tvengr
Well Known Member
In Lexington Park, you should hear a lot of traffic on the VHF marine band.
EMRC
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jimmymumper
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I only ever get the USCG broadcast on 22
tvengr
Well Known Member
You have a Coast Guard station at St Inigoes. There should be activity on channel 16 (156.8).
jimmymumper
Member
I monitor 16 but I never hear anything on it
tvengr
Well Known Member
I find that hard to believe. That's only about 8 miles from you. Are you sure that 156.8 is programmed?
jimmymumper
Member
yes
jimmymumper
Member
Other than 22, I can never get any marine band stuff no matter where I am at
jimmymumper
Member
Another Question, why is the whole state of md all simulcast?
tvengr
Well Known Member
To sell more Uniden SDS100/200 scanners and Unication G4/G5 pagers.
jimmymumper
Member
so the radio admins work for uniden and unication great
jimmymumper
Member
just change the digital threshold level
So, before we go down this path of incorrect information, simulcast is chosen for two good reasons.
1. Spectrum efficiency. If a county needs 9 towers sites to cover the county with needed overage, and the trunking system has 10 RF channels in use, that's 90 frequencies needed if the system is all stand alone site based. If simulcast is used, they are now only occupying 10 frequencies for the entire county. That frees up 80 frequencies for other agencies to license for their needs. In the DC metro area, 700 and 800 MHZ channels are quickly being used up. Let's also not forget about frequency coordiantion. Frequencies are shared and re-used every xx miles. Sometimes there just isn't enough clean, interference free channels to use in an area. Simulcast helps with this dramatically.
With Southern Maryland's geography, we have to play nicely with Virginia and DC. They use channels as well.
2. Roaming (on a wide area system). When radios have to switch sites, there's a momentary "blip" in coverage. Normally that blip is so fast most users don't realize it if there's good overlapping coverage. In some rural areas where there is little overlap, users my experience a gap in transmissions as radios change sites. There's also smarts involved in the background with neighboring site info to help keep the transition smooth. In simulcast, there's no roaming when you go from one sub site to another.
There's other benefits, but these are the two big ones I just listed.
The admins of the radio systems around you do not work for Uniden or Unication. That's a pretty lame comment to make when you don't even know them. I have met almost all of them, and they are good folks. They have the task of providing a mission critical communications system that meets the needs of the users, build this system with taxpayer dollars in mind, keep cyber and radio criminals out of it and so on.
They have a tough job trying to make everyone happy. They also can play a powerful advocate to flip the encryption switch on. Be nice to them and their systems if you want to continue monitoring.
I am not trying to be mean, and I understand you are a new ham and rather young. I felt a firm response was needed to help get the point across. Throwing the radio admins under the bus was not cool at all.
jimmymumper
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I was just joking
jimmymumper
Member
And I need to meet the admins
jimmymumper
Member
Anne Arundel is actively using them.
They have UHF radios in the back of the unit for consults
jimmymumper
Member
unless I am traveling I am never in Anne Arundel
No, No you don't, you never need to meet the Admins.
They may not use it on scene, most of the time when they consult is when they are enroute to the hospital to let them know what they are brining and receive medical direction if needed. So you may not have heard anything on your street!
More then once crossing the Bay Bridge I have seen and heard while monitoring the MD 1st system,a Queen Ann's unit traveling the other way using the MD 1st MIEMSS radio
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