City of Wellston (Jackson County)

[W8UU]

The city of Wellston is moving forward with the installation of two UHF repeaters at their Cherington Ridge tower site. Wellston Fire Department will be operating on 453.5125 MHz and public works will operate on 460.15 MHz. This is part of a PSAP change where Wellston will once again do their own dispatching from the police department offices in the city building, leaving the previous agreement with the Jackson County 911 Center. At this time, the fire system will be analog for paging purposes. The public works system may be analog or MotoTrbo and will be operational at a later date. Callsign for both frequency pairs is WPZK-765. The Wellston Police Department operates on MARCS.

 

[tazz]

Nice to see the WPZK-765 call sign used again.
I remember using it when Wellston FD was self dispatched on 156.180 MHz
So will Wellston PD continue to use 453.675 MHz DMR for dispatching, or will they be on Ohio MARCS full time now ????

 

[W8UU]

Nice to see the WPZK-765 call sign used again.
I remember using it when Wellston FD was self dispatched on 156.180 MHz

I did the city's license work and cleaned out a bunch of garbage. Updated phone numbers, control points, removed old wide band emission designators, etc. and gave back the VHF pairs once used by the city. Maybe someone else nearby can use them. It burns me up be denied frequencies for a new system because other licensees hoard frequencies they haven't used in years. Won't have them removed from an FCC license. Don't even have equipment on the frequency. But no one else can use the vacant channel because its still active in the database.

So will Wellston PD continue to use 453.675 MHz DMR for dispatching, or will they be on Ohio MARCS full time now ????

No idea. I knew they have both. That's probably a Justin Drummond question.

 

[W8UU]

Wellston Fire will use 114.8 hZ as the CTCSS for the 453.5125 MHz repeater. That channel will be for initial dispatch. WFD will use the county's UHF DMR system for ongoing communication.

Wellston Police are using 453.675 MHz (County DMR) and MARCS.

The public works system will be on the air at a later date. New mobiles must be purchased and installed in city vehicles. The fire and police departments simply needed existing UHF radios and pagers reprogrammed.

 

[tazz]

Thanks for the update Rick. Looks like your going to be busy for the next couple of months getting everything reprogrammed and online.

Good to see the PD and FD will still be using the County UHF DMR system.

 

[saioke]

it's now 2024, is it safe to assume that Wellston PD is still using DMR? I haven't heard them speak on MARCs at all.

 

[W8UU]

it's now 2024, is it safe to assume that Wellston PD is still using DMR? I haven't heard them speak on MARCs at all.

I have been told Wellston PD is using 453.675 MHz in DMR mode for all communication. I don't have a way to monitor DMR at this time so I can't give a first hand report. At one time, there was an issue with MARCS coverage inside the city from the Indian Camp site about 5 miles east of Wellston and that's the reason WPD isn't on board. The rest of Jackson County's law enforcement and EMS communications are on MARCS.

 

[tazz]

Wellston PD's primary radio communications are on 453.675 MHz DMR with Color Code 10, Time Slot 1, and Talk Group ID #400201

They still use MARCS occasionally when out of range of the UHF DMR system.

 

[saioke]

Thanks for the replies, I guess I'll keep their TG programmed just in case they do use MARCS. I also don't have anything to monitor DMR but I understand their stance on using DMR though. I have trouble picking up the Indian Camp site too despite the fact that I can pick up the Jackson site and the Allensville site in Vinton. Those are farther away. Looking at where the Indian Camp site is though, I get it. There's just a whole lot of foliage, power lines and hills in the area. Could probably put a site where the old water tower in Wellston used to be and it would be golden. But that's probably a state issue, not county.

 

[mtindor]

Wellston PD's primary radio communications are on 453.675 MHz DMR with Color Code 10, Time Slot 1, and Talk Group ID #400201

They still use MARCS occasionally when out of range of the UHF DMR system.

Thank you. Database updated.

 

[W8UU]

Thanks for the replies, I guess I'll keep their TG programmed just in case they do use MARCS. I also don't have anything to monitor DMR but I understand their stance on using DMR though. I have trouble picking up the Indian Camp site too despite the fact that I can pick up the Jackson site and the Allensville site in Vinton. Those are farther away. Looking at where the Indian Camp site is though, I get it. There's just a whole lot of foliage, power lines and hills in the area. Could probably put a site where the old water tower in Wellston used to be and it would be golden. But that's probably a state issue, not county.

The answer is a MARCS site inside the city of Wellston. MARCS coverage on portable radios is near zero inside all the Wellston schools (a huge safety issue for everyone if the unthinkable happens) as well as most of the downtown businesses. The county's UHF DMR system is on a tower that overlooks the city and coverage is almost 100% everywhere. There are several locations that would be suitable for a MARCS tower with hilltop property owned by the city, township, or school district -- but the State of Ohio would need to make the commitment on construction and licensing. I'm not sure what kind of relationship MARCS has with the cell phone companies but there are several cell towers in the city, too.