PSR600 close call and driveway alarm

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scanmanmi

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I've got a wireless driveway alarm I am trying to find the frequency for. I have a PSR600. From what I have been able to dig up there are a lot of posting about 433 or 315 mhz. I did a search limit of 433 to 434 and 315 to 316 but hear nothing. I was hoping there would be something like 'close call' or a frequency counter. I don't understand the difference between Sweeper an limit search. It's a Chamberlain CWA2000 transmitter. It is not Murs
 

Spitfire8520

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The PSR-600 has a Signal Stalker feature that is supposed to operate like a close call. The issue is I believe that feature requires a stronger signal nearby and may not pick up on signals from weaker devices. A lot of what I do to find frequencies on weaker wireless devices is to turn the squelch extremely low and then go through the frequencies that I expect the device to be operating since the signal is probably a fraction of what a radio might be radiating. A more surefire way of locating a frequency a device might be using is to attempt to locate an FCC ID printed on the device or manual and then using the OET -- FCC ID Search tool to find the exact frequencies it should be operating on.
 

SCPD

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cc

You probably wont hear it even with close call,by the time it goes buzz or beep the scanner probably whizzed right past the frequency.You may or may not hear anything unless you have the exact frequency,why exactly do you want to do this?The PSR -600 only searches a frequency range thats the signal stalker,it is fast and handy for finding other stuff but probably isnt going to help you with this.I found something it says freq 418MHz


http://www.homesecuritystore.com/optex-wireless2000
 
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ScannerSK

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Typically, I have found you have to place the scanner into AM mode and open the squelch to hear transmitters such as these which requires knowing the frequency. A lot of little transmitters (car remotes, garage door remotes, alarm remotes, etc.) and even larger transmitters such as radars use a type of modulation that will not stop a scanner during any type of search.

I modified several scanners in the past so I could hear the scanner while it was searching. It's amazing how many things the scanner simply skips over even with the squelch very sensitive.

Shawn
 

rbm

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I've got a wireless driveway alarm I am trying to find the frequency for. I have a PSR600. From what I have been able to dig up there are a lot of posting about 433 or 315 mhz. I did a search limit of 433 to 434 and 315 to 316 but hear nothing. I was hoping there would be something like 'close call' or a frequency counter. I don't understand the difference between Sweeper an limit search. It's a Chamberlain CWA2000 transmitter. It is not Murs

You may want to expand your search range a little.

My driveway sensor is at 434.0675 MHz. (A different brand than yours, and it's around 400' from the house.)

It was easy to find the frequency using SDRSharp and a USB dongle using a very slow FFT speed.
It's just a very short signal.

I didn't save the image back then, but here's the same frequency range right now and you can see my outdoor wireless thermometer periodically show up on 433.833 MHz.

Nobody comes up my driveway this late at night. ;)

The OET search will get you pretty close, but all units will vary a little.

Edit: By the way, the signal is far too brief for close call to catch it. It's just a short blip or two.
I now have that frequency plugged into a few scanners and it's also on a few of my private feeds.

I run lots of surveillance cameras (9) but it's also nice to know if someone comes up my driveway and stops.
And THAT has happened a few times.
I've caught them backing up my driveway until they could see the house, see a car parked there, and then take off.
A short video of a non-metallic intruder is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyNWAOxxt6A

Rich

 
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DaveIN

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I've got a wireless driveway alarm I am trying to find the frequency for. I have a PSR600. From what I have been able to dig up there are a lot of posting about 433 or 315 mhz. I did a search limit of 433 to 434 and 315 to 316 but hear nothing. I was hoping there would be something like 'close call' or a frequency counter. I don't understand the difference between Sweeper an limit search. It's a Chamberlain CWA2000 transmitter. It is not Murs

Try the 900 MHz range. Keep in mind the signal is nearfield ~150 feet, so Spectrum Sweeper may not pick it up due to the low power transmitter..
 

DaveIN

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It's a Chamberlain CWA2000 transmitter. It is not Murs

"What radio frequency does the unit use?"

asked 1 year, 7 months ago by Anonymous - Graham, WA on Chamberlain Wireless Motion Alert System, Model# CWA2000
1 answer
ANSWERS
Staff Answer
The Chamberlain Wireless Motion Alert System, Model# CWA2000 uses a 900 MHZ frequency.

Northern Tool Chamberlain Wireless Motion Alert System, Model# CWA2000 : Questions, Answers, How To, FAQs, Tips, Advice, Answers, Buying Guide
 

rbm

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Here's some information to get you into ballpark for any device.

The industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) radio bands are radio bands reserved internationally for the use of radio frequency energy for industrial, scientific and medical purposes other than telecommunications.

You can refer to Wikipedia for more detail.
ISM band - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Typically, when you do an FCC OET Search, it will give you the 'Center Frequency' of the band the device operates in.
I'm sure there are exceptions but I don't recall seeing any.

With that in mind, if I do an OET search for the FCC ID of my driveway alert AND my wireless outdoor thermometer, I get the following results.

BOTH devices operate on 433.920 MHz. But they do NOT.
They vary by quite a bit.

So, the search will get you to the right band, but normally NOT the correct frequency within the band.

Here are the results of the two searches, and the ISM bands.
You'll see that the frequency of BOTH devices is listed as the Center Frequency of the band.

Rich

Two different devices:



ISM Bands:



Some information that will help you with your OET search.

Grantee Code: *
Three or five character alphanumeric string representing the Grantee/Applicant.

Three character Grantee Codes always begin with an alphabetic character and do not contain the numbers one and/or zero.

Five character Grantee Codes always begin with a number and do not contain the numbers one and/or zero.This is a wildcard search to the right of the entered code.

Product Code: *
The Product Code is the non-grantee code portion of the FCC ID.

The Product Code may include hyphens and/or dashes (-).
 
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DaveIN

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I've got a wireless driveway alarm I am trying to find the frequency for. I have a PSR600. From what I have been able to dig up there are a lot of posting about 433 or 315 mhz. I did a search limit of 433 to 434 and 315 to 316 but hear nothing. I was hoping there would be something like 'close call' or a frequency counter. I don't understand the difference between Sweeper an limit search. It's a Chamberlain CWA2000 transmitter. It is not Murs

So what were your results?
 

scanmanmi

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No luck.

No one has answered my question. Can this thing pick up a near signal or does it have to "sweep" a range? Someone said it has Signal Stalker but it doesn't. What does the "900 mhz" mean? 900 -1000? There is no FCC code anywhere inside or out. I need to know almost the exact freq since this this basicallly pings. I think I will have to find someone with a professional freq counter.
 

wtp

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for the one question

900mhz.
is the range from 902 to 928.
i myself have tries to get similar things like key fobs and have found that you can only hear some with the squelch off. the split second transmission is too quick for squelch. the only thing i know was the the device was in the 319 mhz for mine.
good luck hunting
 

ScannerSK

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I believe the answer to your question is "Yes". The PSR-600 can indeed pick up a near signal the problem is you may have to manually type in the correct frequency because a limit search or spectrum sweeper will not stop on the frequency containing the signal. It is also possible that the transmitter is on a frequency higher than the scanner can receive! It could be upwards of 2000 MHz.

In the PSR600 Signal Stalker is called Spectrum Sweeper which according to the manual, "Quickly sweeps the scannerʼs frequency ranges for transmissions from nearby sources. When a nearby active frequency is found, the scanner automatically tunes to that frequency and receives the traffic" and also, "SWPR objects contain the parameters necessary for the radio to rapidly sweep a range of radio spectrum for strong signals from nearby transmitters."

You may find the FCC IDs printed in the manual, on the box or on the bottom of the black receive unit.

Shawn
 

Spitfire8520

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In the PSR600 Signal Stalker is called Spectrum Sweeper which according to the manual...

Ah, that's my bad for getting that confused with the RadioShack clones. My assumption was that both features were called the same thing. The feature, regardless of name, appears to have been designed around the thought that you are looking for something with significant signal strength nearby (such as a portable radio outputting several watts+). I doubt that a driveway alarm outputs anything close to the power needed to catch the attention of the Spectrum Sweeper.

My thought is that that at this point, it would just be quicker to do a manual step through of anything between 314.5 MHz and 315.5 MHz (note, this is what Chamberlain garage door openers operate on), as well as 433.5 MHz to 434.5 MHz with the squelch turned all the way down. The signals is probably a weak pulse of some sort which might only show 2-3 bars on the RSSI. If this doesn't work, then the frequency counter is probably a better option than blinding searching with a scanner.
 

ScannerSK

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I found the frequency! Well, actually the range of frequencies.

The FCC ID for the receiver is as follows: 60126-JLFCWA2000 and operates in the frequency range of 902.25 MHz to 926.75 MHz.

The FCC ID for the transmitter is as follows: 60126-JLFCWPIR and operates also in the frequency range of 902.25 to 926.75 MHz.

I hope this helps! You may only be able to hear it on the scanner in AM mode with the squelch turned off however at least you have the frequency range to look for the transmissions.

Shawn
 
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