New 700 MHz System

[jlanfn]

A control channel is currently active on 769.59375.

Unitrunker site info output:
Type: P25
System ID: BEE00-37C
Site: 001-002
CC: 769.59375
Alternate CC: 770.59375

This is a new San Bernardino County TRS site located at Padua Hills in Claremont.

WQLF625

Other voice channels from the license:
770.83125
772.01875
772.26875

Due to lack of traffic I was unable to confirm whether they are using TDMA (Motorola's solution) or FDMA. They appear to be licensed only for FDMA.

 

[jlanfn]

Okay, I just confirmed it is FDMA...and not encrypted, so far as I can tell. That's a good sign.

 

[2wayfreq]

I'll monitor tomorrow from the Riverside area. Here we go with 700 P25 .

 

[brandon]

Are you hearing any activity on it?
Tried here but must be too far as I didn't hear anything.

 

[2wayfreq]

ID:4
Sounds like a simulcast of another Talk Group. I'll check for others

 

[jlanfn]

ID:4
Sounds like a simulcast of another Talk Group. I'll check for others

It sounds like 1-DC-3, or whatever the 18-P units use.

 

[jlanfn]

The San Sevaine Site (001-001) is now active with a CC of 770.08125.

No hits on any activity yet besides the system license broadcasts.

Alternate CC:
770.58125
771.08125

Voice channels
769.58125
771.75625
772.00625
772.25625


Update on Site 001-002:
770.83125 is also showing as an alternate control channel.

 

[rolncode2892]

What scanner are you guys using for 700? My BC296D does not have 700, nor do any of my other scanners. Maybe it's time to upgrade?

 

[monitor142]

There's a growing variety of scanners that do 700MHz and more in the pipeline.

Uniden Bearcat
396/996t
396/996xt

GRE
PSR 500/600

Radio Shack (GRE private labeled)
PRO106/197

 

[MtnBiker2005]

Linking to the other topic

RR topic: http://forums.radioreference.com/gr...n/213391-san-bernardino-p25-system-plans.html

 

[MtnBiker2005]

Some Pro96Com Reports / System information on these local threads.

San Bernardino 700MHz P25 - Pro96com Reports
http://forums.scanbernardino.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=21

Plans for P25 Trunking Upgrade
http://forums.scanbernardino.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17

 

[2wayfreq]

What I don't understand is, why not just "Trade-up" the 800Mhz Trunking channels for 700Mhz licenses like Riverside County did? That way, you don't have to wait for re-banding and they just give them up when they cut over. Maybe they plan on keeping some of the existing "850" range channels.

 

[zz0468]

What I don't understand is, why not just "Trade-up" the 800Mhz Trunking channels for 700Mhz licenses like Riverside County did? That way, you don't have to wait for re-banding and they just give them up when they cut over. Maybe they plan on keeping some of the existing "850" range channels.

You can't compare the Riverside County system with the San Bernardino County system, especially when it comes to how and why they're deploying on 700 MHz. Riverside has NEVER had sufficient channel capacity on 800 MHz, so when the PSEC project comes along, there's just nowhere to go. The availability of 700 MHz came along at just the right time, so when the project was first conceived, it fairly rapidly evolved into a 700 MHz system.

San Bernardino county is facing a completely different set of problems, the biggest being that parts of the system are 20 years old. There hasn't been any perception of insufficient channel capacity, so there's been no big push for more. There also hasn't been the need for a crash forklift replacement project like Riverside needs.

So, don't expect any SB County 700 MHz implementation to play out anything like it has in Riverside.

 

[jlanfn]

I think many people, myself included, have assumed that 800 MHz licensees would hold off on major upgrades to their radio systems until they are required to reband because they would rather make both of those changes simultaneously. (Why do major work on your system before rebanding only to have to do major work on it again to get it rebanded?) With rebanding dragging on and on due to apparent lack of progress with Mexico, licensees may not be able or willing to hold off on major upgrades any longer. Switching to 700 MHz means licensees would no longer need to wait to upgrade their system because rebanding would no longer apply to them.

From the Region 5 700 MHz Allocation Plan:

This allocation also includes additional channels for the County of Riverside so that agency can implement their new radio system entirely on 700 MHz and vacate their 800 MHz licensed channels to facilitate 800 MHz rebanding in Southern California.

I don't know whether 800 MHz rebanding was an issue Riverside County considered when it elected to use 700 MHz frequencies for PSEC, but this seems to indicate it may indeed have been a reason to use 700 MHz, even if it wasn't the most compelling.

San Bernardino County is in the process of upgrading System 9 to digital (according to the County Business Plan), so maybe it has already given up on waiting.

 

[2wayfreq]

Ok,
Thanks for the explanations. Sorry to veer off topic .

 

[zz0468]

I think many people, myself included, have assumed that 800 MHz licensees would hold off on major upgrades to their radio systems...

There's some merit to that line of thinking, but it doesn't ALWAYS hold water. An older system that is other wise satisfactory, but simply needs hardware updates could get changed out prior to rebanding. The rebanding process can then be as simple as the frequency change.

Newer radios now allow for two sets of control channels to be programmed in, so on cutover day, you turn off the old frequencies, and turn on the new. A system can be rebanded relatively painlessly that way, the pain coming in the pre-cutover preparations.

I don't know whether 800 MHz rebanding was an issue Riverside County considered when it elected to use 700 MHz frequencies for PSEC, but this seems to indicate it may indeed have been a reason to use 700 MHz, even if it wasn't the most compelling.

Rebanding was/is an issue for Riverside County. But one of the main reasons for going to 700 MHz was that the required channels could be licensed. The original 800 MHz system didn't have a sufficient number of channels for expansion, and because of saturation of the 800 MHz band, there was no where else to go. Riverside is surrounded by other counties, all on 800 MHz to some degree or another, and frequency reuse is difficult, especially on the west end of the county.

San Bernardino County is in the process of upgrading System 9 to digital (according to the County Business Plan), so maybe it has already given up on waiting.

I'm not so sure of that. System 9 just went through a rebuild. The 700 MHz stuff going in looks like it's a slow-growth gradual transfer to P25, not necessarily a complete replacement of any particular system.