Westchester County New Paging System

[seagravebuff60]

Has anyone heard anything recently about the proposed new paging system to replace 46.26? Last I heard/saw was on one of the powerpoints from DES, they were going to have 3 Frequencies in the north and 3 in the south.

I have been looking thru the FCC Data and narrowed down the suspected new frequencies. Back in late January I heard radio techs extensively testing, Then it went silent for about two months until the last two weeks I've been picking up activity on my 996P2 from 470.9 and 477.075, But no intelligible audio. Does anyone have any further insight as to what they are doing?
North Paging 1 - 470.900
North Paging 2 - 477.025
North Paging 3 - 477.075
South Paging 1 - 470.075
South Paging 2 - 470.100
South Paging 3 -476.300

 

[PSNY]

I wish they would add a paging talk group to the p25 system as well but UHF paging is a step in the right direction at least

 

[bill11312]

I have heard some paging on a few channels with a PL of 156.7 but nothing consistent yet.

 

[bill11312]

I heard Croton Falls FD being dispatched over North Paging 1 - 470.900 156.7 yesterday

 

[seagravebuff60]

I heard Croton Falls FD being dispatched over North Paging 1 - 470.900 156.7 yesterday

Yeah ive only been hearing Croton Falls off of 470.9

 

[Alarms50]

Here is the channel assignment for the new UHF Simulcast Paging System:

North 1 - 470.9000MHz
North 2 - 477.0250MHz
North 3 - 477.0750MHz
South 2 - 470.2000MHz

All channels are PL156.7.

Currently there is only one channel available for the South Zone, and this channel was "borrowed" from the Trunked System South Zone, so it is not available for use there.

 

[pro106import]

Thanks for the info. Just heard 470.200. Sounds good up my way.

 

[GTR8000]

Currently there is only one channel available for the South Zone, and this channel was "borrowed" from the Trunked System South Zone, so it is not available for use there.

And that, folks, is why TDMA systems pay dividends. Taking a frequency out of an FDMA system that only has 5 traffic channels would've been a big blow, but because the system is TDMA, the South cell still has 8 slots available for voice traffic. Even with one less frequency, that's still 3 traffic channels more than the old SmartZone system had on that cell. Oh and it also helps that the county combined the Fire/EMS talkgroups. So not only did they greatly increase traffic capacity, but they also cut down on the amount of simultaneous traffic at the same time by combining talkgroups.

 

[GTR8000]

Just heard Croton EMS go out over both 477.025 and 477.075, so it seems that some agencies might be multi-cast over multiple simulcast cells. That was followed by COVAC, 35M3, and Yorktown FD all going out over 477.075 only.

Let's see if you local buffs can figure out which specific subsites each simulcast cell is transmitting from.

 

[PSNY]

Forgive my ignorance on the topic but what is the end-game of multicasting some agencies over multiple sites but not others? What is the intended design going forward for the end user (primarily the volunteers carrying pagers). If they have multi channel pagers, do they just monitor the freq that covers their area ? I suppose I'm just used to the Orange Co design where Fire dispatch is simulcast countywide on one frequency

 

[GTR8000]

Let's see if you local buffs can figure out which specific subsites each simulcast cell is transmitting from.

The more I listen to the North channels, the more I wonder if all three channels are active at all of the north subsites. RSSI seems to be equal for all of them with each transmission. @Alarms50 any confirmation as to whether each subsite has all of the channels, or are they broken up by area into micro-cells?

 

[Alarms50]

All three North channels are active at all nine North Zone Trunked sites. The South channel is active at all six South Zone Trunked sites (Grasslands has transmitters for both North and South Zone Paging channels).

The assignments for the channels are:
North 1 - Battalion 13/16 FD & EMS (Northeast)
North 2 - Battalion 11/12 FD & EMS (North Central)
North 3 - Battalion 10/17 FD & EMS (Northwest)
South 2 - Battalion 14/18 (Southwest & South Central) 15/19 (Southeast) FD & EMS

(NOTE: when an additional South Zone Paging channel is available, the plan is for Battalion 15/19 agencies to be assigned to this channel (South 1).

Since this is a Simulcast system, all sites in the zone will transmit the page from all of the sites in that zone. There should be no multicast transmissions, with the same agency being dispatched on multiple channels simultaneously.

 

[GTR8000]

Exactly as I figured, thanks for confirming.

Must've been a glitch last night with Croton EMS, they definitely went out on two channels at the same time.

 

[PSNY]

All three North channels are active at all nine North Zone Trunked sites. The South channel is active at all six South Zone Trunked sites (Grasslands has transmitters for both North and South Zone Paging channels).

The assignments for the channels are:
North 1 - Battalion 13/16 FD & EMS (Northeast)
North 2 - Battalion 11/12 FD & EMS (North Central)
North 3 - Battalion 10/17 FD & EMS (Northwest)
South 2 - Battalion 14/18 (Southwest & South Central) 15/19 (Southeast) FD & EMS

Thanks, I think you just cleared up everything for me. If I understand this right, the departments will monitor the appropriate paging freq on their pager designated for that area (battalion), and by doing so, they are not inundated with dispatch traffic for calls on the other end of the county.

I heard Hawthorne fire - ems toned out on 477.0250, the "North 2" paging freq, which corresponds to Battalion 11. Pretty impressive concept.

There were many times where I'd have to shut off 46.26 because the lower half of the county was going crazy and I only wanted to hear my local dept.

In theory, the only drawback is if you want to be a buff and listen to the entire county, you'd have to scan all the dispatch channels but I believe the newer Minitor 6 pagers come in 5 channels

 

[Alarms50]

Thanks, I think you just cleared up everything for me. If I understand this right, the departments will monitor the appropriate paging freq on their pager designated for that area (battalion), and by doing so, they are not inundated with dispatch traffic for calls on the other end of the county.

I heard Hawthorne fire - ems toned out on 477.0250, the "North 2" paging freq, which corresponds to Battalion 11. Pretty impressive concept.

There were many times where I'd have to shut off 46.26 because the lower half of the county was going crazy and I only wanted to hear my local dept.

In theory, the only drawback is if you want to be a buff and listen to the entire county, you'd have to scan all the dispatch channels but I believe the newer Minitor 6 pagers come in 5 channels

Yes, that is how it works.

 

[N2ACF]

I believe the newer Minitor 6 pagers come in 5 channels

The Minitor IV does come 5 channel capable however, it won't scan more than 2.