ODOT Statewide, VHF-High band TRS

[Thunderbolt]

Recently, the ODOT has been licensed for several VHF-High band TRS sites:

1. Guymon, Texas County: WQGA283.
2. Claremore, Rogers County: WQFS640.
3. Boise City, Cimmaron County: WQFV909.
4. Waynoka, Woods County: WQFS643.
5. Buffalo, Harper County: WQGC621.
6. Shamrock, Creek County: WQEY341.
7. Enid, Garfield County: WQDW558.

Does anyone know what kind of TRS this will be? I thought that ODOT would go in with the OHP on their system; hence, a real interoperable environment for all state agencies? Very interesting.

73's

Ron

 

[fast2okc]

ODOT Trunked

Hi, Ron--

Yeah, ODOT is working on a statewide Passport LTR system. I guess the buildout on the 800MHz system is just too slow for them.

Actually, historically ODOT has maintained its own system completely separate from any other agency. At one time, it was arguably the best statewide system in Okalhoma. Each site had a repeater for the workers and another for supervisors, complete with phone patch (when those things were in fashion). I was told they could interconnect repeaters to talk across the state, although I never actually heard them do it.

They have been working on the LTR system for several months. There was actually a site working in Oklahoma City during November and December, but all I ever heard were idle data bursts. They took it down during our first snow storm when they called in crews from other areas of the state.

The strange thing about the OKC site is that ODOT has contracted all maintenance work in the metro area to private contractors. They work on their own UHF repeaters. Maybe they were testing equipment to move to another location.

--fast2okc

 

[Gilligan]

Is that what those short (completely silent) data bursts were around 151 recently? I thought it was just interference.

 

[freqscout]

I was also informed of the ODOT system being statewide passport.

I wonder how well this will work. I have never seen a statewide PP system.

 

[WX5JCH]

Since were talking ODOT, I noticed div 5 is incorrect in the database. I'm receiving them on 151.025 with a 94.8 out of Clinton. 11" of snow here.

 

[freqscout]

Well I am glad that SOMEONE got the prescribed amount of snow!

I wonder a) where they got the money for such a huge undertaking and b) if there is some reason they chose PP instead of adding to their current setup c) if it is going to be leased out to other users?
It just seems that a multi-repeater per site setup all over the state would be overkill for them. I can't see them needing to have a roaming feature in the sicks of Pushmataha county with four repeaters, especially since they mostly use mobile radios I'm sure. Maybe there will be single repeater sites.

It's kinda like ONG and their statewide 900 smartzone system...a whole lotta bang for your buck with nothing to make it go bang. At least PP is probably a little cheaper.

 

[Gilligan]

Reviving a thread that's nearly ten years old... I see that there are still idle data bursts on 151.040 MHz in OKC... I have two different discriminator programs pumping data over to LTR Analyzer and it simply can't pick anything up. And SDR-Trunk also is copying what appears to be random paging messages instead of idle repeater info. Not sure why the system would even still be active. Has anyone ever copied any valid repeater or talkgroup info on any of these repeaters in OKC? According to the posts above, much of the DOT work in OKC is contracted out, so I don't know that there would be any voice comms anyway, but it would be nice to at least nail down the LCN info for this system after so many years.

 

[rfradioconsult]

ODOT has put the LTR project on indefinite hold, due to $$$. The individual driving the project has left ODOT. The COMM group is now under the broad umbrella of the state IT enterprise folks but still falls under ODOT budget.

 

[Gilligan]

I'm just curious why the repeater wouldn't be sending idle data info... It is sending something out -- it's reading as random paging messages. Maybe something is corrupted in the processor running the repeater? I guess our tax dollars are hard at work powering this useless repeater for ten years now...

 

[nd5y]

Passport is not the same as LTR and LTR Analyzer will not decode it.

 

[Gilligan]

Passport is not the same as LTR and LTR Analyzer will not decode it.

I was wondering whether it decodes passport or not, but I know that SDRTrunk decodes Passport just fine and that is what is showing the pager messages for all of the idle bursts. Typically you would see something like Idle, Repeater ## etc...

 

[plaws]

Passport or not, I grabbed up all the channels listed as conventional and LTR -- and there are quite a few listed in both places -- and stuck them in my radio. Going to take a listen and see if I hear ANYTHING on any of these channels, analog, digital, or data.

At least from what I can hear in Norman.

 

[SCPD]

WPFX733 151.040 mhz

I manually searched this out in the FCC database and came up with WPFX733 which uses a 376m free standing guyed tower output of 100 watts on N.E. 21st ODOT Building.

The signal strength is 25 db over S-9 at my location in Midtown Oklahoma City.

Bursts are 3 seconds apart with random bursts.

I searched SigWiki but nothing. Since LTR has no dedicated control channel I doubt I will be able to find out.

I know it's close to me because it has overloaded my NESDR Smart usb dongle way down to 27 mhz.

 

[plaws]

I manually searched this out in the FCC database and came up with WPFX733 which uses a 376m free standing guyed tower output of 100 watts on N.E. 21st ODOT Building.

The signal strength is 25 db over S-9 at my location in Midtown Oklahoma City.

Bursts are 3 seconds apart with random bursts.

I searched SigWiki but nothing. Since LTR has no dedicated control channel I doubt I will be able to find out.

I know it's close to me because it has overloaded my NESDR Smart usb dongle way down to 27 mhz.

Interesting. I have yet to hear anything on any of the channels. Not even data bursts.

 

[SCPD]

Stumped

Interesting. I have yet to hear anything on any of the channels. Not even data bursts.

I dont know what part of the city you're in though would you drive around with a scanner on 151.040 at the corner of Nw6th and Walker? I bet you hear it. Take it to lit intersections that are major intersections.

Now I have kicked some guesses in my mind. They do look close to ISM bursts but I have nothing to verify that so I didn't post it in the previous post. They sound nothing like ISM only behaving like ISM bursts. So that's a dead end. I move the dial to 433mhz where some ISM is found. Didn't' see anything noticeable. Moved up further to around 902 mhz saw some very wide bursts so that wasn't it. The NESDR Smart cannot go any higher than 1.74 ghz where ISM 2.4ghz and higher is. No help there neither.

My next guess was maybe something to do with the controlled intersection. I kicked it around in my head to ask the community if you live within 1 block even a 100 ft of a controlled lit intersection do you have the bursts on 151.040? If you move away from the intersection does it fade out?

I couldn't be sure enough to ask that before because it would be hard to do because maybe if being 1/2 mile to a full mile may be close enough still to receive them.

Maybe it has something to do with the city but their is no licensing on 151.040mhz for Oklahoma City at all. Oklahoma DOT holds the licensing for that frequency That was the primary reason I didn't post these thoughts. Then again FCC does have unlicensed ISM which Oklahoma City maybe can use 151.040 but that's a ridiculous thought because OKDOT has 151.040.mhz.

Stumped.

 

[nd5y]

Last time I was up north of Lawton about 1 1/2 years ago I heard the Passport data bursts every 3 seconds on several 151 MHz ODOT frequencies. I don't remember which ones and don't know where it was coming from.

There are no high band ISM frequencies.

 

[plaws]

I dont know what part of the city you're in though would you drive around with a scanner on 151.040 at the corner of Nw6th and Walker?

The Norman part of the city. Still, it's supposed to be a statewide system so I'd like to think there was some activity here.

I don't know what system OKC is using for traffic signal coordination. Tulsa has a Canopy system, presumably on 900 MHz, but I don't know if OKC is doing radio or fiber or what. Norman, amazingly, has miles of fiber in the ground for signal use, so no RF that I know of.