MARCS-IP ("New MARCS") Site and Talkgroup Discussion

[mtindor]

2.73 Bowling Green OH (Wood)
- adding two 700 mhz freqs
- ULS Application - Trunked Public Safety 700 MHz - 0011109208 - OHIO, STATE OF - Frequency Summary

DB already lists 8 frequencies:

+ 769.30625 # WRNY411
+ 769.31875 # WRNY411
773.23125 # WRNY411
773.24375 # WRNY411
773.70625 # WRNY411
773.71875 # WRNY411
773.98125 # WRNY411
773.99375 # WRNY411
853.6125c # WRNS952
853.9250c # WRNS952

I don't know if they are just adding an additional two 700 mhz frequencies because of additional need, or if maybe they are going to switch that site to a 700 mhz-only site and get rid of the two 800 mhz control channels. So people in the area should keep an eye out in case this site no longer becomes monitorable via its 800 mhz control channels. If that happens, check all 8 of the 700 mhz freqs for a new CC and report your findings.

Thanks

Mike

 

[Jhudirkfid7hd8u]

How to Program Scanner for Grove City Ohio?

I have been attempting unsuccessfully to program my Uniden BCD396T scanner to receive the Grove City, Ohio trunked talk group for several weeks now.
Here is how I have gone about it: Using FreeSCAN 2.18, I have imported from RadioReference.com the "Ohio MARCS-IP:Multi-Agency Radio Communications (APCO P25)" System, and the "Columbus MARCS Simul" Site, and the "Grove City (25)" Group. After uploading this data to my scanner, the scanner does not receive any transmissions. I presume that this is because none of the 4 supplied control channel frequencies are being used by Grove City. If I replace the "Columbus MARCS Simul" Site with the "Columbus City Simul" Site, I do get transmissions from the "Grove City (25)" Group, but I also get many, many transmissions from the "Columbus City Simul" Site. The transmissions from the "Columbus City Simul" Site are displayed on the scanner as numerical Talk Group IDs, whereas the transmissions from the "Grove City (25)" Group are displayed as Talk Group descriptions. I am guessing that the solution to this problem lies in getting and scanning the correct control frequency, but how am I to obtain it? Any help that anyone can provide will be much appreciated.

 

[wa8pyr]

2.73 Bowling Green OH (Wood)
- adding two 700 mhz freqs
- ULS Application - Trunked Public Safety 700 MHz - 0011109208 - OHIO, STATE OF - Frequency Summary

DB already lists 8 frequencies:

+ 769.30625 # WRNY411
+ 769.31875 # WRNY411
773.23125 # WRNY411
773.24375 # WRNY411
773.70625 # WRNY411
773.71875 # WRNY411
773.98125 # WRNY411
773.99375 # WRNY411
853.6125c # WRNS952
853.9250c # WRNS952

I don't know if they are just adding an additional two 700 mhz frequencies because of additional need, or if maybe they are going to switch that site to a 700 mhz-only site and get rid of the two 800 mhz control channels. So people in the area should keep an eye out in case this site no longer becomes monitorable via its 800 mhz control channels. If that happens, check all 8 of the 700 mhz freqs for a new CC and report your findings.

Thanks

Mike

A complete change of control channels at a site is rarely done and is not something done lightly or on a whim. There has to be a really good reason for it.

Unless they're planning to reprogram all radios in the state (unlikely), or re-use two control channels from somewhere else which are already in the programmed list, it's unlikely they're replacing control channels. My guess is they're simply adding capacity.

 

[mtindor]

A complete change of control channels at a site is rarely done and is not something done lightly or on a whim. There has to be a really good reason for it.

Unless they're planning to reprogram all radios in the state (unlikely), or re-use two control channels from somewhere else which are already in the programmed list, it's unlikely they're replacing control channels. My guess is they're simply adding capacity.

I'm just reporting the possibilities and for people to be on the lookout. If nothing else, it would be nice to know when additional frequencies are put to use on the site so the DB can be reflected more accurately.

m

 

[JethrowJohnson]

@jsoergel Could you add 34500 to the unconfirmed list? I think it's a Monroe County EMS tac channel. Squad 5 advising 56 Dispatch they were out at Marietta Memorial Hospital. Heard today on Washington County towers.

 

[amcferrin90]

How to Program Scanner for Grove City Ohio?

I have been attempting unsuccessfully to program my Uniden BCD396T scanner to receive the Grove City, Ohio trunked talk group for several weeks now.
Here is how I have gone about it: Using FreeSCAN 2.18, I have imported from RadioReference.com the "Ohio MARCS-IP:Multi-Agency Radio Communications (APCO P25)" System, and the "Columbus MARCS Simul" Site, and the "Grove City (25)" Group. After uploading this data to my scanner, the scanner does not receive any transmissions. I presume that this is because none of the 4 supplied control channel frequencies are being used by Grove City. If I replace the "Columbus MARCS Simul" Site with the "Columbus City Simul" Site, I do get transmissions from the "Grove City (25)" Group, but I also get many, many transmissions from the "Columbus City Simul" Site. The transmissions from the "Columbus City Simul" Site are displayed on the scanner as numerical Talk Group IDs, whereas the transmissions from the "Grove City (25)" Group are displayed as Talk Group descriptions. I am guessing that the solution to this problem lies in getting and scanning the correct control frequency, but how am I to obtain it? Any help that anyone can provide will be much appreciated.

Grove City used to have their own system. It was acquired by and incorporated into the Franklin County system. Since that time all of the Franklin County sites have been acquired and incorporated into the Ohio MARCS Columbus simulcast system. Some of the transmitters were added in for fills, one was relocated and made a stand alone (Bixby to Reynoldsburg) and others turned off due to replication (county building, WOSU as well IIRC). You will see Columbus city talkgroups active on Ohio MARCS Columbus and maybe some vice versa. This is because the Sheriff has CPD channels in their radios and CPD has Sheriff channels in theirs. Thus you will see activity on certain talkgroups common on both sites. Seems inefficient but the two entities want control over their systems. Probably some legal technicalities too but I digress.

 

[Jhudirkfid7hd8u]

Grove City used to have their own system. It was acquired by and incorporated into the Franklin County system. Since that time all of the Franklin County sites have been acquired and incorporated into the Ohio MARCS Columbus simulcast system. Some of the transmitters were added in for fills, one was relocated and made a stand alone (Bixby to Reynoldsburg) and others turned off due to replication (county building, WOSU as well IIRC). You will see Columbus city talkgroups active on Ohio MARCS Columbus and maybe some vice versa. This is because the Sheriff has CPD channels in their radios and CPD has Sheriff channels in theirs. Thus you will see activity on certain talkgroups common on both sites. Seems inefficient but the two entities want control over their systems. Probably some legal technicalities too but I digress.

Using FreeSCAN, if I use "OhioMARCSIP:Multi" for the System, "ColumbusCitySimu" for the Site, and "Grove City (25)" for the Talk Group, to program my Uniden BCD396T scanner, I can get transmissions from Grove City, but those transmissions are few and far between because 95% of the time I am hearing transmissions from Columbus PD, Columbus Fire, and Franklin Co. Sheriff. Do you have any suggestions on how to lock out all those other transmissions except for the ones coming from Grove City??

 

[amcferrin90]

Using FreeSCAN, if I use "OhioMARCSIP:Multi" for the System, "ColumbusCitySimu" for the Site, and "Grove City (25)" for the Talk Group, to program my Uniden BCD396T scanner, I can get transmissions from Grove City, but those transmissions are few and far between because 95% of the time I am hearing transmissions from Columbus PD, Columbus Fire, and Franklin Co. Sheriff. Do you have any suggestions on how to lock out all those other transmissions except for the ones coming from Grove City??

I don't have Freescan or have used it. It looks like it resembles the MotoTrbo CPS. Can you share your config file? It seems the scanner has DMA like the SDS scanners. On my SDS I create favorite lists for specific things I want to listen to. I have one dedicated for anything Pickerington, PD, County Sheriff, Fire and then group each. So if I want only police, I hold on the police group. There's quick keys which I never could figure out and this was easier because I could go to a menu and turn on/off what I'm scanning.

 

[Jhudirkfid7hd8u]

I discovered that the solution to my problem of receiving transmissions from everyone on the "ColumbusCitySimu" site was to change my ID Mode from "ID Search" to "ID Scan". That selection is made on the OhioMARCSIPMult" system page on FreeSCAN before uploading the file to the scanner. Yes, my BCD396T scanner has DMA memory. I use QuickKeys to select which talk group(s) that I want to listen to. I will attempt to attach my config file, but it has a ".996" file extension, so you will likely need to open it with FreeSCAN. Its a free program and probably available for download on the radioreference.com website. As far as I know, 2.18 is the latest version. (This website would not allow me to attach a file with a ".996" extension, so I had to enclose it in a ".zip" file before attaching it.)

I don't have Freescan or have used it. It looks like it resembles the MotoTrbo CPS. Can you share your config file? It seems the scanner has DMA like the SDS scanners. On my SDS I create favorite lists for specific things I want to listen to. I have one dedicated for anything Pickerington, PD, County Sheriff, Fire and then group each. So if I want only police, I hold on the police group. There's quick keys which I never could figure out and this was easier because I could go to a menu and turn on/off what I'm scanning.

 

[amcferrin90]

I discovered that the solution to my problem of receiving transmissions from everyone on the "ColumbusCitySimu" site was to change my ID Mode from "ID Search" to "ID Scan". That selection is made on the OhioMARCSIPMult" system page on FreeSCAN before uploading the file to the scanner. Yes, my BCD396T scanner has DMA memory. I use QuickKeys to select which talk group(s) that I want to listen to. I will attempt to attach my config file, but it has a ".996" file extension, so you will likely need to open it with FreeSCAN. Its a free program and probably available for download on the radioreference.com website. As far as I know, 2.18 is the latest version. (This website would not allow me to attach a file with a ".996" extension, so I had to enclose it in a ".zip" file before attaching it.)

I downloaded it and see it now. You should be scanning the Columbus MARCS simulcast to hear everything for Grove City. You may miss stuff scanning Columbus city. The TG ID's are all 61xxx which are Franklin Co TG IDs. Those are homed to Columbus MARCS. If you hear them on Columbus city it's because someone on the city system has the ID in their radio. Not all TG IDs may carry over.

 

[n8zgm]

Construction Notification for the new Napolean (Henry Co) site:

ULS Application - 0011048699 - OHIO, STATE OF - Notification

If there are any listeners in the Napoleon area, please check occasionally to see if this site is online. And if it is, please report it here / submit it to the DB.

WRYW902
Napoleon OH (Henry Co)
1855 Oakwood Ave (Oakwood Complex)

852.8125
853.0375
853.375
853.700
853.9375
858.9875
859.7375
859.9875

Looks like this site is active:

Activity Summary - Decoder 25 Phase 1 Normal (C4FM)

Network
WACN:BEE00[781824] SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] LRA:00[0]

Current Site
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:4C[76] LRA:00[0] STATUS:ACTIVE RFSS NETWORK CONNECTION
PRI CONTROL CHANNEL:0-1437 DOWNLINK:859987500 UPLINK:814987500
SEC CONTROL CHANNEL:0-1397 DOWNLINK:859737500 UPLINK:814737500
CURRENT DATA CHANNEL:15-4095 DOWNLINK:0 UPLINK:0
STATION ID/LICENSE:

Neighbor Sites
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:0E[14] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1892 DOWNLINK:773831250 UPLINK:803831250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:24[36] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1736 DOWNLINK:772856250 UPLINK:802856250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:2D[45] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1652 DOWNLINK:772331250 UPLINK:802331250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:2E[46] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1484 DOWNLINK:771281250 UPLINK:801281250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:2F[47] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-2052 DOWNLINK:774831250 UPLINK:804831250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:30[48] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1900 DOWNLINK:773881250 UPLINK:803881250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:42[66] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1926 DOWNLINK:774043750 UPLINK:804043750 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]

Frequency Bands
BAND:0 FDMA BASE:851006250 BANDWIDTH:12500 SPACING:6250 TRANSMIT OFFSET:-45000000
BAND:1 FDMA BASE:762006250 BANDWIDTH:12500 SPACING:6250 TRANSMIT OFFSET:30000000
BAND:2 TDMA BASE:851012500 BANDWIDTH:12500 SPACING:12500 TRANSMIT OFFSET:-45000000 TIMESLOTS:2
BAND:3 TDMA BASE:762006250 BANDWIDTH:12500 SPACING:12500 TRANSMIT OFFSET:30000000 TIMESLOTS:2

 

[mtindor]

Looks like this site is active:

Activity Summary - Decoder 25 Phase 1 Normal (C4FM)

Network
WACN:BEE00[781824] SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] LRA:00[0]

Current Site
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:4C[76] LRA:00[0] STATUS:ACTIVE RFSS NETWORK CONNECTION
PRI CONTROL CHANNEL:0-1437 DOWNLINK:859987500 UPLINK:814987500
SEC CONTROL CHANNEL:0-1397 DOWNLINK:859737500 UPLINK:814737500
CURRENT DATA CHANNEL:15-4095 DOWNLINK:0 UPLINK:0
STATION ID/LICENSE:

Neighbor Sites
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:0E[14] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1892 DOWNLINK:773831250 UPLINK:803831250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:24[36] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1736 DOWNLINK:772856250 UPLINK:802856250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:2D[45] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1652 DOWNLINK:772331250 UPLINK:802331250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:2E[46] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1484 DOWNLINK:771281250 UPLINK:801281250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:2F[47] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-2052 DOWNLINK:774831250 UPLINK:804831250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:30[48] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1900 DOWNLINK:773881250 UPLINK:803881250 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]
SYSTEM:348[840] NAC:34C[844] RFSS:02[2] SITE:42[66] LRA:00[0] CHANNEL:1-1926 DOWNLINK:774043750 UPLINK:804043750 STATUS:[VALID INFORMATION, ACTIVE RFSS CONNECTION]

Frequency Bands
BAND:0 FDMA BASE:851006250 BANDWIDTH:12500 SPACING:6250 TRANSMIT OFFSET:-45000000
BAND:1 FDMA BASE:762006250 BANDWIDTH:12500 SPACING:6250 TRANSMIT OFFSET:30000000
BAND:2 TDMA BASE:851012500 BANDWIDTH:12500 SPACING:12500 TRANSMIT OFFSET:-45000000 TIMESLOTS:2
BAND:3 TDMA BASE:762006250 BANDWIDTH:12500 SPACING:12500 TRANSMIT OFFSET:30000000 TIMESLOTS:2

Great work. Thank you for sleuthing it out! It's in the DB now.

Mike

 

[JethrowJohnson]

Anyone know which region Marietta is in for the statewide pursuit TGs under LE Common?

 

[GSutton2686]

Anyone know which region Marietta is in for the statewide pursuit TGs under LE Common?

It could be anyone of them. They are pretty much first come, first served. Prior to using, caller must announce intent to use and determine if the talkgroup is already in use.

 

[engine183]

PURSUIT 8
Try this site:

https://dam.assets.ohio.gov/image/upload/siec.ohio.gov/Pursuit%20SOP.pdf

 

[JethrowJohnson]

Thank you!

 

[rcid1971]

Does anyone really use them? I've only ever heard Region 1 used.

 

[jsoergel]

After several years of monitoring the Columbus/Franklin Co. sites, I’m moving to Dayton this weekend. Won’t be able to hear them anymore, so sharing what notes I have. The document includes all recorded RIDs for Franklin Co. fire, some for Columbus PD, OH ARNG helicopters, and other various notes. Might be useful to folks on here.

MARCS unknowns

docs.google.com

 

[engine183]

PURSUIT 6 is used in Brown County when OSP and any local Law Enforcement need to work together.

 

[JethrowJohnson]

Usually whenever something happens here in Washington County, the SO will just patch XMARIPD, XSO84DISP, and POST-84 altogether. I don't know if they even have the regional pursuit TGs programmed or not.