VA State Police STARS Radio System

[anelson5004]

I am currently monitoring the Wytheville division of the VA State Police Radio System on my Whistler TRX2 scanner, and I am trying to monitor Salem division as well. However, I can not receive Salem division on my Whistler TRX2, but I can receive them on my old RadioShack pro 197. I programmed all sites and talk groups for both Wytheville and Salem, and transferred my outdoor antenna to my Whistler TRX2, and all settings are default on my TRX2 and all updates are current. Any help you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

anelson5004

 

[fredva]

Perhaps you have the PRO-197's multi-site mode set to alternately scan all of the towers it can receive whereas the TRX2 is only locking on to the strongest tower, which only has Wytheville traffic. That capability to jump from tower to tower was an advantage of the PRO-197. If that is what is happening, the only way I can think of to mimic the PRO-197 is to lock out the strongest tower on the TRX2 and leave in towers more likely to carry both Salem and Wytheville traffic (i.e., closer to the border of those divisions). Even if that works, you might possibly lose some Wytheville traffic.

What multi-side mode is your PRO-197 set to?

 

[fredva]

Another potential solution would be to manually program two or three STARS towers as their own, single-tower system instead of part of a larger system. Then the scanner would scan one system/tower, then another, then another. But if you are using the scanner for local conventional frequencies, such a method can negatively impact the scanning of conventional frequencies.

But verify your 197's settings first before changing anything on the TRX.

 

[anelson5004]

My 197 multi site setting is set to stat.

 

[fredva]

My 197 multi site setting is set to stat.

Ok, so the stationary setting means that your 197 would check all STARS towers that were within range. Let's say you could receive the control channel from three towers, and only the most distant of those three towers contained Salem division traffic. You would hear Salem traffic because the scanner would scan all three towers.

But what's probably happening with your TRX is that it will only lock onto one control channel signal in the STARS system (probably the one with the most powerful signal), and that tower is not close to the Salem division, and doesn't include Salem traffic. So you only hear Wytheville traffic.

 

[anelson5004]

I have noticed wythe 2 hitting peters and potts mountain which are both in the Salem division?

 

[fredva]

I have noticed wythe 2 hitting peters and potts mountain which are both in the Salem division?

Is that with your 197 or your TRX? And are you hearing Salem traffic from those sites?

If you are hearing Wytheville traffic on Salem sites, that wouldn't be unusual. Traffic from a given VSP division will be on sites a little bit outside the boundaries of that division. But if you are never hearing Salem traffic while monitoring sites within the Salem division, that would be unusual.

 

[anelson5004]

With my TRX I am hearing Salem sites on wythe 1 and wythe 2 but never hearing Salem division

 

[fredva]

With my TRX I am hearing Salem sites on wythe 1 and wythe 2 but never hearing Salem division

Unfortunately, I don't have a good explanation for that. It sounds like it might be a programming issue - that you are missing the Salem talkgroups. I'm not real knowledgeable on all of the TRX2's capabilities, but are you relying on zip code programming, by chance?

 

[anelson5004]

fredva: I am using the preferred method, which means I am physically picking all the salem and Wytheville sites and talk groups myself.