Plano complains to FCC after police radio signals disrupt sprinklers

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datainmotion

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"The problem
The two systems operate on the same frequency. The signal from the police system is so strong that it is traveling 30 miles north, to Plano, and jamming the city’s sprinkler system. The city has filed an FCC complaint."

The questions:
  • Are the sprinkler radios licensed tx or are they just rx?
  • If just rx, why did they select a channel in the PS band?
  • If they are tx/rx, why was there no coordination?
I love the "Public Safety over grass watering statement"
 

mikepdx

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"...the system is so robust that the radio signals are reaching as far as 30 miles away."

Gee whiz Sheriff Andy, a whole 30 miles!
What will they think of next?
 

ecps92

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fwradio

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Simple solution:

1. Identify the freq (they already have)
2. Turn on the system, minus that channel
3. Work out issue on that freq
4. Turn on channel

The system is MPT1327. It will work without that channel. You are minus one voice channel, but you can still get it on the air and move all the dispatch operations over to it.
 

ecps92

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They only need to license the Burger King Pairs [457 Mhz] and they won't have any interference.

Plenty of Golf Courses using them around here. Why they chose a public safety channel, other than them being a municipal agency, go for a business band channel instead.

453.3125 mHz (0.4533125 Hz) ?

I think it should be 453.3125 MHz
 

n8emr

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How about this for a digital age dispute?

PLANO, Texas -- The cities of Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville recently began testing a powerful new police communications system, but the system is so robust that the radio signals are reaching as far as 30 miles away.
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First robust has nothing to do with the system and even on uhf 30 miles isnt that far away. Why was the license issued for two systems that close? Why isnt PL used.
 

SCPD

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15 years ago, when Plano got the license, PL's were not used very much (Except by Dallas) do you remember what a radio looked like in 1991? Can you say MoStar?
 

kb2vxa

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Don't forget to read the comments, if the signals travel 30 miles the BAD GUYS can hear them. What's the matter Mister Bill? It's Mister Sluggo and he has a sprinkler... OH NOOOOoooo!!!!!!!

Did you get the impression that certain Texas officials are all wet?
 

hiegtx

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First robust has nothing to do with the system and even on uhf 30 miles isnt that far away. Why was the license issued for two systems that close? Why isnt PL used.
The dispute with Plano could be just the warm-up act. Several of the new SWRCC frequencies are wedged in between the long existing Dallas PD & FD frequencies. Apparently, based on attachments to the license application, Dallas, among others, raised objections to the frequency allocations because of their proximity to existing Dallas PD channels. The same potential for interference exists for frequencies licensed directly to Duncanville instead of the shared-dispatch entity SWRCC. Those concerns, it appears, were discounted in part due to the distances between the SWRCC system tower sites, in Desoto, Cedar Hill, and Duncanville, and the Dallas primary transmit site near Fair Park.

However, if that reasoning was in fact used, it may not allow for the voters used for reception of Dallas' mobiles along much of it's southern borders, which are contiguous to the three member cities of SWRCC. Once the system is up & running in normal operations, instead of the current limited use/test basis, there is at least a possibility of additional interference complaints. But these could be from an adjoining public safety communications system, not from a city regarding their sprinklers.

kb2vxa said:
Don't forget to read the comments, if the signals travel 30 miles the BAD GUYS can hear them. What's the matter Mister Bill? It's Mister Sluggo and he has a sprinkler... OH NOOOOoooo!!!!!!!

Did you get the impression that certain Texas officials are all wet?
Actually, Warren, it IS raining at the moment. :lol:
 
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