How to find TG’s / Troops / Sites on NJICS

rr60

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The switch from 800MHZ Smartzone to Astro P25 was made in the fall of 2022.

1.) No longer is everything transmitted over a wide area.
2.) You must have a P25 digital scanner/ receiver to decode NJICS. Some radios do not decode P25 digital LSM well. Research must be done to find what receiver works best.

The result is a more efficient system with greater localized coverage. There is no guarantee you will find what you want all the time from any particular site. There is no one size fits all answer. You must figure out what works best for your location and on what sites (s). The following is a recap from the many suggestions by RR members on this topic, in many different threads.

For most, the wide area Simulcast sites numbered 1-9 will suffice and are a good starting point. In some areas of the State, there are only single sites or ASR’s. Both Sussex and Monmouth are good examples of hosting several single sites. Unlikely you will find much Parkway traffic on Long Branch (39) , however (23) Telegraph Hill, likely plenty. Don’t overlook Site 8 in Monmouth. I see many TG’s on this simulcast site.

After looking at Simulcast sites first then look at stand-alone sites if need be. Try to visualize the physical general location of the system users. Depending on terrain and your location and antenna, single sites numbered 13-60 can have a range up to 20miles away. A few sites can be less than 10 miles.

Perhaps focus on one site (near you) initially. Scanning multiple sites may make your search more complicated. You will need to find what works best for you. No one can tell you. During the morning and evening rush hour is also a good time to look.

New Jersey Interoperability Communications System (NJICS) Trunking System, Statewide, Multi-State

If you care to dig deeper to understand the topic this is one of many threads on RR how subscribers roam, affiliating from cell to cell.

P25 Roaming?
 

GTR8000

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Also important to note that most of the talkgroups on the NJICS system are now operating in Phase II (TDMA) mode, so that needs to be taken into account when selecting a scanner to monitor the system.

Older model scanners that were only Phase I (FDMA) capable were able to monitor the NJSP talkgroups for years, however they are now operating in TDMA mode, so those old scanners will no longer receive the majority of NJSP transmissions. If your older scanner stopped hearing the NJSP, it's time to upgrade.
 

GTR8000

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Morris County is another example of a cluster of ASR's, but that will be changing in the near future. ;)
 
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