Onslow County P25 U.S. Forestry or Wildlife Repeater

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KF4LMT

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This morning, I caught some traffic on the 172.450 Savannah NWR Skidaway Repeater (Savannah, GA) from a unit IDing as 961 stating he was on "Onslow Digital." After getting a radio check with a station that I didn't hear the ID on, he stated he was en route to Sandhills (presumably the Carolina Sandhills NWR in SC).

The 172.450 repeater here in Savannah is also digital and is part of a linked repeater system that covers the Savannah NWR Complex in coastal SC and coastal GA. Apparently it is also linked beyond that. I am wondering if anyone is familiar with the "Onslow" Repeater that is apparently part of this linked system.
 

Steve

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Reference 172.450; I don’t know if what I heard is connected or related to what Mac heard. But on Thursday (3/27) staring about 7:00 AM CDT till 10:00 AM CDT I heard P25 traffic on 172.450. I heard what appeared to be “rangers” and other talking to a base and each other. Base ided as “700” and the units ided as “500, 501, 402, 431, 411and 508”. Couple of locations that were mentioned was: Elkmont and Sugarland (not completely sure on the last one). Traffic was “clear” with little P25 “motorboating”.
Times given were EDT.
Locally here Tallapoosa County AL, 172.450 is used by Horseshoe Bend National Military Park in simplex mode.
This is the third (or fourth) time I have heard this type traffic recently. And after reading Mac’s post, thought I would throw this information in to see if it is related or not.



Steve
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jeffmulter

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Here goes a few "guesses" ...


Mac - Your "Onslow digital" site is likely Onslow Island, along Hwy 25 between Port Wentsworth and the SC stateline.

"Sandhills" may be Sandhill Bay, a wetlands area in southwest McIntosh County
(some resources refer to the area as Wayne County).


Steve - what you heard were rangers assigned to the Great Smokey Montains National Park. "Elkmont" is where one of the rangers' offices is located (Sevier County, Tn, near Gatlinburg). "Sugarland" might have been a reference to a mountain with that name that is in Sevier County.

My understanding is that both 167.150 and 169.725 are used for repeater dispatching in P25 mode. "700" should be the NP dispatcher. 4xx units are assigned to the Newfound Gap district and 5xx units are assigned to the Cataloochie district.

Since you are hearing this via 172.450 Mhz, and your local user on the frequency doesn't operate a repeater, my guess is that the 167.150 or 169.725 P25 signals are being repeated by another agency using 167.150 (or 169.725) into 172.450.

I have not found anyone yet using either of those frequency combinations, though.
 

Steve

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Thanks Jeff. Your information confirms my research. It would be interesting to find the frequency combination(s) that makes the reception possible. More research to follow.


Steve
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KF4LMT

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jeffmulter said:
Here goes a few "guesses" ...
Mac - Your "Onslow digital" site is likely Onslow Island, along Hwy 25 between Port Wentsworth and the SC stateline.

All I can say to this is "DOH!" I should have thought of that but it completely passed my mind. No doubt the Onslow site is actually 172.650 which is the site that covers the Savannah NWR, which is right next to Onslow Island.


jeffmulter said:
Here goes a few "guesses" ...
"Sandhills" may be Sandhill Bay, a wetlands area in southwest McIntosh County
(some resources refer to the area as Wayne County).

I don't know about this one, though - although it is possible. This system seems to cover the Savannah NWR complex, all of which (to the best of my knowldedge) is along the coast of SC and GA.

I apologize for leading the NC bunch on a wild goose chase!
 

jeffmulter

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>> I apologize for leading the NC bunch on a wild goose chase!

Don't apologize. When you first posed the question, I was only aware of Sandhills State Park ... not the NWR in the same area.

So I learned something new. The Mrs. likes to go "bird watching during the migratory periods. We usually go to Huntington Beach State Park, between Georgetown and Myrtle Beach. McBee is alot closer to here, though. So, thanks.

Steve - I wish you well with figuring out your puzzle. I was unable to find any NPS location in the southeast U.S. that was confirmed as using 167.150 or 169.725 as an input.

A friendly inquiry to the superintendant of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park might reveal whether any of his / her peers at other locations have reported hearing the GSM P25
communications via their local repeaters.

Even if you heard the comms direct from a site near Elkmont, Tn., that's still about 230 miles ... a nice catch.
 
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