Possible New STARS Sites

[beastieboy101]

Site 2-002 was active this past weekend on the alt. cc 152.7875.
I believe this site is in South Boston, Va or Halifax, Va. On my pro-96 it was very strong all around the area.

 

[gcgrotz]

By all indications it seems that way. I have to go up there probably week after next and I'll confirm it then. The site in Orange would be barely readable here even on an outside antenna.

 

[Trailpatrol]

Site 2-002 was active this past weekend on the alt. cc 152.7875.
I believe this site is in South Boston, Va or Halifax, Va. On my pro-96 it was very strong all around the area.

The STARS tower is adjacent to the old State Police radio tower on 501 north of the town of Halifax. The database has the existing site listed as at the intersection of 501 and 610.

 

[DonnieDog]

Today i'm getting 152.5325 and 152.0375 both with NAC190. Is it possible there are SWVA STARS Sites? It sounds like a CC but its not showing anything on the analyze. It is a constant signal on both.

 

[fmon]

Today i'm getting 152.5325 and 152.0375 both with NAC190. Is it possible there are SWVA STARS Sites? It sounds like a CC but its not showing anything on the analyze. It is a constant signal on both.

First is unidentified site 224 control and 2nd is Richmond control. My bet is 224 is near you and 152.0375 is on that tower also. Nice grab though STARS NAC 196 is on my controlers in Div 5.

 

[billsblots]

I updated my STARS map with the new locations listed in the FCC database to help give us a better understanding of where these sites may be.

The unknown site near Orange on your map appears to be "Gordonsville" which is microwave relay only. I don't see Division 2 HQ on your map east of Culpeper off Brandy Road SR 762, could that be it (do you need a lat long for that tower)?

The "unknown Halifax" is, in fact "Halifax", at the long standing State Police site.

 

[jehm1212]

Ok, so I took a trip to Blacksburg for the VT game this past Saturday. I figured that I would also use the opportunity to do a little bit of STARS investigation (given the amount of confusion along and west of I-81). I collected an almost overwhelming amount of information. After about two days of sorting it all out, I am very comfortable with my findings.

I invite you all to peruse my STARS Map and tell me what you think. I plan on submitting it all to the database once the RR community has had time to discuss it.

 

[billsblots]

STARS Map

Very nice job on the map. I'll look over even more later.

Do you need the info to plug in Sounding Knob between Monterey and McDowell in Highland County? It's a repeater site with microwave connect to Duncan Knob.

 

[billsblots]

Also there should be a mobile relay / repeater site on Apple Orchard just off the Blue Ridge Parkway with microwave links to North Mtn and Long Mtn. I have not physically seen it yet but it is supposed to be a STARS site, should be up with Div 3 or Div 6.

 

[Drumbum]

Nice job on the map

 

[trainman111]

Wow, excellent job. Thank you for your hard work!

 

[gcgrotz]

RE: Bearden, here is what I found last week on a trip up there. Right under the tower but in a different building, using a '396 with antenna disconnected, I was able to confirm this is site 205. CC as listed on 161.925 with voice on 159.4425, 161.8375, and 159.3675. It has one confirmed MW to North Mtn and several others on 6 GHz (based on waveguide going up the tower). Some of the other/older MW lines are disconnected.

I also found that the old FM on 159.135 only comes on when APP 2 tg is active.

Scanning only this cc in search mode produces a ton of affiliated traffic from all the surrounding divisions including Fairfax and Chesapeake from time to time.

There is an old Forestry (I think) radio, an IFLOWS repeater, still active, and a DEA repeater on that site.

Great job keeping that map up jehm.

 

[fmon]

Mighty useful map jehm.

 

[DonnieDog]

Quick question

My 197 wont show any results when I try to analyze the control channels for site# for the STARS sites in SWVA. I picked up TG 753 today just fine. I have tried everything that I know with no luck.

Any help?

And yes i've had my 197 for 2 years so unless its something different just for VHF P25 then im lost.

 

[W4UVV]

Need more info

Quick question

My 197 wont show any results when I try to analyze the control channels for site# for the STARS sites in SWVA. I picked up TG 753 today just fine. I have tried everything that I know with no luck.

Any help?

And yes i've had my 197 for 2 years so unless its something different just for VHF P25 then im lost.

Ensure your target STARS site's trunking table is correct. If not select "Default" and let the scanner create the table. Do not select "Custom". Somehow recently one of my PSR 600's STARS site's trunking table became corrupted which resulted in infrequent reception.

If "NFM" is checked in the "TSYS" file uncheck it.

Is the primary CC signal strong enough for the scanner to analyze it as a P25 signal? If it consistently displays a P25 signal confirmation then the signal strength should be sufficient for data decoding.

What is a specific site's primary CC confidence reception percentage value?

My GRE PSR 600 is somewhat "deaf" requiring a relatively strong primary CC signal to decode. Conversely GRE scanners are very susceptible to front end signal overload and may require attenuation. If attenuation is required insert approximately 16 db. I don't use the internal attenuator.