Tri-Cities Scanner Frequencies
July 2009 Newsletter

Listen to the live scanner at:
http://scannerfood.com/swvafeed.htm

  • AWOS
  • Going Green Can Help Reception
  • Local Airshow This Weekend
  • Pagers
  • New FCC Licenses


Well Since the last newsletter, we've found a lot of new frequencies...
Here's a sample of what's new....
Output Input Tone Name
151.1600 159.4050 100.0 Warriors Path State Park
153.4550   218.1 Mountain Electric Coop 
154.3700   100.0 Greeneville, TN FD
154.5150     Emory & Henry College
158.8570   d047 Transylvania Co, NC EMS
159.2100 155.7900 d723 Harlan Co, KY Sheriff's Office
461.6000 466.6000 71.9 Lifecare Ambulance
461.9500   94.8 KY-VA Communications High Knob


That's just a couple, check out the Radio Phonebook (Link at the end of newsletter)
AWOS  
Automated Weather Observing System -

These weather stations are the lifeblood of the National Weather Service's data collection. They are typically located at airports and heliports. Different from weather stations used by state highway control centers and private industry; they all transmit data on an aviation band frequency and have a dial-in telephone number.
Systems vary based on their own individual capabilities.
Larger Image (courtesy of allweatherinc.com)


Local Area Stations
K6A4-Mountain City TN
126.225 MHz
(423) 727-4365
KTRI-Tri Cities
118.25 MHz
(423) 279-0363
K0A9-Elizabethton, TN
135.675 MHz
(423) 543-1801
KGCY-Greeneville, TN
128.425 MHz
(423) 639-5081
KGEV-Jefferson, NC
120.675 MHz
(336) 982-5555
NC14-Boone, NC
118.525 MHz
(828) 268-8921
KVJI-Abingdon, VA
128.125 MHz
(276) 628-2940
KLNP-Wise, VA
118.600 MHz
(276) 328-3727
K6V3-Richlands, VA
118.075 MHz
(276) 596-9927
KMKJ-Marion, VA
123.875 MHz
(276) 686-6420
KHLX-Hillsville, VA
118.375 MHz
(276) 728-5897
KPBX-Pikeville, KY
121.225 MHz
(606) 437-6701


Going Green?
Save more than just money!
Saving the planet is absolutely the trendy and smart thing to do.
However, did you know that doing a few simple things around the house
or workplace can not only save on your energy bills but also improve your
scanner's reception. That’s right, improve your scanner reception, Here’s a
few things that when "unplugged" help Scanie hear like never before!
 
  1. Unplug those unused wall transformers, they’re warm for a reason.
    They're using energy and creating EMI, electromagnetic interference.
  2. Lights in the basement, workshop or attic? The smart approach is to
    switch to compact fluorescent bulbs, these can create EMI on the lower
    frequencies so unless you're using them switch them off. The cheaper
    "off brand" bulbs are usually the culprit of the seldom interference.
  3. Sump, well, and irrigation pump motors: regular maintenance can uncover faulty or inefficient equipment. A malfunctioning (brushes) motor
    can wreak havoc on the airwaves.
  4. Electric fences, I’m not going to make a political stance on the use of
    these vs animals; however a poorly maintained system likewise creates
    terrible interference. Many animals can be "trained" to not rub the fence;
    once they've become accustomed the power can be switched off.
  5. Empty freezers and fridges, A lot of people keep them buzzing in the
    basement or out at the shop. And during the summer months an empty fridge or freezer is just heating the area around it.
    Unplug it, let it air out, put a sign inside, "plug me up first!"
  6. RF modulators, stereos, and gaming systems, if you're not using them unplug them.A switchable power strip makes this easy; you're also protecting them from lightning and eventual failure from exceeding their lifespan.
  7. Wireless phone jacks: These create more interference than many radio transmitters themselves. The smart approach is to go wired. Making sure your TV-cable is secure at every connection doesn’t hurt either but we'll save that for another newsletter.
  8. Finally, computers, and monitors. There’s no need to use a screen saver, just set your energy settings to turn off the monitor after 15 minutes or so. Upgrading to a LCD TV or a flat screen is also a big help, the older tube type monitors use about the same energy as two or more 100 watt light bulbs. Not to mention they produce of flurry of radio waves. Setting your CPU to hibernate or even turn off after a predefined time can help as well.
Air Show

Virginia Highlands Airport
18521 Lee Highway
Abingdon, VA
http://www.vahighlandsairport.com/

Saturday, July 25th, 2009
10:00AM to 4:00 PM
Admission is $5.00,
Children 12 & under are free.
All proceeds from the show will benefit Kiwanis Children’s Programs
http://www.abingdonkiwanis.org/

122.800 MHz is the CTAF (Common Traffic Advisory Frequency)
We'll be scanning for any additional frequencies, See ya there!
We expect they'll be traffic on FRS (Family Radio Service)
Pagers

Before cell phones there was another trendy way to communicate, beepers!
Today they're commonly referred to as "Pagers". The industry relies on VHF and UHF frequencies to transmit data in a format called "POCSAG", this format is used primarily in our area. Most of the pager networks in major cities
and other parts of country operate in the 900 MHz range.

152 and 158 MHz range pagers dominate the Tri-Cities with the frequencies being licensed to multiple companies. When it comes to the VHF and UHF frequencies, pager transmitters may be the only permanent radio transmitter in a small town! Water towers and particularly hospital roofs are favorites among the pager companies. Since pager transmitters occupy the old bandwidth spacing of 30 KHz, and usually transmit 1000 watts or more, they are a common source of interference in this area.

Scannerfood's live scanner feed is sometimes greeted with a screeching and "yeee ong, yee ong" sound. It’s suspected that high power pager transmitters in the 152 and 158 MHz band are the culprit. This interference reaches far further than the live scanner feed, reports of interference have been felt by local police, fire, and EMS systems as well as amateur radio repeaters. One common phenomenon is "mixing" intermodulation, this occurs when two powerful transmissions occur simultaneously. The end result is the creation of a third frequency with the content of both mixing frequencies. Here’s a nerdy read from the ARRL if you wish to learn more: ARRLWeb- RFI Intermodulation

ScannerMaster offers "Notch Filters" these filters block specific frequencies and can be particularly useful if you live close to a pager transmitter.

A usual culprit in this area for the second frequency is National Weather Service's “Noaa Weather Radio” transmitters operating around 162 MHz. We'll touch on interference in more depth in a future newsletter; in the meantime, here are some pager frequencies.


These are the frequencies you DON'T want to program into your scanner. When searching for new frequencies, skip these.

152.6300   Afton Wide Area Multisite FBBS
157.7400   Afton Wide Area Multisite FBBS
158.1000   Afton Wide Area Multisite FBBS
454.0000   Afton Wide Area Multisite FBBS
454.0750   Afton Wide Area Multisite FBBS
459.0750   Afton Wide Area Multisite FXCT
459.3250   Afton Wide Area Multisite FXCT
158.7000   Afton/Comsoft Wide Area Multi
157.7400   Estate of  D. Fridley Tannery Kb
152.4800   Multi Carrier
462.9000   Multi Carrier
462.8000   Value Page NE TN multi-sites
     
     
Recent FCC Licenses
These are yet to be confirmed as active, however its not a bad idea to go ahead and program them in if live near their respective service areas. They have been hand picked from hundreds of new licenses. Those noted as "Data" will probably not be too interesting to listen to for more than a second. I've highlighted the good ones.     FB - Base
MO- Mobile Use
FB2 - Repeater
FB6C - Shared Repeater

You can seach for FCC
licenses on the Research
page.
State County Agency Callsign Frequency Type Notes
VA Washington Virginia Department of Emergency Managment WQKI927 171.85000   MO IFLOWS-rain gauges Data
VA Washington Virginia Department of Emergency Managment WQKI927 170.32500   MO IFLOWS-rain gauges Data
VA Washington Virginia Department of Emergency Managment WQKI927 171.92500   MO IFLOWS-rain gauges Data
VA Washington Damascus Police Dept   WQKG315 154.81500   MO Police Department tactical freqs?
VA Washington Damascus Police Dept   WQKG315 155.73000   MO Police Department tactical freqs?
VA Washington Damascus Police Dept   WQKG315 155.92500   MO Police Department tactical freqs?
VA Washington TOWN OF CHILHOWIE WQKB831 452.23750   MO Data, Water PSA
VA Dickenson EQT Production WQJR398 463.8125 FB2 Mining company, multiple repeaters
VA Dickenson EQT Production WQJR398 463.4625 FB2 Mining company, multiple repeaters
VA Dickenson EQT Production WQJR398 463.3875 FB2 Mining company, multiple repeaters
VA Dickenson EQT Production WQJR398 464.4125 FB2 Mining company, multiple repeaters
VA Dickenson EQT Production WQJR398 464.1875 FB2 Mining company, multiple repeaters
VA Dickenson EQT Production WQJR398 463.7375 FB2 Mining company, multiple repeaters
VA Wise VA KY COMMUNICATIONS   WNNY985 463.70000   FB6C   New Repeater Frequency, Radio Provider
TN Johnson Johnson County Board of Educ   WQEZ914 72.12000   MO   Mountain City , Data clocks in Schools
TN Johnson Johnson County Board of Educ   WQEZ914 72.14000   MO   Mountain City , Data clocks in Schools
       
         


General Area Covered

     
Download the Radio Phonebook (Updated July 22, 2009)

Stats / Last Months Stats

Frequencies:1214 up from 1186
Unit Numbers:2525 up from 2477

 

 

 


Here's what we're Still working on...

New LTR Trunked Systems
(Still working!! Freqs now confirmed)
VA Hospital (In the works)
Interoperability
Pager effects Pt2
Interference
Airshow Frequencies (if any)



That's it for now, Happy Scanning!

We want to hear from you!
Drop us an email at kf4uel@yahoo.com



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