Progress Energy outage activity

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justdan

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Having had a power outage recently I figured I'd program the scanner (a Uniden 996T) to pick up the 900Mhz as well as the UHF frequencies that I've seen in the database for Progress Energy. We had a power outage today around (my approx estimate) a one mile area in Cary so I tuned into those frequencies to hear nothing but did hear the police say that Progress Energy was already on site. (I'd heard PE on the 900Mhz previously but not this time).

Thinking that I'm missing some good communications going on :), I started scanning some 800Mhz frequencies and found several PE guys fixing the problem on 820.175 Mhz. After my cable modem came back online, I searched for that frequency in the database but did not find it. Would that be a Nextel frequency?

They sure didn't seem to be putting out a whole lot of signal. I'm not that familiar with Nextel ... If it's nextel, what power output do they typically have? And how do the frequencies work on the units -- are they trunked or have a setting on the unit itself or do they come w/ a fixed frequency that need to be coordinated with others in a group?

Thanks
Dan
 

MIKETECH

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No, it couldn't be Nextel (iDEN). It's digitally encrypted and can't be scanned. it must have been some other PE trs.
 

Grog

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820.175 would have been the input to the repeater the unit was using.

865.175 would have been the freqency they were on (atleast for that transmission).
 

justdan

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Thanks Grog & Mike, much appreciated. Grog, can you cite a reference for your info so that I can use it in the future as well?
Thanks
Dan
 
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KE4ZNR

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In 800Mhz the inputs are always 45 Mhz lower than the output...
BTW: Listens: Welcome to RR.com!
And Iden is not encrypted...It just uses a proprietary TDMA spread spectrum format...let's add that there is no commercial grade receiver that can monitor Iden...
Marshall KE4ZNR
 

Grog

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ListensTooWell said:
Thanks Grog & Mike, much appreciated. Grog, can you cite a reference for your info so that I can use it in the future as well?
Thanks
Dan

Like the man said :D 800 are always 45mhz lower, 900 are 29mhz lower, 450-470 is 5mhz higher, 470-512 is 3mhz higher.

VHF is non standard. I have areas close to me with 1/2 a mhz spread, and another with over 8mhz for a repeater.

VHF ham (144-148) is almost always going to be 600khz higher or lower (depending on where they are in the band).
 

justdan

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Thanks for the info guys and thanks for the welcome Marshall!

FWIW, I tuned into the frequency 45Mhz higher from the freq I heard the guys on and heard nothing during the same period of time the guys were talking on the base freq. (I scanned only those two frequencies at the same time and it never stopped on the higher "repeater output freq" just the base freq).

So I wasn't listening to a repeater input frequency right? If not, what was it? Just a handheld unit talking with someone else on the same freq? At times it seemed like I may have been missing part of the discussion at other times it sounded like I was hearing all of it. The missing part may have just been the weak signal or my bad ears :)

Thanks for educating this newbie guys ...

-Dan
 

brian

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As you have stated, PE is licensed for and has used in the past 900MHz radio equipment. I doubt that has changed. Scan through the 935-940MHz range again and see if you come across a Motorola control channel. I'd think you'd be able to hear several active ones in your area. There are plently of licensees in that range in Wake Co., including CP&L, BellSouth and others in addition to PE. PE has a site in Garner, NC, using a SysID of 423e, according to the database.

As you've already stated, they're not licensed for this 865MHz frequency, and if they're using 900MHz radios, they're not even going to be able to operate simplex on an 820MHz frequency. My guess is you caught an image frequency, where your scanner locked onto a frequency some multiple of the IF frequency below the actual frequency. That's unlikely with a new model scanner that's triple conversion, but I can't think of a more plausible explanation.

Try searching that 935-940MHz range again to see what you hear.

Brian
 
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