Chester County P25 System

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cavmedic

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I have not been around during the day to hear anything. I get the "T" on the display , so it must be picking the system up but nothing more than that


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saber2k5

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There was grid testing last Friday morning in phase II modulation that was heard on the east system. This is inconsistent with the map that Ben has posted. Maybe testing was occurring on the west site, but patched to east??
 
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HM1529

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The "East Central" cell covers the Elverson/Honey Brook areas (via the Elverson tower site), so there is a little area of the testing that was done in the footprint of that cell. Refer back to the map on page 2 of the thread.
 

HM1529

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The "East Central" cell covers the Elverson/Honey Brook areas (via the Elverson tower site), so there is a little area of the testing that was done in the footprint of that cell. Refer back to the map on page 2 of the thread.

I should add that despite the terminology for the system cells (East/Central and West), you have to think of the county more as being broken up geographically into "north and east" and "south and west".
 

saber2k5

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Thanks Ben. I just had testing on the "east" site this afternoon. The field unit recites a phrase, then the base unit repeats it. If the phrase is sent/rcvd without issues, the grid is given a "pass" designation.
 

MickBurke

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After limping by for years trying to access chester county on my scanner, I have to ask: Is their new system going to be any eaisier to listen to? Any particular scanner upgrade I should look into?
 

phillydjdan

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Provided they don't employ encryption you will be able to track the system properly and with ease using any Phase II capable scanner. If you've ever scanned Philly or Montco with a digital scanner it will be just like that.
 

HM1529

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After limping by for years trying to access chester county on my scanner, I have to ask: Is their new system going to be any eaisier to listen to? Any particular scanner upgrade I should look into?

As mentioned above, any of the newer scanners that can do P25 Phase 2 will work. There will be very little full time encryption from what I am told...just SWAT tac channels and detectives tac channels.
 

MickBurke

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Thanks Guys, I missed that point somehow.
Any recommendation on a good portable scanner that fits the bill? The last one I just got using 'scanner-master' and their 'configuration tool'.

Thanks again!
 

MickBurke

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Searched through Scanner Masters P25 systems and I'm looking at the Uniden BCD436HP HomePatrol scanner. Is this a good option? Will it work with the systems nearby (delco etc)? Will it work with Chester county's current system till the change over? Thanks for any input!
 

CommJunkie

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Delco doesn't require a fancy scanner. They're on conventional analog so any old scanner will work just fine. Chester County's current system is analog but can't be trunk-tracked. You have to put all the freqs in and listen as if they're normal channels. The 436 should work for the new Chester County system.
 

u2brent

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FYI,

The following PH2 TDMA talkgroups have been observed in use by this system.
Perhaps A Simulcast.

Unknown Police Department:

1150 ch 4
1250 ch 2
1350 ch 1 Primary/Dispatch
1603 ch 5
2350 ch 3

The Ch #'s Simply Reflect Priority Of Usage To The Specific Talkgroup.
I Have Not Heard These designations Used On The Air.
Any Further Info Would Be Useful.

Also Hearing Testing On tg 9914 PH 1 Analog


Reception From Kirkwood PA Area Of Lancaster County On Uniden BCD436HP, Radio Shack PRO-651
 

HM1529

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Isn't west Chester the only dept jumping on for now? Feel like I read that in one of the county updates. I'm sure many of you read this page, I appreciate how the county has been keeping a lot of info on here. Kinda like a count down

Chester County, PA - Official Website - Voice Radio Project

West Chester has not committed 100% to even switching. I imagine they probably will since the coverage testing was impressive. The talkgroups above are the East, Central, and West police dispatch channels, Kennet Square PD's tac channel, and West Fire. I corrected the database to reflect that last night. As soon as a comprehensive talkgroup list is submitted, it will be made available in the database.
 

u2brent

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Thanks For The Updated Info. Last Night I Started Picking Up Some More TG's; Most Likely They Are EMS Simulcasts From The LTR Multinet Trunk, Same As The Police. Usually The Transmissions Are Cutting The First Few Seconds From The Original Transmission And The Audio Is Sub-Par In Comparison. (Sounds Like A Radio Sitting In Front Of A Speaker And Re-transmitting Through A Mic Pick Up. The New TG's Are 2250 And 2625. Also Been Hearing Tests On 9914 in PH 1. I Thought I Read Somewhere That DEC 2015 Is When A Cut Is To Take Place, But Same As You I Dunno Who's Moving Over. Doesn't Make Sense For The County To Pay For A Modern Communications System And Not Utilize It Fully. I Hope The Un-Monitorable LTR Multinet Goes Away............
 

HM1529

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Thanks For The Updated Info. Last Night I Started Picking Up Some More TG's; Most Likely They Are EMS Simulcasts From The LTR Multinet Trunk, Same As The Police. Usually The Transmissions Are Cutting The First Few Seconds From The Original Transmission And The Audio Is Sub-Par In Comparison. (Sounds Like A Radio Sitting In Front Of A Speaker And Re-transmitting Through A Mic Pick Up. The New TG's Are 2250 And 2625. Also Been Hearing Tests On 9914 in PH 1. I Thought I Read Somewhere That DEC 2015 Is When A Cut Is To Take Place, But Same As You I Dunno Who's Moving Over. Doesn't Make Sense For The County To Pay For A Modern Communications System And Not Utilize It Fully. I Hope The Un-Monitorable LTR Multinet Goes Away............

The county is entering the burn in period where the old system is patched in to the new system for certain talkgroups. Over the next few months, users will begin migrating. Right now, I think, is just patches from the old to new to start loading the new system with radio traffic. Yes, the audio is not very good quality because of the patch, but that will be remedied once agencies actually migrate to the new equipment. Once the patches are eliminated, that would take care of the poor audio. There are always quality issues when you patch analog and digital voice together. One or both always sound terrible.
 

u2brent

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2256, 2356, 2662, 2150, 4641 TG's Are Now Active As Of 7 PM, I Understand About The Audio.. Hey At Least I Can Finally Hear What's Going On In Chester County. Little By Little It Gets Better! When Monitoring The LTR Multinet In A Conventional Manner All I Ever Heard Was Police Chatter. Wonder When/If 160.1850 MHZ Will Get A Simulcast TG On The New P25.
 
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