the BLAH-G

E X T R A

I have started a new Yahoo Group for Westmoreland County Scanner Listeners called WC911. You must have a Yahoo ID prior to signing up. Instructions on getting a Yahoo ID can be found using the links below.

Post news on anything ! Fires, wrecks, speed chases, Big Foot sightings, all as they happen or after the fact.

Questions or comments day or night.

Enjoy !

DECODED,
K3SAM

Group name: WC911 (Westmoreland County 911)
Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WC911
Group email address: WC911@yahoogroups.com

(this is an open non-moderated group - instant sign up / instant acceptance / instant posting)

Call me crazy, but I wanted to tell you all of the different departments that are now represented in "picture" on my web site... (not in any order)

WILPEN Fire Station 45
WATERFORD Fire Station 44
LATROBE Fire Station 113 and Police Station 4-1
ARNOLD Fire Station 95 and Police Station 9-30
LLOYDSVILLE Fire Station 114
BAGGLEY Fire Station 108 (old, no longer in service)
NEW KENSINGTON Fire Station 56 (all)
LIGONIER Fire Station 43, Police Station 4-60 and Ambulance Station 760
MURRYSVILLE Fire Station 20
MEDIC 613
MEDIC 940
YOUNGSTOWN Fire Station 39
DERRY TOWNSHIP Fire Station 92
DERRY Fire Station 41
DARLINGTON Fire Station 42
WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP Police Car 5-50
MUTUAL AID AMBULANCE SERVICE Greensburg and Derry
WESTMORELAND 911 Tower
ADELPHIA Cable Service Tower (sub)
ALLEGHNEY Power Company Relay Tower
CROWN COMMUNICATIONS Tower (one of many)
VIEW of Communications Relay Tower on the mountain top

VIEW ALL PHOTOS BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK then click on LOCAL PHOTOS.

Send in your photos to: news@k3sam.com

photos by K3SAM, TOPGUN and GMAN (with my thanks)

+ + + + + + + + + +

Something else worth noting. I am designing a scanner antenna for 800 Mhz and for the hellof it I measure one of the antennas that came with my PRO-2096 scanners and found that it was (at minimum) exactly one half wavelength for 859 Mhz. 859 Mhz is about the average frequency in which the Westmoreland County Radio Control Channel operates on.

In case you are wondering, when fully extended it is one half wave of 176 Mhz, or the upper end of the commercial radio VHF band (Game Commission, etc..). Normally within a scanner when a VHF High or UHF frequency is programmed, the signal from the antenna is feed directly into the front end of the receiver board. When a VHF Low Band (33.70 Mhz or so) frequency is programmed in the signal from the antenna is first fed through a matching network to make up for the antenna size difference.

OK, that was on my mind and I couldn't sleep without... heck, I just couldn't sleep ! No excuses. Anyone have a night time sleep aid ?

DECODED,
K3SAM

Hello There !

Before I do an update on whatz happenin', every so often I like to rebroadcast my mission statement. So if you don't mind and too bad if you do...

MISSION STATEMENT

This is not a blog as there are way too many blogs already. THIS IS A BLAH-G. It is different in the fact that is dedicated to watching a new radio system (at least at this time). The system in question is the Westmoreland County Pennsylvania 800 Mhz Motorola Trunked APCO 25 Smartzone ASTRO System that replaced several Low Band VHF, High Band VHF and some UHF communications in this area.

Wow ! Normally I just call it the WC Radio System. This system normally would not work in this area due to all the hills and dales however Motorola (Staley Communications) has figured out a way to make it work. They stuck towers, repeaters and baby repeaters all over the damn place ! I have to chuckle as that is the ONLY way to make an 800 Mhz signal cover this area !

As it turns out, when this system was initially put on line it wasn't working. The technicians were running around with portable and mobile radios looking for dead spots, and there were many. As things progressed it became better and better. Actual Police and Fire Stations came on line beginning in November of 2004. Of course the system had problems as it is new.

Now we get to me. I am called the Booger, and since this is my Blah-g... it is know as the Booger's Blah-g.

Booger comes from Blogger, not the other thing so please don't get any ideas. I was involved in communications all my life and I am attempting to keep both eyes on the progress of this system. Besides that I am nobody special with no super talents.

My identity is also no secret. My website bares my amateur radio call sign, which happens to be public record. Others that help me behind the scenes do have secret identities however to protect their jobs in some cases.

Sometimes there are more than two eyes watching as I have secret agents out in the field watching too, and that would be the others mentioned above. GMan and Scotty J. are just two of those spies ! A few of our finest along with firefighters from all around are reporting back as to how their systems are doing. Good or bad. Never know, employees of Staley Communications might even be emailing me too !

(email reporting address: news@k3sam.com)

In the beginning there were so many problems being reported that the system was just, well BLAH. Hence forth and width comes the BLAH-G.

In the middle is a bunch of rambling, fiction and facts along with lots of Photos, Radio Logs and Audio Clips, not in that order as reported by the Booger and his spies.

In the end, EYE-REPORT and YOU-DECIDE. Where have I heard that before ?

Now, those of you not familiar with all the past ramblings found on my blogs can do some back reading and get caught up. Others that are up to date may continue. If you are new to the Blah-g© WELCOME and enjoy !

Past blah-gs can be found at these two locations.
FIRST GROUP (the most, from the beginning)
SECOND GROUP (found on my website)

TODAY

Being the fantastic spring day that it was brought out the digital camera. The main reason was to go take photos of a commercial fire that happened Sunday however as it turned out, it was a residential fire and didn't want to put anyone's house on the Blah-g.

So onward I went and my first stop was at Fire Station 92, Eastern Derry Township Volunteer Fire Department. Some refer to it as Millwood Fire Dept. and others just Derry Township however that was my first stop. I took several photos there and on the way back home stopped at Mutual Aid Ambulance Service in Derry for more photos.

I also couldn't resist taking a photo of the mountain side and the towers on top. All are posted on my website now and can be viewed by going to http://800.k3sam.com/ and click on LOCAL PHOTOS.

After that it was updating some of my web pages and relaxing, but mostly doing the web thing.

Just a few photos to wet your noodle...

CROSS BAND REPEAT

I have covered this subject several times so I won't get into what cross band repeating is however I will tell you that one of my INSIDE SOURCES as informed me that 911 CANNOT cross band 155.340 and 155.280 Mhz yet. Those are the Hospital Emergency Ambulance Radio frequencies, or just call HEAR for short. That is amazing and another blunder for the system.

What it boils down to is that if the console that is using cross band repeating has all the necessary frequencies installed THEN they can be "connected". If not... well you get the point.

The fire dispatch console does not have those HEAR frequencies which are in EVERY AMBULANCE in the area.

I hope the supervisors are reading this and add it to the list of "things to do damn fast".

AMAZING AUDIO

Going through all the audio that has been collected in the last few months I found a gem ! I will be making a web page of just audio clips soon for this radio system but one I found just had to share with you now ! I'm not going to give you even a boogy hint but will say it is CLEAN audio for all ages. A present from the Booger. CLICK TO LISTEN

That's it until later this afternoodle™ !

DECODED,
K3SAM

WESTMORELAND'S GUIDE TO 800 Mhz

LISTEN LIVE VIA GMAN'S WEBSITE