Madison SO on Rankin Simulcast

[Swynn106]

I'm curious if anyone can help me. I live off of Yandell right before it hits 43 in Gluckstadt (Canton). I have an SDS200 with a discone antenna on a mast in an open area behind my house.
I pick up Gluckstadt PD, Madison PD and Madison SO with no issue. My question is, I pick up everything on Rankin Simulcast and nothing picks up in Canton, Sharon or Lake Cavalier. Never anything from them.
Is it just because I am so close to Rankin? Seems as if at least the SO would pick up at other sites since they are scattered across the county?

 

[Enforcer52]

There are three towers for Madison County and you have a Jackson( Rankin) tower programmed in, which you did not identify which one. Do you have any of the Madison County towers programmed in? Canton, Sharon or Lake Cavalier, may not be affiliating with the Jackson tower you are listening to..

 

[Swynn106]

It's the Rankin County simulcast, multiple towers. Canton, Sharon and Lake Cavalier are all in Madison county. I am not interested in any broadcast in Jackson.

I am asking why all the Madison agencies are showing up on Rankin simulcast but I get nothing from the antennas that I have in the SDS200 that are on Madison county.

 

[Swynn106]

All P25 Phase 2, Rankin Simulcast, Sharon(Madison), Canton(Madison), and Lake Cavalier (Madison)

I just think that some of the broadcast from SO in north Madison should be broadcast from the Sharon site same with the others. Just seems odd to me that I am picking these up all from Ramkin County Simulcast. Unless I am looking at it wrong and the Madison towers just receive and they broadcast in Rankin?

 

[Enforcer52]

Can you zip up a copy of your programming file and post it, maybe someone can look at it to see if there is a problem.

 

[Swynn106]

Yes I will when I get back home. Thanks.

 

[Enforcer52]

Here is a file with all the Madison Co towers and Madison Co TGIDs on quick key .1, and Rankin Simulcast with Madison Co TGIDs on quick key .2

1. Save your current file somewhere else as a backup.
2. Unzip the MadisonCo.zip file, you then have a file called MadisonCo.hpe
3. Connect scanner to computer.
4. Open Sentinel or Proscan if you have it, and import the MadisonCo.hpe file into the programming software.
5. Upload the file to the scanner.

When done reboot scanner, then you can compare the Madison Co reception to the Rankin Simulcast Reception. You should receive everything on the Madison Co towers, and only whats is affiliated with Madison Co on the Rankin Simulcast.

If you get everything on the Madison Co towers, then just turn off the Rankin Simulcast. If not then you may have an antenna issue, discones are notorious for not working well on the 700/800mhz range at distance.

Let us know how it works out.

 

[Swynn106]

I appreciate you getting this together for me. I downloaded it and I ended up cutting the Madison towers out. I was literally picking nothing up. I can get everything with Rankin. I'm guessing that this antenna is my problem.

 

[Enforcer52]

As long as you can get what you want to listen to then should work out for you. If want to expand your listening then would have to figure out what the problem is.

Hopefully someone in your area will chime in with some help for you.

 

[Swynn106]

I do appreciate the help.

 

[MississippiPI]

I dont understand that either. My homepatrol II did that, i dont care, at the end of the day I pick up whatever on whatever tower, dont matter to me. Heck, I pick up Madison SO in Copiah Co and north as far as Carroll Co.

Be Safe

 

[slhbeard]

I pick up Madison SO on Sartartia Tower and get Canton, Gluckstadt, Madison PD, Ridgeland PD, and all fire on ETV Raymond, and Lake Cavalier Towers. Do you have the Ridgeland Tower plugged in? Maybe that will help.

 

[MississippiPI]

I pick up Madison SO on Sartartia Tower and get Canton, Gluckstadt, Madison PD, Ridgeland PD, and all fire on ETV Raymond, and Lake Cavalier Towers. Do you have the Ridgeland Tower plugged in? Maybe that will help.

I don't know what towers what is on what. I update my scanner each week. I put it in the car and it works great


Be safe

 

[slhbeard]

Ridgeland Tower is in Madison County.

 

[MississippiPI]

I know, I don't live far from there

 

[Swynn106]

I pick up Madison SO on Sartartia Tower and get Canton, Gluckstadt, Madison PD, Ridgeland PD, and all fire on ETV Raymond, and Lake Cavalier Towers. Do you have the Ridgeland Tower plugged in? Maybe that will help.

I do and it's dead silent. The only thing that I can figure is where I am at. I'm on the Madison Co.side of 43 backed up to the Trace and Rez. Maybe because I have the reservoir right behind me, there's not much blocking the signal over the water, but that doesn't explain why I don't get anything at all from the towers spread out in Madison county.

Maybe it truly is an antenna issue from the dipole.

 

[Swynn106]

32.507163,-89.998350 is where I am at. Two of the Rankin County antennas are not far across the water from me but Canton is closer but I get nothing.

 

[Enforcer52]

What is your squelch set to? It should be on 2.

Have you been into the settings changing anything?

The reservoir should actually help your reception, I live on Lake Livingston in Texas, less trees less terrain blockage.

Looking at your coordinates there is no reason I can see for you not to be picking up the Madison Co towers, for them to not to receive anything indicates something in the settings is messed up in my opinion. You are close enough that even a discone should pick them up.

In one post you state you use a discone, and in another post you state you use a dipole. Which type antenna is it? If dipole is it home made?

How many feet of coax are you using between antenna and scanner and what type of coax?

 

[Swynn106]

Discone, typing too fast, is what I have and the squelch is normally either on zero or one. There's around 100' of lmr400. The only settings that I have messed with, after no reception, is the individual tower filters. I changed all of them to see if it made a difference but it didn't.

 

[Enforcer52]

Squelch should be at 2, if on 0 or 1 it will just lock onto one channel or tower and stay there most of the time and not scan.