I'm confused on how Safe-T works?

[racin06]

I just purchased the Pro-96 scanner. The Pro-96 is an excellent scanner IMO.

I live in Westfield, IN (Hamilton Co.). I am located 17.0 miles to the northwest (as the crow flies) from Indianapolis-located Site 101. My scanner is decoding at 99% from Site 101. I also receive quite a bit of traffic when trunking Site 101 (primarily the ISP District 52). I also have heard the DNR as well from Site 101. The audo is excellent. It's like the person talking is standing right beside you!

I can also receive the signal from Pendleton-located Site 901. I am located 20.9 miles west-northwest from Site 901. My scanner is decoding 70-99% from Site 901. The average is more like 85%. I receive transmissions from the ISP District 51 (Pendleton) which is my home district. I have also received some unknown talkgroup ID's (I cant remember which ones; however, I will post soon. These talkgroups are not located in the radioreference database.). Every once in a while, I can receive clear transmissions from ISP District 16 which is located about 50 miles north of my home in Peru, IN.

Now my questions. First of all, I am receiving the ISP District 52 transmission not only from the Indianapolis site, but from the Pendleton site also. Why is this happening?

Secondly, why am I receiving the ISP District 16 (Peru) from the Pendleton site? I would also estimate that Peru is located about 55 miles from Peru.

Thirdly, since Safe-T is a statewide system, is it possible for say someone in Evansville to communicate with someone in Elkhart?

One last question, I currently have the control frequencies for Site 101 and 901 in their own banks (Bank 1 & 2). Is it possible to trunk both towers within the same bank?

I'm fairly new to scanning...especially digital scanning. Any answers to help me understand will be much appreciated. Thanks.

 

[scannerfreak]

Now my questions. First of all, I am receiving the ISP District 52 transmission not only from the Indianapolis site, but from the Pendleton site also. Why is this happening?.

Some TG's are simulcasted with neighboring towers. Usually though, someone affiliated with that tower site would have to be in the area of the other tower you are hearing them on.

Secondly, why am I receiving the ISP District 16 (Peru) from the Pendleton site? I would also estimate that Peru is located about 55 miles from Peru.

See answer to question number 1

Thirdly, since Safe-T is a statewide system, is it possible for say someone in Evansville to communicate with someone in Elkhart?.

One of the most valuable resources in the Hoosier SAFE-T system is
the availability of sufficient voice channels at each communication
intelerepeater (IR) site. The Smart Zone/OmniLink features supports
roaming from IR site to IR site without
having to manually switch subscriber units as they migrate from site
to site.

The Smart Zone technology allows communication throughout a zone.
OmniLink technology allows communication across multiple zones.
Roaming technology enables
their home talkgroups while traveling throughout the system.
Utilization of the system in this manner, while convenient to the
subscriber,it presents the potential of overloading the
communications channels available at a given site.

While it is important to provide a mechanism for statewide
interoperable communications for subscribers who roam throughout
system, it must be realized that the overall system design (channel
capacity at each site) has been based upon the anticipated number
of public safety personnel in the area to be served by the site.

The ability for subscribers to routinely monitor any localized
not normally affiliated to that IR site, system-wide, may cause
available channels to be busy for all users of the site.

An example would be a large concentration of members of local,
county or state users meeting at the Indiana Law Enforcement
Academy, each wishing to monitor home agency talkgroup(s). Most of
these users would be affiliated with Site 24 (Mooresville) or Site
411 (Greenwood) while in the Plainfield area. As more subscribers
travel in to the area and affiliate with the site(s), channels would
become saturated resulting in system busies for local users who are
handling local public safety incidents.

Alternative methods of communicating with home dispatchers have been
provided. The ability to communicate with a dispatch center from
outside the normal dispatch area can generally be accommodated
through the use of regional talkgroups or one of the statewide
mutual aid talkgroups.

One last question, I currently have the control frequencies for Site 101 and 901 in their own banks (Bank 1 & 2). Is it possible to trunk both towers within the same bank?

You can stick a conventional frequency between the two control channels and it should work. However, I have tried this and have had some problems with missed traffic. If you have the room to spare, Seperate banks is the way to go.

Congrats on your new pro-96. You won't be dissappointed. Keep and ear out for New Talkgroups and let us know if you find any!