Local Fire Department

[DJBio]

Hello
I was talking with the Deputy Chief at my local fire department and he was saying they are having troubles with their radio reception. They had all new coax cable etc install and their antenna is on a tower that's about 50-60 feet up maybe higher and the next fire department that is about 10 minutes away.
They have no troubles with theirs. They sit lower and tower is not as high, but they are close to water. My local FD is thinking they might have to have another tower and repeater installed. Any help would be great!

 

[Deziel0495]

Hello
I was talking with the Deputy Chief at my local fire department and he was saying they are having troubles with their radio reception. They had all new coax cable etc install and their antenna is on a tower that's about 50-60 feet up maybe higher and the next fire department that is about 10 minutes away.
They have no troubles with theirs. They sit lower and tower is not as high, but they are close to water. My local FD is thinking they might have to have another tower and repeater installed. Any help would be great!

I'm guessing the FD is using analog VHF like 98% of other depts. Could be a number of factors but without narrowing it down to know what exactly is happening, its hard to provide solutions. Another tower/repeater should be a last resort. I know most depts. don't have that kind of money to throw around.

My dept. was having similar issues back in 2019. We secured government grants, scrapped the whole system, and moved over to the provincial trunked radio system PICS2. It's been great and we never looked back!

 

[DJBio]

He's in PEI. Where exactly I'm not sure.


I'm guessing the FD is using analog VHF like 98% of other depts. Could be a number of factors but without narrowing it down to know what exactly is happening, its hard to provide solutions. Another tower/repeater should be a last resort. I know most depts. don't have that kind of money to throw around.

My dept. was having similar issues back in 2019. We secured government grants, scrapped the whole system, and moved over to the provincial trunked radio system PICS2. It's been great and we never looked back!

Yes, they are still on the analog VHF system. If they were to switch over to the trunked system, the other FD that is about 5-10 minutes away would have to update theirs as they are on the same frequency. What all would you recommend be checked?
I am looking up to see if I can find the info on the grants. I am in Murray River.

 

[Deziel0495]

Yes, they are still on the analog VHF system. If they were to switch over to the trunked system, the other FD that is about 5-10 minutes away would have to update theirs as they are on the same frequency. What all would you recommend be checked?
I am looking up to see if I can find the info on the grants. I am in Murray River.

From what I can tell from looking at the license, both depts are operating Simplex with no repeater at either location. Would that be a correct statement?

You're not going to get much range out of Simplex, especially on portables. When you say they're having issues with reception, what exactly is happening? Can you provide an example?

I can DM you some info on grants if you'd like. We used this particular one 3 times now to purchase big ticket items and you can apply every year.

 

[DJBio]

From what I can tell from looking at the license, both depts are operating Simplex with no repeater at either location. Would that be a correct statement?

You're not going to get much range out of Simplex, especially on portables. When you say they're having issues with reception, what exactly is happening? Can you provide an example?

I can DM you some info on grants if you'd like. We used this particular one 3 times now to purchase big ticket items and you can apply every year.

Yes from what they told me both of the departments have a repeater and the one from Murray River is having reception troubles on the radios not recieving as clear as they should be. They had their system offline due to renovations to the firehall and were running off Murray Harbours system and things were better. They had someone who has done the systems before to check things out and put new coax etc. Everthing is setup the way it should be and they are still having problems.

Any info on the grants would be great so I can pass the information along to them.

 

[Deziel0495]

Yes from what they told me both of the departments have a repeater and the one from Murray River is having reception troubles on the radios not recieving as clear as they should be. They had their system offline due to renovations to the firehall and were running off Murray Harbours system and things were better. They had someone who has done the systems before to check things out and put new coax etc. Everthing is setup the way it should be and they are still having problems.

Any info on the grants would be great so I can pass the information along to them.

If neither dept is running a repeater and both are sharing a frequency, there is no actual "system" as they're operating in simplex. The radios would be communicating directly to one another and not through a repeater. In Simplex the range is short, maybe a few kilometers at most.

Are they having reception issues just at the hall or on mobiles and portables too? Is this issue happening when members are close by or at a distance? If just at the hall, could be a issue with the antenna or the radio itself. Could be something nearby causing interference. If all the coax was just replaced, good chance that is fine.

If Murray Harbour is not having any issues using the same frequency I'd guess equipment problems or local interference.... but that's just a guess.

I'll dm you that grant info this evening when I get home.

 

[garyscot]

Hello
I was talking with the Deputy Chief at my local fire department and he was saying they are having troubles with their radio reception. They had all new coax cable etc install and their antenna is on a tower that's about 50-60 feet up maybe higher and the next fire department that is about 10 minutes away.
They have no troubles with theirs. They sit lower and tower is not as high, but they are close to water. My local FD is thinking they might have to have another tower and repeater installed. Any help would be great!

Sweep the antenna system with a Nano VNA or similar tool to look at the coax/antenna/connectors condition on the channels they use. Or do a simple power out SWR check with a thru-line Bird or similar tool. If that does not reveal any issues have the base radio bench checked.
If all that checks OK take a look at his antenna choice and placement on the tower.