Static on Palmetto 800 (PSR-800)

[redhatnick]

I haven't figured out why but when I scan anything on the Palmetto 800 (usually SCHP) using my PSR-800 I seem to get a ton of static. I was recently in the Fort Mill area (I-77 Sutton Road) and recorded some sample audio from SCHP 52 CHST exactly as I hear it (See attached zip for mp3). I can barely make out the voices, but there is an abundance of static in the in the reception. I will say when I did reach Columbia on I-77, the reception did improve slightly, but I can't seem to get rid of the static on Palmetto 800 frequencies.

Taking my PSR-800 on several road trips, I can scan North Carolina Highway Patrol, Virginia State Police, Maryland State Police and New Jersey State Police clear as a bell, but I can't seem to figure out why I can't hear more than nails on a chalkboard when I'm in South Carolina .

Any suggestions?

 

[LarrySC]

Move closer to Columbia. ------------ We have the same problem here in the upstate but not as bad as yours. There are about 19 agencys using the Greenvile twr #35 but the SCHP is the only one with this problem. Try locating a persons email assoc w/ PAL800 on their web site and send it to them. Good Luck. Larry

 

[SCPD]

I have those same problems. I've found it's usually while I'm mobile and when it's an analog TG or all Analog system, whenever I stop it comes in clear. Were you mobile?

 

[nbarco]

Same problem in Augusta area with PSR-800 on analog 800. Especially bad near cell phone towers.


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[AB4BF]

I experienced the static for a while last week. I believe it co-incided with a coronal mass ejection the sun had. It seemed to be a pretty big one. I had thought that the higher frequencies were immune to solar induced static, but now I believe it affects them somewhat.

 

[LarrySC]

It's been a problem here in the upstate for about 3 years. PRO-197 base and 106 mobile.

 

[redhatnick]

I was at the Love's Travel Stop off Sutton Road on I-77 in Fort Mill.

Looking at the site, my PSR-800 recorded it as Holly Hill (H HILL) which is near Orangeburg.

I think this is unlikely, but looking at the database, both Holly Hill (H HILL) and Thicketty (THKETY) share the same alternate control channels so I think it was just confusing the two and it was most likely the Thicketty site. The PSR-800 does confuse sites if they share the same freq somewhere else in the state. I have observed this behavior scanning VIPER.

I wonder if anyone has had a chance to tinker with the data threshold values. Easier to Read PSR800 Digital Scanner Manual

I've never been on a system where I've needed to configure this away from defaults, but I'm curious if ramping up the values would assist in locking in a closer tower?

 

[KMG54]

It's been a problem here in the upstate for about 3 years. PRO-197 base and 106 mobile.

Larry, I am in Travelers Rest and agree SCHP is alot of static,yet Greenville city PD is clear as a bell on my 106. I think the problem lays with the SCHP equipment as even the TR police and Greenville county sheriff are crystal clear on the 800 sytem. What are your thoughts?

 

[LarrySC]

The same. Only SCHP w/ static. I have an ICOM r75 on a bud vase vertical.

 

[KMG54]

I only programmed the greenville tower, but I hear more from Spartanburg and Anderson than Greenville. My R75 is fed by two antennas at different times. I have a dipole about 100 foot on each side and a Par end fed with 100 feet of wire as a vertical sloper. Haven't decided witch is better yet.

 

[LarrySC]

Answered off the Forum.

 

[brian]

Redhatnick - if you were in Fort Mill and trying to listen to the Thicketty tower, no wonder your reception was poor. The Newport site would have been closer to your location by a large amount.

The Newport site is known to have poor coverage in the area it covers. But that wasn't your problem in this case.

I have not experienced the static with SCHP that others have reported, at least not that I have noticed. Certainly ensuring that you are listening to the nearest site is important to good reception. I have adjusted the threshold values for the Palmetto 800 TSYS objects in my radios to 97 Hi and 90 Low. This doesn't work perfectly but I think it helps, especially with a 3dB gain 800MHz antenna on the vehicle when I'm travelling.

I have also broken Palmetto 800 up into "regional" systems in my configurations so that I'm not trying to scan all 62 sites at once. I have 3-4 sites in each TSYS object. That leads to a lot of duplication of talk groups, but with V-scanners it is manageable.