GPS enabled scanning and Simulcast Systems

[KF7ZXT]

I live a large urban area in mountainous terrain. The single transmit system I want to monitor has over 13 official sites, probably 25 broadcast locations, and about 40 agencies (which I can probably group into less than 10 Groups). I'm trying to set up a GPS-enabled Unident BCD996XT.

In such an area Sites aren't so simple to set up. We have several Simulcasts, which means many antennae locations aren't listed with RR.com (though I can determine their coordinates), but I presume they just broadcast the simulcast?

The problem is that I cannot define the coordinates of a Simulcast site when the antennae are widely dispersed, and often in remote locations - and exactly where I might want to use them.

Is there an easier way to set this up that a complicated web of dozens of system just to track 10 groups?

Many thanks in advance.

 

[KE5TLF]

Map out each tower that makes up a simulcast "site" and estimate the range on each tower that makes up the simulcast "site". Then try to pick a location that would be as close to the center of the simulcast towers as possible and a range that encompasses the footprint of the combined simulcast towers. You could also break them up into smaller groupings to refine the process even more.

Something like this. Though those are standalone sites it is the quickest thing I have at hand to provide and example with. Most mapping software has a ruler so just use it to measure from the "Approixmate Center" to the outermost individual towers range circle.

 

[N9JIG]

We have a batch of simulcast sites here in Illinois, I use a point geographically in the center of the intended coverage area for the simulcast site. For example, the Lake County simulcast site has a half dozen or so transmit sites, I picked the approximate center of the county.

While this should work just fine here in the flats, mountainous terrain makes it a bit more problematic. I would start out using the geographic center first. If the terrain tends to act as a reflector you may have to adjust your "center point".