Grand Valley Transit Frequencies

[transitman]

Does anyone have frequency information for Grand Valley Transit operating around Grand Junction. I believe I heard the paratransit service on the Two Way Communications LTR system but can't confirm that information. Any assistance is appreciated!

 

[RodStrong]

I am pretty sure they are on UHF, but not sure if LTR or not. For some reason, I don't think they are on an LTR system. I'll try to find out.

 

[n0nhp]

Last I remember the GVT was on 461.125 I don't remember the tone at the moment.

Sorry I am late on response on this one. I am currently out on the Texas wildfire incident. Not too much time for bulletin board watching.

Bruce

 

[jimmnn]

From a local source

The GVT was initially operated by the same company that did the paratransit service, also known as Care Cars..
Care Cars was on one of the commercial trunked systems for a long time. They started on an old Mot Type II system that Nextel bought and eventually shut down when they built out their iDEN network here. After that I believe they were on the Two Way Comm LTR system, which is the only commercial trunked system left here.

The contract has since been awarded to Laidlaw. When I take calls from them at work, it doesn't seem as if they have a readily available way to get more information from the driver.

John MNN-009 N3RTS
Grand Junction

 

[transitman]

Regarding the responses to my posting, I observed some of the vehicles (primarily vans) were equipped with "loaded" antennas that usually indicates a UHF frequency which was noted by "n0nhp" while "jimmnn" mentioned use of the Two Way Communications LTR system. Could they be using separate systems for fixed route and paratransit services?

 

[n0nhp]

The UHF frequency I quoted is licensed to Two-Way Communications Inc. as a "community repeater" located at the Land's end repeater site.
The original licensee on that was Mesa Developmental Services.
They expanded into Mesa County transportation and finally into GVT.

It is possible that TCI is moving the service to the LTR system but if you are seeing 22" loaded whips they are still using the UHF system.
Stick 461.125 into your scanner and see what you hear.
If you don't hear anything I'll have to do some digging and see if I can find some of the other UHFs that may be being used.

Bruce
Former TCI employee.........

 

[RodStrong]

if you are seeing 22" loaded whips they are still using the UHF system.

They are definitely still on some form of UHF. The big buses have small UHF quarter wave antennas (since they are so tall), and the little ones (most of the fleet) have the longer Larsen loaded whips.

 

[transitman]

Last weekend while travelling through Colorado, I stopped in Grand Junction in an attempt to resolve the question regarding frequencies used by Grand Valley Transit. I programmed my scanner to receive 461.125 cited in a previous post, however did not hear any transmissions. I also programmed the 10 channels used by Two Way Communications and heard what may have been paratransit service on TG 0-05-042. Having some time before I was scheduled to leave, I rode a couple of buses with the scanner programmed for all UHF frequencies licensed in Mesa County along with the Two Way Comm freqs. Although several conversations occurred while on the bus, they were not on the frequencies I had programmed. I noticed the buses were equipped with Motorola radios and had a channel "03" displayed. which may indicate a trunked system. Unfortunately, after I left town the thought occurred that perhaps GVT is using the State of Colorado system like Ft. Collins and Colorado Springs do. Can anyone residing near Grand Junction provide current information on my question?

 

[RodStrong]

Unfortunately, after I left town the thought occurred that perhaps GVT is using the State of Colorado system like Ft. Collins and Colorado Springs do. Can anyone residing near Grand Junction provide current information on my question?

Assuming you're referring to the state's DTR system, they are definitely NOT using it.

Although I have no proof, I am inclined to say they use a conventional UHF repeater. I actually saw a Motorola SM50 that was removed from a bus recently. Not sure if it was removed due to an upgrade or just an old radio that got pulled. I don't think (not positive) that a SM50 will do trunking, so this is why I'm leaning towards a conventional repeater. Of course, they may have upgraded to something else since that radio was pulled.

I see these buses almost daily as they are parked in an area I work in, so I'll try to be a little more nosy.

 

[transitman]

Any assistance you might provide would be appreciated as I am 1,000 miles from Colorado. As I noted above, my scanner was programmed with all the UHF frequencies shown in the Mesa County database, but I couldn't find the frequency. Considering that channel 03 was displayed on the radio, I wonder if they moved to a trunked (800?) network.

 

[RodStrong]

Considering that channel 03 was displayed on the radio, I wonder if they moved to a trunked (800?) network.

Just about 100% sure they are not on 800. They all still sport the same UHF antennas they've always had for years. I'll try to do some digging when I can and find out.