Verizon site hunting question

[n7ryy]

As I am probably switching from AT&T to VZW in a few months I have been focusing on finding their cell sites using an old deactivated Nokia 3589i in field test mode. I had some notes from a while ago that showed how to use the PN offsets to locate and ID the different sectors of a CDMA site. It stated that most of the time a carrier used standard offsets such as 168 between sectors. When I started logging PN's I saw the 168 offset in most sites here in the POR (Portland, Oregon) market. When I went north to Woodland, WA and beyond I saw a 160 offset in the LNG market (Longview, WA), which coincedentally in a 1900 MHZ PCS market. I have been using an Excel spreadsheet to compile all the data and make it into something that makes sense. As I started putting it all together I have found a number of sites that don't fit the 160 or 168 pattern, or any sort of pattern at all? I have confirmed that the weird PN's are coming from one site, by physically ID'ing the site by signage, and then driving completely around the site watching signal strength and the PN display.

Anyone have any ideas? I can upload the Excel document or PM it to someone if they want.
Thanks

[TelcomJunkie]

The offset spacing will depend on that market's PN reuse plan and will certainly differ from area to area.

[n7ryy]

Check out a few of these and see what you think


Dollars Corner 52 224 452
McGillvray and 164th 152 204 488
Mill Plain and Delaware 332 464

That last one was a puzzler, it was clearly a three sector site by looking at the antennas but no matter how many time I drove around the site I would only get the two PN's. Maybe one sector was either turned off or faulty?

Verizon has done some other strange thing recently, they had a site in Vancouver that they were the only user on for years. Earlier this year on a shorter tower across the street that AT&T and Cricket were on I noticed a new array installed with a new building. I went up to it and noticed a Verizon sign on it. After a couple of months the original Verizon site across the site disappeared leaving only the new Verizon site across the street on a tower half the height of the one they were on previously. The only thing I can think of is that they lost the lease on their original site?

Another weird one is Verizon on two different towers less than a 100 feet from each other, one housed in a building and the other using outdoor cabinets. I will post the two signs from that one in the Washington site folder.

[TelcomJunkie]

Originally Posted by n7ryy

Check out a few of these and see what you think


Dollars Corner 52 224 452
McGillvray and 164th 152 204 488
Mill Plain and Delaware 332 464

What was your received signal level at these sites? I don't see any real increment system being used there, but they are lining up with the typical distribution of a 168 increment layout. Being that there is 512 possible PN's and typically three sectors, they roughly divided the two, giving you PN's 1-168 for Alpha, 169-336 for Beta and 337-504 for Gamma. Some networks use PN's 505-512 for Gamma and others are using them for their Femtocell's or other general system uses.

As for your other questions, didn't VzW purchase all of Qwest's wireless assets in the NW? I don't recall if Qwest was up in Vancouver though. You could be seeing the consolidation of either Qwest or another purchased carrier by Verizon.

[n7ryy]

Signal strength was pretty hot, in the 50's I think. I found another weird one tonight, a site that was omni until it was sectored about 2 months ago.
Yacolt Mt 36 236 420
Also the one I had called Dollars Corner is a brand new site turned on in the last few weeks. Is it possible with new or reconfigured sites they are not following the established standards?

Yes we did have Qwest PCS here in the Vancouver area. Verizon bought some of their sites, but Sprint got most of them I beleive.