Durham EMS Tone Out

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theshadowman

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Does anyone have the tone-out freq's for Durham EMS? I can't seem to properly read the first tone (e.g. I get 563 one day, 570 another, etc) but I believe the second is 1287Hz. Any help is appreciated.
 

cdknapp

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Does anyone have the tone-out freq's for Durham EMS? I can't seem to properly read the first tone (e.g. I get 563 one day, 570 another, etc) but I believe the second is 1287Hz. Any help is appreciated.

As I am sure that you have found by looking, there is no central lists for tone frequencies like there is for frequency information. Some places might be listed someplace, and these places are only because someone has already got that information and has posted it.

I take it that you are reading these tones via your scanner. While this is a very nice feature on some higher end scanners, I have found that finding the values for your tone sets can vary somewhat using this method. While the scanner might have this feature, it will usually get you close but many times not right on the exact frequency; it just not designed to do better than that.

I checked the frequencies that you have posted (in my pager programming software) and found that there are 2 absolute frequencies closest to what you are asking about: 553.9 and 569.1. I would try plugging in the 569.1 and trying that one first.
And also remember that any scanner that has tone out capability is not going to be anyplace near as tight on the tone frequency requirements as a pager is. This is one reason why you are seeing the variations in the tone frequencies at different time. It will get you 'close', but not right on. And that is true if you are reading tones, or using the tone out feature to receive them.

Play around with this a bit and you will probably be okay (it will work). If not, keep playing around with it. The only way you are going to know for sure is when the agency gets a call and the tones go out over the air. If it's a quite agency, well that might take some time until their next call or tone test.

Good luck!
 

theshadowman

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Thanks,

I've actually recorded the tones and analyzed them in CoolEdit. Generally it's fairly reliable and in the neighborhood of the actual broadcasted tone. In this case, the first tone is elusive. I tried both frequencies you suggested and still no luck. I have found that the analyzed fundamentals on other tones tend to run a little on the "low" side. So maybe I should try a slightly higher freq? To test, I am decoding using both a Minitor 5 and an HT1250. I check them on the nightly tone test. I am a member on a neighboring department and keep the bordering town in my 2nd zone on my 1250 if I choose to keep an ear out for what's going on in the neighborhood, so to speak.
 

theshadowman

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I should also mention that I have a two-tone decoder application running on the PC too and have caught the tones live, still with the same frequency...now anywhere from 567 to 573, day to day. None of the other tones vary so much... it's odd.
 
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fdscan

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I used TwoToneDetect when I had this issue... Wait for the nightly test (assuming they do that) with the scanner plugged into your computer and all set up. Just wait for the tone (listen with another radio maybe) and you'll see the program show the Hz, and you can obviously time it yourself. There are other ways to do it... This just seemed the easiest.

Worked out perfect for me.
 

theshadowman

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That's actually what I was using to detect the tones on the PC. It's an odd issue. I'll continue to investigate.
 
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