whats the latest info on MSHP new system?

[iamhere300]

Between now and the end of the year I would bet you will hear the first two sites on the air.

 

[zzdiesel]

Is that still supposed to be here in the Bootheel?

 

[wb0wao]

According to my sources:
1. The Sikeston site is just about ready to fire up - I was told the only hold up is the frequencies to be used. This will be the first site to go live.

2. The Bloomfield site needs a bit more work before it is operational - work is ongoing and will be the second site to become operational.

3. With the exception of a couple of Narcotics groups and possibly TAC teams, the system will NOT be encrypted. So, normal operations will be monitorable.

Dennis

 

[iamhere300]

According to my sources:
1. The Sikeston site is just about ready to fire up - I was told the only hold up is the frequencies to be used. This will be the first site to go live.

2. The Bloomfield site needs a bit more work before it is operational - work is ongoing and will be the second site to become operational.

3. With the exception of a couple of Narcotics groups and possibly TAC teams, the system will NOT be encrypted. So, normal operations will be monitorable.

Dennis

Pretty much spot on - perhaps a little more than that on Sikeston, but it is close.

Sikeston, city of, is moving towards using the system for their day to day comms also.

 

[wb0wao]

A couple of other non-MOSWIN tidbits about the Bloomfield site -

1. The plan is to have a MEPN node (Missouri Emergency Packet Network) on 50.390 9600 baud as well as a 2m packet node on 145.010 or 145.070 that is tied into the 6m node.

2. There is a 2m repeater on 147.330 100.0 PL operating now on a temporary antenna at 200' - the final antenna will be higher up! If you can hear this repeater now, you will be able to hear the MOSWIN site when it goes live.

Might be time to create a MOSWIN sticky!

 

[iamhere300]

A couple of other non-MOSWIN tidbits about the Bloomfield site -

1. The plan is to have a MEPN node (Missouri Emergency Packet Network) on 50.390 9600 baud as well as a 2m packet node on 145.010 or 145.070 that is tied into the 6m node.

2. There is a 2m repeater on 147.330 100.0 PL operating now on a temporary antenna at 200' - the final antenna will be higher up! If you can hear this repeater now, you will be able to hear the MOSWIN site when it goes live.

Might be time to create a MOSWIN sticky!

Of course - it can't get much higher than 200 - at least not without a balloon.... But that is interesting, I did not know the 2 meter machine was up and running. I will have to see how that works.

 

[talkpair]

Call me the skeptic here, but from the things I've read, I don't see this system being used for the typical day-to-day "cow in the roadway" type calls.

 

[wb0wao]

The repeater is fairly active - I think there is going to be a net on there tonite (it will be every Thursday) and I heard last nite that there will be a District E ARES net on there shortly. Not sure of the day/time.

You are correct on the antenna height, I think the antenna is up at about 150 now, but the "final" antenna will be up very close to the apex of the tower.

Coverage is excellent on the 2m repeater - in certain spots in Cape, you can actually bring it up with a HT, but your audio is marginal at best. I have a TM-271A and a 3db mag mount mobile antenna in the attic above my 2nd floor apartment and the repeater is 60db over S9.

I was concerned that I would have an issue receiving the new system, but not anymore!

Talkpair - this system is replacing the low band MSHP system, so whatever you are hearing on there now, you will here on the new system.

73

Dennis - WB0WAO
Cape Girardeau County ARES AEC

 

[iamhere300]

Call me the skeptic here, but from the things I've read, I don't see this system being used for the typical day-to-day "cow in the roadway" type calls.

It will be used for that and a lot more. Expect to see partnerships between places like Sikeston, where they will end up using the system for their everyday dispatch operations.

I think it is going to end up being pretty slick.

Dennis, I am seeing such an increase in recovered audio with P25 now, that I expect this system will really have better coverage - insofar as recovered audio - than analog, and certainly better than narrowband analog VHF.

I am very curious about coverage towards the west, I may have to take a drive this weekend. I have a tower just a stones throw from the Bloomfield site, I have been wondering what the coverage from there will be like for some other applications.

 

[wb0wao]

I was also told that they had to or are putting in a new tower at Bluff as the old one was not "acceptable". I would think with that one, they should have coverage over to VanBuren.

 

[zzdiesel]

What happened to the news that it was going to start down here in the lower Bootheel? I heard it was going to be around Caruthersville.

I should hear the one in Bluff with no problems. I have full signal on 42.940 & 42.920 now.

 

[wb0wao]

If you can hear the 147.330 repeater, then you will be able to hear the Bloomfield site - I think that will be the busiest site, probably next to Poplar Bluff. There is a net on Thursday nites on the repeater (except next Thursday) and on the net last night there were check-ins from Anna IL, Poplar Bluff, Cape Girardeau, Lake Wappapelo (mobile), Gold Dust TN and Kennet.

I don't have any info on the bootheel site, but I assume that it will probably be on air after the first of the year. I think that the target date for complete switchover is sometime in the middle of the first quarter of 2011.

Dennis - WB0WAO

 

[Thunderbolt]

According to a good source at Motorola, the state has been taking a serious look at their APX7000 portables and APX7500 mobile radios in the VHF-High band 700/800 MHz dual band configuration. It will be interesiting to see how this turns out, but it would allow any of the highway patrol, SEMA, MODOT units to completely roam the state and use either band. This would be ideal for units from let's say Poplar Bluff going up to St. Louis for any reason, especially if they have a disaster.

Yours truly,

Ron

 

[iamhere300]

According to a good source at Motorola, the state has been taking a serious look at their APX7000 portables and APX7500 mobile radios in the VHF-High band 700/800 MHz dual band configuration. It will be interesiting to see how this turns out, but it would allow any of the highway patrol, SEMA, MODOT units to completely roam the state and use either band. This would be ideal for units from let's say Poplar Bluff going up to St. Louis for any reason, especially if they have a disaster.

Yours truly,

Ron

The state has already made a large commitment on the APX mobiles in control station configuration, and for mobiles. Most all PSAP's in the state will have one installed into their facility.

SEMA simply does not have a lot of radios, and MODOT has made no commitment to go on the system at this point.

Remember too - I don't think you will see many of the dual band portables, the system is designed for mobiles - and portables will be through vehicle extenders for most people, negating the need for dual band portables.

 

[Thunderbolt]

Maybe I am missing something here, but I haven't seen any licensing applications submitted to the FCC Web site for MOSWIN? I was looking over all of the trunking and microwave licenses for Missouri, especially in the southeast part of the state. How is the state of Missouri planning on implementing this new digital TRS, without causing interference to other users on VHF-High band?

73s

Ron

 

[talkpair]

Maybe I am missing something here, but I haven't seen any licensing applications submitted to the FCC Web site for MOSWIN?

I was going to ask the same question.

The newest thing i see in the Bloomfield area is this microwave link to/from Poplar Bluff.
FCC Callsign WQLQ702 Details
Granted 3/31/2010

I don't know if this the same tower discussed in previous replies or not.

 

[wb0wao]

Maybe I am missing something here, but I haven't seen any licensing applications submitted to the FCC Web site for MOSWIN? I was looking over all of the trunking and microwave licenses for Missouri, especially in the southeast part of the state. How is the state of Missouri planning on implementing this new digital TRS, without causing interference to other users on VHF-High band?

73s

Ron

Well, I talked to my "source" and I was told that because of the lack of open VHF frequencies, the state was doing "MOU's" with other agencies to use some of their frequencies. Sikeston PD is going to use the system, so I would think that there at least one of the exisitng Sikeston channels will be used in the system. I am guessing that if a licensee allows the state to use it, there is some type of quid-pro-quo about getting that agency into the system at less expense or something. I don't know just how many channels will we assigned to each site other than the CC - I am assuming there will be more at Bloomfield than at Sikeston, but that is conjecture on my part.

I was told that the Sikeston frequencies have been selected and actually programmed into the hardware, and they are waiting for the last MOU to be signed and then they will turn it on. Bloomfield's frequencies are around 95% selected and not too much work remains to be done on that site - about a day's worth of connecting the cables and programming.

Without an actual license to go by, it is going to be "interesting" just to get the layout of the system.

Dennis

 

[iamhere300]

I am guessing that if a licensee allows the state to use it, there is some type of quid-pro-quo about getting that agency into the system at less expense or something.

I just want to touch on this one. There is no expense for an agency to get on this system - other than the subscriber units. The advantage to signing the MOU is no longer having to worry about your infrastructure - it becomes the states issue for maintenance, repair, replacement.

You also could see coverage gains.

During the budget hearings, one the things stressed was that there would be no user fees.

 

[wb0wao]

I just want to touch on this one. There is no expense for an agency to get on this system - other than the subscriber units. The advantage to signing the MOU is no longer having to worry about your infrastructure - it becomes the states issue for maintenance, repair, replacement.

You also could see coverage gains.

During the budget hearings, one the things stressed was that there would be no user fees.

Perhaps I should have worded it better, but it was intimated to me that the if the agency had compatable equipment, but just needed to be re-flashed, that would be done gratis for them by the techs installing the system and if they needed to get new equipment, they could get it at the state contract rate. You are correct as it will not cost the agency any fees like StarCom across the river.

I know that Cape Girardeau PD was thinking about going to it as 95% of their equipment is capable once re-flashed, but since there is no local tower planned they are holding off to see what happens later.

Still waiting on this end for exact frequency data for both sites ...

iamhere - how is your reception of the 147.330 machine? I was at the District E ARES meeting Saturday and was told that the repeater antenna will be going up about another 40-50 feet eventually.

Dennis

 

[zzdiesel]

iamhere - how is your reception of the 147.330 machine? I was at the District E ARES meeting Saturday and was told that the repeater antenna will be going up about another 40-50 feet eventually.

Dennis

I'm not iamhere, but I have about half stregnth signal on the Bloomfield tower here in Kennett which is about 50 miles south.