Is there a CHATSWORTH tower for NJSP I can connect to?

[howie38]

Now that the leaves are back, I'm back to trying to receive the State Police on my 996P2.
In the winter I can only hook up to Berlin inside & Bordentown comes in only if I'm standing in the front yard.
Last night I picked up only one transmission from Burlington/Ocean system with the scanner at the back bedroom window.
I'm now looking at a map ('https://www.nj.gov/njsp/njics/pdf/NJ_Statewide_Mobile_Map_RT.pdf') that shows a Chatsworth tower real close to me but there is no listing of one I can download.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Chatsworth appears to be a part of the Burlington/Ocean Simulcast cell

 

[GTR8000]

I'm now looking at a map ('https://www.nj.gov/njsp/njics/pdf/NJ_Statewide_Mobile_Map_RT.pdf') that shows a Chatsworth tower real close to me but there is no listing of one I can download.

Because it's not a standalone site, it's part of a simulcast cell, specifically Site 56 Burlington/Ocean Simulcast aka "Toms River".

Pro tip: If you click on the site details for the simulcast cells, we have each subsite listed in the Site Locations field. Sometimes you just need to do a little bit of clicking to find what you're looking for.

 

[howie38]

Chatsworth appears to be a part of the Burlington/Ocean Simulcast cell

Do you think I may have picked up just what that tower was sending?
It was the best, clearest sound I ever heard, but it was the only transmission I heard for the hour I had it sitting back there in the window.

 

[policefreak]

If you're from Pemberton know that you should be in range to receive the Ocean/Burlington site of NJICS but Chatsworth is not the only site. The tower is on 563 just a couple miles north of town and also services the Burlington County South site. If you got one clear transmission and not much else on your 996P2 a couple things could be at play. First, you may be a little far away for the less sensitive scanner (really you want to be like no more than 4 miles from these simulcast towers) especially with the difficult topography around you. Turning the squelching down to 0 while monitoring
only P25 systems may help you a little bit. The other issue is because it is a simulcast system, it may be picking up a little from a second tower like Warren Grove (even though you're so far, that thing is pretty massive so I wouldn't be shocked) and that could be causing the simulcast distortion issue. Thirdly, could it be there was not much traffic on the system as you were listening? What time of the day was it? What do you have programmed in to monitor? These are just some thoughts.

 

[trentbob]

If you're from Pemberton know that you should be in range to receive the Ocean/Burlington site of NJICS but Chatsworth is not the only site. The tower is on 563 just a couple miles north of town and also services the Burlington County South site. If you got one clear transmission and not much else on your 996P2 a couple things could be at play. First, you may be a little far away for the less sensitive scanner (really you want to be like no more than 4 miles from these simulcast towers) especially with the difficult topography around you. Turning the squelching down to 0 while monitoring
only P25 systems may help you a little bit. The other issue is because it is a simulcast system, it may be picking up a little from a second tower like Warren Grove (even though you're so far, that thing is pretty massive so I wouldn't be shocked) and that could be causing the simulcast distortion issue. Thirdly, could it be there was not much traffic on the system as you were listening? What time of the day was it? What do you have programmed in to monitor? These are just some thoughts.

A shot in the dark here but could the Bordentown simulcast site be contributing to any of this?

 

[adamr368]

A shot in the dark here but could the Bordentown simulcast site be contributing to any of this?

Not likely. More of an issue with the scanner not being able to handle the simulcast signals within the Burlington/Ocean County cell. The older P2-capable scanners that aren't of the SDS series can receive P2 well on a non-simulcast system or when you are really close to one of the towers. For example, at the shore my BCD536HP can pickup Ocean County's P2 system without issue but can't receive NJICS at all - all because I am very close to one of the County towers but in the middle of a couple of the NJICS towers. Meanwhile, the SDS 100 hears everything down there on a rubber duckie because it can handle the distortion from competing signals on different towers.

 

[howie38]

If you're from Pemberton know that you should be in range to receive the Ocean/Burlington site of NJICS but Chatsworth is not the only site. The tower is on 563 just a couple miles north of town and also services the Burlington County South site. If you got one clear transmission and not much else on your 996P2 a couple things could be at play. First, you may be a little far away for the less sensitive scanner (really you want to be like no more than 4 miles from these simulcast towers) especially with the difficult topography around you. Turning the squelching down to 0 while monitoring
only P25 systems may help you a little bit. The other issue is because it is a simulcast system, it may be picking up a little from a second tower like Warren Grove (even though you're so far, that thing is pretty massive so I wouldn't be shocked) and that could be causing the simulcast distortion issue. Thirdly, could it be there was not much traffic on the system as you were listening? What time of the day was it? What do you have programmed in to monitor? These are just some thoughts.

I had the entire state on with Berlin, Bordentown, Trenton, Hammonton & Hamilton systems and backed it up with Broadcastify on the PC to confirm there was traffic. Plenty of traffic. Even took the radio outside. Even climbed up into the attic.
Berlin has been usable for the two years I've been living here, but this time of year & during storms it goes quiet. c. My BCD436HP is the same way.

 

[GTR8000]

Less is more. Figure out the best site/cell for your location, and scan only that. Once you plug in every site, the scanner is wasting valuable time hunting for control channels and getting hung up on sites/cells that don't come in very well and/or that are subject to multipath based on your location.

If the Chatsworth subsite of the Site 56 Burlington/Ocean cell comes in strongest, then scan only Site 56. Keep it simple.

 

[rr60]

I have the 996xp. It has been a disappointment on p25 II since day 1. My distance to ICS Sites is line of sight and less than 5 miles. Decode performance poor for me.
My 436 is the same way. Poor. I do not use either for P25 II.

 

[Skypilot007]

I have the 996xp. It has been a disappointment on p25 II since day 1. My distance to ICS Sites is line of sight and less than 5 miles. Decode performance poor for me.
My 436 is the same way. Poor. I do not use either for P25 II.

Did you mean 996P2? I guess every location and system can behave differently. I have several 996P2 scanners. I'm less than 1 mile from a Burlco north simulcast site, 5 miles from a Camco simulcast site and 5.9 miles from the Berlin site of NJICS. All 3 of these sites are received perfectly with a 996P2 and the telescoping antenna that came with the scanner. Pure luck I suppose, location is good for me. My friend a couple miles to the east, not so lucky at all.

 

[howie38]

My 436 pick up the Burl/Ocean system yesterday in the back window when the 996 wouldn't. However, today all day, nothing.
And what's also interesting is that it was only a few transmissions (one being on a toll road). Even though I had all three NJSP areas on, the only thing I got was troop C. I'm wondering if the chatsworth tower is exclusive to troop C transmissions, because when I'm hooked up to Berlin, I could get A & B. I'd be happy with C at home if it would work all the time and pick up the entire area.
Broadcastify confirms the traffic is really there.
Would love to put an antenna on the roof but I don't think my landlord would appreciate it.

 

[adamr368]

My 436 pick up the Burl/Ocean system yesterday in the back window when the 996 wouldn't. However, today all day, nothing.
And what's also interesting is that it was only a few transmissions (one being on a toll road). Even though I had all three NJSP areas on, the only thing I got was troop C. I'm wondering if the chatsworth tower is exclusive to troop C transmissions, because when I'm hooked up to Berlin, I could get A & B. I'd be happy with C at home if it would work all the time and pick up the entire area.
Broadcastify confirms the traffic is really there.
Would love to put an antenna on the roof but I don't think my landlord would appreciate it.

The unfortunate reality is that you don't have the right scanner(s) for this system. Either the SDS100/SDS200 or a Unication G4/G5 will likely work wonders because they're designed to handle P2 simulcast and can account for the distortion factor. An antenna on the roof most likely wouldn't make a difference and would only lend to additional multipath distortion. The cells or zones aren't usually exclusive to specific talkgroups - although they can be setup that way, and Philly's P1 system is a good example of this. Because of the large number of users on a system like NJICS, the cells will typically only carry the traffic needed to serve the radios that are currently affiliated to them. Radios can roam onto other cells/zones as you drive across the state, much like a phone does, and your scanner will receive that traffic only while they're actively in that zone. It's a matter of what users/groups are within range of a tower in a particular cell that determines if the traffic will be carried on it or not. The coverage of the Berlin system is within range of Troop A and C patrol units so there's a strong likelihood of hearing both, whereas the Burlington/Ocean County cell is primarily servicing the Troop C area, so unless a radio that's on another talkgroup passes through that region you won't hear much other traffic.