STARS Funding

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Eugene

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A friend of mine works in the OEMS and has been to several "emergency" budget meetings in Richmond and insists that ALL funding for STARS has been cut. Which means that any areas w/o STARS will stay w/o STARS. Does this mean they will have to bring back up the VHF patches which may have been taken down to allow non-STARS units from other areas to communticate? What about units with STARS going to other areas? Funny how they threw money at the system to make it work and now all of a sudden the money is gone.
 

WA4MJF

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I would hope that the users, especially VSP, left their legacy systems in their vehicles. We did this in NC as we build out our VIPER system. For example, NCSHP left all their VHF Low Band stuff in place for just that reason. If a Patrolman is in an area via transfer or temporary duty and there is no VIPER coverage, just use the other radio. NCDEM has their VIPER and the VHF Low Band system, too.
 

W2NJS

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STARS Funding...

It's not funny, it's sad. The Commonwealth is $2 billion short and someone in their wisdom apparently decided that one of the items that could be drastically cut was the new public safety radio system. I'm a McDonnell fan but this still stinks.

Tom, W2NJS
 

MOTORHEAD3902

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Not that I'm calling into question anybody's sources, but do we have any citations to serve as evidence? I'm a STARS user, and I haven't been made aware of any of these cuts...

Like I said, i'm not questioning anyone's sources, but "he said/ she said/I heard from my next door neighbor's cousin" is hardly credible. Just sayin.
 

Nitsud

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As far as I know, at div. 2 we are gearing up for the switch anytime. I dont have a date or really even a general time, but in the radio room as well as everyone I have talked to, other same some user training, we are ready to flip a switch anytime
 

K4NNW

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In the case of the state police (and most other departments to be using STARS), the actual STARS VHF-high radio would work for the legacy system, given the right frequencies and tones programmed in. However, being in the Roanoke area, I sure won't complain if STARS doesn't become operational here. That would make one less trunking setup to deal with.
 

W4UVV

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Either mode

I would hope that the users, especially VSP, left their legacy systems in their vehicles. We did this in NC as we build out our VIPER system. For example, NCSHP left all their VHF Low Band stuff in place for just that reason. If a Patrolman is in an area via transfer or temporary duty and there is no VIPER coverage, just use the other radio. NCDEM has their VIPER and the VHF Low Band system, too.


STARS radios can operate either in the analog or digital mode.
 

WA4MJF

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STARS radios can operate either in the analog or digital mode.

VIPER radios can, too. The State is analog, but local guvments mostly use digital.
However, the radios are basically useless unless in range of a VIPER tower.
That is why the VHF Low Band system is kept operational.
 
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Stick0413

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VIPER radios can, too. The State is analog, but local guvments mostly use digital.
However, the radios are basically useless unless in range of a VIPER tower.
That is why the VHF Low Band system is kept operational.

Well VSP doesn't have lowband they have STARS VHF trunking and conventional VHF analog freqs.

Also this has not been confirmed so lets not all jump to conclusions until we can cite a source or have someone that has creditable info to say so (i.e. motorhead). This is not saying your friend is lying just saying a more creditable source would be nice as motorhead said.
 

WA4MJF

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Well, as long as they keep the conventional high band radio system, they'll do ok. I'm a soreback and
moved away when they were still buying the two door Furys to keep the 440 engine and I thought I remembered VHF Low Band, but it coulda been VHF High Band. What did they do after Chrysler quit making the 440 in, let me think, the 1981 Futy 318. They were bummers and that is the last Chrysler that NC bought.
 

N4FTN

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I believe I'm in a position to counter the rumor. My information suggests that funding is appropriated to build-out the STARS system and to extend beyond the basic install period into the warranty period. System completion has a schedule and will be fully operational at the end of that schedule, likely into early next year. Divisions 2 and 7 are imminent to become operational.

Radio Updates with the latest system information continues. Sites are being brought up across Central and SW Virginia though they are being operated in site mode in some cases, with limited talk groups in others and just turned off in still others.

All's well with STARS development....... Take it to the bank!!
 

CCHLLM

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MJF is on the money. NC "left" their low band in place because low band is still the primary SHP radio system statewide, not VIPER....yet. Where there is VIPER coverage, both systems are in use with a fixed multi-cast arrangement in the comm center consoles using trunking mobile units on a power supply in the equipment room tied to a roof top yagi. The troopers use the VIPER portables when out of the car instead of the former VHF high band/low band vehicular repeaters and the VHF portables.

In counties where there is no VIPER, the VHF vehicular repeater is still the workhorse. That will change when all the VIPER sites are operational, when all the comm centers are refurbed/rebuilt with consoles that are trunking (VIPER) capable, when all the troopers have the VIPER portables, and when all the cars have the VIPER mobiles. Meanwhile, back at the listening post, we wait........ and wait........ and wait......... To pre-empt some questions, yes, a few of the comm centers have consoles that are VIPER capable.

Also, the NCEM low band is well beyond past tense. As a matter of fact, several of the NCEM low band base stations west of Raleigh were updated and used to replace some even older NCSHP low band transmitters. The NCEM vehicles may still have low band radios for whatever reasons. Numerous NC cities and counties have had no EM low band capability for several years and some have never had the capability.

And yes, funding, or lack thereof, is the mantra from the NC Ivory Tower of Legislation and Finaglery about the slow down in VIPER buildout progress.

PS: I'm old enough to remember when VA had VSP on low band and was monitoring it on a Motorola Mocom 70 mobile.
 
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WA4MJF

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WX4CBH, as of last Wednesday morning the State EOC watch stander was still doing the weekly comm checks with the counties on 47.50. I guess it could be a simulcast, but I heard the State FB and some of the local counties, also on 47.50.
 

jim202

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Lets not start spreading wrong information here. Virginia State Police still have the low band
channel of 39.54 installed in most of their vehicles. They use this channel for communications with
the various counties around the state. The counties still use this to talk with the local VSP units
working their counties. It is used more in the rural regions than in the larger cities.

Jim





Well VSP doesn't have lowband they have STARS VHF trunking and conventional VHF analog freqs.

Also this has not been confirmed so lets not all jump to conclusions until we can cite a source or have someone that has creditable info to say so (i.e. motorhead). This is not saying your friend is lying just saying a more creditable source would be nice as motorhead said.
 

W4UVV

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Wra534

39.54 mhz. (SIRS) is not the only low band vhf frequency licensed for VSP operations. 42.92 mhz. also is licensed for a temporary fixed base operation. Years ago VSP rarely used 42.92 for simplex surveillance. I recall hearing them a few times and although unlikely and excluding STARS ops/channelization schemes, 42.92 still could be still be used for such activities using non-STARS radios.
 

CCHLLM

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VSP low band

I had VSP 42.860 and 42.880 along with the two NCSHP freqs in my 4 Channel Mocom in the 70's and when VA replaced the low band with VHF high and NC added two more low band channels, I put the two new NC dispatch freqs in the Mocom. I still hear SIRS low band stuff and it's on a old Regency scanner that has the receive sensitivity of a good ballast stone, but it does have a good 1/4 wave antenna with a ground plane in the attic.

Anyway, MJF, I can't explain what the deal is with the EOC broadcasts on 47 MHz. At one time, VA and NC cross monitored and talked on EM freqs just like the NCSHP and the VSP did, but that was a long, long time ago. I was witness to two of the EM wide area low band base stations being removed and reassigned (Mt Shepherd in Randolph and Booth Mtn in Stokes Co), and the techs tell me several more were also removed. Hardly any of the municipalities or counties up this way have any low band capabilities in their comm centers anymore (if they ever did) except those near large dams and nuclear facilities. Looks like everybody has put their eggs in the VIPER basket. So what's the skinny? Some of us old techs were talking about this tonight and all of us have heard that the low band side is basically abandoned up this way. Any info would be appreciated as we have no info and nothing has been heard on the EM low band freqs for a long, long time. Probably need to move that part of the discussion to a new thread in the NC forum.
 
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HankFrank

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It sounded like Motorola was doing grid testing on the Fairfax, Indy Hill, and possibly the Arlington towers a couple of weeks ago. They brought all of them up for a couple of days and we were talking about it in another thread. I don't see why they'd bother with that if the project was dormant and they weren't getting checks from the commonwealth anymore.
 
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