hearing CA skip from PA

[n3obl]

Is it possible to hear lowband skip from CA on lowband to PA. Speciffically want to listen for CHP

Frank

 

[ka3jjz]

During the solar max, it was very common. I had an old Regency scanner hooked up to a 6m mag mount, and had no trouble hearing CHP when the skip was rolling. Right now, it's much less likely.

Wait a few years, when the sunspots are running again. 73 Mike

 

[talviar]

Frank,

Very possible when the conditions are right.
Numerous agencies here using 33.70 during the late 80's and early 90's (Westmoreland, Fayette, Somerset, Cambria, Indiana) used to compete heavily with LA County Fire Dispatch. It was to the point where dispatch centers in these 5 counties here had LA County Dispatch on speed dial to have them switch freqs from 33.70 (Ops Channel 7 in LA) to another freq to help alleviate some of the skip problems.

On the flip side of things, the farthest away that Fayette County (KGF-301) ever received a QSL request from was Central Germany from a scanner listener that was playing with his scanner and was catching the dispatches go out on 33.70.

I will say that unless the band is heavily open the stock antenna with most scanners while in a house is not sufficient to pick up even a minor band opening. (Good band openings come in on portable radios, scanner and minitors while in houses though)

Tony, KA3VOR

 

[lobo8000]

Frank,

Very possible when the conditions are right.
Numerous agencies here using 33.70 during the late 80's and early 90's (Westmoreland, Fayette, Somerset, Cambria, Indiana) used to compete heavily with LA County Fire Dispatch. It was to the point where dispatch centers in these 5 counties here had LA County Dispatch on speed dial to have them switch freqs from 33.70 (Ops Channel 7 in LA) to another freq to help alleviate some of the skip problems.

On the flip side of things, the farthest away that Fayette County (KGF-301) ever received a QSL request from was Central Germany from a scanner listener that was playing with his scanner and was catching the dispatches go out on 33.70.

I will say that unless the band is heavily open the stock antenna with most scanners while in a house is not sufficient to pick up even a minor band opening. (Good band openings come in on portable radios, scanner and minitors while in houses though)

Tony, KA3VOR

Do any of those counties still use 33.700?

 

[The_B_Chief]

Do any of those counties still use 33.700?

Yes. Mainly as station alerting only.

I didn't know that LA used 33.700. I thought 33.86 was the one that boomed in around Western PA back in the day. Anyways it was neat. I know when I was a kid living up that way we used to pounded by an EMS dispatch on 33.700 out of Seattle.

I used to drive across the US a lot. I remember sleeping in Las Vegas with scanner on Public Safety search on one night. In the morning I woke up to Westmoreland, Fayette, Cambria, Indiana, Washington, Armstrong, Beaver, Mon-Yough, McCAndless, Shaler, Erie, Crawford, Mercer and everyone else that was on low-band then, booming in!

 

[talviar]

Do any of those counties still use 33.700?

Yep.
Fayette dispatches simulcast 33.70 w/ 155.190 for paging but does not use low band for any ops (800 Trunked since 1995)

Westmoreland dispatches on 33.70 but does not use low band for ops (800 APCO25 Trunked since 2005)

Somerset, Indiana still use 33.70 for dispatch and ops

Cambria still dispatching on 33.70 I think but migrating to other bands for ops.

Tony

 

[talviar]

Yes. Mainly as station alerting only.

I didn't know that LA used 33.700. I thought 33.86 was the one that boomed in around Western PA back in the day. Anyways it was neat. I know when I was a kid living up that way we used to pounded by an EMS dispatch on 33.700 out of Seattle.

I used to drive across the US a lot. I remember sleeping in Las Vegas with scanner on Public Safety search on one night. In the morning I woke up to Westmoreland, Fayette, Cambria, Indiana, Washington, Armstrong, Beaver, Mon-Yough, McCAndless, Shaler, Erie, Crawford, Mercer and everyone else that was on low-band then, booming in!

As far as what I can remember from the west coast. . . .
33.70- LA County, Orange County California and Bainbridge Island, Washington State

Most of our problems at 301-Uniontown (the old Fayette County Fire dispatch at Uniontown Fire Department) were with LA County since it was an ops channel tied to a repeater. Once an incident happened there in LA it pretty much tied up the channel.

Tony

 

[The_B_Chief]

Oh yeah old KGF301, I remember that one. I still only remember the stuff out of Washington State having a repeater on it on 33.70.

We had a few old plectrons around that we re-tuned for various low-band freqs. We kept them hooked up to an old CB base antenna. What a good time. I think It was a Radio Shack Cross-Bow antenna.

Ah the good old days!