U.S. Park Police Buzz

[agentdss]

Hey,


Anyone here monitor U.S. Park Police? As far as I know, they are conventional nontrunked and I listen to it on my Pro-96. They has been recently a permanent buzzing droan sound in the background of all their transmissions, not to mention the audio levels are unusually low. Is there something I'm doing wrong..or is this common with Park Police?

 

[RJohanson024]

I could be wrong...but i belive you are hearing the presence of a CTCSS/DCS Tone. CTCSS tones sometimes produce a hum in the background, DCS sometimes produce a perring or buzzing in the background

 

[dc2wheel]

Yes, I've noticed the 'buzz' or 'hum' in the background of
the Park Police transmissions also. It seems worse & more
pronounced with the Pro-96 than pretty much any other
scanner. My old Uniden SC-150 seems to be the clearest
of the bunch when tuning in their frequencies. Odd....
Their volume levels are low with all scanners I've tried, but
in their cruisers and from their portables, the volume seems
completely normal.
-dc2wheel

 

[agentdss]

Well, as you guys mentioned, the singal sounds better on older more conventional scanners (my Pro-91 sounds better for Park PD than 96!), and could it be possible that the tone is heard on the 96 because it is a feature that the 96 can decode?

I'm not really familar with these tones, CTCSS, etc.. Is there something I can do w/ the 96, to eliminate it?

 

[agentdss]

Weird...today I was monitoring Park PD, and the buzz/tone was not present. Instead I heard just a poorer signal including a little static during conversations.

Where is the Park PD freqs. broadcasted from? The HQ in SE?

 

[dc2wheel]

Someone has a web site on "scanning the national
park service":

http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/9952/nps.htm

& lists these as the call signs used by the Park Police,
though I don't know if they correspond to the transmitter
sites. It would make sense though, as Fort Reno is the
second highest point in the city, and the Bailey's & Potomac
sites would likely cover the GW & Clara Barton parkways
& Potomac river valley well. Note that a lot of info on the
web site seems outdated, and I can’t seem to find reference
to these call signs anywhere else on the web or on the
FCC web site [though I’m not sure exactly where to look
there]

KFB727 HQ 1100 Ohio Dr, SW, DC
KFB728 Potomac, MD
KID782 Baileys Crossroads, VA
KIE799 Fort Reno [Tenleytown, DC]

 

[agentdss]

That link mentions NPS is trying to switch to APCO-25 Digital....which may be really good for us digital listeners.

 

[dc2wheel]

Yeah, it would be great if they did go digital. I was a little
disappointed that the Park Police channels on MPD's system
were just patches and not a simulcast or switchover.

 

[ericcarlson]

Federal/military frequencies are coordinated through the NTIA, not the FCC (and are not public information).

-Eric

I can’t seem to find reference
to these call signs anywhere else on the web or on the
FCC web site [though I’m not sure exactly where to look
there]

KFB727 HQ 1100 Ohio Dr, SW, DC
KFB728 Potomac, MD
KID782 Baileys Crossroads, VA
KIE799 Fort Reno [Tenleytown, DC]

 

[slalomkayaker1]

The Buzzing has gone away

I have the pro 96 and the buzzing has gone away but the audio is so quiet its almost impossible to hear. Any 1 else with a pro 96 seen this happen??

 

[larryka]

I have recently purchased a PRO-96 and I too have noticed the "buzz" on Park Police channel 2 (166.925), but it seems to be intermittent. However, I never hear the "buzz" while listening with my Kenwood TH-F6A or RS PRO-2050. The audio is intelligible enough for me to listen, but the "buzz" is definitely annoying when it's there. FWIW, I don't recall hearing the "buzz" on the alternate channels (i.e. channel 1 and 3) when units switch over.

One more piece of data... I have heard this behavior on two Pro-96 units that I have had in my possession.