Camden Co., NJ - County system to go live

Status
Not open for further replies.

phillydjdan

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2011
Messages
2,075
Just got my scanner to work properly on the system. Now I have a couple of questions about the fire operations. There are regional "ops" channels and corresponding "tac" channels. Is there a method to their madness regarding channel assignments? Or is is simply 1st call gets ops, 2nd call gets tac 1, etc, etc. An in-depth look at the channel lineup and how the channels are used would be appreciated. I apologize if this has been covered previously. I have not been able to find anything in search. Thanks in advance!
 

Septa3371CSX1

Member
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
1,083
Location
Drexel Hill, PA
Just got my scanner to work properly on the system. Now I have a couple of questions about the fire operations. There are regional "ops" channels and corresponding "tac" channels. Is there a method to their madness regarding channel assignments? Or is is simply 1st call gets ops, 2nd call gets tac 1, etc, etc. An in-depth look at the channel lineup and how the channels are used would be appreciated. I apologize if this has been covered previously. I have not been able to find anything in search. Thanks in advance!

I believe the way it works is units respond and operate on the Zone Ops channel for most incidents. When they have a working fire or other need they move operations to Zone Tac 1. Should another incident arise requiring a Tac channel they would likely go to Zone Tac 2. That way the Zone Ops channel is kept free for other stuff. Similar to how PFD works with the 2 primary bands and the Tac bands. I'm not able to listen to this system so someone else would have to confirm.
 

camco911

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
May 21, 2003
Messages
173
Location
Wayne, Pa
I believe the way it works is units respond and operate on the Zone Ops channel for most incidents. When they have a working fire or other need they move operations to Zone Tac 1. Should another incident arise requiring a Tac channel they would likely go to Zone Tac 2. That way the Zone Ops channel is kept free for other stuff. Similar to how PFD works with the 2 primary bands and the Tac bands. I'm not able to listen to this system so someone else would have to confirm.

Aferm, that is how it works. Also, training (Not all training) and out of county patches are set up on the Tac channel's

I.E.- Cherry Hill is going to Maple Shade for a M/A response they would be set on East Tac 3.
 

phillydjdan

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2011
Messages
2,075
Thanks guys! This is going to take some getting used to, I typically don't monitor Camden County, but will be now...
 

phillydjdan

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2011
Messages
2,075
Sure are, Rich! I caught that all hands in the city last night. Came in perfectly on my APX7000. It sure beats the hell out of any scanner that I've tried on that system. It cost me $3,000, but was well worth it with everyone planning to go 700/800 phase 2...
 

pfd461

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
99
Sounds like your saying the run of the mill scanners like my Whistler just will not pick up Camden County. I have it programed for the Camden and only get dispatch. Pretty much same for Philly its hit and miss with them. Sometimes they come in great other times you can't understand anything. Funny thing before they went phase 2 my GRE-500 would pick up Philly pretty good the Whistler not even close.
 

jcardani

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
1,390
Location
Orlando, FL & Ocean City, NJ
The reason scanners have a difficult time with these systems is because the Phase 1 and 2 P25 systems use CQPSK LSM (or linear simulcast modulation). Consumer scanners do not handle the modulation correctly. They are designed for C4FM modulation which is used in older 3600 baud Motorola systems and conventional P25. Search LSM on RR for further technical details.

You have two options to monitor until scanner manufacturers fix the issue. And it would require a radio redesign, not a firmware or software update of the scanner. The only legit way to receive LSM P25 systems is to use the OP25 program along with an SDR receiver. You need a Linux computer that is at least quad core 3 or more GHz processor. Or listen to the scanner feeds.
 

jcardani

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
1,390
Location
Orlando, FL & Ocean City, NJ
Philly does not have any Phase II talkgroups active, It's just capable. The LSM issue is not just Phase 2 it's also on Phase I systems. Philly used to be on a Motorola Smartzone with P25 C4FM voice and this did not have the LSM issues.
 

pfd461

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Apr 19, 2007
Messages
99
Thank you for that info Mr. jcardani. Its been really driving me crazy I thought the Whistler would be my answer but I guess not. I used to have your Philadelphia radio guide and it was great. Do you still put out an E-guide?
 

Skypilot007

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Dec 26, 2005
Messages
2,535
Location
Medford, NJ
The other option for listening to these newer systems is to use a Motorola radio properly programmed to passively monitor the system. This would require a significant time investment reading and educating yourself on the proper methods involved with the programming. Then a significant monetary investment in the radio itself, programming software and cables. Just throwing this option out there, it does work quite well.
 

phillydjdan

Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2011
Messages
2,075
The other option for listening to these newer systems is to use a Motorola radio properly programmed to passively monitor the system. This would require a significant time investment reading and educating yourself on the proper methods involved with the programming. Then a significant monetary investment in the radio itself, programming software and cables. Just throwing this option out there, it does work quite well.

Or you could simply contact me and I can get you programmed for the Philly system on any XTS, XTL or APX series radios for a small fee. Actually, I've been able to obtain 2 XTS-3000 radios for under $300 each. And I have designed a very simple codeplug for them that does not affiliate with the systems at all. I've done this for several people thus far, and all are happy with the performance on the Philly system as well as others. If you buy an 800 MHz radio with 9600 baud trunking in the flashcode, I can put Philly (both zones) as well as Montco, Delaware State, NJSP and Trenton Fire and just about any other 800 MHz trunk system into the radio, all setup for passive monitoring. Nothing beats a Motorola radio when it comes to LSM. Nothing!
 

k2cia

Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
3
re: Camden County Police Radio

I may be moving back to the area and would like to know if the new Camden Co NJ Police radio system can be monitored? I have a '536 and HP2. Thanks, Tom.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top