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 Post subject: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2016 5:53 am 
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Yesterday, talking about Seattle traffic control. Lots of licenses for this frequency, but I couldn't find one with P25 voice... and why the oddball NAC on an interop channel?


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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2016 8:26 am 
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Location: Puget Sound
FlashP wrote:
Yesterday, talking about Seattle traffic control. Lots of licenses for this frequency, but I couldn't find one with P25 voice... and why the oddball NAC on an interop channel?



Not supposed to be using digital on interop channels anyways. But you can never get these rouge agencies to listen.

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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2016 11:00 am 
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Yes, but City of Seattle somehow has a license for digital DATA.

But which Seattle agency would have VHF P25 radios? SDOT? Marine units? I know WSP and DNR do.


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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2016 2:46 pm 
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Doesn't WSF have P25 radios now?


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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Wed May 04, 2016 6:25 pm 
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Location: Puget Sound
FlashP wrote:
Yes, but City of Seattle somehow has a license for digital DATA.

But which Seattle agency would have VHF P25 radios? SDOT? Marine units? I know WSP and DNR do.



Yea- and hopefully someone there will see this and go "Oops"! As if they'd care.

Its been a law in Washington State for many years now that any and all state agencies "Must buy p-25 capable radios" if they are going to purchase any. (At least according to state people I work around) So unless WSF was running really old crap or ignoring the law then Id suspect they've had em for a while. Doesn't of coarse mean they have to use them as p-25.

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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2016 7:20 am 
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Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2007 7:46 pm
Posts: 777
Location: Portland, OR
chpalmer wrote:
FlashP wrote:
Yesterday, talking about Seattle traffic control. Lots of licenses for this frequency, but I couldn't find one with P25 voice... and why the oddball NAC on an interop channel?



Not supposed to be using digital on interop channels anyways. But you can never get these rouge agencies to listen.


Not exactly true...from some seminar I took, if you must P25 on VTAC, you must use a NAC of $293 and you put DG on the end of the channel name; its advisable to be in mixed mode.

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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2016 10:40 am 
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Location: FB2 Simulcast
Also check this link:

http://publicsafetytools.info/nifog_info/nifog_info.php

The (new) Version 1.6 Field Ops Guide now suggests that agencies should program multiple channel banks within their equipment, . . . to accommodate both local and NATIONAL interop communication needs, . . . but yes, the national interop setting still specifies 156.7 on RX, and C/S on TX on the VCALL/ VTAC channels.


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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Sun May 08, 2016 12:30 pm 
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Posts: 2151
Location: Puget Sound
KE7JFF wrote:
Not exactly true...from some seminar I took, if you must P25 on VTAC, you must use a NAC of $293 and you put DG on the end of the channel name; its advisable to be in mixed mode.


Thats the problem- Everyone has different information and spread it as gospel. I know of no reason that anyone "must (use) P25 on VTAC" other than their people forgot or decided against putting these frequencies into their equipment set as analog.

You have to look at it from the department (who has no digital radios) perspective. If someone comes into a major incident that can't use digital mods then it can cause major issues. And visa versa- An agency sending people over that have no clue they need to switch to analog will never hear the traffic until they locate someone in the know.. if they ever do. Mixed mode only works if the people using the radios understand whats going on. One talks analog which gets received fine. But the operator of the mixed mode radio then tries to respond on digital. Cops and fire personnel dont want to understand their radios for the most part. They just want to push to talk and usually go to interop channels kicking and screaming. Don't need this kind of confusion right after the 9.0 earthquake that everyone talks about.

Ive been to several meetings over the years and when the idea of interoperability and frequencies comes up the talk is always the same. Analog only. Can't speak for the east side. These are all state or county meetings. I don't remember much talk at WWRIC but may consider going to a an upcoming meeting to bring it up.

Thank for that link Craig. I looked around to see who exactly they were and could find no reference to the state of Washington anywhere. If fact the who is information shows-

Registrant Name:Cheryl Lemon
Registrant Organization:SAIC
Registrant Street: 4015 Hancock St
Registrant City:San Diego
Registrant State/Province:California

Saic is associated with https://www.leidos.com/

Tech Name:Scott Evans
Tech Organization:YES, Inc
Tech Street: 8501 Heron Pointe Way
Tech City:Spotsylvania
Tech State/Province:Virginia
Tech Postal Code:22551
(Commercial Vendor)

So my point is that I know of no agency that uses anything from the pages of this organization. One agency cannot assume that other agencies are following the same information if each goes out to find standards set (with input by all counties/cities) by others than the state themselves.

I was one of the biggest pushers for the WSP to keep the car channels analog. To many local sheriff departments and PD's have those channels and use them to contact the troops and even participate in emphasis patrols with them. Eventually the plan is that all our guys will have a VHF p-25 capable radio. But that could be years.

I stand by my opinion that any agency involved in "immediate safety of life" should not be using a digital modulation. The human ear is much better able to decode the words out of the multipath and hash.

From https://blog.tcomeng.com/index.php/2014 ... -troopers/ Quoting Monty Knorr of the WSP-

Quote:
And if anything throws off that data stream and it’s not aligned or in order, what comes out at the other end is either garbled — you get parts of things, but it’s unintelligible, or, and this is totally different from our old system, you’ll get complete dead silence,” he said.


Dead silence is possible even if the radio is seeing better than a 12db quieting equivalent in signal strength but with multiple sources of multipath.

Sorry- but the new redesigned wheel shaped hexagonal has too many flat spots.

/Rant

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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2016 8:59 pm 
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Location: FB2 Simulcast
Not to further muddy the waters here, . . . but also check these sites too:

https://ocio-website-files.s3-us-west-2 ... C-2011.pdf

http://www.npstc.org/documents/APCO-NPS ... 4-1web.pdf

EXAMPLE: in WA State H-S Region 9 ( greater Spokane area ) the TX PL is 203.5.


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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Mon May 09, 2016 10:21 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jul 03, 2007 8:11 pm
Posts: 2151
Location: Puget Sound
Craig H wrote:
Not to further muddy the waters here, . . .
EXAMPLE: in WA State H-S Region 9 ( greater Spokane area ) the TX PL is 203.5.



Nah- not muddy. Good information. Little outdated (pre narrowband cutoff) but relevant.

Ill be at WWRIC tomorrow. Looks like we be taking a tour. :) Ill have everyones ear about the video systems and induced noise floor so may not want to take up too much more time.

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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Tue May 10, 2016 12:52 am 
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Joined: Fri Jun 01, 2007 7:46 pm
Posts: 777
Location: Portland, OR
chpalmer wrote:
KE7JFF wrote:
Not exactly true...from some seminar I took, if you must P25 on VTAC, you must use a NAC of $293 and you put DG on the end of the channel name; its advisable to be in mixed mode.


Thats the problem- Everyone has different information and spread it as gospel. I know of no reason that anyone "must (use) P25 on VTAC" other than their people forgot or decided against putting these frequencies into their equipment set as analog.

You have to look at it from the department (who has no digital radios) perspective. If someone comes into a major incident that can't use digital mods then it can cause major issues. And visa versa- An agency sending people over that have no clue they need to switch to analog will never hear the traffic until they locate someone in the know.. if they ever do. Mixed mode only works if the people using the radios understand whats going on. One talks analog which gets received fine. But the operator of the mixed mode radio then tries to respond on digital. Cops and fire personnel dont want to understand their radios for the most part. They just want to push to talk and usually go to interop channels kicking and screaming. Don't need this kind of confusion right after the 9.0 earthquake that everyone talks about.


Well, for the situation you describe, analog for that kind of mutual aid is the smartest idea; the seminar I took was for those situations where you have an COM-L writing a ICS-205 and taking in account of what agencies are coming from where and knowing their capabilities. I've rarely seen VTAC used in P25, but I know USFS around here has them programmed in. And I also, it was recommended to leave VCALL in analog, make a contact with whoever you need on there, advise to switch to VTACX and its digital, then swtich.

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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Tue May 10, 2016 6:04 pm 
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Location: Puget Sound
KE7JFF wrote:

Well, for the situation you describe, analog for that kind of mutual aid is the smartest idea; the seminar I took was for those situations where you have an COM-L writing a ICS-205 and taking in account of what agencies are coming from where and knowing their capabilities. I've rarely seen VTAC used in P25, but I know USFS around here has them programmed in. And I also, it was recommended to leave VCALL in analog, make a contact with whoever you need on there, advise to switch to VTACX and its digital, then swtich.




""advise to switch to VTACX and its digital, then swtich.""
Why? Just so Motorola can sell more $4000.00 radios? You have more of a chance of missing words in a weak signal area with digital(especially in the rough country in this state) than with 12.5kc analog when people learn how to correctly speak into the mic. ((This is probably why I don't get invited back to Motorola training classes. :) :) ))

My design book=

1. no digital on interop channels. Ever! Its all about muscle memory. If you want digital then apply for some other frequencies.

2. If you use other digital modulations on your primaries then you need to recognize that those around you might not be able to keep up soon if ever. Your guys may be on their own until dispatch can make some phone calls for help.

Guess the Motorola top brass will never take me out to those big expensive lunches eh?

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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2016 6:44 am 
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Posts: 777
Location: Portland, OR
chpalmer wrote:
KE7JFF wrote:

Well, for the situation you describe, analog for that kind of mutual aid is the smartest idea; the seminar I took was for those situations where you have an COM-L writing a ICS-205 and taking in account of what agencies are coming from where and knowing their capabilities. I've rarely seen VTAC used in P25, but I know USFS around here has them programmed in. And I also, it was recommended to leave VCALL in analog, make a contact with whoever you need on there, advise to switch to VTACX and its digital, then swtich.




""advise to switch to VTACX and its digital, then swtich.""
Why? Just so Motorola can sell more $4000.00 radios? You have more of a chance of missing words in a weak signal area with digital(especially in the rough country in this state) than with 12.5kc analog when people learn how to correctly speak into the mic. ((This is probably why I don't get invited back to Motorola training classes. :) :) ))

My design book=

1. no digital on interop channels. Ever! Its all about muscle memory. If you want digital then apply for some other frequencies.

2. If you use other digital modulations on your primaries then you need to recognize that those around you might not be able to keep up soon if ever. Your guys may be on their own until dispatch can make some phone calls for help.

Guess the Motorola top brass will never take me out to those big expensive lunches eh?


Again this is all recommended practices for using P25; if your ICS-205 is all analog, thats fine. And my experience with P25 out in the woods here in Oregon, which is just as rough as Washington State, is that it holds up no worse than analog.

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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Wed May 11, 2016 11:19 am 
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Interesting the MSI was pretty silient, and Harris was more vocal.

http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Release ... 6-48A1.pdf

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 Post subject: Re: VTAC14/nac299
PostPosted: Wed May 25, 2016 1:13 pm 
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Location: Puget Sound
And more- http://mccmag.com/Features/FeaturesDetails/FID/668


Quote:
Leifer said eschewing digital and P25 in general would cause public safety to lose features such as directed unit-to-unit call, call check and call alert and others. “These features, which would be useful in a multiagency interoperability environment, would not be available using analog FM,” Leifer said.



B.S! We do this with analog all the time. MDC and the use of other PL tones and tac channels. Maybe not private but since people have scanners.. This is the kind of stuff I always use to call out the instructors at the Motorola classes.

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