Horry County SC
- Thread starter leonzo
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eorange
♦RF Enabled Member♦
I have to say my 396XT received Horry County P25 just about flawlessly while staying in North Myrtle Beach at the end of May. The 396XT is really bad with Cleveland OH P25, so I was very surprised at how well it performed on the Horry County system. And this was with a Diamond RH77CA whip, which I primarily brought down for all the mil air.
UPDATE!
Just heard HCFR will resume alpha-numeric pager testing 8/11/17 using Loris FD as the guinea pigs. I guess that means we’ll eventually lose the voice dispatch again…if the paging works. If you're equipped to decode POCSAG, set your freq. to 158.7975 mHz.
Are you getting anything on 158.7975? I was only getting weak voice paging on that frequency. So I did a ULS search the FCC site for Horry County and under the same license that I found the 158.7975 frequency, I found a new, second frequency. It is 155.0925, is broadcasting in POCSAG and is very strong.
Nothing on 158.7975, but very strong signal on 155.0925 in Cherry Grove section of North Myrtle Beach. Good catch on the alt. frequency!
I'll get my decoding setup working and start monitoring.
Thanks for the info!
Not only did they add another frequency on the original license, but they added another license with only the new frequency. WQRR724 is the first license and shows both freqs. with six transmit sites. The newer license, WQZR599, granted just last month shows only 155.0925 and is a single site that's different than the other six. Maybe they thought simulcast VHF was part of the decoding issues?
Separately, I've been decoding 155.0925 for about five hours now. I've got a very strong signal, but the error rate appears to be just as high as the previous experience back in April. Maybe it needs tweaking, maybe the new custom interface board isn't doing the job, or maybe something else entirely. I'll continue to let it run and collect data.
Separately, I've been decoding 155.0925 for about five hours now. I've got a very strong signal, but the error rate appears to be just as high as the previous experience back in April. Maybe it needs tweaking, maybe the new custom interface board isn't doing the job, or maybe something else entirely. I'll continue to let it run and collect data.
You just need to do a little tweaking to get it to 100%.
It was said that while the previous six sites provided good coverage to the periphery of the county, there were reception issues in the Conway area. The location for the new license you found shows that the transmitter is on the tower at dispatch down town. Also, I was wondering why the pagers were taken up to be re-programmed if they were going to use the same frequency. The re-programming now makes sense with the new frequency being utilized.
It was said that while the previous six sites provided good coverage to the periphery of the county, there were reception issues in the Conway area. The location for the new license you found shows that the transmitter is on the tower at dispatch down town. Also, I was wondering why the pagers were taken up to be re-programmed if they were going to use the same frequency. The re-programming now makes sense with the new frequency being utilized.
Funny…I just checked the log again and something changed around 9pm. The decode reliability went from about 91% to 100% with no changes on my side. Maybe they changed something or maybe the temp dropping after sunset…who knows. I posted the last message at 9:50 without checking the log again.
So I now wonder if they are transmitting from the new location only...or using all seven sites...or maybe a subset of sites?
So I now wonder if they are transmitting from the new location only...or using all seven sites...or maybe a subset of sites?
That explains the killer signal in North Myrtle Beach. One of the sites is the 2nd Ave. S tower.
I'm guessing that means they'll also discontinue voice dispatch on TGID 6091 as they did on their previous attempt?
Either way, I've been running a POCSAG decoder reliably for several months and forwarding the filtered pages (NMBFD + HCFR EMS units) to several friends via email or text messaging. Handy to see what's happening on a smartphone or other cell device.
Thanks for the heads-up!
ocn29rsc
Member
I hope they don't stop using 6091, I have gotten my G-5 to alert on the P-25 for Medic-31 and Sta-56.
Sorry, it will no longer be utilized and all Motorola QuickCall 2 tone dispatching will be a thing of the past. May I suggest HDSDR (or SDR Sharp... whichever you would be comfortable with) and PDW.
So...6091 is gone, as is Quik-Call II. Alphanumeric text paging is still active, no apparent changes. Appears HCFR is voice dispatching on TAC 1, 2, and 3, with each voice dispatch preceded by a short multi-tone burst. Unsure if it's data for the radios or simply an attention getter.
The net effect is each battalion has its own dispatch TGID.
The net effect is each battalion has its own dispatch TGID.
Calls are being announced over the TAC channels so that surrounding units are aware of the calls. Basically, they are trying to avoid having a unit pass by a call that is a street or two over and be unaware because they weren't paged. Before, they would've easily heard the call paged out. With the alpha numerics, they don't. The multi-tone burst is used as an audible attention getter so that units know a call is being announced.
The advantage of the alphanumeric paging is that the dispatcher doesn't have to change channels and announce dispatches. Those that have listened for any period of time has heard dispatchers tell calling units, "stand by, I'm toning a call." That is no more with this system. They stay on their TAC channel.
Makes perfect sense to continue voice dispatch just for that reason, especially in the more urban areas of the county where units often must respond beyond their primary area during an active period. The only downside is the border areas of battalions...unless those units can also listen to the neighboring TAC channel.
Appreciate your situational knowledge of HCFR!
No problem. Units typically (not required) scan all three primary TAC channels when they are on the air. Their TAC channel is set as scan priority so they don't miss anything on it. When 6091 was active, it was also set as a priority scan channel.
Again, sensible and well thought out. Thanks!
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