Well Since the last newsletter, we've
found new frequencies...
Here's a sample of what's new....
| Output |
Input |
Tone |
Name |
State |
County |
| 151.1300 |
159.0150 |
192.8 |
Alleghany
Co EMS Repeater |
NC |
Alleghany |
| 152.4425 |
157.7025 |
218.1 |
Utlity
Trailer Repeater Glade Spring |
VA |
Washington |
| 157.2250 |
|
N190 |
VA Stars
MO (Digital P25) |
VA |
Virginia |
| 159.6300 |
|
74.4 |
TME
Interstate Service Repeater |
VA |
Wythe |
| 451.6000 |
|
131.8 |
THP
Repeater Input- Fall Branch |
TN |
Tennessee |
Major updates soon (weather permitting)
Check out the Radio PhoneBook (link at bottom) for more.
Virginia STARS is fully
operational
Virginia’s statewide digital
radio system is now operational statewide; while
the late 2010 build-out deadline was met,
operational readiness did slide into early 2011.
Sources indicate that there are still some minor
issues to resolve, however the Virginia State
Police has announced internally that the system
is fully operational from Lee County to
Appomattox. The new digital P25 System
encompasses at least 20 separate state agencies
and has the ability to link users statewide and
patch local government’s conventional land
mobile radio systems.
Since the state has already shown that encryption
is a ready and simple option, we have practiced a
“supply on demand” for frequency and
talk-group information. While this does seem to
contradict our historical sense of publishing any
and everything, we feel the months of research
and collaboration should not be wasted by the
information being posted across the internet by
others. We also would like to point out that the
frequency, site, talkgroup, user, and other
information about the STAR’s network is
exempted from the FIOA. Additionally, with the
use of VHF marine band waivers many of the
frequencies used inland, especially in the
southwestern Virginia counties, are not available
by a simple FCC database search. Therefore in
respect of collaborative efforts, to respect the
FIOA exclusions, and preserve the accuracy of
such data, large scale details of the new STARS
system will not be made public.
While other sources claim to have the details of
the network in other parts of the state, large
voids of erroneous information and mismatched
control channel data make monitoring somewhat
difficult. It is also our hope that by limiting
the dissemination of the information will
discourage the use of encryption by state
agencies. The department of Game and Inland
Fisheries has been using full encryption since
the radios were first installed; we hope that
routine communications will one day become open
again.. Unfortunately, some operations other than
game and forest officers are encrypted too and
most likely will remain that way. The state
advised users initially that their communications
could be monitored, however the facilitation of
such would require much more expensive scanners
and to be effective, detailed frequency
information. With the help of the internet
getting that detailed information can only take a
few minutes. Do you think if state officals
discovered this information out in the open they
would do anything? When pressing a button labeled
“secure” can solve the problem in a
couple seconds….
Finally, we surveyed our usual viewers,
subscribers, even local retailers, asking about
the interest of Digital Scanning in Southwest
Virginia, we were disappointed to discover that
the interest and sales of digital scanners were
almost non-existent!
We hope that you understand our reasoning and if
you’re up to purchasing a digital scanner
know that our [you and us] collaborative efforts
can give us both years of enjoyable listening.
For individuals, our non disclosure has been due
to our research group agreements, please do not
let this jeopardize our relationships regarding
future frequency / information sharing.
Let us know what you’re hearing and
we’ll make sure we're on the same page.
Drop us a line and well supply you with the
necessary programming information for your local
area or venture. While we are not currently
physically programming scanners, we will point
you in the right direction with the information
you need.
scannerfood@gmail.com
|
Log Periodic Antenna Plans
We've taken on the winter blues with
another antenna project, this time for a VHF log periodic
antenna.
After learning that log periodics are based a concept of fractals, we decided to look at purchasing our own.
After seeing prices in the $150-$300 for very simple
antennas (some range up to several thousand) we decided
to make our own.
Materials
List
|
| Material |
Quantity
|
Length/
detail |
| 1/4'' Brass Rods |
8 |
36" |
| 1/4'' Brass Rod |
1 |
42" |
| Wooden Rod/Dowel |
1 |
3' |
| Panel Mount RF Connector |
1 |
PL259 / N |
| Machine Screws |
2 |
For RF Connector |
| Nuts |
2 |
For RF Connector |
| Lock Nuts |
2 |
For RF Connector |
| U -Bolt |
1 |
Fits Mast |
| Gorilla Glue® |
- |
- |
| 50 Ohm Coax Stub |
- |
3' |
|
 |
| Dimensions |
| Element |
Length'' |
Length(m) |
| Element 0 |
41 5/16 |
41.33 |
| Element
1 |
38 1/16 |
38.07 |
| Element
2 |
35 1/16 |
35.03 |
| Element
3 |
32 1/4 |
32.28 |
| Element
4 |
29 3/4 |
29.72 |
| Element
5 |
27 3/8 |
27.36 |
| Element
6 |
25 3/16 |
25.19 |
| Element
7 |
23 3/16 |
23.18 |
| Spacing |
Length" |
Length(m) |
| Element 0 |
4 1/8 |
4.13 |
| Element
1 |
3 13/16 |
3.81 |
| Element
2 |
3 1/2 |
3.5 |
| Element
3 |
3 1/4 |
3.22 |
| Element
4 |
2 15/16 |
2.95 |
| Element
5 |
2 3/4 |
2.75 |
| Element
6 |
2 1/2 |
2.51 |
| Element
7 |
2 5/16 |
2.32 |
|
| Technical Data |
| Type |
Log Periodic |
| Gain |
6~ dBm |
| Lowest
Frequency |
150.00
MHz |
| Highest
Frequency |
186.47
MHz |
| Overall Length |
22 5/16" |
| Angle |
21.600 |
| Tau |
0.9208 |
| Sigma |
0.0500 |
Element 1 is made of 2 of the 36'' rods
cut to size (each side), 42"
required for longest (only single)
element (0), unless phased.
All rods are cut in half, glued to the
boom separated from either side.
Phasing wires are necessary as described
below, from the feedpoint to the last
element.
Feedpoint is fed by a section of coaxial
cable to make the connector point more
practical. Brass rods compared to other
materials are easy to solder and widely
available. Purchasing online is less
expensive that that available at your
local hardware store in most cases. |
|
RadioReference.com Feed Notice
Both the Wide Area and Washington County, VA feeds have
been certified with
RadioReference.com's terms of service update.
What does this mean?
Our feed was made compliant in early 2010, there
have been no changes to our feeds.
Based on careful consideration, our feed content is
inline with a national standard of "what's
acceptable" to broadcast.
What Frequencies Changed in 2010?
School Bus, Medcom, and Military (Holston Army ammo
Plant) frequencies were excluded from the feeds.
|
