PSR-500 / AWIN / Multi-Site Threshold Settings

[mikebennett]

Has anyone utilized the Multi-site roam option on the PSR-500 for the AWIN system there?

I travel across AR a few times a year from Texarkana to Memphis and was going to try to set this up on my 500 with one scan list set up for multi-site on each Troop I go through; G,K, A, D.

I was specifically wondering what Hi & Lo threshold to use if anyone has messed with it at all. The defaults are 95 & 75. I'm thinking they might need to be set differently for the Western end due to the hilly terrain as opposed to the area from Little Rock-Memphis which is pretty flat.

Also are the Highway Police strictly using the AWIN system or are they still using VHF-Hi? I was through there last fall and seem to remember them being on both at that time.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[btritch]

well I personally do not know about the threshold settings, i tried to get help with this awhile back and was just told to leave them set to home as it doesn't make much difference, Maybe if I'm wrong someone here will correct me, However I can tell you, Yes, Highway Police are strictly 100% using AWIN at this time.. I listen to them daily..Highway department and game and fish no, ADEM, ADEQ, State Police, and Highway Police, Yes, Strictly 100% digital on AWIN.. Hope this helps..

 

[mikebennett]

well I personally do not know about the threshold settings, i tried to get help with this awhile back and was just told to leave them set to home as it doesn't make much difference, Maybe if I'm wrong someone here will correct me, However I can tell you, Yes, Highway Police are strictly 100% using AWIN at this time.. I listen to them daily..Highway department and game and fish no, ADEM, ADEQ, State Police, and Highway Police, Yes, Strictly 100% digital on AWIN.. Hope this helps..

Okay thanks. What TGRP do you listen to the highway police on? The database doesn't seem to have all the TGRP's listed yet. I'm wondering if these are set up by individual county or district. Do you know if a HP district map is available on-line anywhere?

 

[btritch]

no, but it's set up just like ASP district maps, the entire AWIN system is set up according to the district maps set by the state police which are available on this site..

As far as the TGRP's, I've seen about 4 of them listen in the DB, I'll confirm that right now.. hang on..ok, I've looked it up and here's what's listed,
3201 3203 3209 3211 3215 3227 and 4331..

Ok, 3201 and 3203 are statewide AWIN HP channels...These will need to be entered because these are used statewide for operations, these are the ones I hear here in district 10.
Now 3209 is district 2 which covers Arkansas, Ashley, Chicot, Desha, Drew, Grant, Jefferson, and Lincoln Counties..
Now, 3211 is also a statewide operations channel, Need to make sure you program it in..
Now 3215 is District 3, This covers Hempstead, Howard, Little River, Lafayette, Miller, Nevada, Pike, and Sevier counties..
Now, 3227 is District 5 this includes Cleburne, Fulton, Independence, Izard, Stone, Jackson, Sharp, and White Counties..
Also 4331 which is Hempstead County, this covers the same thing as District 3, I don't know why it's set up this way, Why they need two transmitters in the same county or same district, I dunno..anywho.. If I were you I'd enter District 3, 5, Hempstead County and all three statewides, All them but maybe District 5.. I usually keep them all entered though on mine that way no matter where I'm at I hear them...

For more information check out these links:
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=3918
http://www.arkansashighways.com/About/district.htm
If you'll click on the county list that will tell you which counties are which district, If you'll click on the county you will be going through it will tell you what district is...
here is one more link that might be useful:
http://www.arkansashighways.com

You do know you'll have to enter all of the control frequencies for each area now don't you...To find this you'll have to check out this link:

http://www.radioreference.com/data/images/a/603/asptroopmap.gif
This link tells you the state police districts that each county are in, That is how the frequency spectrum of the AWIN project are laid out. You'll need those district control channels before those TG's for specified area will work..
Here is another map that tells where each awin tower location is if that helps you out any at all:
http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/AWIN_Tower_Map
Each circle includes 10 miles around the transmitt site, This does not however cover the coverage of each site, The purpose of these circles I have no idea, But they do not in any way show the coverage of each area.
This link will tell you about the AWIN project if it's any help to you:
http://www.awin.arkansas.gov/
Hope This Information Helps You out at least a little bit, If you need anything else just let us know, we'll be glad to help ya on your safe trip across our clean natural state..

 

[mikebennett]

no, but it's set up just like ASP district maps, the entire AWIN system is set up according to the district maps set by the state police which are available on this site..

As far as the TGRP's, I've seen about 4 of them listen in the DB, I'll confirm that right now.. hang on..ok, I've looked it up, Here are the ones listed:


Arkansas Highway Police Talkgroups

I saw those. I got on the AR Highway Dept website and didn't find a district map but they had a listing of the District Offices which pretty much tells me what I need to know. It looks I will be travelling through District 3 (Hope), 6 (Little Rock), and 1 (Wynne). Unfortunately not all the District dispatch TGRP's are listed in the DB.

 

[btritch]

I updated See the above info before you're previous post.. The ones that do not have specific districts listed are using the three statewide TGID's..

 

[mikebennett]

I updated See the above info before you're previous post.. The ones that do not have specific districts listed are using the three statewide TGID's..

Thanks for all the info Brian. I sure wish I had known about that AWIN map a few years ago. When I first programmed all this stuff in a UNIDEN 396 I spent a lot of time going back and forth from the DB site that listed the towers to mapquest trying to figure out where they all were. I bought this 500 before Christmas so I'm having to reprogram everything. I'm travelling from Sherman, TX to Florence, AL, which covers five states and 28 counties. I was able to program everything into the 396 however the 500 only has 20 banks as opposed to the 100 for the 396 so I'm having to break it up into five V folders. Before the 500 and multi-site capability I was programming all the AWIN sites in different quick keys which took up a lot of space. I'm going to do this with the 500 the first time around and also include a multi-site bank for each troop. If this works okay I'll just delete the separate sites. I think I'll also set up a multi-site for the HP including the TGRP's you listed and maybe everthing from 3200 to 3250 in case there are some "extra" ones that are not listed.

 

[btritch]

Thanks for all the info Brian. I sure wish I had known about that AWIN map a few years ago. When I first programmed all this stuff in a UNIDEN 396 I spent a lot of time going back and forth from the DB site that listed the towers to mapquest trying to figure out where they all were. I bought this 500 before Christmas so I'm having to reprogram everything. I'm travelling from Sherman, TX to Florence, AL, which covers five states and 28 counties. I was able to program everything into the 396 however the 500 only has 20 banks as opposed to the 100 for the 396 so I'm having to break it up into five V folders. Before the 500 and multi-site capability I was programming all the AWIN sites in different quick keys which took up a lot of space. I'm going to do this with the 500 the first time around and also include a multi-site bank for each troop. If this works okay I'll just delete the separate sites. I think I'll also set up a multi-site for the HP including the TGRP's you listed and maybe everthing from 3200 to 3250 in case there are some "extra" ones that are not listed.

If you happen to find some that aren't listed, Be sure add them the the DB so all of us arkies can get it..

 

[hitophikers]

Arkandsas Transportation and Highway Dept & the Arkansas Highway Police

Within the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department (AHTD) is a division called the Arkansas Highway Police (AHP) consisting of approximately 200 officers.

The AHTD boundries are different from those of the AHP as well. So, the AHTD for the Pope County area is District 8, for the AHP, it's District 2 and for the Arkansas State Police (ASP), it's Troop J. Now that's confusing for sure. I am aquainted with employees from all 3 of these groups locally.

The AHTD is concerned with maintaining the roads and rights of way. The AHP division is more closely akin to the ASP but work larger geographical areas. The AHP mainly targets truckers for weight/size as well as speed violations, but can stop anybody breaking the law just like the State Police, county sheriff's deputies or city police.

Even though the AHP have "districts", the common dispatch center is now in Little Rock. I'm not sure if there are different physical dispatchers for each district or not. The communications are so sparatic that it's hard to tell. Around here, the 2 officers don't have much to say on the local AWIN tower.

I have been unable to find a website that explains the breakdown of the AHP, but did find them mentioned on the AHTD website in some records of AHTD meetings, but there were no links to take me any further except to the Director of the AHP, who is not the same as the AHTD director. If somebody has more detailed information on the AHP, I would like to see it posted here.

Hope this adds to the confusion in Arkansas.

 

[wrr20891]

I can help a little bit. The Highway Police have always maintained a statewide dispatcher in Little Rock and not dispatchers in the field.
Sort of.
Their cars could always communicate with any of the area weight stations and with the regular highway department maintenance offices and headquarters. In fact back in the 70's, the Highway Police units used the same VHF channels as highway maintenance. The cars used to check in and out with the weight scales instead of Little Rock back then, at least in my area. It was in the 80's when dedicated VHF channels were added for HP only operations and the cars started checking in with Little Rock. Even at that, they could still communicate with the local highway maintenance offices if necessary. I guess probably they still can.

 

[btritch]

although AHP are on digital AWIN, They CAN still communicate with the AHTD offices, I heard one here last night call the local Dist. 10 office here wanting the guard to open the gate so he could get in to do paper work...and this was on the AHTD analog channel of 151.100, Does anyone know if AHTD is using the AWIN TGID yet? I've never heard them on it yet..

 

[pappy1]

You can tell the district a highway Police unit is asigned to by the 1st number of his unit number.
unit 133 district 1 unit 33.

 

[btritch]

You can tell the district a highway Police unit is asigned to by the 1st number of his unit number.
unit 133 district 1 unit 33.

So here I have Unit's 578 and 579 and occasionally 573 and 574.. So that would be District 5 Units 73, 74, 78, and 79 then.. I didn't even know that! I learnd something today!! Thanks Pappy!!

 

[pappy1]

Anytime bryan. There 's a Highway Police Dispatcher Lives next door. We are always talking.