New Baltimore County P-25 System

[800mhz]

Question

Is it safe to buy a RS Pro 106 to monitor Baltimore County. I know their getting new portable radios for the fire dept. Just wanted to make sure their not going to P25 phase 2 TDMA. Was not sure if I needed the PSR 800. Just need some imput please. I read thru the thread and did not see anything. Just wanted to make sure before I spent the money. Also, Is it able to be received in AACO - Pasadena?

Thanks!

 

[ka3jjz]

You will have no trouble with Anne Arundel, but since moving to their new system, hearing Baltimore county from Anne Arundel is difficult.

They have pretty much configured their system to concentrate coverage inside the county; I know that at least mobile, I couldn't hear the system at all until I got closer to Exit 13 on the beltway....Mike

 

[ocguard]

Is it safe to buy a RS Pro 106 to monitor Baltimore County. I know their getting new portable radios for the fire dept. Just wanted to make sure their not going to P25 phase 2 TDMA. Was not sure if I needed the PSR 800. Just need some imput please. I read thru the thread and did not see anything. Just wanted to make sure before I spent the money. Also, Is it able to be received in AACO - Pasadena?

Thanks!

BCoFD are getting new portable radios?

 

[riveter]

They already have XTS5000s that they purchased over the last 5 years. I don't believe they plan on going to P25/2, as their current brand new radios are not compatible, they just recently upgraded their system to the P25/1 standard, and they are not having capacity issues in this configuration.

 

[gregsto]

Here is some more info on what has become the absurdity of trying to receive the new BACO system. I run the Baltimore City Fire/EMS feed on a 996T which receives both the city AND Baltimore County without much difficulty (the county does have bad days occasionally with seemingly no rhyme or reason). I use a 3" stubby duck antenna after trial and error with multiple antennas including 800mhz specific models/telescoping/other rubber ducks, etc. I also own a 996xt which I use for personal use at the same location which receives the county with little trouble.

The member who runs the Baltimore County feed is a friend of mine and had a 996xt in Middle River for that feed. The reception sucked big time despite trying multiple antennas and moving the thing all over the house. So, last night the equipment was relocated to downtown Baltimore and now sits next to the scanner running the city feed. But no matter what I tried, the 996XT that was running the BACO feed will simply NOT receive Baltimore County (even though it sits next to another 996XT and a 996T which receive it without problems). It does receive the city feed without issue.

SO....the Baltimore County feed on Broadcastify, as of today, is now on the 996T that was running the city feed (using one of those 1 1/2 inch stubby antennas they market for "racing" scanners) and the Baltimore City feed is being run off the 996XT that used to be the county feed scanner (with a 3 " stubby antenna ) and is now located downtown!

How does this help anyone having problems, or what lessons can be learned? Beats the heck outta me.

 

[riveter]

The problem that most people face is that the BCo system is a very strongly built system with a large quantity of towers in dense high-saturation placement. It's hard to be in any one location within range of any county tower that receives just one tower, and in all other cases, you will get timing difference that give non CQPSK LSM scanners a very hard time. That's really as simple as it is- it's not a true RF reception issue, it's just a lack of programming in nearly every current civilian scanner to decode and mesh CQPSK LSM that butts up very hard against a well-built system like BCo.

 

[gregsto]

The problem that most people face is that the BCo system is a very strongly built system with a large quantity of towers in dense high-saturation placement. It's hard to be in any one location within range of any county tower that receives just one tower, and in all other cases, you will get timing difference that give non CQPSK LSM scanners a very hard time. That's really as simple as it is- it's not a true RF reception issue, it's just a lack of programming in nearly every current civilian scanner to decode and mesh CQPSK LSM that butts up very hard against a well-built system like BCo.

And I do understand that. What I am saying is two identical scanners, both 966XT, with identical settings and programming, using the same antenna (EXACT same antenna switched back and forth between them), sitting in the EXACT same location to a fraction of an inch (as exact same location as humanly possible) have reception that is WORLDS apart for Baltimore County.

It appears to be a variation in scanners of the same model, as ridiculous as that sounds.

 

[ka3jjz]

And the firmware, Greg? Is it the same on both of them as well? Mike

 

[XMFire]

BCoFD are getting new portable radios?

The answer to this question is: YES. All of the Public Safety XTS5000 Portable and Mobile radios will be replaced with APX Radios. It is believed that the transition will start prior to the end of this year, possibly in October. Many, if not all of the New Replacement portables will be the Yellow APX Extreme Series.

 

[gregsto]

And the firmware, Greg? Is it the same on both of them as well? Mike

Mike,

Excellent question. Yes, they both have Version 1.07.03

Greg

 

[maus92]

I'd suggest reflashing the firmware if that is possible, download the programming from the better radio, and upload that programming to the reflashed radio. If that doesn't work, then the radio is defective - at least in my view.

 

[ocguard]

The answer to this question is: YES. All of the Public Safety XTS5000 Portable and Mobile radios will be replaced with APX Radios. It is believed that the transition will start prior to the end of this year, possibly in October. Many, if not all of the New Replacement portables will be the Yellow APX Extreme Series.

I started with the BCoFD in 1999. When I joined, they were using STX radios. Then they went to MTS2000s which lasted about a year, and the transition to XTS5000s began. Now yet another transition. I count about 165 units in the BCoFD fleet that each have AT LEAST 2 portable radios, times 4 transitions, time an average of $2,000 per unit (I know it's way low) is about $1.3M in radios. And to think, when I was studying economics in middle school, I almost asked my dad to buy me stock in the batwings.

 

[riveter]

Anybody figured out what TG 9401 and 9402 are for real? They simulcast, typically major events for PD and FD respectively, selected out of the response talkgroups for FD or the precinct talkgroups for PD as someone (I'm guessing County Communications) sees fit. Are these designated countywide channels, or some sort of a command-monitor talkgroup pair or something?

 

[elj1201]

Anybody figured out what TG 9401 and 9402 are for real? They simulcast, typically major events for PD and FD respectively, selected out of the response talkgroups for FD or the precinct talkgroups for PD as someone (I'm guessing County Communications) sees fit. Are these designated countywide channels, or some sort of a command-monitor talkgroup pair or something?

how often do you hear them using these talkgroups

 

[riveter]

Constantly, usually one is simulcasting something for a portion of an hour every hour or two. They're pretty frequent. If you can RX the South zone from where you are, you'll probably get more of it than on the north zone.

 

[troymail]

Anybody figured out what TG 9401 and 9402 are for real? They simulcast, typically major events for PD and FD respectively, selected out of the response talkgroups for FD or the precinct talkgroups for PD as someone (I'm guessing County Communications) sees fit. Are these designated countywide channels, or some sort of a command-monitor talkgroup pair or something?

I heard these the other day while I was in Reisterstown for a few hours. My initial thought was that they were scenario dispatcher/trainee activity - but that was just a guess. Anne Arundel does similar things for the dispatcher and/or new police recruit training.

There are some other undocumented TGs on the system also that sound like utilities or maintenance or something. I heard several conversations about stump removal.

 

[CqDx]

I have been putting together a list of DPW talkgroups for the county and city currently not in the database. Most of them are pretty boring but I have an rough idea of what the usages are.

 

[riveter]

Those TGs are not for training. They simulcast real-world events from precinct and fire-response talkgroups as selected, presumably as selected by Communications.

 

[troymail]

Those TGs are not for training. They simulcast real-world events from precinct and fire-response talkgroups as selected, presumably as selected by Communications.

The activity on 9401 was almost certainly (probably dispatcher / CAD) training last Tuesday. There were a number of factors leading me to believe this -- the way the conversations occurred (dispatchers aren't usually that literal in their questions), request for additional resources that are never never dispatched (medic for a 10-50), the same female voice was the car on the street in multiple districts (Essex, Catonsville, etc.) over time and there were hour long breaks between the district IDs heard. Also, if that was real activity, there's a street in Essex I really wouldn't want to live on since they dispatched quite a number of "calls" on that street!

Yesterday on a drive through the County I heard mutual aid patch in on a high unnamed talkgroup (9586).

 

[ocguard]

It's confirmed that 9401 and 9402 are 911 center training talk groups. There are 6, but I can't confirm if it's simply 9401-9406 or otherwise... they existed on the Smartnet system too, dispatcher training personnel typically use portables and call in to dispatcher trainees at the training consoles, simulating real-worl police and fire/EMS radio traffic. The dispatcher trainees have to response appropriately over the air, and make the proper adjustments in CAD.