Pueblo, CO - Digital radios put responders, agencies, on same frequency

Thunderbolt · #1 (**permalink**) 10-19-2009, 04:53 AM

PUEBLO, Colo. -- There's a new band in town that's flooding the air waves.

The Pueblo Chieftain :: Digital radios put responders, agencies, on same frequency

wuzafuzz · #2 (**permalink**) 10-19-2009, 10:09 AM

Didn't know Colorado DTRS works in Washington DC... ;-)

I love how DTRS is marketed as the cure to all problems...if only the balloon boy had been on DTRS.

jleverin · #3 (**permalink**) 11-03-2009, 05:38 PM

I knew that probably happened a few weeks back when the police and fire suddenly dropped off my scanners and ham radio frequencies. Now all I can get with my radios is the fire dispatch and bunch of cabbies/bus drivers for SRDA and sometimes railroad transmissions. My analog scanners aren't much more than doorstops right now when it comes to listening to pertinent radio traffic. I really don't believe that carp that the different agencies couldn't talk to each other, I listened to plenty of fires and other things that happened, they incident command structure seemed pretty good. I think it was they were having more trouble with the local gangsters in town getting scanners and hearing them coming. The police used to transmit on a frequency I could easliy pick up with my ham radio or my scanner. I'm not able to drop the $500 to upgrade my scanner to something that may give me a little more time until they UPGRADE to something else that I can't hear. So I have pretty much switched to listening to online scanners and ham radio traffic otherwise. Sad thing is in an emergency often all this fancy expensive equiptment won't even function and they'll have to resort back other means to help with comms. I am working on upgrading my ham gear and making sure I have battery backups for everything in case it's needed. I think this is more about secrecy than about more efficient traffic.

04Z1V6 · #4 (**permalink**) 11-03-2009, 06:42 PM

Your sig shows you have a pro-96 that should work just fine.

firescannerbob · #5 (**permalink**) 11-03-2009, 07:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jleverin

. Now all I can get with my radios is the fire dispatch

...and you won't be able to hear that on the old freqs by the end of the year

Quote:

Originally Posted by jleverin

I really don't believe that carp that the different agencies couldn't talk to each other, I listened to plenty of fires and other things that happened, they incident command structure seemed pretty good.

Interesting assertion considering that city fire was on UHF, and everyone else in the county was on VHF. And the PD cars didn't have SO freqs and vice versa...

firescannerbob · #6 (**permalink**) 11-03-2009, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 04Z1V6

Your sig shows you have a pro-96 that should work just fine.

Except for the two 700mhz towers in town...

torrespi · #7 (**permalink**) 11-16-2009, 03:52 AM

True that the PCSO and the PPD were on the VHF freqs ..But both agencies back then still could talk on the national law enforcement channel to each other ! As far as fire .....that was another story ! In any event , Dispatch would do the relay ! In any event there are some dead spots ! That I have to agree with jleverin (KDOHDH ) ,that the P25 does not benifit the Ham Community in regards to the communications...all this money and they kinda forget about hams in the long run. Sure we get a little money if were lucky , but that's another story ! lol

kb2vxa · #8 (**permalink**) 11-16-2009, 10:35 AM

What does any of this have to do with hams?

torrespi · #9 (**permalink**) 11-16-2009, 06:17 PM

It has to do with Hams in regards that KDOHDH stated about Hams being not able to receive Police and Fire on their radios and scanners Warren (KB2VXA).

It seems that Conventional & Trunked are used in your area of Ocean County, NJ... Warren (KB2VXA),

In Colorado the Police and Fire have now swiched over to a differant Digtial system ! Thus our Ham radios do not receive the P25 new Digital system.

We would have to get a scanner that does receive our system ...I myself have a Radio Shack Pro 106

Great fourm...

Happy Scanning and 73's !

Salvadore Torres
KCOJLN

mikepdx · #10 (**permalink**) 11-16-2009, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firescannerbob

...city fire was on UHF, and everyone else in the county was on VHF. And the PD cars didn't have SO freqs and vice versa...

How on earth did they conduct the business of Law Enforcement and Fire Suppression?

Wait a minute ... they did, and they did it well ... for years and years and years.

Then along came the Fed with it's pocketbook wide open with grant money (many strings attached),
and all of a sudden the locals couldn't continue to function without spendy new communications systems.

A story repeated hundreds, if not thousands of times around the country.
Spend, spend, spend...

torrespi · #11 (**permalink**) 11-16-2009, 07:04 PM

Well said...could not have said it better myself ! Lol

ha ha

torrespi · #12 (**permalink**) 11-16-2009, 07:13 PM

Funny thing is that the Pueblo Chief of Police said " There were spots where you couldn't hear, and the other officers couldn't hear you. Conceivably, (with the digital radios) I can be in Washington, D.C., and listen on my radio to what's happening at home," ...

Me personally .....I like to see that .I bet you that is not true at this time...I think the salesman gave them a 'pitch " ..I If they all wanted too ..they could have set up a channel they all agree to on thier old radio system! But like MikePDX stated .....Spend, spend, spend...

Ok enough now ! ... that's my two cents ..lol