Same here.
Ventura County moving to 7/800 Phase I P25 trunking system by 2020
- Thread starter ChrisE_STB
- Start date
-
- Tags
- 962 ventura county
I can hear it in Santa Clarita on a telescoping whip…
At 10:18 PDT this morning heard/logged a radio check on the system; TGID 207 on Site 2.
BCD996P2 with a VHF 1/4-wave ground plane at 20 ft.
West San Fernando Valley.
BCD996P2 with a VHF 1/4-wave ground plane at 20 ft.
West San Fernando Valley.
I assumed site 2 was Rocketdyne, west of Chatsworth. But would that be heard on 700MHz with a telescoping whip over in Santa Clarita? That almost sounds like Oat Mountain coverage.
This morning (Wed 5/3) on Site 2, TGID 1
Radio techs reporting signal strengths from various locations, one was the Reagan Library.
Makes sense. However the RRDB (FWIW) shows a Site 2 location #2 "8 MILES SE SIMI VALLEY" which on the map for WQXV556 puts it at Rocketdyne.
Perhaps you are hearing the location #3 "7 MILES NE OD SIMI VALLEY". It is in the mountains south of Piru/north of Simi and looks up the Santa Clara River Valley (potentially into Santa Clarita).
FCC Callsign WQXV556 (VENTURA, COUNTY OF)
FCC Callsign WQXV556 (VENTURA, COUNTY OF)
www.radioreference.com
kj6psg
Member
773.95625 identifies as RFSS 1, Site 4; the former ASR (Rocketdyne ASR) identified as Site 2. Sounds like the South Mountain East Site Add has been completed. The South Mountain East Site Add was discussed in the 2022 Slow-Growth Update, although it didn't mention what the site would be joining aside from it being a member of RFSS 1, Site 4.
The frequency looks to be simulcast with something else fairly close in signal strength on my end. If Torrey's in the mix (County's slow-growth update suggests Site 4 is a simulcast of Rocketdyne, Torrey, and South East), it might sum other sites up enough to equal South's signal strength. Along Highway 126 between Ventura and Santa Paula, signal did not drop the entire way (although I did not check signal strength), so I believe something else with LoS to the route is in the mix; a good portion of Highway 126 between mile markers 4 and 7 should be heavily shadowed, but the carrier remained strong. Of the sites County has licensed, only Sisar and Laguna cover that sliver of highway, and it's not going to be Laguna since that site is already on the air in Site 2. Castro has some coverage of mile markers 4 through 5, but isn't mentioned in the slow-growth update. The only real way to know would be analyzing some signal strength logs, which I probably should collect at some point. Any coverage in Ojai would indicate a Sisar buildout, but I'm not confident this has happened especially with this winter's weather. Reflections or diffraction paths might explain observed Hwy 126 coverage.
I'm quite confident South Mountain East is the dominant source of signal in the Ventura area as I do observe the drop in signal strength around Telegraph Road as the west prominence of South Mountain obstructs line-of-sight to the County's South Mountain East site; County's South Mountain West site (the former KBEH tower) is tall enough to not experience this effect within city limits.
Right now, WQXV556 is the only license including 773.95625 MHz. None of these sites offer the coverage of Santa Paula that I am observing.
BSI 769.29375 MHz, as expected, so frequencies have finally updated to match the license.
The frequency looks to be simulcast with something else fairly close in signal strength on my end. If Torrey's in the mix (County's slow-growth update suggests Site 4 is a simulcast of Rocketdyne, Torrey, and South East), it might sum other sites up enough to equal South's signal strength. Along Highway 126 between Ventura and Santa Paula, signal did not drop the entire way (although I did not check signal strength), so I believe something else with LoS to the route is in the mix; a good portion of Highway 126 between mile markers 4 and 7 should be heavily shadowed, but the carrier remained strong. Of the sites County has licensed, only Sisar and Laguna cover that sliver of highway, and it's not going to be Laguna since that site is already on the air in Site 2. Castro has some coverage of mile markers 4 through 5, but isn't mentioned in the slow-growth update. The only real way to know would be analyzing some signal strength logs, which I probably should collect at some point. Any coverage in Ojai would indicate a Sisar buildout, but I'm not confident this has happened especially with this winter's weather. Reflections or diffraction paths might explain observed Hwy 126 coverage.
I'm quite confident South Mountain East is the dominant source of signal in the Ventura area as I do observe the drop in signal strength around Telegraph Road as the west prominence of South Mountain obstructs line-of-sight to the County's South Mountain East site; County's South Mountain West site (the former KBEH tower) is tall enough to not experience this effect within city limits.
Right now, WQXV556 is the only license including 773.95625 MHz. None of these sites offer the coverage of Santa Paula that I am observing.
BSI 769.29375 MHz, as expected, so frequencies have finally updated to match the license.
South Mountain has limited coverage of Santa Clarita, and reflective paths help where LoS doesn't exist.
Attachments
kj6psg
Member
Site 4 details:
WACN $BEE00, System ID $962, RFSS $01, Site ID $04
Modulation CQPSK, Phase 2 system voice in use
- Control channel 773.95625 MHz
- Secondary CCs 769.79375 MHz, 771.21875 MHz, 771.51875 MHz
- Voice channel 769.54375 MHz
- BSI 769.29375 MHz as WQXV556
Phase 2 talkgroup 207 ($CF) was in use today on Site 4 by radio 20080 sending dead air, and talkgroup 111 ($6F) saw some registrations from radios 10678 and 10679. Apparently there was more system activity in the morning, but I didn't have a SDR up at the time.
WACN $BEE00, System ID $962, RFSS $01, Site ID $04
Modulation CQPSK, Phase 2 system voice in use
- Control channel 773.95625 MHz
- Secondary CCs 769.79375 MHz, 771.21875 MHz, 771.51875 MHz
- Voice channel 769.54375 MHz
- BSI 769.29375 MHz as WQXV556
Phase 2 talkgroup 207 ($CF) was in use today on Site 4 by radio 20080 sending dead air, and talkgroup 111 ($6F) saw some registrations from radios 10678 and 10679. Apparently there was more system activity in the morning, but I didn't have a SDR up at the time.
Friday AM (5 May) TGID 109 on Site 2 - hearing fire department dispatching and other transmissions.
kj6psg
Member
Through an elaborate antenna arrangement I was able to isolate Laguna within site 2 and I'm able to monitor site 2 again. In addition to the fairly consistent TG 109 activity patching in VCFD dispatch, I've also heard:
- Some form of two-tone selcal going out on TG 110 ($6E) from RID 1030004, similar to ICAO selcal but not it. Sounded like a patch.
- RID 10209 keying on TGs 109 ($6D) and 113 ($71). I'm not sure if 109 comes out on VHF as well; that'd be interesting to monitor for, but it's like waiting for a needle to appear in a haystack.
- Two people on TG 1 testing in-building coverage at some building with four or more floors, using RIDs 40004 and 40007. Apparently indoor coverage is lacking.
kj6psg
Member
I went and did some coverage testing of my own.
Around east Ventura, coverage is in very good agreement with Site 4 consisting of Rocketdyne, Torrey, and South Mountain East. Tossing Sisar into the mix produces too much coverage in this area (it's effectively blanketed in predictions of green), so it's not a member.
However, the Rocketdyne, Torrey, South Mountain East combination does not explain coverage in the foothills of South Mountain. Something else is providing this coverage.
Castro lines up nicely with where coverage is predicted to resume along Highway 126. It's good evidence Castro is there, but it doesn't mean a whole lot with South Mountain in such close proximity. Fairly small changes in how South Mountain East's antenna is placed, combined with my fairly low-resolution elevation model, can produce a good deal of simulation inaccuracy in the foothills of a transmitter. Basically, more testing is needed, but it does seem like Castro has been brought on the air.
From listening to my portable scanner, I noted that the only real spot with significant coverage troubles along the Highway 126 test area was at Wells Road, and that Santa Paula did not seem to be in the coverage of any other sites aside from South Mountain East.
Rasnow would fill in most of this particular area currently plagued with coverage issues. For that reason, I don't believe it is currently on the air.
--
At this time, I believe Site 4 consists of Rocketdyne, Torrey, South Mountain East, and Castro.
Around east Ventura, coverage is in very good agreement with Site 4 consisting of Rocketdyne, Torrey, and South Mountain East. Tossing Sisar into the mix produces too much coverage in this area (it's effectively blanketed in predictions of green), so it's not a member.
However, the Rocketdyne, Torrey, South Mountain East combination does not explain coverage in the foothills of South Mountain. Something else is providing this coverage.
Castro lines up nicely with where coverage is predicted to resume along Highway 126. It's good evidence Castro is there, but it doesn't mean a whole lot with South Mountain in such close proximity. Fairly small changes in how South Mountain East's antenna is placed, combined with my fairly low-resolution elevation model, can produce a good deal of simulation inaccuracy in the foothills of a transmitter. Basically, more testing is needed, but it does seem like Castro has been brought on the air.
From listening to my portable scanner, I noted that the only real spot with significant coverage troubles along the Highway 126 test area was at Wells Road, and that Santa Paula did not seem to be in the coverage of any other sites aside from South Mountain East.
Rasnow would fill in most of this particular area currently plagued with coverage issues. For that reason, I don't believe it is currently on the air.
--
At this time, I believe Site 4 consists of Rocketdyne, Torrey, South Mountain East, and Castro.
I'll assume all this activity is Phase 2, as I've not heard anything on my phase 1 scanner since 12/2021 when a radio tech did an on-air test and activated the Rocketdyne site.
kj6psg
Member
The PSAP talkgroup still runs in Phase 1, and radio ID 1030014 on talkgroup 103 is using Phase 1 (it appeared to be alone on the talkgroup at the time). All of the activity I have seen during the month of May on all other talkgroups (1, 109, 110, 113, 205, 207) has been using Phase 2.
If you're not hearing anything, you might not be receiving traffic. Pretty much everything comes out of Site 2 alone, although the PSAP roll calls should come out on both sites. The PSAP roll calls are at 8:00 AM every Saturday on talkgroup 99; sometimes they're early or late, but today's was at 8:00:12.
Within the Ventura/Oxnard/Camarillo area, Site 2's control channel can be challenging to receive with Laguna spitting out C4FM. With both on-air sites being simulcast CQPSK, Since you're not there, this probably isn't an issue for you. Phase 1-only scanners might not function too well even on the Phase 1 traffic.
Thanks, I normally don't turn on the scanner til after 10am, so no wonder I'm missing roll-call. Will give that a try. I'm pretty much Line-of-sight to Site 2-Rocketdyne from here, and the control channel is full scale.
Can I assume they do roll call 7days/week? I remember that I stopped hearing them because it was thought that no one in Simi had affiliated with the system, thus it wasn't broadcasting anything in that area. I'm not sure if that's still the case, but we'll see in the next couple of days.
Can I assume they do roll call 7days/week? I remember that I stopped hearing them because it was thought that no one in Simi had affiliated with the system, thus it wasn't broadcasting anything in that area. I'm not sure if that's still the case, but we'll see in the next couple of days.
kj6psg
Member
Oh my goodness, I'm screwing up the numbers in my head. Traffic mostly comes out of the troubled Site 3: the one consisting of Hall, South Mtn West, and Laguna. Site 2 (Rocketdyne ASR) doesn't exist anymore, with simulcast Site 4 (South East, Rocketdyne, Torrey, and others?) taking its place. Maybe it's time to put this on a post-it on my monitor.
Roll call used to happen 7 days/week, but now it's only on Saturdays. It's been that way for at least a year now. I know Simi PD would affiliate to the former Rocketdyne ASR by watching the inputs, so presumably they're on Site 4 now. Not everyone shows up to the roll call, so relying on affiliation isn't a good practice.
A large enough antenna, plus control of losses/noise figure, should be able to receive South from much of the SFV.
OK, thanks for clarifying that the roll call is only on Saturdays. I left the scanner on all night, to monitor what I presume is Rocketdyne (773.95625), and heard nothing. But at this point, until the DB is updated I'm not sure what "site" it is.
kj6psg
Member
Today Sheriff's talkgroups were patched into the system.
- 109 ($6D) to VCFD dispatch, as is usual
- 201 ($C9) to Sheriff West, which was patched to talkgroup 205 ($CD) prior to 11:50 AM
- Radio 20077 identified as "11-Ocean" when requesting a radio check, and the patches should be two-way.
- 203 ($CB) to Sheriff East
Which site?
Still (1710) going on?
Still (1710) going on?
kj6psg
Member
Talkgroup 111 ($6F) is patched to one of the Fire command channels; I believe it is Command 5 based on incidents in El Rio and Camarillo being repeated.
Radio checks were being performed on talkgroup 205 ($CD). There were also a number of affiliations to, but no voice traffic on, talkgroup 207 ($CF). Radio ID 20105 sounds very choppy on my end, as if the microphone they're using is receiving interference from the TDMA emission. The others (radio ID 20067, who I believe identified as 7-Ocean, did most of the talking) sound quite good.
I stopped recording the patch talkgroups as they take up a significant portion of receiver time and can pull my single-receiver setup away from more interesting activity.
Everything mentioned in this update is Phase 2, as per the last update.
The patches exist in the system core, and are exposed when someone connects to the system via either of the two sites (their radios should be looking at both sites and picking the stronger of the two) and switches to a patched channel. It just happens that everyone playing around with the patches ends up on Site 3; if someone were to end up on Site 4 for whatever reason (whether they're outside of Site 3's coverage or they manually switch sites to Site 4), then traffic for that talkgroup will come out Site 4, perhaps in addition to Site 3. As more users get on the system, expect more traffic on more sites as the locations of users gets more diverse. Right now, there's only about three or four users on patch talkgroups.
Radio checks were being performed on talkgroup 205 ($CD). There were also a number of affiliations to, but no voice traffic on, talkgroup 207 ($CF). Radio ID 20105 sounds very choppy on my end, as if the microphone they're using is receiving interference from the TDMA emission. The others (radio ID 20067, who I believe identified as 7-Ocean, did most of the talking) sound quite good.
I stopped recording the patch talkgroups as they take up a significant portion of receiver time and can pull my single-receiver setup away from more interesting activity.
Everything mentioned in this update is Phase 2, as per the last update.
I am monitoring Site 3 (Hall/Laguna/South Mountain West simulcast), and traffic is ongoing on talkgroup 203 as of posting this. Lately, you can assume that there's at least one patched talkgroup, usually 109 or 201, even during some odd hours of the night.
The patches exist in the system core, and are exposed when someone connects to the system via either of the two sites (their radios should be looking at both sites and picking the stronger of the two) and switches to a patched channel. It just happens that everyone playing around with the patches ends up on Site 3; if someone were to end up on Site 4 for whatever reason (whether they're outside of Site 3's coverage or they manually switch sites to Site 4), then traffic for that talkgroup will come out Site 4, perhaps in addition to Site 3. As more users get on the system, expect more traffic on more sites as the locations of users gets more diverse. Right now, there's only about three or four users on patch talkgroups.
kj6psg
Member
Talkgroup 110 ($6E) patches to Fire Command 2. It was only briefly live on Site 3 yesterday; I'd expect it more on Site 4, which I do not monitor. I'll take a wild guess that talkgroup 112 will patch to Fire Command 8, but this has not been observed on the system yet.
Site 4 is also quite busy with talkgroup 111 affiliations/registrations. In my brief (10 minute) monitoring window around the time of this post, I only saw activity on that talkgroup. I'm not seeing anyone talk through the patch on either site.
Even more radios on the system today than yesterday (with quite a few affiliating to talkgroup 111); the number seems to be increasing every day. Talkgroups 109, 111, 201, and 203 are currently live on Site 3.
Site 4 is also quite busy with talkgroup 111 affiliations/registrations. In my brief (10 minute) monitoring window around the time of this post, I only saw activity on that talkgroup. I'm not seeing anyone talk through the patch on either site.
Even more radios on the system today than yesterday (with quite a few affiliating to talkgroup 111); the number seems to be increasing every day. Talkgroups 109, 111, 201, and 203 are currently live on Site 3.
Similar threads
