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Police Ch-1 / North - 155.91 - PL136.5 Police Ch-1 / South - 156.09 - PL136.5 Statewide Police Ch-2 - 155.475 - PL000 Troop-A - 151.40 - digital Troop-B - 154.935 - digital Troop-C - 154.665 - digital Troop-D - 156.21 - digital Troop-E - 154.845 - digital Fish & Game - 151.34 - digital - Primary Fish & Game / State Police - 151.325 - digital - 2ndary Fish & Game - 159.465 - digital State Police - 152.63 - digital DRED - 151.445 - PL131.8 - South DRED - 151.295 - North DRED - 159.225 - simplex - "Channel 4" Marine Patrol - 159.15**SPECIAL NOTES **Dispatcher is Simulcast on 854.4875/151.4 while units switch from 800Mhz to High-Band DRED = Department of Resources and Economic Development (State Forest Fire Ops)
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13 July 1999
I don't know all about the NHSP Astro system but here's everything I do know to this point. 95% of NHSP is now Astro. Only Troop-F (Coos/Grafton Counties) have any units left on the Low-Band (They're on 45.26). This is only for units still on Low-Band. In addition, Fish & Game (151.340) is 100% Astro & Marine Patrol "Headquarters" (Gilford,NH) is simulcasting on 800Mhz (current conventional system which freq I forget) & Astro (159.150).
In the event the Troops "Astro" isn't working, the troopers switch to "LP-1" which depending on the Troop is either 156.060 (LP1/South) or 155.910 (LP1/North) to talk to the Troop dispatch. SP Headquarters units also use 156.09 predominantly as well as NH Fire Marshall & some others. Troops-A,B,C,D are designated to South (Troop-C however sometimes go North). Troops-E & F (sometimes C) are designated on North. Both of these frequencies are "AND SHALL STAY" analog frequencies unless/until every police dept in NH goes Digital. These are considered the "Inter-Agency" frequencies between local, state & federal Law enforcement (along w/155.475 which is Statewide Ch-2 & also remaining analog).
I've also now heard some Forest Fire units using digital on 151.445 (FFS-1/South). This kinda makes me mad because, many fire dept's rely on the Fire Weather reports and alot of info on major brush fires & smoke checks are on this frequency. Here's what little I know about the radios & there setup. They use exclusively Motorola mobiles and portables. Some of them may be the adapter type where you put the portable in a charger that automatically makes the portable the mobile. They are multi-channel radios & are being programmed identically.
I'm assuming the radios are 99-120+ channels due to channel plans I've seen floating around. Most are 16-channel groups. They include Primary SP which is LP1, Ch2, & Troop Primary & car-to-car freqs. Very confusing since it's hard to match a freq to channel (since it's digital). Other groups are like "Federal", "Fire", Local Options (Local/Area PD's), etc. I've seen a few portables but not close enough.
Here's what I know about the actual system itself. The intention was to put all these frequencies into a trunked/digital system. They've run into "MASSIVE" problems w/this and basically everything is Conventional/digital. What they also found as a major problem is using "Voter/Comparitors". Keep in mind that radio waves must travel like anything else & that takes time. It's immeasurable time to human ears, but time none-the-less. When I'm in Fire Alarm, my voter hears everythng (analog) & sends it down to me. It';s often miliseconds off but I cant tell. HOWEVER, with digital radio, the radio waves must reach ALL of the transmitters and the exact micro/millisecond (whatever you want to call it) because the waves are transmitting the 1's & 0's that digital produces. If the timing is off "AT ALL", the 1's & 0's are out of order & the "ENTIRE" message is cancelled out & unreadable. Thus for the user, "It's ALL or NOTHING". There is no "White Noise" or fading in & out with digital radio. And thus even the High-Tech Voters are USELESS. They now use basically what they used (& more likely what DOT used) for sites. They have multiple sites that they choos somehow to talk to the dispatcher or visa-versa. Thats basically what I know at this point.�
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From the NHSP website - their 1999 Annual Report
Communications Maintenance
The New Hampshire State Police Communications Maintenance Section has primary responsibility for the installation, maintenance, and repair of communications equipment owned and operated by the New Hampshire Department of Safety. Additionally, the section provides installation and maintenance services on communications equipment for NH Department of Resources and Economic Development, NH Department of Fish and Game, NH State Fire Marshal's Office, NH Office of Emergency Management and other government entities.
Many activities were performed in the field this year as the section continued with the installation of the statewide ASTRO digital radio system infrastructure. These activities included the installation of antennas, coaxial cabling and repeater base stations to a number of the northern troop station sites; including Cannon Mountain in Franconia Notch, Whittier Mountain in Ossipee, Holden Hill in Stewartstown, and Mount Washington. In the central area of the state, a 180-foot tower on Tenney Mountain Ski Area was completed in November with the construction of a new equipment shelter for that site is well under way.
Unit technicians assisted with the construction of a new equipment shelter at Stratham Hill as part of a cooperative agreement with the Town of Stratham. This agreement will enhance communications for the Troop A radio system as well as the radio coverage for the Town of Stratham. The equipment shelter was completed with the help of the NH Department of Transportation.
Also in 1999, unit personnel participated in the acquisition, staging, delivery and partial installation of a statewide 6 Ghz digital microwave system, which will replace the current analog microwave system. The new fully digital microwave, when completed, will provide the necessary high speed data signaling links to tie multiple radio sites and troop stations together into a seamless ASTRO digital trunked radio system. The new microwave will provide enough capacity to allow the expansion of telephone and computer traffic as well as video conferencing capabilities.
Unit technicians installed a significant number of police cruisers with new mobile laptop computers, certified almost a hundred new radar sets for service, and provided repair and reprogramming support for all mobile and portable radios.
Working with Motorola system engineers and Department of Safety Information Services, unit technicians installed a mobile data repeater in Concord to allow tests of proposed NCIC and office suite software for the ASTRO system's mobile data application.
The State Police Communications Maintenance Section will continue to provide support for all communications functions of the State Police and looks forward to completing the final stages of the remaining components of the Statewide Digital Radio System in the year 2000.
Supervisor James R. Kowalik - Assistant Supervisor Daniel A. Jacques - Microwave Technicians Richard C. Delanoy + Thomas S. Bardwell ����
Communications Technicians - Charles E. Bardwell - James A. Beck - Bruce G. Ferry - Christopher Gardner - Brian J. Jalbert - Timothy J. McCann - Dwight L. Mitchell - Philip J. Quintiliani
I also posted this to [email protected] - I need to look at FCC info to get repeater sites. 14Dec00 - the NHSP website also has 99AR info on the HQ Comms Unit
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Updated - 15Dec00 - Comms Mtnce 99 Info + changed pre tags