For folks monitoring Surry County, it appears VHF fire dispatch will be changing soon or is this just narrowbanding on the input side? The article below is from the Mount Airy News and is not very clear:
www.mtairynews.com
Radio chatter
Folks who like to listen to scanners for the latest emergency news will have to program a new preset after a vote this week.
Stephanie Conner, director for the 911 Communications Center, asked the commissioners for permission to switch over one of its radio channels to a new frequency.
“As you are aware, we have had difficulty with the current frequency for some time,” Conner told the board. “Fire units have had considerable issues communicating with us and we … with them.”
“Through our radio vendor we found there was some interference coming over the channel that would knock our transmissions (radio and paging) off, hindering communications,” she said.
“Through some exhausting trial and error and investigation, we located the source of our interference. We also found the frequency we use is terribly congested. It was decided after review, the easiest way to improve communications was through a frequency change.
“We reached out to a licensing tech who researched a frequency that was less congested and better suited for our area,” she said. Some testing at that level found radio contact to be much improved.
The moved from 158.745 to 151.4825 didn’t resolve all problems, she admitted. With all the hills and valleys in Surry County, the testers still found dead spots, but it was better overall.
Conner filed an application for a frequency change with the Federal Communications Commission and paid a $250 licensing fee. She said all that is left is awaiting the license to arrive and having the county board approve the switch.
All agencies — in-county and out-of-county — who would need to use this channel to talk to Surry Communications would need to have their radios reprogrammed to accept the new frequency, Conner said.
Commissioner Bill Goins asked, “How much is this going to cost the average volunteer fire department?”
Conner said she couldn’t say. Some fire departments may have someone in-house who can do the signal change on their equipment, so she isn’t sure what it might cost if they have to pay someone to do it for them.
“Not even a ballpark figure?” asked Johnson. Are they looking at $1,000 or $10,000? These volunteer fire departments have their own budgets to worry about.
County Manager Chris Knopf interjected that the departments are aware of the change, they have been expecting it and are in favor of it. They likely have made plans for the equipment change, whether to have someone do the work or pay someone to do it for them.
After further discussion, the commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the measure.
County votes 3-2 on personnel policy | Mt. Airy News
DOBSON — By a 3-2 margin, the Surry County Board of Commissioners voted for a new employee policy that created a lengthy conversation when it first arose in October. At that fall meeting…
www.mtairynews.com
Radio chatter
Folks who like to listen to scanners for the latest emergency news will have to program a new preset after a vote this week.
Stephanie Conner, director for the 911 Communications Center, asked the commissioners for permission to switch over one of its radio channels to a new frequency.
“As you are aware, we have had difficulty with the current frequency for some time,” Conner told the board. “Fire units have had considerable issues communicating with us and we … with them.”
“Through our radio vendor we found there was some interference coming over the channel that would knock our transmissions (radio and paging) off, hindering communications,” she said.
“Through some exhausting trial and error and investigation, we located the source of our interference. We also found the frequency we use is terribly congested. It was decided after review, the easiest way to improve communications was through a frequency change.
“We reached out to a licensing tech who researched a frequency that was less congested and better suited for our area,” she said. Some testing at that level found radio contact to be much improved.
The moved from 158.745 to 151.4825 didn’t resolve all problems, she admitted. With all the hills and valleys in Surry County, the testers still found dead spots, but it was better overall.
Conner filed an application for a frequency change with the Federal Communications Commission and paid a $250 licensing fee. She said all that is left is awaiting the license to arrive and having the county board approve the switch.
All agencies — in-county and out-of-county — who would need to use this channel to talk to Surry Communications would need to have their radios reprogrammed to accept the new frequency, Conner said.
Commissioner Bill Goins asked, “How much is this going to cost the average volunteer fire department?”
Conner said she couldn’t say. Some fire departments may have someone in-house who can do the signal change on their equipment, so she isn’t sure what it might cost if they have to pay someone to do it for them.
“Not even a ballpark figure?” asked Johnson. Are they looking at $1,000 or $10,000? These volunteer fire departments have their own budgets to worry about.
County Manager Chris Knopf interjected that the departments are aware of the change, they have been expecting it and are in favor of it. They likely have made plans for the equipment change, whether to have someone do the work or pay someone to do it for them.
After further discussion, the commissioners voted 5-0 to approve the measure.
Last edited:
