Possible New STARS Sites
- Thread starter Ghstwolf62
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W4UVV
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Yes--STARS frequencies
SW Virginia (Div 4) STARS probably will use mostly 152 mhz. base and 157/158 mhz. mobiles. There have been a couple of earlier licenses similar to this for that area. Notice the 50 watt maximum mobile power vice the normal 110 Watt mobile power on other STARS mobiles. This is the price STARS in SW Va. has to pay so as not to cause possible interference to already licensed users in Kentucky and West Va. using 157-158 mhz. Not good news for a trooper in the mountains and valleys in that area of the state. It's all relative but I would rather have a 110 watt vice a 50 watt transmitter.
Today I had to go to Roanoke and later Charlottesville. I chose the Blue Ridge Parkway all 110 miles of it to the Afton Mtn./I64 exit. I have APRS capability and a 150 watt linear. I made a few contacts on different two meter repeaters but with the winding up and down mountain roads and sometimes being on one side of mountains and other times on the other sides some of the repeaters were either noise free plus or very noisy. One can imagine the problems with a 50 watt mobile on 157/158 mhz. in that kind of country. No telling how many shadow areas STARS ops will have in SW Va.
SW Virginia (Div 4) STARS probably will use mostly 152 mhz. base and 157/158 mhz. mobiles. There have been a couple of earlier licenses similar to this for that area. Notice the 50 watt maximum mobile power vice the normal 110 Watt mobile power on other STARS mobiles. This is the price STARS in SW Va. has to pay so as not to cause possible interference to already licensed users in Kentucky and West Va. using 157-158 mhz. Not good news for a trooper in the mountains and valleys in that area of the state. It's all relative but I would rather have a 110 watt vice a 50 watt transmitter.
Today I had to go to Roanoke and later Charlottesville. I chose the Blue Ridge Parkway all 110 miles of it to the Afton Mtn./I64 exit. I have APRS capability and a 150 watt linear. I made a few contacts on different two meter repeaters but with the winding up and down mountain roads and sometimes being on one side of mountains and other times on the other sides some of the repeaters were either noise free plus or very noisy. One can imagine the problems with a 50 watt mobile on 157/158 mhz. in that kind of country. No telling how many shadow areas STARS ops will have in SW Va.
Oh that is going to be a nightmare. How much you want to be they will have to leave up some of the conventional sites to fill in the holes like in 2nd and 7th Divisions!!!
It would be interesting to know how they are going to do that. If they are using the same radios (110w) in all VSP vehicles then they would either have to detune all the radios in SWVA to 50 watt all the time or setup the Low Power setting for 50w. From what I have seen the XTL series only has 2 power settings that are selectable. High or Low. Also I don't see anywhere to set these on a per channel/mode basis but they can be selected from the control head. Which of course means any trooper could change it at any time and "violate" the license.
There is an "adaptive power" settingfor digital trunking but I understand it works off received signal strength. It will automatically increase to full power when the signal is below a certain threshold which would potentially also violate the license.
Maybe someone with a better understanding of the system/radios can explain how they are going to accomplish this.
John
There is an "adaptive power" settingfor digital trunking but I understand it works off received signal strength. It will automatically increase to full power when the signal is below a certain threshold which would potentially also violate the license.
Maybe someone with a better understanding of the system/radios can explain how they are going to accomplish this.
John
fmon
Silent Key Jan. 14, 2012
Don't know if this applies but
when STARS in Div 5 first started both conventional freqs broadcast with TG's 49 and 51 respectfully. Later Ch 9 stopped and recently Ch 10 quit. Apparently things are doing well in this division.
Code:
Division 5 Ch 9 159.165000 FM CTCSS 146.2 [B]TG 49[/B]
Division 5 Ch 10 159.135000 FM CTCSS 127.3 [B]TG 51[/B]When STARS in Div 7 first started all conventional freqs were turned off. Now they are simulcasting again due to poor coverage on I-95. Apparently things are NOT doing so well in this division.
When you program a portable or moble, in radio wide settings you can set the exact wattage for each power lever that would then be user selectable. Furthermore, when you program in the convetional channel or the trunked personality info, you would be able to set one level or the other and prevent the user from changing it. Its really quite sophisticated what you can do with these radios these days.
(And there is more to this than just causing interferrence with WV and KY licensees.)
freqhopping
Member
Did an 8 and 3 get swapped somewhere along the way into the database? Today while traveling south on Rt15 I picked up the control channel on 152.5625. It displayed site 203, not 208. I first picked it up south of Dillwyn. The site was pretty strong in the Farmville area.
After getting off 460 and back onto 15 I just barely picked up a site 207 on 152.5475. I was hearing a Div 1 pursuit of a motorcycle on that site. Same cc as the Cumberland site which is in that area.
Getting closer to the South Boston area I was getting site 202 fairly well.
After getting off 460 and back onto 15 I just barely picked up a site 207 on 152.5475. I was hearing a Div 1 pursuit of a motorcycle on that site. Same cc as the Cumberland site which is in that area.
Getting closer to the South Boston area I was getting site 202 fairly well.
Just for info in addition to grid testing lately on 222 I picked up TG 2206 on site 221 Monday. No other traffic since though so not sure what to think about it. Maybe an aberration or something.
Well for the ones I put up it came from Pro96com. As to why whoever entered them in the DB changed them I don't know.
As an example Pro96com lists this for Site 221
Site ID
221(T0215)
It then lists channel numbers and frequencies as follows
Ch 03-2685 152.7125 C
Ch 03-2703 152.7575 A
Under Site information it shows
System ID 19E
Tower ID 221 (T0215)
WACN BEE00
Nothing
Nothing
Capabilities Data, Voice, Registration
nothing
Tower Status Connected
Adjacent Site Information
208 (T0208) 19E 04-2365 161.9125 connected, current
218 (T0212) 19E 03-2619 152.5475 connected, current
222 (T0216) 19E 04-2340 161.8500 connected, current
223 (T0217) 19E 04-2601 152.5025 connected, current
224 (T0218) 19E 03-2631 152.5775 connected current
225 (T0219) 19E 04-2320 161.8000 connected, current.
Anyway I don't know what some of it means but SITE ID seemed self-explanatory although other stuff like frequency identifier tables or the channel numbers isn't not to mention the stuff in ().
The frequencies change a bit day to day it sometimes seems so what it shows one day may be different another. Like site 222 is always changing back and forth between it's control and alternate and often shows different adjacent frequencies as well.
doc5694
Member
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- Sep 29, 2010
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site numbering
I am using pro96com, but in the database there are sites numbered from 227 up thru 237 and such, the highest site number I have logged is 225. I was wondering who posted those and how they got them. Looking at my notes that info is incorrect. The site names seem right, but the site numbers associated are wrong.
I am using pro96com, but in the database there are sites numbered from 227 up thru 237 and such, the highest site number I have logged is 225. I was wondering who posted those and how they got them. Looking at my notes that info is incorrect. The site names seem right, but the site numbers associated are wrong.
falcon4o
Member
For the past week I have been working near Rustburg Va. which is where Long Mtn is located and i was recieving a strong Stars signal on 161.8750 with talk group #'s 33 as Appomattox Ch 1, 35 as Ch 2, and heard dispatch refer to 100 as Ch 3. I did not have the capibility to run Pro96com on the site so i dont know the alternate freq. or site number. The signal was strong every where i drove in and around the Lynchburg area as well. Hope this helps. Maybe someone who lives near there cand run Pro96com on the site and get more info.
Site 221 today is showing two call signs for it although the first one seems off with the last letter there.
WPVE520W
WQMA900
Site 201 is showing on Pro96comm as the affiliated site with 222 at that freq.161.8750
WPVE520W
WQMA900
Site 201 is showing on Pro96comm as the affiliated site with 222 at that freq.161.8750
I ran Pro96com on Long Mtn 201 a couple of weeks ago. Primary CC was 161.875 and secondary was 161.8125. There was also a signal on 162.000 coming off that site, but it yielded nothing on Pro96com.
73/Allen (N4JRI)
019Eh-0109 - 161.825MHz
I don't follow STARS a lot but I ran across this one. One TG active was 107, definite radio techs.
I don't follow STARS a lot but I ran across this one. One TG active was 107, definite radio techs.
I'd like to try and verify the location of Pinnacle & Massanutten. What I suspect as Pinnacle is listed in the database as Gore, VA and appears to be on the VA/WV line almost. Google maps shows no sign of a tower or road at that Lat/Long
On Massanutten, I was thrhough New Market a week or two ago, and couldn't even decode site 110. That seems surprising for something only 4 mi distant. Are we sure that site's not actually on the ground in Harrisonburg?
73/Allen (N4JRI)
On Massanutten, I was thrhough New Market a week or two ago, and couldn't even decode site 110. That seems surprising for something only 4 mi distant. Are we sure that site's not actually on the ground in Harrisonburg?
73/Allen (N4JRI)
I'd say that would confirm the S5 signal where I am.
freqhopping
Member
Site 109 is here 39°10'57.81"N 78°23'23.32"W. If you look up the licenses for this site the Lat/Long listed is actually about half a mile south of the actual location.
Unless someone can confirm otherwise, I am very comfortable saying that site 110 is indeed at the Area 16 office in Harrisonburg. I drove by Massanutten Peak today and removed the antenna coax from my scanner. No activity on site 110's CC. I then drove south on I-81 with the coax removed and began getting a hit on the CC at Exit 243 (0.7 mile north of the office). The signal became stronger as I got to the office and decreased as I drove farther south.
I am not sure who changed it to Massanutten in the DB or what information they were going by.
Todd
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