Digital-Data bursts 154.190

[scanman1958]

I have been hearing data bursts on the St. Clair Co (old?) and some surrounding counties fire dispatch VHF frequency of 154.190. I believe the PL is 186.x?. Sometimes they accure every five seconds or so and sometimes continue for five or more minutes.
Is that frequency still active at all in the metro east area? And does anyone know what the bursts are?
From what I have heard most departments that don't have their own city/dept frequency have migrated somewhat to Starcom.
Thanks.

 

[frankdrebbin]

I generally don't listen to that frequency since Monroe Co. FD's went to Starcom but they used to patch to it. I know on Mondays when Monroe Co. does the fire test pages they use both the Starcom TG and 154.190. MoCo dispatches Waterloo, Valmeyer, Hecker, RedBud, and Maeystown on the same TG. Columbia has it's own dispatch.

 

[Starcom21]

I've been hearing them for years, but lately been a lot more active.

It sounds like the data used to activate Outdoor Warning Sirens

At my home, it often comes in full scale. One of my notes:

C186.2 heard Data like sirens 1845 9/19/23, more bursts, sometimes Full Scale then louder bursts, courtesy beeps through 6:50)

To me, it's different locations talking to each other, since they all have a different RF signal

Check the first Tuesday of the month around 10AM for possible testing too. But I have been hearing it random other times too

 

[scanman1958]

Well at least I am not crazy. At first I thought is may be alerting info being sent to engine houses for calls with voice being on Starcom but after hearing more than 20 bursts in a row I thought maybe not. I think you are on the right track with communication between locations. I might have to listen in some more.

 

[MikeyC]

Well at least I am not crazy. At first I thought is may be alerting info being sent to engine houses for calls with voice being on Starcom but after hearing more than 20 bursts in a row I thought maybe not. I think you are on the right track with communication between locations. I might have to listen in some more.

Wisconsin uses 154.1900 on their statewide WISCOMM system - Any chances this is what you're hearing?

 

[scanman1958]

Not in southern IL. Signal is strong and every day. It's not skip.

 

[datainmotion]

I've been hearing them for years, but lately been a lot more active.

It sounds like the data used to activate Outdoor Warning Sirens

At my home, it often comes in full scale. One of my notes:

C186.2 heard Data like sirens 1845 9/19/23, more bursts, sometimes Full Scale then louder bursts, courtesy beeps through 6:50)

To me, it's different locations talking to each other, since they all have a different RF signal

Check the first Tuesday of the month around 10AM for possible testing too. But I have been hearing it random other times too

Many OW systems use MF, DTMF, FSK and other protocols to control the sirens. Your descriptions of different locations talking to each other is likely the controller polling each site for diagnostic purposes.

 

[nick1427d]

noticing the burst at xx:55 hours, not every hour. Last night I was on the road for 3 hours in and around St. Clair Co. Burst heard and strong on 154.190 at 1655, 1755, and 1855 hours.

Not sure why they would use the backup fire dispatch frequency for siren data.

 

[scanman1958]

If it is truly for warning siren data, then it it would be battery level checking and possible system checking for faults. Just a guess.

 

[kruser]

If it is truly for warning siren data, then it it would be battery level checking and possible system checking for faults. Just a guess.

Not certain if things changed but STL County used to use analog 800 MHz freqs for siren activation as well as the voice announcement heard over today's Whelen warning sirens. They do live tests over the air on the first Monday of the month at 11AM unless bad weather is possible.
Prior to this, they were on 450 MHz freqs and probably VHF High before that.
AFAIK, the county still uses the dedicated 800 MHz analog freqs for siren control Plus monitoring on the things you mentioned like battery condition and other faults and likely cabinet temps. Almost all the current Whelen sirens I drive by in the county have radio boxes mounted just below the sirens that contain a pair of 800 MHz antennas. I've seen some with just two antenna on top and then some with two on top and a third 800 antenna aiming down from the bottom of the cabinet. I have always wondered if the sirens can also be activated over a direct digital access from the Slater network using a data channel in case the analog links fail.
The 800 MHz siren freqs were licensed well before Slater was finalized and put on the air from my recollection but I could be wrong on that. They have also had at least two siren frequencies which I hear data plus the analog warning voice instructions on both freqs which is played over the sirens at the end of the wailing siren sounds.
I'm pretty sure they are listed on the conventional STL County DB page and an FCC lookup will reveal emissions of FM voice, and whatever DTMF or POCSAG etc type data format they can use.
As to the Illinois data bursts on 155.190, I can also pickup several of the locations reporting status most likely. I've heard the same type of DTMF or other tones for siren data in other counties here in Missouri outside of the metro ST Louis area.
I've logged some of the DTMF streams looking for repetitions in the digits that may indicate diagnostic status polling.
If one listens to the STL County siren freqs, you could hear the voice part after the sirens were commanded to switch to live voice mode. Today, they may have switched the sirens signalling to P25 or similar as it's been a while since I've monitored the listed frequencies. And knowing all the above, I've never Once monitored the siren freqs when they were activated for an actual storm!!

 

[MissouriSirens]

Not certain if things changed but STL County used to use analog 800 MHz freqs for siren activation as well as the voice announcement heard over today's Whelen warning sirens. They do live tests over the air on the first Monday of the month at 11AM unless bad weather is possible.
Prior to this, they were on 450 MHz freqs and probably VHF High before that.
AFAIK, the county still uses the dedicated 800 MHz analog freqs for siren control Plus monitoring on the things you mentioned like battery condition and other faults and likely cabinet temps. Almost all the current Whelen sirens I drive by in the county have radio boxes mounted just below the sirens that contain a pair of 800 MHz antennas. I've seen some with just two antenna on top and then some with two on top and a third 800 antenna aiming down from the bottom of the cabinet. I have always wondered if the sirens can also be activated over a direct digital access from the Slater network using a data channel in case the analog links fail.
The 800 MHz siren freqs were licensed well before Slater was finalized and put on the air from my recollection but I could be wrong on that. They have also had at least two siren frequencies which I hear data plus the analog warning voice instructions on both freqs which is played over the sirens at the end of the wailing siren sounds.
I'm pretty sure they are listed on the conventional STL County DB page and an FCC lookup will reveal emissions of FM voice, and whatever DTMF or POCSAG etc type data format they can use.
As to the Illinois data bursts on 155.190, I can also pickup several of the locations reporting status most likely. I've heard the same type of DTMF or other tones for siren data in other counties here in Missouri outside of the metro ST Louis area.
I've logged some of the DTMF streams looking for repetitions in the digits that may indicate diagnostic status polling.
If one listens to the STL County siren freqs, you could hear the voice part after the sirens were commanded to switch to live voice mode. Today, they may have switched the sirens signalling to P25 or similar as it's been a while since I've monitored the listed frequencies. And knowing all the above, I've never Once monitored the siren freqs when they were activated for an actual storm!!

With the Saint Louis Data frequencies, that is encryption and it is for some odd reason still audible with a digital scanner.

I can audibly hear it on both my 436HP and my SDS100, I do live in the area.

However we are in the process of phasing that out with CentrAlert boards, which are already in place but we have to fix a couple of more things to get it the way we want it to. Once that is completed, Timestamped FSK will be heard instead of the POCSAG (Which is the encryption sound you hear).