Cedar Grove and Unication G5

[Markscan]

Before I ask this in the Unication forum, I figured I’d try here first. So far everything I want to hear on NJICS is on the West Orange simulcast. Now Cedar Grove is only on Passaic simulcast. My question is can you have two different sites in the same knob position for the same trunked system?

 

[RadioDitch]

Before I ask this in the Unication forum, I figured I’d try here first. So far everything I want to hear on NJICS is on the West Orange simulcast. Now Cedar Grove is only on Passaic simulcast. My question is can you have two different sites in the same knob position for the same trunked system?

Yes and no. The way the Unications work is like a commercial subscriber radio, just without the affiliation.

In other words, once you set up a system with multiple sites, and assign that system to a position, but it will lock onto the site with the strongest RSSI. You cannot force it to monitor one site if you have multiple sites programmed to that system.

So if you receive West Orange stronger than Passaic, you'll need to create a new version of the NJICS system with only Passaic in the sites.

 

[markjrenna]

You can but it will only pick one site at a time. So.... You can hear Verona/West Caldwell... (Site 1) Not Cedar Grove... (Site 17) Vice versa...

Same dilemma as you. I have a G4 and a G5 to hear both along with my SDS200 for mostly Analog agencies.

 

[RaleighGuy]

No, each knob position can only handle one site/system at a time. Though as pointed out above you can program in multiple sites, but even as you travel the area it stays on the initial site until strength drops too low.

 

[Markscan]

That’s what I thought. Thanks!

 

[rr60]

@Markscan don‘t think twice. Unication has plenty of knobs and zones. You can have it your way. You will learn when to manually switch sites.

The radio is well well worth it. As @RadioDitch and others point out, site affiliation is not dependent on system or its controller but by BER. Less than perfect but not bad.

Most of my knobs and zones are single site w various combinations of TG’s. Just a few of my zones have multi site or even the entire list of ICS sites.

Non affiliated monitoring on rare occasions can miss calls that are all solely on one site and not the other. Generally this does not occur in my area.

 

[APX8000]

Let me clarify what @RadioDitch said. Yes, you can have multiple sites from the same system in the same knob position. HOWEVER, it will lock the first site that meets the minimum RSSI threshold, NOT the site with the best RSSI. What does that mean...ex) you program Passaic and West Orange control channels in that order. BUT, you have a better signal on West Orange than you do on Passaic. Because you programmed Passaic first, if it meets the minimum threshold, it will lock on Passaic. Doesn't matter if West Orange is stronger. It will then hold that site based on BER.

What did APX8000 do? Well, for Bergen and Passaic I have one knob position programmed with Passaic then West Orange in that order since most of the traffic is on Passaic. If I start getting on the fringe of coverage, it will switch automatically and I can still listen to those departments (if one if their subscribers is active on that site obviously). Then the next knob position is just Passaic and the third is just West Orange. This way I can manually select and lock the site. You have to be creative in your programming to cater it your needs.

 

[markjrenna]

Bottom line... If you are stationary with one Unication you will hear either Verona/West Caldwell (Site1 ) or Cedar Grove (Site 17). Not both. To hear both concurrently, you need another Unication. Spinning the knob between two sites is not the way to listen to two sites simultaneously. You will miss traffic.

Luckily the SDS 100/200 can get Cedar Grove (for now) on the NJSP North Simulcast and NJICS (now, and if the move solely there) as it does scan Sites. And you can grab a Unication for all the Site 1 or Site 17 traffic you want. And more as you travel.

If Analog went away... So would my SDS200.

 

[Markscan]

We’ll for now the SDS100 follows them just fine. I’ll program another knob position for the G5. One other question is about the APX portables we use. Can they be programmed to monitor both sites even though Verona is exclusively on West Orange?

 

[markjrenna]

We’ll for now the SDS100 follows them just fine. I’ll program another knob position for the G5. One other question is about the APX portables we use. Can they be programmed to monitor both sites even though Verona is exclusively on West Orange?

I'm not that smart but that does seem the entire reason to have NJ Interoperability CS.

It makes zero sense for me that adjacent towns use SPEN to talk specifically to each other. Adjacent towns should have a mutual channel. I have heard Verona hop on Bloomfield here and there. Should be no different with Cedar Grove.

 

[GTR8000]

Can they be programmed to monitor both sites even though Verona is exclusively on West Orange?

Let's just be clear in the reason that Cedar Grove is "only on" the Passaic Simulcast and Verona is "exclusively on" West Orange...it's simply because no subscriber is affiliated with those talkgroups on any other site. If a Cedar Grove radio found itself in the coverage area of the West Orange cell, their talkgroup would magically come up on that site, and so on.

 

[Markscan]

Thanks guys!

 

[NParkNJ]

I'm not that smart but that does seem the entire reason to have NJ Interoperability CS.

It makes zero sense for me that adjacent towns use SPEN to talk specifically to each other. Adjacent towns should have a mutual channel. I have heard Verona hop on Bloomfield here and there. Should be no different with Cedar Grove.

have you listened to Wayne and the surrounding area?

they LOVE SPEN. Most of the time, officers actually ask dispatch to put BOLO/related on SPEN. Latest a month ago I wanna say, was a stop and hold on a vehicle who ran from a “stop” in Wayne I believe it was.
Dispatch put it over SPEN.

I regularly hear Wayne>Pompton Lakes on SPEN. They are one town apart.....

Pompton multicasts on 471(their main dispatch), Wanaque, and SPEN, and it seems to be effect at reaching the surrounding towns all at once.

 

[KD2JFA]

have you listened to Wayne and the surrounding area?

they LOVE SPEN. Most of the time, officers actually ask dispatch to put BOLO/related on SPEN. Latest a month ago I wanna say, was a stop and hold on a vehicle who ran from a “stop” in Wayne I believe it was.
Dispatch put it over SPEN.

I regularly hear Wayne>Pompton Lakes on SPEN. They are one town apart.....

Pompton multicasts on 471(their main dispatch), Wanaque, and SPEN, and it seems to be effect at reaching the surrounding towns all at once.

You mean agencies actually using SPEN for what it's supposed to be used for and not entertainment late at night? That's a crazy idea.