St. Louis Co ARMER sites

[kc9jmd]

I've been monitoring St. Louis Co (primarly Duluth area) ARMER sites for a few months now, usually with my G5 but sometimes SDS100. I've studied the ARMER site map that is available with a simple forum or google search but haven't locked in to all of the St. Louis Co sites. In my cross-county travels I have been near all of them, and it seems like either the ARMER site map is outdated or all of the sites aren't listed. For example, I haven't successfully monitored the Molde - Duluth North site. Also, the Virginia Simulcast site doesn't seem to be on the map. Maybe a secondary question, but what other "sites" do the Duluth Simulcast and Virginia Simulcast sites carry?

Basically looking for other St. Louis Co folks' observations with the sites/where you are and what you lock into? For example, do the Duluth Simulcast and Virginia Simulcast carry all of the possible St. Louis Co traffic?

TIA

 

[JASII]

Please post the URLs of the maps that you are referencing and we can take a look.

 

[johnmoe1]

I think this is about the last map the state published, and it is nearly six years old:

https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ecn/programs/armer/Documents/Armer%20Site%20Map/ARMER%20Site%20Map%202017-05-01.pdf

Virginia Simulcast is on that map. All of the towers labeled "Z-5:S-45 - ?"

I think the best way to see what sites are actually out there would be to look at the adjacent site messages on the control channel. I am not positive what the easiest way to do this is (I assume some usb rtl sdr stick and some software).

As for the "secondary question", can you try rewording it?

 

[kc9jmd]

Wow I think that’s an even newer map than I’ve seen. Thanks!!

I guess what I mean is, a simulcast site carrys data from multiple physical towers, right? So are some of the other towers on the map “included” in the simulcast site? I guess I need a better understanding of simulcast.

 

[wogggieee]

It's been five plus years since I've scanned up there so this might be out of date but when I have been in Hibbing and I believe on that virginia simulcast system, the traffic there was largely local. I don't remember hearing duluth traffic outside of State patrol units.

 

[ToddWilkinson]

https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ecn/programs/armer/Documents/Armer%20Site%20Map/ARMER%20Site%20Map%202018-01-01.pdf

 

[ToddWilkinson]

I think this is about the last map the state published, and it is nearly six years old:

https://dps.mn.gov/divisions/ecn/programs/armer/Documents/Armer%20Site%20Map/ARMER%20Site%20Map%202017-05-01.pdf

Virginia Simulcast is on that map. All of the towers labeled "Z-5:S-45 - ?"

I think the best way to see what sites are actually out there would be to look at the adjacent site messages on the control channel. I am not positive what the easiest way to do this is (I assume some usb rtl sdr stick and some software).

As for the "secondary question", can you try rewording it?

There's a newer map from 2018

 

[ToddWilkinson]

I'll get an up to date map from a back end user tomorrow or from the Armer admin I know!!

 

[mmtstc]

I got Molde listed as a peer when i drove up to Eveleth a couple weeks ago but never was able to affiliate with it which doesnt shock me since i was moving up and down Hwy 53.

The radio traffic up there functions exactly as the system is designed to function. Only the talkgroups that have users affiliated with that talkgroup are repeated. The Virginia site was very busy but with local traffic, and the Shaw site seemed like my portable radio and the talkgroup I was on were the only radio traffic that i saw aside from like 2 PW units.

The site reception up there is super finicky which is why the system is designed the way that it is, so that they can try to cover every nook and cranny up there in a very coniferous/forested area with a lot of challenging topography, much like the valleys and canyons of SE MN.
I struggled to receive sites that i assumed that i would be able affiliate with because i seemed very close, would not (even with a rooftop antenna feeding my SDR running unitrunker) even when my portable radio would be able to affiliate with that site without issue. That being said, my portable radio ate through its 2550 mah battery in the 10 hours i was on the road that day due to the constant re affiliating (I can go about 20 hours on that battery when i am at my normal work site.