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Does anyone monitor this 900mhz system?

I've been half-heartedly tracking it for a few days now. It seems to have a rather bizarre, erratic signal footprint...I get it 5x5 near a tower location, and barely at all a few blocks away. Some of the licensed sites don't seem to broadcast it either.

I've only logged 2 talkgroups, 3792 which seems to be electrical-related (downed poles, wire, etc), and 3248, which I still can't identify.

Anyone else?

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President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

If your not using low loss coax on your antenna system and a 900ish antenna 900 will go away fairly quickly.

Watch your signal as you pass a grove of trees. I used to see 20+db loss.

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"A well regulated breakfast, being necessary to the healthy start of the day, the right of the people to keep and eat food shall not be infringed."

Doesn't matter if I'm mobile using the NMO with the antenna of the day, or stationary with a duckie.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

Ive never seen a scanner with an antenna that would do 900 well at all.

900 is very directional. 900 attenuation can be very extreme under certain conditions and is very easy to simulcast because of this. My first system was a 900 mhz trunking system off of Santiago Peak in California over Corona. San Diego to Sylmar coverage on my installs but allot less on the installs done by other contractors using rg58 and really bad when the contractor tried to use a cell antenna (because it had low reflected power on rg58) on their installs. :roll:

I used a B8963 antenna and 8X (or equivalent loss) cable on any 900 install I did up until we sold our 900 license. On the repeater side we used 1-5/8" to the antenna 60 feet up.

System worked very well but like I said- we saw the signal go down +20dB just passing a grove of trees.

My guess is that they (Tacoma Power) are trying to use smaller heliax and make up the loss with extreme high gain antennas (which can have their own bad characteristics).

System engineers need to take their advertised antenna patterns more seriously.

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"A well regulated breakfast, being necessary to the healthy start of the day, the right of the people to keep and eat food shall not be infringed."

I can't recieve it from home, but my 2006 records show 3792 as 'security' and 3248 as 'dispatch north'.

From the FCC locations listed on their license, I wonder if they have a yagi up high on the mountain top (the location near Graham) beamed NW towards downtown Tacoma. It would be a very localized and limited signal... it looks to be very concentrated to central Tacoma as well... not any of the outlying cities.

I don't know if the Graham Hill site (mountain? LOL) is even active. I was out that way the other day and never heard anything...Of course, the way this system acts, maybe it was loud and clear from there and I had some shadowing from dust in the air, or a passing dandelion seed or something.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

Thanks Flash.

3792 had a field unit (radio call signs match radio IDs, BTW) discussing a power interruption due to a knocked down pole. Typical utility conversation, with the dispatcher repeating back everything.

3248 had Car-5 reporting that he was at substation-xxx, never heard an answer.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

Sorry I had the map zoomed in and missed the farthest point. It's a small town called LaGrande right on the southeast border of the county. Looks like HWY-7 is the way to get there...

"LA GRANDE POWER HOUSE" is the location address on the license.

(Haven't traveled much down that way...)

LaGrande has a dam on the Nisqually, below the Alder dam.

Listening/tracking this again all weekend out of boredom, and still only seeing these two talkgroups.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

1808- active yesterday with what sounded like Tacoma Rail crews chatting about traffic in the Port of Tacoma area

1904- Someone keyed up, said "Hello?" and then nothing.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

3376- 2 guys chatting about their vehicles, traffic, etc.

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

Is 935.425 a simulcast control channel?