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Have TIS / HAR Stations Outlived Their Uselessness?

Steve Green NEPA

Steve Green NEPA

We drove to Scranton today. And along the I-81 route -- to and from -- there were a half-dozen blue signs that told us to tune to some frequency for updates. Wheeee! We found them all.

The busiest travel weekend of the season. So I gleefully punched up all of them. 530. 1610. 1640. 1660.

Nothing. There was a hiss on those frequencies.

Not even a shred of audio.

Do any of you folks have similar delinquent, silent, hibernating highway stations near you?

Thanksgiving weekend, for crying out loud.
 
Connecticut's are still running on 1610 and 1670, but there are some pretty big coverage gaps. The info they give is pretty thorough, though, and is updated every 20 minutes.
 
Still useful for pass conditions IMO. WSDOT operates several TIS stations on I-90 with Snoqualmie Pass conditions during the wintertime, and they are updated quickly and concisely in case traction tires or chains are required. But really, I don't think a lot of people punch in a TIS at a national monument and listen to the 10-minute tape loop anymore.
 
crainbebo said:
Still useful for pass conditions IMO. WSDOT operates several TIS stations on I-90 with Snoqualmie Pass conditions during the wintertime, and they are updated quickly and concisely in case traction tires or chains are required. But really, I don't think a lot of people punch in a TIS at a national monument and listen to the 10-minute tape loop anymore.
Click to expand...

Have to second CBB here. In WA state we easily have 40 to 60 of these in use just by our Department of Transportation (WADOT). Many are in cell dead zones and so are doubly useful. We have at least a pair (one on each side of the pass) on each of our 15 most major mountain passes. And we have one of them at each ferry terminal as well, and man do we have a lot of ferry terminals.

Now, admittedly, the loops that run in the summer up in the mountains are not regularly updated- they mainly discuss current and upcoming construction lane closures. And the ferry ones are pretty routine except when the wind blows too hard or the super low tides cancel runs. But I have to say this is one government agency that has it's act together when the snow hits the fan.

The community run TIS stations are a lot more hit and miss around here. I think the mayor who thought they were great gets voted out of office or retires, then the thing just dies. 1650 in Redmond (home of Microsoft) is dead, and it's not like they don't have the money there to keep it going.
 
The Redmond TIS is no longer operating? Didn't know that. Is Woodinville still running their 1610? They were weak but audible at my old childhood home in north Bothell. KYIZ isn't THAT strong in south Snohomish County, so 1610 isn't too bad for a 10-watt station. Much more of a problem in Kent, Seattle, Issaquah, etc. If I had a good booster, I could hear the Kingston Ferry Terminal TIS (WPUJ642) underneath. WSDOT also ran a 1610 in Monroe occasionally but they would only fire up for occasional Stevens Pass reports and/or construction. As for 530, they have multiple stations on 405 and I-5 that aren't on 24/7 (only during construction) with the KNEZ390 calls. KNCL518 in Tukwila is 24/7 with Sea-Tac info and that is also operated by WSDOT...oddly enough.
 
Great topic! As someone previously said, my home state (connecticut) has some TIS signals. My local one is 1670 which is around 5 miles away in the town south of me. I always forget to tune into it even with the highway sign. At my home with a Superadio or C C EP Pro I can get an extremely faint signal on it when walking around in the yard pointed South. I don't drive south that often, my daily route is Northwest but If I drive past the station, i'll have to capture it. From what I remember, it isn't that great, just repeating the same limited info over and over again. I remember 5+ years ago picking on up driving through Providence RI. Also, on my trip to ME last summer I did pick up a couple of them. So, they are out there but not as useful as they once were.
 
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