[Fourlanders] Strance Signal

[Rogers, Ron]

Got a scanner or handheld 2M rig capable of listening to the 157 MHz band ?

Dial in and listen to the 500 watt digital pager on Sawnee Mountain at 157.740 MHz.  I had to install a 2 stage notch filter on our 147.150 MHz repeater to keep them from overloading our front end.   Actually, there are multiple 157.740 pagers all around Georgia.
 
I have another notch filter tuned to 157.810 for one of the other very active pager channels on towers and mountains around Atlanta.  All of these transmitters are either 300 or 500 watt digital pagers and they have the deviation cranked up to the point that the signals are "flat topping" when you look at them on a service monitor.  

And, because they are not forced by FCC rules to do so, they don't run ferrite circulators or pass band cavities on their output (as a repeater would) which then allows other strong high band signals to enter the pager transmitter antenna, come down the feed line, get into the PA stage of the pager, set up some mixing components with the pager frequency to generate a plethora of other intermod frequencies, then get re-transmitted at significant power levels.  


Ron 
WW8RR
________________________________________
From: Jim Worsham [wa4kxy at bellsouth.net]
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 9:39 AM
To: Rogers, Ron; 'Ronald B. McEntire'; 'Fourlanders'
Subject: RE: [Fourlanders] Strance Signal

I guess what surprises me is that there are paging transmitters still on the
air.  I haven't seen someone carrying a pager in years.  Sort of like
payphones.

73
Jim, W4KXY

It doesn't matter how beautiful your theory is, it doesn't matter how smart
you are.  If it doesn't agree with experiment, it's wrong.
Richard P. Feynman
-----Original Message-----
From: fourlanders-bounces at contesting.com
[mailto:fourlanders-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Rogers, Ron
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 8:03 AM
To: Ronald B. McEntire; Fourlanders
Subject: Re: [Fourlanders] Strance Signal

As Mac pointed out, I would have first suspicioned a pager transmitter
somewhere on a mountaintop with a severe problem. I have seen this numerous
times with pagers in the 157-158 MHz pager band.

However, you mentioned that John notices this beginning at 6 and 36 minutes
after the hour.  So, it sounds like this could be linked to some sort of
faulty telemetry transmitter of some sort ?

NOAA uses telemetry transmitters in the 130 MHz range for monitoring creek
and river water levels. Certain power line companies use a section of the
150 MHz band for power grid monitoring telemetry transmitters. You will
notice in some areas a VHF antenna sidearm mounted on power poles. That is
what those are used for.

Since he can hear it throughout the county, it would almost have to be
located on a tower or mountain top to get that kind of range. If he can find
someone up there with some direction finding equipment they might be able to
triangulate on the signal to narrow down the location of the source.


Ron
WW8RR

________________________________________
From: fourlanders-bounces at contesting.com
[fourlanders-bounces at contesting.com] On Behalf Of Ronald B. McEntire
[k4rbm at windstream.net]
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 5:44 AM
To: Fourlanders
Subject: [Fourlanders] Strance Signal

Kim,

This is Mac, k4rbm, don't say much but I had the same thing up here in
Cleveland, Ga. a few years back and it was driving our repeater crazy along
with a bunch more.  It took me a week to catch it and it turned out to be
paging transmitter running 500 watts located over by 985 and friendship
road.  It was tough to find but we got ahold of the owner and it was fixed.

That's all I can think of.  Our signal was doing the same thing it would
sweep through the band and stop almost on 146.310

See ya'll from the Cleveland, Ga. Farm
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