I have searched the forum and don't see anything related to my question but please forgive if I missed something. After years away from scanning, I purchased the SDS100 a week ago and feel pretty comfortable programming it in Sentinel. As a Chesapeake, VA resident, I am interested in scanning some City departments/talk groups. Of particular interest is the Utilities Department for the City. I set up a Favorites List for this department, which includes 6 talk groups- all of which appear in my Favorites List (701, 703, 705, 707, 709 and 711). I know these systems are active but I am only picking up traffic on the 703 talk group...absolutely nothing on the other 5 groups. There is no indication in RadioReference.com about these 5 talk groups being encrypted so it seems that they should be registering hits just like the 703 talk group. I have searched far and wide to try and understand why these 5 groups are not coming through. Can any of you offer some feedback as to what I may be doing wrong? Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
Request Input for Reception in Chesapeake, VA
- Thread starter 5254Acm
- Start date
Either there’s no activity on those other channels or you have them locked out which would prevent you from hearing anything
I know from experience on installing and maintaining radios for these departments that you would be shocked at the amount of money poured into radios that sit idle for thousands of hours and get used to maybe call in an issue to the central offices once a year, if lucky.
I assume you are using the Sentinel software to program your SDS100. Once you have your computer talking to the SDS100 through Sentinel, try thew following steps:
Go to the Edit menu, then select Edit Profile
A small window with many tabs should then open
Select the "Service Types" tab
Make sure the boxes are checked for whatever service type you want to listen to. For the TG's in the 700 series, "Utilities" need to be checked.
See if that solves the problem.
Go to the Edit menu, then select Edit Profile
A small window with many tabs should then open
Select the "Service Types" tab
Make sure the boxes are checked for whatever service type you want to listen to. For the TG's in the 700 series, "Utilities" need to be checked.
See if that solves the problem.
I appreciate the prompt feedback. Yes...I have the "Utilities" service tab selected in Sentinel. And, I have set all talk groups to "Monitor" and "Download." Having worked for the City, I know there is a lot of activity among these talk groups so I remain puzzled as to the lack of transmissions received. I feel like I'm overlooking something simple but I can't put my finger on it.
I wonder if one or more users in the Chesapeake/Virginia Beach/Portsmouth/Norfolk areas would be willing to try and receive transmissions from the above-listed Chesapeake Utilities Department talk groups (701, 703, 705, 707, 709 and 711) to determine if you have better luck than I have had? I believe that the one talk group I am receiving has much more traffic than I am actually hearing. It's almost as though only one control frequency is activating to "direct radio traffic" to the City's other shared frequencies (not sure if this is even a realistic possibility). Again...any additional input will be much appreciated.
@5254Acm it just so happens that I am in the middle of reprogramming my SDS200, and I'll toss those in the mix for you. Like everyone said, utilities can be dead for very long stretches. I'm in VB and Chesapeake can be hit and miss for me, so I'll try. Since you're a fan of monitoring utilities, I've got a more lively one you should program up-Dominion Power. They're not crazy busy, but you will hear stuff daily, and dies off nights and weekends unless something is going on. Give them a shot!
I've been listening since noon and only heard a little bit of traffic (maybe 2 to3 transmissions) on TG 703 (water department). The other TG's in the 700 series have been silent. I realize it's a Friday afternoon leading into a holiday weekend, so that may account for the lack of traffic. I'll hook my SDS100 up to ProScan and let it run for a few days and see what I get. I'll PM you and let you know what I find.
Also keep in mind too, it’s in the middle of a holiday during the week, so not a whole lot going on and lots of people take off
It is truly humbling how the participants on this forum are so willing to help and share information/experience. I appreciate the efforts of every one of you and look forward to hearing if you have any better luck than me with my utilities inquiry.
Wanted to get back to you, I haven't heard anything Utilities wise. I'll keep them in for a while and report back later. I have to monitor while driving, I'm in VB and can barely scratch out Chesapeake on a good day.
Hi Tommy, I monitored the utilities TGs all last week and let the ProScan software log all the hits 24/7. In addition to TG-703, which we knew was active, I did get a few hits on TG-707 (Water Treatment Plant). At least that proved that we had the SDS100 configured correctly.
I also spoke with a recently retired utilities employee who said that when the city switched over to the P25 system, the sewer department opted to purchase cell phones that also had a push-to-talk feature. He claimed that the cells were a lot less expensive than the trunk system radios. From his description, the push-to-talk feature sounded like it functioned as their own talk-group. An employee in the field could push the button and everyone in the TG could copy the transmission. (Sort of like the old NEXTELs used to be). If what he says is accurate, that could explain why we never hear them on the P25 system.
Hey buddy! Hope your doing well! Anyway, thanks for the heads up on the info, not exactly surprised. I'm wondering if all of Chesapeake's utilities will move to a Cell PTT platform, it would definitely cut down on cost, and maybe distribute a couple of handhelds to those who need it. That's an excellent chunk of info, glad you shared that! I'll take those talkgroups out of my rotation, excellent work. I'm definitely a Pro Scan lifer, completely worth the admission price! This kinda reminds me of Disneyland, they used Nextels for a while and their iDEN network. Godd job buddy!
Thanks for the kind words, Tommy. The ProScan software is fun to use. You be safe out there.
kainixon2187
Member
i gotta get pro96com i just dont have a scanner that'll hook up to it u can easily get one for $100 on ebay tho
