Confused... :-(

[ka5lqj]

Hi,

I'm not sure if this question goes here, since it's about the City of Nacogdoches OR
the APCO-25 forum?

Here's what I'm doing. I'm making a large database for my own "thang". It will
contain fire, police, and ems frequencies for agencies within a 125 mile radius of
Shreveport, LA. I'll use this mostly to listen during times of bad weather for reports
of weather conditions in conjunction with reports I hear about on 2 meter repeaters,
during Skywarn call-ups. (It's an old people thing, LOL!)

Anyway, I noticed that Nacogdoches has all of their VHF comms, fire & police as
APCO-25 units. Why VHF digital? I thought that was for 800 trunked or 700 mhz?

Can someone confirm they use VHF APCO-25? None of the scannners I have or
have seen do VHF APCO-25.

Thanks in advance.

Respectfully submitted,
73,

Don/KA5-LQJ

 

[UPMan]

APCO 25 can be used in VHF, UHF, 700MHz, 800 MHz 900 MHz...probably more. The channels you are referring to are all conventional channels with P25 Voice (i.e. you would program them as conventional channels, not as part of a trunked system).

All P25 capable scanners will be able to receive those channels.

 

[rattlerbb01]

And in respect to Nacogdoches, the VHF P25 frequencies are alive and well. NFD, NPD and Stephen F Austin UPD all use full time digital. NFD pagers are alerted on UHF analog, though.

 

[TXEMT]

Yeah just making you old VHF or UHF analog frequency p25 is a way to save money and get a little extra security and siginal carry without spending millions of dollars on a 800 system, just look at Los Angles PD a while back, kept all there UHF analog channels and just flipped the APCO 25 switch.

 

[loumaag]

Don,

As others have pointed out APCO-25 is not limited to TRS or any particular frequency band. And in your scanner, you program the P25 conventional as regular FM (unless your scanner can differentiate between conventional analog and digital in the setup) without any Tone selection (unless you can set a NAC (the new GRE digital scanners)).

 

[Tim-in-TX]

Having spent 39 years in Nac (as we call it) before moving to Pearland, I can tell you that (unless it is just my imagination) that the VHF P25 system in Nac seems to actually be a much better system in regards to signal quality than that of many of the trunked P25 systems. Whenever I am in town the signal is crystal clear with little to no digital "noise". However, when I was in Austin last week, I could only understand about half the conversations due to a lot of the digital "noise". Of course I could have screwed up programming for Austin, which is quite possible knowing me!

 

[loumaag]

... However, when I was in Austin last week, I could only understand about half the conversations due to a lot of the digital "noise". Of course I could have screwed up programming for Austin, which is quite possible knowing me!

Nah, probably you were just suffering the same pain as everyone else trying to decode simulcast digital transmissions.

 

[ka5lqj]

Merci Beaucoups, mes ami's.....

"Many Thanks, my friend's....

I will program Nacogodoches County in the Pro-2051 (base) and see how it goes. I'm not real familiar with other types of radios...APCO-25, ASTRO, or even Digital trunking.

Heck, I'm still trying to figure out just HOW you all can get the "PL" and "CSQ" tones to list, ha ha ha. None of the radios I have will do that (All Radio $haft). My Icom 706 MkII-G has a feature to detect "tones" for repeaters on the ham bands. But I can't get the Low-band, Hi-band VHF, or Low-band UHF commercial frequencies (fire,police, ems, business, railroad, etc.). The only thing I have that's computer programable is the Pro-95. Without a working computer of my own, for now, it's impossible to get any software that would hopefully "de-code" the PL of SQ tones.

Again, "Thanks so much" for each of your's help.

Blessings & Gud DX <== cw
73,

Don/KA5-LQJ

Grid Sq: EM-32cl
Red River Valley Amateur Radio Society
No Bull **** Radio Club - Chapter 2
10/10 International Nets
Certified NOAA Skywarn Storm Spotter

 

[loumaag]

Don,

The 2051 is also computer programmable (though I am unclear about who may supply software to do it.) Neither the 2051 or 95 is capable of using (or detecting) PL/DPL tones; however, most of the newer Radio Shack models do so, even older ones like the Pro-92 did so. As for your 706MKII-G, I don't understand, mine goes from (on RX) from 30 kHz thru 200 MHz and then 400 MHz thru 470 MHz in any mode available on the radio. Those certainly cover all the VHF/UHF PS and commercial bands commonly in use (not the T-Band) so you should be able to detect the tones used (via the Q8 menu) but that will only work for CTCSS tones, not DCS codes.

 

[UPMan]

Your PRO-2051 isn't going to be able to work on any of the digital (APCO 25) channels. For those, you must have a digital scanner.

 

[SCPD]

Don,

As others have pointed out APCO-25 is not limited to TRS or any particular frequency band. And in your scanner, you program the P25 conventional as regular FM (unless your scanner can differentiate between conventional analog and digital in the setup) without any Tone selection (unless you can set a NAC (the new GRE digital scanners)).

We found that out recently!!!!

I believe covering VHF/UHF 700, 800 & 900 MHz. pretty well covered the Voice public safety spectrum.

NPD has a back channel which (when Skip is in) I hear well in Analog. 154.8900 I believe.

Digital modulations has its moments Tim-In-Tx., there are times I believe Digital scanners are as worthless as a Nextel and should be disposed of the same way, With a hammer!!!