Yeah, I'm not convinced RR has the right into for the Ames system. It would be nice to see a few people to verify with an actual radio
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- Thread starter bkramm
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I'm getting Ames daily on a Uniden 325, 436, and 100. Guide me thru what info I can give you to pick it up. Talk Group IDs are working for me. Getting strong reception in central Ames and north of town. Also getting Story Sheriff and now fairly consistent Fire Dispatch although TAC channels are still on the old system, but I think another post indicated all Fire is coming soon.
This is still so far a single transmitter site and I'll be the first to admit I'm nervous about my reception when it goes multi-site. Performance of old scanners is definitely poor in this regard.
Correction to above: Story County Fire Dispatch is what I now hear regularly and Story County Fire TAC has not transitioned yet but others indicated its coming soon.
As the fire departments have been receiving their radios and new pagers this week I have been hearing some of them playing on some new talk groups. I think I have narrowed down two of them.
48566 - Maxwell Fire Private
48563 - Gilbert Fire Private
I'm not 100% sure on these yet though.
Yesterday was the first day I was picking up Ames Fire off the Collins tower. The Collins tower is my closest. Previously I only got them off the Ames tower. I have all the Ames talk groups (including CyRide and ISU) other than the fire and Mary Greeley locked out so I am assuming they are being simulcasted as well of the Collins tower.
48566 - Maxwell Fire Private
48563 - Gilbert Fire Private
I'm not 100% sure on these yet though.
Yesterday was the first day I was picking up Ames Fire off the Collins tower. The Collins tower is my closest. Previously I only got them off the Ames tower. I have all the Ames talk groups (including CyRide and ISU) other than the fire and Mary Greeley locked out so I am assuming they are being simulcasted as well of the Collins tower.
Excellent work! I'm working off the Ames tower and can add 48561 as a fire tac channel but I don't know who its assigned to yet.
Also a final clarification. When I say I'm following Ames, I'm really on what RR calls Storycomm Wallace Hall. I haven't tried the old Racom Ames 800 channels. Until the previous poster had success on Collins 800 freqs I was unaware that site was Storycomm active. The research continues!
My reception of SARA has been awful at best down in Huxley (as evidenced by the Ames/Story County feed I am running) but I have heard Story County communicate with 630 and 614 on TGID 58588. Nevada PD maybe? I think they are the 600-units.
The 600's are the local PD's. 601-619 is Nevada, 620-639 is Story City and 640-659 is Huxley. Conservation Rangers also use the 600's but I can't remember for sure, I'm thinking 660's.
Hopefully your reception will get better. They are running on temporary towers and will eventually build new towers. I think the Wallace tower is permanent. There will be a tower closer to Huxley at 620th and 305th. Others will go near Gilbert, Zearing and the Justice Center.
I had issues with reception for SARA, depended greatly on weather using the antenna I was I getting good reception with before on the old system. I ended up ordering one from ebay. I have it connected and getting great reception with it and I only have mounted inside near the ceiling. I haven't had time to mount it outside yet. This is the seller.
Edit- There is some good information in the minutes of the StoryComm board here.
Also, a few new talk groups:
48570 - Colo Private
59968 - Roland Private - not 100% sure on this one.
Hopefully your reception will get better. They are running on temporary towers and will eventually build new towers. I think the Wallace tower is permanent. There will be a tower closer to Huxley at 620th and 305th. Others will go near Gilbert, Zearing and the Justice Center.
I had issues with reception for SARA, depended greatly on weather using the antenna I was I getting good reception with before on the old system. I ended up ordering one from ebay. I have it connected and getting great reception with it and I only have mounted inside near the ceiling. I haven't had time to mount it outside yet. This is the seller.
Edit- There is some good information in the minutes of the StoryComm board here.
Also, a few new talk groups:
48570 - Colo Private
59968 - Roland Private - not 100% sure on this one.
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Cool, thanks! I didn't realize they were planning on building a tower in that area. That should help greatly I think, whenever they get it up. I am a renter so an outside antenna won't work, and I don't have enough space inside for something like a discone. I might look into doing something inside but at the same time I don't want to put big holes in the walls if I don't have to. We will see. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Some very interesting chatter on TGID 58599 heard in Ames. comes up Unknown in my bcd436hp on the Dept line.
Sounded like Dispatch located in Marshalltown talking to a Radio System Engineer discussing setups and changes as the system grows into a finalized configuration.
Not much I can really give out because it was mostly discussion on setting up interops and channel setups on departments radios.
Hearing additional on TGID 48599 this seems to be Medical/Hospital/EMS talk.
Sounded like Dispatch located in Marshalltown talking to a Radio System Engineer discussing setups and changes as the system grows into a finalized configuration.
Not much I can really give out because it was mostly discussion on setting up interops and channel setups on departments radios.
Hearing additional on TGID 48599 this seems to be Medical/Hospital/EMS talk.
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Trying to get this all figured out is certainly going to take time. In the past because of my more or less fixed location all I heard were the systems run by Electronic Engineering. Figuring out what was Public Safety, Public Works, Municipalities and ISU vs Business took time but I figured it mostly out.
This is going to be a bit more work because of simulcasting etc. but gives me something to do.
The ability of this radio to record/replay transmissions certainly helps.
Huxley Fire/Rescue posted that they went live to the SARA Network/Storycomm at 9AM this morning. Huxley Fire and Rescue
Anyone happen to know what secondary roads is planning to do? Now that I think about it, I'm not sure that I've heard them talk on the analog system for some time now, but I'm usually a night owl. I might be interested in picking up an analog scanner if the price is right to listen to them, but I can't imagine they would stay on that system forever, given that other road crews have been moving to digital as well.
Anyone happen to know what secondary roads is planning to do? Now that I think about it, I'm not sure that I've heard them talk on the analog system for some time now, but I'm usually a night owl. I might be interested in picking up an analog scanner if the price is right to listen to them, but I can't imagine they would stay on that system forever, given that other road crews have been moving to digital as well.
so far, and hopefully never... Ames and Story don't go encrypted
No, I don't think so. IIRC they are not on my feeds as of right now and I don't think anyone else is running a feed with them. I am waiting on an antenna someone recommended to me earlier in this thread and then I will probably shuffle things around as more info is added to the RR database
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