Possible New DMR Site or System

[scanfan03]

I'm picking up a strong signal on 490.86275 that is DMR data bursts on my SDR in NW Harris County. Looks like CAP+.

According to DSD:

02:41:33 Sync: +DMR [slot1] slot2 | Color Code=01 | CSBK[0m[31m (FEC ERR)[0m
02:41:33 Sync: +DMR slot1 [slot2] | Color Code=01 | CSBK[0m[31m (CRC ERR) [0m
02:41:33 Sync: +DMR [slot1] slot2 | Color Code=01 | CSBK[33m
[33m Capacity Plus Adjacent Sites
Site: 4 Rest: 4; [0m

I searched the RRDB, didn't find anything. I looked in the FCC DB, didn't find anything for 490.86275, but did find a terminated license for Champion Communications in the Woodlands on 490.8625.

I'm new to SDRs, so somebody else might be better at sniffing out this system than I am. I don't know if that site 4 above means that this channel is a part of site 4 or if it's broadcasting that it has an adjacent site of site 4.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Could be this one

FCC Callsign WIM410 (PDV Spectrum Holding Company, LLC)

FCC Callsign WIM410 (PDV Spectrum Holding Company, LLC)

www.radioreference.com

 

[scanfan03]

Well... that probably is it. I don't know why nothing would pull up for me in the FCC DB. I guess I'll try and piece together the puzzle now. How did you find it? Did you search the FCC database through RR?

 

[mwjones]

Could be this one

FCC Callsign WIM410 (PDV Spectrum Holding Company, LLC)

FCC Callsign WIM410 (PDV Spectrum Holding Company, LLC)

www.radioreference.com

Red Herring as to the business name - PDV Spectrum d/b/a/ Anterix f/k/a/ TeamConnect has no interest in T-Band - they're juggling this stuff nationally, getting unused licenses and putting them together to eventually hand over to others in return for frequencies in their granted nationwide 936.5MHz to 939.5MHz spectrum.

Digging into the license, this license is currently being leased (along with 55 others) to "McGowan Radio One"

FCC Public Interest Statement

A recent trip to California showed me they did something similar out there (in the case out there it was 800MHz for 900MHz swap for Disney) - I wrote a lengthy write up on the mess they left behind over in the California Forum -

Disneyland Capacity Max

Update on the two sites - I have fairly high confidence that Site 11 is on top of the Disneyland Hotel (at least 3 antennas): Likewise, I have strong confidence that Site 12 is on top of Guardians of the Galaxy (no pic for this one but there did appear to be antennas up there hidden amongst...

forums.radioreference.com

Not delving into the detail like I did with Disney but, Anterix got the license (and 171 others) from FleetTalk in February 2023.

Look who's licensed in the 900MHz band, and that may be a targeted recipient of these eventually.

 

[scanfan03]

Red Herring as to the business name - PDV Spectrum d/b/a/ Anterix f/k/a/ TeamConnect has no interest in T-Band - they're juggling this stuff nationally, getting unused licenses and putting them together to eventually hand over to others in return for frequencies in their granted nationwide 936.5MHz to 939.5MHz spectrum.

Digging into the license, this license is currently being leased (along with 55 others) to "McGowan Radio One"

FCC Public Interest Statement

A recent trip to California showed me they did something similar out there (in the case out there it was 800MHz for 900MHz swap for Disney) - I wrote a lengthy write up on the mess they left behind over in the California Forum -

Disneyland Capacity Max

Update on the two sites - I have fairly high confidence that Site 11 is on top of the Disneyland Hotel (at least 3 antennas): Likewise, I have strong confidence that Site 12 is on top of Guardians of the Galaxy (no pic for this one but there did appear to be antennas up there hidden amongst...

forums.radioreference.com

Not delving into the detail like I did with Disney but, Anterix got the license (and 171 others) from FleetTalk in February 2023.

Look who's licensed in the 900MHz band, and that may be a targeted recipient of these eventually.

So I guess they have Cap+ controllers sitting on the frequencies to show they are "used" (kind of like what they did with the 900 band they had, except they actually did have users on it).

Why would they want anymore 900 band stuff when they've decommissioned the whole system?

 

[dave3825]

strong signal on 490.86275

Pretty sure that's not a valid freq.

I'm new to SDRs,

Could you take a screenshot of the spectrum when that freq has activity using Windows Snip and post it here? If thats whats displaying, you could have a setting off.

I searched the RRDB, didn't find anything. I looked in the FCC DB, didn't find anything for 490.86275, but did find a terminated license for Champion Communications in the Woodlands on 490.8625.

Could be this one

FCC Callsign WIM410 (PDV Spectrum Holding Company, LLC)

FCC Callsign WIM410 (PDV Spectrum Holding Company, LLC)

www.radioreference.com

How did you find it?

If you search 490.86275 in,
Query Frequency Data, specific to TX, nothing comes up because nothing has been submitted to the database.





If you do the same, but for all 50 states, Entire database, 490.8625 comes up 1 time as it's used in a system in Maryland. Also leans toward 490.86275 not being a valid freq.





If you search 490.86275 using Query FCC Data (USA) and select Texas, Fcc licenses will come up for users licensed for use of the freq. But with the freq not being valid it displays licenses for 490.8625

 

[mwjones]

So I guess they have Cap+ controllers sitting on the frequencies to show they are "used" (kind of like what they did with the 900 band they had, except they actually did have users on it).

Not sure what McGowen is doing with these, or if the lease and Cap+ beacons are just a placeholder until Anterix gets ready to swap with another business, which in Harris County there appears to be a few (mainly the chemical plants in Pasadena).

Why would they want anymore 900 band stuff when they've decommissioned the whole system?

It's been rehashed a number of times across the forums, but the TL;DR is Anterix convinced the FCC to allocate a block of 6MHz (897.5-900.5 Input, 936.5-939.5 Output) for a nationwide broadband system, on the condition that Anterix pick up the tab for moving current users out of that band (similar to what Nextel had to do in the 800MHz band), either into the remaining 900MHz space or another band altogether. Their intent is for this nationwide broadband system to be something like a FirstNet system but targeted at utility companies. They sold off the Narrowband DMR customers as part of this grand plan, and have decommissioned the EOL Connect+ system (although it is still active at a few sites but with no users, likely just to keep the current licenses active).

Disney and United Airlines and a number of railroads are already in the midst of or have completed their transitions, while others, like Oncor, haven't even started (being Oncor is likely doing a like for like swap in the 900MHz band, it may be that they and Anterix are holding out until others are completed so Anterix can get Oncor the frequencies they need).

 

[scanfan03]

Not sure what McGowen is doing with these, or if the lease and Cap+ beacons are just a placeholder until Anterix gets ready to swap with another business, which in Harris County there appears to be a few (mainly the chemical plants in Pasadena).



It's been rehashed a number of times across the forums, but the TL;DR is Anterix convinced the FCC to allocate a block of 6MHz (897.5-900.5 Input, 936.5-939.5 Output) for a nationwide broadband system, on the condition that Anterix pick up the tab for moving current users out of that band (similar to what Nextel had to do in the 800MHz band), either into the remaining 900MHz space or another band altogether. Their intent is for this nationwide broadband system to be something like a FirstNet system but targeted at utility companies. They sold off the Narrowband DMR customers as part of this grand plan, and have decommissioned the EOL Connect+ system (although it is still active at a few sites but with no users, likely just to keep the current licenses active).

Disney and United Airlines and a number of railroads are already in the midst of or have completed their transitions, while others, like Oncor, haven't even started (being Oncor is likely doing a like for like swap in the 900MHz band, it may be that they and Anterix are holding out until others are completed so Anterix can get Oncor the frequencies they need).

Yup, PDV (Team Connect) tried to switch us to some internet based crap like zello. I forgot who it was. The "radios" felt cheap and didn't really work that well. The whole point of having a two way is to be separate from cell towers (yes I understand separate towers in a system are connected via cellular or microwave, but, there's still site trunking to fall back on)...

 

[mwjones]

Yup, PDV (Team Connect) tried to switch us to some internet based crap like zello. I forgot who it was. The "radios" felt cheap and didn't really work that well. The whole point of having a two way is to be separate from cell towers (yes I understand separate towers in a system are connected via cellular or microwave, but, there's still site trunking to fall back on)...

Not to derail the original topic, but yes Push-to-Talk "PTT" over LTE (cellular). The latest rage marketed as "Nationwide Coverage". I'm surprised after AT&T's outage that also took down FirstNet earlier this year, we haven't started seeing customers backtracking to traditional regional LMR systems (or maybe we are, but it just takes time).

 

[scanfan03]

Not to derail the original topic, but yes Push-to-Talk "PTT" over LTE (cellular). The latest rage marketed as "Nationwide Coverage". I'm surprised after AT&T's outage that also took down FirstNet earlier this year, we haven't started seeing customers backtracking to traditional regional LMR systems (or maybe we are, but it just takes time).

Who knows. But, either way I gave up PDV and went to another LMR system.