Fremont

[gmclam]

I am using a PSR-500 to monitor the EBRCS from eastern Sacramento county. I do have an outside antenna (discone) and I don't usually monitor Fremont, but TGs of interest (CoCo fire) come in great. If you do go to a new scanner, get one that is Phase II capable. Not many choices out there right now though.

 

[dangrass]

Ok. So, I was able to create a new system in Sentinel and with the assistance of hiegtx managed to add not just the departments but the sites as well. Unfortunately, I am still unable to receive this system. What I've noticed is that compared with the San Francisco P25 system, which I can receive, while the frequencies are now listed the band plan data is missing. For San Francisco there is an entry in the band plan while with EBRCS there is none.

When I entered the EBRCS system manually I put the lowest and highest frequency in the band plan and had SOME success. It seems that there needs to be an entry there for this to work. In the case of the San Francisco system the frequencies listed in the band plan are not any of those listed on the Radio Reference site. My question is, assuming there needs to be an entry in the band plan for EBRCS to work, where would I find these frequencies?

 

[dangrass]

another question. Seems that I can no longer hear audio for the San Francisco P25 system. I'm seeing the scanner stop at various transmissions, but no audio. How do I fix this?

 

[bharvey2]

Dangrass, Doesn't your scanner allow you to select your listening area via zip code or geographical area? I use a PRO688 and listen to and have no trouble hearing Fremont calls from my location. I also monitor ALCO - East using a pair of SDR dongles and an outdoor yagi. Are you in the East Bay along the hwy 880 corridor?

 

[dangrass]

yes, it does. I live in Oakland near the Claremont hotel.

 

[bharvey2]

yes, it does. I live in Oakland near the Claremont hotel.

It might be a location issue. I'm on the wees side of San Leandro, a little way from the marina. I can get the ALCO-East system just fine but have trouble with the Oakland area. I work a bit north from home and still have trouble with picking up the Oakland sites.

 

[gmclam]

You should select P25 AUTO as the system type, therefore no band plan is needed.

The EBRCS has a lot of sites and the one which you have best reception for can be elusive. What I'd do is program in each active control channel and park the scanner on that frequency in Analyze mode. The decode percentage is far more important than signal strength. Then just program in the site with the best decode percentage and let it scan. If you program in more than one site, you'll have to be careful that the scanner doesn't unintentionally switch to the less effective site.

 

[Stealthguy05]

another question. Seems that I can no longer hear audio for the San Francisco P25 system. I'm seeing the scanner stop at various transmissions, but no audio. How do I fix this?

Most of the traffic seems to be running encrypted. (SFO)

 

[dangrass]

if it's encrypted would that be the reason why I get a hit but no audio?

As to the location question, I'm able to get transmissions from Berkeley north on west simulcast, but nothing from Oakland. Should I be able to hear all EBRCS activity from any one of the sites or does the system use different sites for different departments?

 

[bharvey2]

On my PRO-688, when an encrypted signal is being monitored, I get no audio but I recall that an "E" shows in the display. But I suspect the Uniden will mute as well.

With regard to locations, the talkgroups you hear will depend upon which site you are monitoring. For instance in my area, I hear San Leandro, Hayward, etc. but don't hear traffic from say, Contra Costa.

 

[dangrass]

thanks for the info. So, I tried the scanner in east Oakland last night and from there it receives all sorts of police and fire traffic on ALCO Northwest Simulcast. It appears that from my house about 10 miles north of there (and on a ridge facing north), the scanner simply can't receive these transmissions.

This leads me to the question as to what's being broadcast on which frequencies. Contrary to my prior understanding, the EBRCS system appears to be divided into sectors, with (most likely) some duplicate transmissions, but only within a sector. The question at hand is whether the Oakland transmissions are being simulcast on any sites other than the Northwest site.

Is there any way to know, for a large system like this, which departments are being transmitted on which sites or is it going to be trial and error? Also, is there a way to know where the transmitter sites are located?

Dan

 

[bharvey2]

Dan,

On this website, go here: East Bay Regional Communications System (EBRCS) Trunking System, Multiple, California - Scanner Frequencies You can click on the site name and it will open a page that will give addition information regarding site location and coverage area. you could likely estimate what talkgroups would fall in to the coverage area. It's rough but it may help answer your question.

BTW: Are you a ham by chance? I spend time on 2M simplex and recall conversations with at least one other ham in your neck of the woods.

 

[dangrass]

Ahh, that helps. Yes, I'm KD6TWL. Haven't been active in a while, but every once in a while I check in. Thanks so much for all your help. What's your call sign?

 

[bharvey2]

Ahh, that helps. Yes, I'm KD6TWL. Haven't been active in a while, but every once in a while I check in. Thanks so much for all your help. What's your call sign?

KK6DOQ -But don't tell anyone.

I usually fire up the radios late on a weekend afternoon after I've finished whatever projects I have on hand.

 

[dangrass]

great to meet you and thanks for all your help!

 

[bharvey2]

great to meet you and thanks for all your help!

Glad I could help.

 

[wowologist]

ya P25-AUTO I think refers to the audio type if I'm not mistaken (has been known to happen, like leaving the snake in the garden..I'll never live that one down ...anyhow, if I were you I'd direct entry the control channel(s) for the SW simulcast (Its the one your getting from FFD st1 Mowry/Argonaut - it used to be at the 95' tower at the water tank/filter/pump station on Industrial@Hesperian in Haywierd) RR lists the primary and the secondaries (which are actually the paging/SMS/MDT data and also secondary control channels) if you cant hear any of those...I'd try to see if thier is a system update for your model or find a service guy. If you want to manually assign the band plan the entries (for the SW simulcast) are: 851.00625/6.25khz & 762.00625/6.25khz I'm in Castro Valley and with a 5/8 over 5/8 over 1/2 wave coaxial in a PVC pipe mounted on a 28' pole I get everything ..I usually have to lock-out coco because I would never hear anything around me.

 

[pv2525]

Hello All,

Super new to the scanner world. I'm here in the Bay Area (Union City) too, running a Whistler WS1040 and having a heck of a time getting it programed. Can't figure out how to get the Talkgroup for East Bay or even the Peninsula. Any information would be helpful, I'm running a MacBook so I'm not even sure buying software would be compatible. - Phil

 

[bharvey2]

Hello All,

Super new to the scanner world. I'm here in the Bay Area (Union City) too, running a Whistler WS1040 and having a heck of a time getting it programed. Can't figure out how to get the Talkgroup for East Bay or even the Peninsula. Any information would be helpful, I'm running a MacBook so I'm not even sure buying software would be compatible. - Phil

Can the WS1040 download frequencies via zip code or location? If so, that's a good place to start. Then, just select a few talkgroups to monitor and see how that does.