and you should be able to hear them.

Do the talkgroups and activity you hear match with what is in the RR database for the "new" system???
l[/url]

Yes, they match what's listed in the RR data base. Same ID #

 

[ihornsby]

I received the Pro-106 today, Loaded the Data base from RR, worked PERFECT Loud and Clear and Full Signal.. Strange, not sure why it wouldnt work on the HP-1