WV Interoperability System

[mike_s104]

Just curious -

Have any of you tried the new Uniden upgrades, and if so, how has it affected your reception of IRP? I have been extremely busy durning the update season, and haven't heard much on it, as far as IRP is concerned. and I'm curious about its effectiveness here before taking the plunge. ( I have become extremely wary of Uniden's fixes...

For me, between my 996 and 396. the 396 is the worse performing scanner for me on IRP, expecially with Charleston PD and Kanawha Sheriff Simulcasts being particuarly gurgly. (the 996 is somewhjst better) Strangely, Capitol security and other state agencies are almost always clear and readable. (All this is off Gafield and Malden Towers)

Any comments, insults. personally used tweaks and settings, to improve listening would be much appreciated!

From under the hills,

My deepest Thanks!!!

(Looking forward to settling down back home for a while and just listening!!!)

the latest update for both scanners seem to be OK so far. remember to set your AGC beck to default and see how that sounds.

 

[wvscanner]

Just curious -
For me, between my 996 and 396. the 396 is the worse performing scanner for me on IRP, expecially with Charleston PD and Kanawha Sheriff Simulcasts being particuarly gurgly. (the 996 is somewhjst better) Strangely, Capitol security and other state agencies are almost always clear and readable. (All this is off Gafield and Malden Towers)

Any comments, insults. personally used tweaks and settings, to improve listening would be much appreciated!

From under the hills,

My deepest Thanks!!!

(Looking forward to settling down back home for a while and just listening!!!)

I had a chance here to listen to Malden over at Grandview State Park just east of Beckley, but the day I was there it felt like it was in the 40's instead of the 70's. All I remeber I was getting them with about 3 bars on 396 and I would have to hold the scanner just right with the antenna but the quality of the sound I'm not sure. I will have to make another family day out there again when it is warmer.

 

[mike_s104]

I just noticed that MED E for Berkeley Co. (TG 9829) is being used on the Jefferson site but not being heard on the Berkeley site.

 

[me714]

Thanks for the upgrade respnses. I'll probably do it this weekend, and see how it goes. I 'preciate it!

 

[mike_s104]

TG1993 - Berkeley Co. Site

Just heard testing on TG 1993. Checked my log and there's been about 32 hits on that TG so far.

EDIT: looked at Unitrunker on this site..."Base" has a RID of 501 and "Unit 1" has a RID of 502.


Heard unit driving on RT37 in Frederick Co., VA and then on Rt50W towards the WV line. They mentioned the "Shop". I wonder if this is WVDOT, but it would not follow the other TG for WVDOT. Or, could it be the Radio Shop? I think I remember hearing the same two people when they were testing the Berkeley Co. Judicial Center for radio coverage.

 

[mike_s104]

BCSO Radio Trouble

The BCSO is having issues with what sounds like a console. Open mic at the EOC is probably not good...

 

[kc8afh]

Raleigh County p-25 move

wondering if anyone knows anything about Raleigh County going to P25, looking at some of the radio's in the Sheriffs cars they have XTL-5000 (VHF) and XTS2500 (UHF) some of the reapeaters have been swaped out to quantars not for sure on the programing if they are setup in dual mode or not, there is a astro spectra in the Harper Road Site and a Quantar repeater just sitting in the IVY Knob site has been for 2 years I think it's on 155.655

thanks

 

[wvscanner]

I doubt they will just go p-25 on their own system. I think that last time I talk to RCSO they had replace all the belt radio's and was about I think 40% in the cars. This was back around November I think. For the 155.655 they do use it but I don't know if they still do the DVP since I use the dcs on the freq. to filter that out. They won't go full time on the DVP cause it will not work in all the locations in the county.

 

[me714]

FWIW...
I noticed somebody posted TG 9021 (9021 233d D 20??? Operations Other) to the database as a Kanawha County TG. It is actually the WV Turnpike (9021 is a DPS TG), which just recently began simulcasting 155.430...

 

[mike_s104]

FWIW...
I noticed somebody posted TG 9021 (9021 233d D 20??? Operations Other) to the database as a Kanawha County TG. It is actually the WV Turnpike (9021 is a DPS TG), which just recently began simulcasting 155.430...

You can submit that correction so its up-to-date

 

[ff-medic]

Don't make things complicated folks . Just get a plain jane scanner and punch the freqs in seperate. Talk Groups? I have a 30 channel uniden handheld and the freqs are punched in seperate. I live a " far piece " north of the the Turnpike, And I hear them great on the 430 freq. DPS 300 marked up the other morning and I heard him loud and clear. Handheld scanner , with no outside antenna.

Hint-Hint. 163 mhz is kinda active folks. Picked up some stuff on 412 mhz, but I was half conked out on the couch - and not sure if it was a birdie or not. And I never went back through and checked.

163. Clarksburg ? Chas? Huntington? I live betwen all three. Any guesses? Interagency link so one can talk to the other two?



FF-Medic !!!!1

 

[ff-medic]

FWIW...
It is actually the WV Turnpike (9021 is a DPS TG), which just recently began simulcasting 155.430...

155.430 will most likley never die. You most likley 50 years from now will be able to punch that in on a old bearcat desktop and hear it.

Probably the same with 42.100, 120, as well as 260. Low band is to valuable, especialy with the WV ( and mountainous - hill ) terrain - that it will never die or completly be replaced.

VHF low band gives way to VHF high , and in essence UHF. UHF / VHF high band give way to 800 and UHF "T" band. Next ; commo satellites for Public Safety where you can take a mobile and bounce it off of a satellite and talk 150 miles away. Repeater antennas will be long gone. All portables will be equipped with GPS and video screens so you can see who you are talking to. Need that BS like I need a processor and a CPU for my vehicle.

Public Safety Commo evolves quickly. Communication pioneers market their product to the agencys with large budgets...in hopes of being the one of many that get contracts.

Military Education. = = K.I.S.S , and if it ain't broken..don't fix it. I am still a huge fan of low band. The more complcated a piece of radio equipment is, the harder it is to replace or repair. I have a Kenwood TK from about the early 90's. Kenwood does not even make parts for it anymore. No sales...and no service. Either I buy an upgraded model new - that most likley in 5 years will be obsolete, or research another product like Vertex. Obsolete and no parts in 5 years. What does that tell you? Financial hungary folks with no care to agencys with limited budgets and in a sense have " Disposable" radio's. Millions...Millions of dollars made and in a short time frame when maintenance is required or another item comes up the company says.." Sorry, that model is obsolete - please spend another 1.7 mil to upgrade your radios."

Moneyrolla, May/Com have huge defense and DOD contracts. They can afford to do that with out any sympathy or concern. A little song and dance - a speech - followed by a handshake and some signatures...and the laugh occurs alll the way to the bank. No sesne...ABSOLUTELY no sense in that kind of action to occur to public safety agencys.

FF-Medic !!!!

 

[me714]

I'll post the change in a bit, (unless someone beats me to it!) I'd been hearing 9021 for a few days, but wasn't sure who it was, though I think we all pretty much agree that the 90xx series is DPS related. When I finally heard them simulcasting 155.430 today, I was traveling on a mine access road up'side of a mountain, and had to jot down 9-0-2-1 W-V-T-P on the back of my hand while dodging coal trucks...

Mike, I too hate it when someone makes a positive ID and doesn't post to the DB, but I didn't have a chance to do much other than to fire off the quick post. (Not much of an excuse, I know, but its the best one I can come up with...).

FF-medic, as for 155.430, you may be right, but its my understanding that DPS is hot to upgrade at least turnpike law enforcement to IRP - though, as you said, with all of the dips and hollers, especially in the Tunnel Hill - Pax segment, it will remain to be seen how it works. (Bet they will wish they hadn't abandoned the Johnson Knob towers!!)

 

[ff-medic]

714 == =

It would not benefit the state to get completely rid of the backbone system that they have. And I have no knowledge what so ever of the WV Sheriffs Freq being changed from the old 39.980. So .....Should the state designate a new Sheriffs Freq? Designate on VHF? Maybe UHF? How about one freq on both bands - Monitored by District / Troop DPS stations? Do we need a WV Sheriffs Freq with most agencys having their ajoining jurisdiction freqs? Procedure needs upgraded also...and some forget that.


Instead of getting all WV agencys together and coming up with a radio plan for all, every agency/department is out on their own. I have been in Public Safety for 15 years...And I do not understand why " everybody" should be able to have the ability to talk from Beckley to Morgantown. District / area freqs for EMS -Fire and Law Enforcement. Fire / EMS freqs for a specific set of countys ( district / area ) For mutual aid / disaster ( Such as when the school buses are called upon for transport / evac ). A Chemical disaster in Kanawha County or an incident occurs that mutual aid is needed from an outlying agency ( Such as the huge tire fire in Nitro last summer ) , Could Wirt , Roane,Mingo,Lincoln and some other agencys communicate on the fireground / incident scene? The span of control for an incident commander can get to large. Hindered communication / non-inoperable radio systems cause troubles ten fold.

Even with inter-operability departments have to purchase the radio systems. Vendors will price gouge cause they know it is a state system. If you want to communicate , you will have to pay for it.

Some of the interoperability stuff is all hype if and ya asks me.

Inoperabilty will soon change things. But the dream complete " Innoperability " , I doubt will occur.

In one of my previous post , I stated that agencys need dual band VHF High / UHF radios. If the state could get that done, and leave it alone...a beneficial radio system would be up and running. But....Some departments /agencys still have the 37-39 mhz backbone system ( god bless em - and it is easy to receive skip on this band ). Financial problems , like the current system , afraid of change. What ever the reason they are not on line with the rest of the state ; and that hinders mutual aid ; adequate communications with outlying agencys.


FF-Medic !!!!

 

[wvufan]

Logan tower is now active.
Site 132
Control 453.70000
Alternate 460.3625

 

[mike_s104]

TG 1993 - Berkeley Co. Site

Sounds like on TG 1993 is "Unit 1" and "Base" who said "go ahead Dad" when called one time.

 

[wm8s]

How dare those darn medics give patient reports on a MED channel...

I wonder what in the world would possess Charleston PD to program Berkeley MedCom MED-A into their hand units as a tactical channel? During Billary's visit to Charleston last week, they were using it as a traffic (as in vehicular) control channel -- until a Martinsburg medics came on with a patient report to MedCom. Charleston stopped using the channel, and I figured they'd learned their lesson.

But they came back up on it tonite (calling it "Channel 3"). And once again, it took a patient report (this time, from a critical patient in transport) to get them to go to a proper Kanawha County tac channel. [They even had the audacity to call it "that medic interference."] Wow. What are they thinking? Do you think they figure, "Berkeley County, that's so far away they'll never hear us from here!" ?

 

[mike_s104]

I wonder what in the world would possess Charleston PD to program Berkeley MedCom MED-A into their hand units as a tactical channel? During Billary's visit to Charleston last week, they were using it as a traffic (as in vehicular) control channel -- until a Martinsburg medics came on with a patient report to MedCom. Charleston stopped using the channel, and I figured they'd learned their lesson.

But they came back up on it tonite (calling it "Channel 3"). And once again, it took a patient report (this time, from a critical patient in transport) to get them to go to a proper Kanawha County tac channel. [They even had the audacity to call it "that medic interference."] Wow. What are they thinking? Do you think they figure, "Berkeley County, that's so far away they'll never hear us from here!" ?

"those medics" need to start using Charleston PD's main TG as a "tac channel" I guess people don't understand the whole idea of how the system works. it's sad that we (as hobbyists) understand it more than they do. it kills me when I hear someone say "frequency" and not talk group.

I even had someone (won't say who) that said the police here moved to something new and they got a lot of calls from the public asking them to stop using it so they can continue to listen without adding "crystals".

EDIT: I have the audio from tonight if anyone is interested.

 

[mike_s104]

WVSP License

Is this for the WVIRP or something else?

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?cs=WQIQ313

They are licensed for every county in WV. Looks like analog and digital. All mobiles. Vehicle repeaters maybe for the new radios?

 

[mike_s104]

Berkeley Co. Site TGs

I got some hits on these in the past few days:

9039 - I believe its a WVSP channel. Heard unit 414 calling Charles Town
1993 - Unknown


Also caught a lot of traffic last week of DNR and WVSP watching people fishing...