>> You might also try 853.4875.
Lew - At one time, I believe this frequency was once classified as an itinerent channel, available to alot of licensees in and outside of public safety for simplex use. Some licensees licensed the frequency, and some did not.
Nextel acquired the rights to the frequency in a frequency auction ( 5 - 7 years ago ? ), but some 800 MHz radio users continue to operate on the frequency.
Nextel has 40 ( yes - 40 ! ) licenses covering 853.4875 for use in Richland County, and that doesn't include all the licenses covering Lexington and every county adjacent to Richland. That doesn't mean each of the sites covered in the licenses is definitely using the frequency ... it just simply means they could be.
For the scanner listener, it may mean that you are as likely to hear iDEN "noise" as you would Richland Co S-O tac communications on the channel. If an agency was using the channel in analog mode with a PL / DPL tone, setting that tone in your scanner would help.
For the public safety agency, having a working high-power iDEN signal on your tac channel can also be a "negative," due to the potential interference issues. Pinellas County, Fla. ( St. Petersburg ) was having that problem last fall, and couldn't figure out the cause of the interference until it was mentioned to them that Nextel was also licensed for the channel.
Jeff Multer
Fort Mill, S.C.
