CMARS Rebanded

[E5911]

Now that CHP has 800 capability, will they have thier own tone assigned?

[ScannerDude244]

I heard cdc on 853.3875 Calandra lookout south Monterey county so that's confirmed

[KMA367]

Originally Posted by inigo88

From looking through the FCC licenses, here are some potential CMARS sites that haven't been documented yet. Anyone want to give a listen?

Horse Mountain (Humboldt County): Blue (not rebanded)
Willow Creek, CA
WPBQ556 (CALIFORNIA, STATE OF) FCC Callsign Details

I'm LOS and about 21 mi from Horse so I'll plug them into my list and give it a try. It's always been a very quiet repeater when I have listened for them.

Except for the stretch of US 101 about 30 miles either side of Eureka (for the Horse Mtn site), the canyons, redwoods, and pine trees around here absolutely kill 800 band, which is among the reasons CalTrans and State Parks gave up on 800 and are still on 47 and on 151 mHz, respectively.

[LAflyer]

Gave Santiago 867.5375 a little listen today.

In about an hour picked up 4 different user PLs - 118.8, 123.0, 156.7 and 167.9

Also listened to Sierra 866.5375. Only noted activity indeed appears CSU Fullerton Police.


The more I think about it, CMARS is a pretty low cost means to provide wide area coverage for multiple users across the state.

[K6CDO]

Originally Posted by E5911

Now that CHP has 800 capability, will they have thier own tone assigned?

Only if they want to pay for it.
(User agencies are billed per radio, per month by the Calif. Technology Agency.)

[rubicon05]

Is / will CMARS be a phase out of the State Radio System channels?

[Exsmokey]

I've had CMARS Blue, licensed for Silver Peak, in all my scanners since I saw the frequency coordination application on the Northern California APCO website. I've never heard a peep and you would think the state techs would test it every great once in awhile. I even parked my base scanner on the frequency for two weeks and the log didn't show a reception.

Due to the sparse population and relative remoteness many of the agencies don't have a large presence over here on the right hand side of California.

As for Caltrans, the rebanding process is not complete yet. I think they still have both the new and the old tied together, probably because not all the mobiles and handhelds have been programmed with the new. Depending on how much snow we get in a winter the radio traffic increases in factors of multiple tens. Actually that is not true anymore as the budget cuts that affect snow removal operations have become pronounced. They used to be the agency that set the standard until 3 years ago, but now the counties and the Town of Mammoth Lakes do a better job.

[WayneH]

Originally Posted by inigo88

Surprisingly that Pac-West LMR tower in northern Stockton has the rebanded Blue frequency in the license, so it's almost certainly still active.

I guess what surprised me about it was looking at google street view at that address. I'm used to public safety and business co-locating at privately owned sites, but this tower in Stockton is literally on the roof of the radio shop. I hadn't seen that before.

Given the propagation habits of 800 putting it on any high mountain doesn't give great urban penetration for SJ County. We have to result to towers like that to get good City coverage, and that's the only tall lattice I can think of. I think the closest State mtn top sites for central San Joaquin would be the various ones in the Foothills and Oso; all pretty far away for 800.

[K6CDO]

Originally Posted by rubicon05

Is / will CMARS be a phase out of the State Radio System channels?

What do you mean by the "State Radio System" channels?

[rubicon05]

I was refering to the State Radio System listed in Cal EMA, just wondering if those would be phased out for this system as far as multi agency use?

[GrumpyGuard]

Originally Posted by rubicon05

I was refering to the State Radio System listed in Cal EMA, just wondering if those would be phased out for this system as far as multi agency use?

If you are talking about CALCORD, CLERS, and CALSLIP the answer would be no. Each of these radio systems provide a specific role in emergency communications. CMARS is used by many agencies for day to day operations, such as CDCR Transportation units from the various transportation hubs around the state to the individual prison transportation units.

Hope this helps to answer your question.

[rubicon05]

Yes that answers it, the CLERS is mainly what i hear used alot.

[inigo88]

CMARS is kind of like California's forgotten statewide radio system. It has a hodgepodge of small users who can't afford their own dedicated radio systems, each with their own subaudible access tones. The purpose of this thread is not to imply it's getting busier, but to simply point out that it's still relevant (otherwise money wouldn't be getting spent to put so many of the repeaters through the Rebanding process).