Monitoring Police in Kona

[Jags]

Hi Jags,
Yes the fire and ems would be switching to digital too.

Are you doing your scanning at the Halemalu B&B? Yes, I kinda agree that the age of the BC210 is a factor.

Aloha,
HiloScanners

Yes I have a 5 acre estate here in Captain Cook. The Halemalu Vacation Villa is on the property along with my home. The scanner is at my home.

If everyone switches over to the new digital system am I correct in assuming that there are no scanners available that will be able to pick them up? If there is a scanner that will work what make and model would it be?

Thanks!

 

[Sybex7254]

Has there been a time estimate announced for when Hawaii County will switch to a new Digital TRS is going to happen? I see reference made to it happening End of Year? I live off Island the majority of the year but will be back again in November.

@ Jags - Yes there are several scanners currently on the market that are capable of receiving a P25 Digital TRS. I guess the only thing to be determined once the new system goes live is whether or not it will be Phase I or Phase II (TDMA). This will determine which of the current scanners will be able to receive/decode the Talkgroups. As an FYI - all of the current digital scanners can received Phase I transmission, but only a few of the newer models can receive Phase II.

 

[pepsima1]

Honestly I would be safe to say that any scanner that has the ability to do Phase I FDMA trunking will work. Looks like Maui County is still on an LTR system but moving to a Phase I system as well as Honolulu. Looks like all of the islands are going to be connected to one big system which will be nice for interops. Or you can just pony up the big bucks for Phase II TDMA scanner and and if they goto Phase II then you are golden. If not, then you have a scanner that will do Phase II but never need living on the hawaiian islands. If Phase II is not on the radar then it will never be used out there until the island grows so great that they will need Phase II so they can add many talkgroups as they want.

Most likely Phase I FDMA from my observation. You can get a really nice Uniden BCD996XT which is a bullet proof scanner for pretty cheap now and its a great radio for your needs on the island for now and for the future. They are new anywhere between 300.00 to 350.00 now. Any Phase II scanner is going to run you from 500.00 to 600.00 bucks. Good Luck

 

[Sybex7254]

You know, and not to change the topic here, but I've always wondered...how exactly do you do inter-Island interops? Ever since the HIRIN went live I wondered that and what kind of traffic this TRS would be carrying.

AND if each Island will have repeater sites for the HIRIN TRS, why don't each of the islands (Counties) just utilize the HIRIN instead of standing up their own TRS (as many Counties are doing on the mainland with Statewide TRS')?

Just my 2 cents but am curious to what will happen.

I do agree with the earlier post that a BDC996XT (or BCD396XT) should be all you need to monitor these new P25 trunked systems. I brought mine to my house in Waikoloa and have had very good results not only picking up the older VHF transmissions but the PACMERS as well. I haven't heard any traffic on HIRIN yet but do get a control channel. Maui's existing LTR system can be monitored in conventional mode from the north-western part of the Big Island without the need for a external antenna. I haven't heard anything on Maui's new P25 TRS yet either.

 

[Jags]

I just received a Uniden BC350C. Thank you to the very gracious donor!!

I have it set up and have programmed it with all the various frequencies that have been discussed in this thread. I've got 37 frequencies programmed. Most definitely 155.415 is the main police frequency. My old bearcat is just not picking anything up on that frequency. I hold 155.415 and open the squelch on the Bearcat and when the Uniden receives something on 155.415 there is nothing on the Bearcat. The Bearcat has definitely seen better days and will be going to that big scanner place in the sky!

I have noticed that I pick up dispatch on 155.415 but only sometimes do I hear the officers in the field respond. The only time I have heard a field officer was when they where close by to my location. They would come in on 155.970 on the Bearcat and 155.415 on the Uniden. I'm not picking anything up on 154.830 or 156.150 which supposed to be North Kona and Kailua town. Maybe it's just out of range.

I'll be monitoring and noting frequencies that have traffic over the next couple of days.

Thanks again!!

 

[Jags]

OK, I think I have figured out what is happening here in Kona with the Police frequencies and why sometimes both sides of the conversation come through and other times you only hear the dispatch side.

It seems that the Kona district is divided into North and South halves. When dispatch transmits it will transmit on both the 154.830 (north) and 155.415 (south) repeaters. The field units in the north area will transmit on 156.150 and that is then repeated on 154.830. The field units in the south area will transmit on 155.970 and that is then repeated on 155.415.

I'm located in the south area and cannot pick up any of the north frequencies including the north 154.830 repeater. So any transmissions made by north field units on 156.150 and then repeated on 154.830 I can not pick up. But I will hear the response from dispatch since they transmit on both the north and south repeaters simultaneously. I do pick up both south frequencies thus I can hear the south field units on both 155.970 and 155.415 and of course dispatch on 155.415. The opposite should hold true if you are located in the north area.

It seems like the dividing line is somewhere south of the Kam III intersection. It was noted that Alii drive and Kailua town traffic was happening on the north frequency 154.830 which unfortunately I can't pick up. I did pick up a field unit that was located at the South Kona Baptist Church which is located just a few miles south of the Kam III intersection. So their dividing line must be just south of the Kam III intersection and just north of the South Kona Baptist Church.

This all does make sense considering the location of the repeater transmitting towers and the fact that Hualalai mountain stands between the two tower locations. Hope this will help any of you scanning the Kona Police traffic.

Thanks again!

 

[HiloScanners]

That's interesting. Thanks for the info. Does anyone know where the 154.830 repeater is situated? Where is Moa Nui?? I googled it briefly but the first few results showed someplace on Kahoolawe!!?? A Puu Moa'ula Nui. That can't be it... :-(

Output - Input - Repeater Site - Area Served
154.830-156.150 - Moa Nui - Kona Secondary

 

[Jags]

That's interesting. Thanks for the info. Does anyone know where the 154.830 repeater is situated? Where is Moa Nui?? I googled it briefly but the first few results showed someplace on Kahoolawe!!?? A Puu Moa'ula Nui. That can't be it... :-(

Output - Input - Repeater Site - Area Served
154.830-156.150 - Moa Nui - Kona Secondary

You can see the location here;

KBK610 (HAWAII, COUNTY OF) FCC Callsign Details

It's up on the slope of Hualalai.

Right now I've got 154.830 on hold and the squelch wide open. I do hear very faint Kona Police traffic. I'm going to try to get this antenna I got off ebay into a better location to see if I can get better reception on 154.830 so that I can also monitor the north side traffic. Is there such thing as a directional antenna that can be used with a scanner?

 

[Sybex7254]

Should be some good listening in the next few days with Iselle approaching. I would be interested to know if there's any activity on the Civil Defense frequencies.

Be safe!

 

[Jags]

Should be some good listening in the next few days with Iselle approaching. I would be interested to know if there's any activity on the Civil Defense frequencies.

Be safe!

What Civil Defense frequencies should I program in?

 

[HiloScanners]

You can see the location here;

KBK610 (HAWAII, COUNTY OF) FCC Callsign Details

It's up on the slope of Hualalai.

Right now I've got 154.830 on hold and the squelch wide open. I do hear very faint Kona Police traffic. I'm going to try to get this antenna I got off ebay into a better location to see if I can get better reception on 154.830 so that I can also monitor the north side traffic. Is there such thing as a directional antenna that can be used with a scanner?

Ok checked out the map at the link you provided. Also got more detailed info via PM from RR member ****tacy. Looks like the repeater is located around the 3000 foot level.

Here is a little more detailed info on Moanuiahea:
http://www.lat-long.com/Latitude-Longitude-362360-Hawaii-Moanuiahea.html

So correct me if I am wrong, but because FM is very line of sight, this means that you are located kinda "around the curve of the mountain". Or basically, the slopes of Hualalai (e.g. above Kailua town/Holualoa) is kinda blocking the signal from the repeater to where you are. Does that seem accurate to you? Whats your elevation?

This may give us a bit more info. Try input the Kona Tower frequency (Kona Tower 120.300 AM). It looks like the airport is directly west of the police repeater so if you can't snag the tower, getting the police repeater is going to be....harder. Even if the airport is at sea level and the repeater is probably higher power (??)....

So to answer your question, yes there are directional scanner antennas. I don't have much exposure to them so maybe someone else can help you out with this one.

But I think that a standard ground plane 1/4 wave mounted as high up as possible (e.g. on roof) may be worth a shot. And to help boost the signal, you can also get a preamp like the ICE 133B listed on this web page. There are other inexpensive preamps but the 133B is solid and very well built.
Receive Only Processing Equipment

And don't forget to unplug any external antennas from your scanner as we get hit with these two storms heading our way! Heck we on the east side of the big island will get hit first so we can let you folks know how it is. Be safe everyone in Hawaii!!

Aloha,
HS

 

[Jags]

So correct me if I am wrong, but because FM is very line of sight, this means that you are located kinda "around the curve of the mountain". Or basically, the slopes of Hualalai (e.g. above Kailua town/Holualoa) is kinda blocking the signal from the repeater to where you are. Does that seem accurate to you? Whats your elevation?

Yes that is exactly right. I am at the 1600 foot elevation almost right next to the Captain Cook Police station. I've been up there on Hualalai where the repeater antenna sits and its just a bit around the corner of the ridge of Hualalai. There is definitely some "island" between me and the repeater tower so no line of site. The airport would also be just around the corner of the Hualalai slope.

Like I said I do pick up a very faint signal on the repeater 154.830 if I lock the scanner to that frequency and open the squelch all the way. So a directional antenna may work. Problem is I have a very high and steep roof and there is no way for me to get to the top of my roof to mount any sort of exterior antenna. I would have to rent a cherry picker truck to get up there. Best I can do is mount an antenna in my "attic" but I do have a metal roof and I'm not sure how much that may block the signal.

Thanks again for all the help and most definitely stay safe and dry over the next couple of days!

 

[pepsima1]

a metal roof is going to destroy your signal if you throw you antenna in the attic. Throw that antenna above the roof line and get a Antenna Craft ST-2 and that antenna will do the trick. Use RG-6 cable and you will be fine. You should be-able to pull in a lot of signal from that antenna and they are pretty cheap too. Radio Shack I think carries them. good luck.

 

[HiloScanners]

Courtesy of ****tacy. Thanks ****tacy!!!!

County Civil Defense coordination with public works - 155.115 (island wide)
County Civil Defense coordination with police - 155.310 (island wide)
State Highways - 453.600
State Dept. of Land and Natural Resources - 154.995

I have not scanned these for a while so not sure if these are active but I will throw them into the pot.
COH 155.865
COH? 155.925
State Conservation Control 154.085
Civil Defense Yellow 155.715
Civil Defense EAS 161.64
*************************************
HTEL 151.985
HTEL 158.34
HEI 451.2
HEI Hilo Base 48.54
DWS/COH? 451.25
DWS 153.425
DWS 153.71

 

[Jags]

a metal roof is going to destroy your signal if you throw you antenna in the attic. Throw that antenna above the roof line and get a Antenna Craft ST-2 and that antenna will do the trick. Use RG-6 cable and you will be fine. You should be-able to pull in a lot of signal from that antenna and they are pretty cheap too. Radio Shack I think carries them. good luck.

Would I still be able to use this Antenna Craft ST-2 with a digital radio if and when they switch to a different system over here? I may have found a way to get an antenna up on the roof but I would have to run about 70-80 feet of coax to my scanner location. Would that be a problem? I noticed that the leads are connected to a pair of short radials on one side of the antenna. Is this antenna in any way directional?

Our local Radio Shack does not carry this antenna but I can get it off Amazon for $58 shipped to Hawaii. That's pretty good considering this thing comes in a 5 foot long box. I may consider picking it up and doing the pretty difficult install as long as I'm sure I can still use this antenna with any future change in the system here on the big island.

Please advise.

Thanks!

 

[pepsima1]

Yes you would still be-able to use the ST-2 antenna for any new system. With the ST-2 antenna is comes with a 75 ohm transformer so you can use RG-6 coax cable. Make sure you use high grade when running 70-80 feet of cable. You should do just fine. I run 70 to 80 feet of RG-6 into a 3 way splitter and have no trouble or loss of signal. If you use good coax and pressure fitting connectors then you will be good.

Not sure if that antenna is a directional antenna but its an all band from 25-1000 MHz antenna. If you want true gain then you will have to buy a directional antenna made for whatever band you will want to hear. But for a scanner and all the ability to scan the whole spectrum then the ST-2 is your best bet. This is if you have the space and the ability to put it high above the roof line and completely on a vertical mast and make sure you have the antenna completely vertical.

I use my ST-2 for VHF low band which works great. Also, VHF high band, UHF band and 700/800 MHz which works really well. Analog and Digital both work great. If you have the right radio then you can do whatever you want. I am using an BCD996XT.

58 bucks is a good deal considering that you have to have all of your product shipped from the mainland. That is still a good deal for that all around antenna.

 

[Jags]

I've been informed that the ST-2 is a MONSTER of an antenna at over 8 feet in length. The length is needed for the lower band frequencies which I really don't need. Any suggestions for an antenna designed for bands 150.000 and higher that will not be such a MONSTER and still perform as good as the ST-2 in the frequencies 150.000 and higher?

 

[pepsima1]

Yeah that ST-2 is a big antenna but you have more metal in the sky then the sky if your oyster.

I also, have a Diamond D130J Discone which is a nice antenna too. Get get all bandwidth but no gain since its all band. You will need to use RG-8 N connection cable or UHF connection cable and that stuff is the best out there. Its expensive. Its about 100 bucks for about 100 feet of line.

You can get the diamond antenna kit in N connectors or UHF connectors. This antenna is a discone and way smaller and will work pretty awesome too. Either way you are going to need to spend time building the antenna, and the mast for a proper install and account for the weather. Watch this video. This is the best way to build the antenna and properly connect everything for weather.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B80eDdEEb5M

 

[pepsima1]

Here is my antenna that I just installed in my attic. Diamond Discone D130J. Used a used Directv arm mount in the attic for a clean install

 

[Jags]

OK, Great News!! I just relocated the scanner to a window on the north side of my home and now it picks up the 154.83 repeater just fine! Works with the back of set telescopic and even better with the ebay antenna I purchased. The metal roof on my house is definitely creating a signal blockage problem.

I think I will pick up the Radio Shack 20-176 antenna which looks to be the same as the AntennaCraft ST3. This is small and light enough that I can mount it with an "L" shaped pipe from under the ridge line of my roof so that it will be at the end top edge of my roof line about 2-3 feet above the roof. I will be able to do this install without having to go on top of the roof.

I also have about 250 feet of good quality RG6 leftover from when I wired my house for cable TV. With a F to PL-259 Adapter connected to the antenna it should be easy to attach the cable to the antenna and then route it to my scanner about 70-80 feet away.

Please let me now what you all think. I'm pretty sure this will be the simplest and most effective way to get the job done.

Let me know. Thanks!