Getting nothing on 168.725 anymore

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rr1716

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Hello,

I listened to USFS Direct on 168.725 for years and now I get nothing in anymore.
I doubt it changed since I still find it in recent OEM instructions.

Added an extra Badger repeater and still nothing.

All my other local analog are still coming in.

Sitting in Teller Country (not far from a USFS station).

It is fire season and I need it!

Thanks!
 

k0aa

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2004
Messages
45
Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Hello,

I listened to USFS Direct on 168.725 for years and now I get nothing in anymore.
I doubt it changed since I still find it in recent OEM instructions.

Added an extra Badger repeater and still nothing.

All my other local analog are still coming in.

Sitting in Teller Country (not far from a USFS station).

It is fire season and I need it!

Thanks!
Hello. I have been monitoring the Pike NF since last July. My info is based on my info as well as info from Radio Reference.

168.725 is Air-to-Ground channel 57.

I hear most direct non-repeated traffic on 171.1375 with CTCSS code of 110.9, and I also hear direct non-repeated traffic on 163.7125 (no CTCSS tone). This is the Pike NF "Work" channel.

I have occasionally heard traffic on 168.3500 which is identified as "Govt Work."

I hope this is helpful. I'm sure there are many USFS direct channels that I don't monitor.

I monitor the PNF daily. It's usually quiet, but I enjoy the professionalism of USFS personnel
 

ChrisABQ

...
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Messages
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Location
Murder-Querque, NM
Just out of curiosity, are the USFS channels in Colorado also being converted to P25 like they are in New Mexico? Do you have any status updates?

Thanks
 

rr1716

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Joined
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Messages
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Hello. I have been monitoring the Pike NF since last July. My info is based on my info as well as info from Radio Reference.

168.725 is Air-to-Ground channel 57.

I hear most direct non-repeated traffic on 171.1375 with CTCSS code of 110.9, and I also hear direct non-repeated traffic on 163.7125 (no CTCSS tone). This is the Pike NF "Work" channel.

I have occasionally heard traffic on 168.3500 which is identified as "Govt Work."

I hope this is helpful. I'm sure there are many USFS direct channels that I don't monitor.

I monitor the PNF daily. It's usually quiet, but I enjoy the professionalism of USFS personnel

Yes I have those as well. We had a lot of fires here lately, and Mondays (after weekend firesetters) are
usually busy..

It is just weird.

I don't think they can go to P25 due to the terrain they have to operate in.

I wonder if my RadioShack scanner (15 years every day) might start to give out?

Thanks!
 

ChrisABQ

...
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Location
Murder-Querque, NM
They are going P25 conventional here, all over the state, same frequencies as before. The quality of comms is surprisingly good considering the terrain. Be on the lookout for it.
 

k0aa

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Messages
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Location
Colorado Springs, CO
They are going P25 conventional here, all over the state, same frequencies as before. The quality of comms is surprisingly good considering the terrain. Be on the lookout for it.
Thanks for the tip. About two months ago, I picked up P25 comms on one of the PNF channels. It was sporadic for a couple of days. After receiving your info, I'm wondering if they were doing field studies to determine coverage issues.
 

natedawg1604

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Jun 29, 2013
Messages
2,725
Location
Colorado
Hello,

I listened to USFS Direct on 168.725 for years and now I get nothing in anymore.
I doubt it changed since I still find it in recent OEM instructions.

Added an extra Badger repeater and still nothing.

All my other local analog are still coming in.

Sitting in Teller Country (not far from a USFS station).

It is fire season and I need it!

Thanks!

Does your scanner have a band search mode? If so, you really need to band-search the entire Federal VHF band. In Rocky Mountain NP they use 1 P-25 simplex freq for occasional LE Tac purposes. Do you know which frequency you heard in P-25 mode?
 

k0aa

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2004
Messages
45
Location
Colorado Springs, CO
Does your scanner have a band search mode? If so, you really need to band-search the entire Federal VHF band. In Rocky Mountain NP they use 1 P-25 simplex freq for occasional LE Tac purposes. Do you know which frequency you heard in P-25 mode?
Yes, I can search all ranges. I've been replying to messages from two other fine folks. I have sufficient Pike NF channels now. I'm presuming the P25 signals were on their Forest Net. I monitor Forest Net, Air-to-Ground channels, Air Guard, Flight Following & the channels listed in my origin reply.

You made a very good point. There may already be P25 activity on the PNF. If or when I hear it again, I will pay closer attention. My scanner displayed P25 in place of modulation type. I'm guessing the signals I heard were P25-phase 2. My scanner only decodes phase 1.

Thank you for your suggestions, and thanks to our friend in ABQ for his suggestions.
 

Spitfire8520

I might be completely clueless! =)
Joined
Jun 29, 2009
Messages
1,969
Location
Colorado
Yes I have those as well. We had a lot of fires here lately, and Mondays (after weekend firesetters) are
usually busy..

You're not getting any activity on 171.1375? That is supposed to be the new Pike Direct frequency. Maybe it would be a good idea to try it without any tones programmed.

Thanks. However, the link points to a message that says nothing is there.

US Forest Service - Pike National Forest (CO)

You made a very good point. There may already be P25 activity on the PNF. If or when I hear it again, I will pay closer attention. My scanner displayed P25 in place of modulation type. I'm guessing the signals I heard were P25-phase 2. My scanner only decodes phase 1.

P25 Phase 2 only applies if there is a trunked system in place. P25 being used for simplex and repeater operations will be Phase 1.
 

k0aa

Member
Joined
Nov 9, 2004
Messages
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Location
Colorado Springs, CO
You're not getting any activity on 171.1375? That is supposed to be the new Pike Direct frequency. Maybe it would be a good idea to try it without any tones programmed.



US Forest Service - Pike National Forest (CO)



P25 Phase 2 only applies if there is a trunked system in place. P25 being used for simplex and repeater operations will be Phase 1.
Thanks for your informative message.

I hear a lot of activity daily on 171.1375 ctcss of 110.9 daily.

Thanks for the correct link to the Pike NF channels and for the P25 phase 1 & 2 explanation.

I've read many of your posts and have learned a lot from them. Thanks for being a solid resource and your willingness to help us. It's much appreciated.
 

ecps92

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Jul 8, 2002
Messages
14,358
Location
Taxachusetts
Latest document seen for Pike NF had Frequency Changes.
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/US_Forest_Service_-_Pike_National_Forest_(CO)
and those were updated in the Wiki.

As you confirm their use, Post and make a DB submission so the RRDB get's properly updated/
Hello,

I listened to USFS Direct on 168.725 for years and now I get nothing in anymore.
I doubt it changed since I still find it in recent OEM instructions.

Added an extra Badger repeater and still nothing.

All my other local analog are still coming in.

Sitting in Teller Country (not far from a USFS station).

It is fire season and I need it!

Thanks!
 

rr1716

Member
Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
17
They are going P25 conventional here, all over the state, same frequencies as before. The quality of comms is surprisingly good considering the terrain. Be on the lookout for it.

I thought P25 is digital so it can't be the same frequency?

I added a couple more repeaters from this site and some counties' OEM papers, still no luck.
I am assuming USFS would alert OEM authorities if their frequencies were no longer valid.
These were all recent docs.

I have been listening for 15 years. And all a sudden nothing.

Any more ideas?
 

ecps92

Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2002
Messages
14,358
Location
Taxachusetts
your best bet then is to search 162-174 Mhz at 12.5 Khz and don't skip the 162 freqs below the NWS channels
I thought P25 is digital so it can't be the same frequency?

I added a couple more repeaters from this site and some counties' OEM papers, still no luck.
I am assuming USFS would alert OEM authorities if their frequencies were no longer valid.
These were all recent docs.

I have been listening for 15 years. And all a sudden nothing.

Any more ideas?
 

ChrisABQ

...
Joined
Jul 12, 2016
Messages
773
Location
Murder-Querque, NM
Looking through the federal listings for NM, there are many instances of the same frequency being used for FMN and P25 use. I know from experience, that I've heard both analog and digital over the same channels.

Also, here in Albuquerque, the EDACS system and ProVoice system share the same network, analog and digital together.

I have been hearing more often lately, that newer analog conventional systems do have the digital capability built into them for future use.
 

rr1716

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Joined
Jul 30, 2010
Messages
17
Could it be they switched to tone mandatory and I don't have that on my 15 year old scanner?
 
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