Listening to MPSCS

[dnoyeb]

I don't fully understand what is in the database so I thought I would ask here.

There is a tower near me. It is "site" 2-4". What is a site? Is that just a tower in essence? Will there be different information on different sites? Or is everything repeated?

Then I see frequency listed in blue, and one in red. I understand that these are control channels and I think I know what they are for. However, what are the other frequencies for?

Does being close to the tower mean anything to me?

Thank you.

 

[rdale]

First up is to hit the "Wiki" link above and read through the section on trunking. That will answer most (if not all) of your questions.

 

[dnoyeb]

Already did it. I read the forums as well but I can not find answers to these questions.

 

[mikey60]

There is a tower near me. It is "site" 2-4". What is a site? Is that just a tower in essence? Will there be different information on different sites? Or is everything repeated?

A site is basically a tower site. It can be a single tower, or a group of towers all transmitting on the same frequencies. With the MPSCS and systems similar to it, the only things that will be heard on a particular site are those that have a system radio that needs to hear it. It would not be realistic to have every talkgroup on every site.

Then I see frequency listed in blue, and one in red. I understand that these are control channels and I think I know what they are for. However, what are the other frequencies for?

Control channels provide the direction the system radios need to work. They tell the radios what frequencies to switch to so that they can make transmissions or hear other users. The Red frequencies are the primary control channels. The primary control channel is almost always by the site. The Blue frequencies are the alternate control channels that are used when the primary cannot be.

The rest of the frequencies are used to carry voice and data.

Does being close to the tower mean anything to me?

It means you would have a better chance to hear the traffic coming from the site. Other than that, not really.

Mike

 

[dnoyeb]

Thank you. Very helpful.