Bexar County Fire Alarm Pager Tones

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blantonl

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I'm going to start trying to put together a list of pager tones for Bexar County Fire Alarm. So far I've got the following:

Geronimo Village Station 1 (District 2) Station 121 1687.5 1004.7

If anyone can please do help fill in the blanks so we can update the Wiki:

http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/Bexar_County_(TX)

If you don't feel comfortable editing the Wiki update this thread with some of your findings and I'll make sure they make it to the Wiki.

Thanks!
 
Last edited:

Michael-SATX

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Originally Posted by ccisat1dxd View Post
Hey,

I think this is what your looking for

Dorian- BCFA Dispatch 1644

ATAB FIRE 634.7 368.7
ATAB EMS 634.7 1006.6
BBUL 707.3 389.1
CAM FIRE 538.9 350.2
CAM EMS 538.9 1006.6
CGRV 1394.5 458.0
D7FR 1122.8 433.7
GRYF 980.1 433.7
GARD FIRE 1251.9 458.0
GARD EMS 1251.9 1006.6
ESD5 788.2 410.8
GVIL FIRE 1642.0 483.6
GVIL EMS 1642.0 1006.6
HARM FIRE 1473.1 483.6
HARM EMS 1473.1 1006.6
HPK FIRE 746.6 389.1
HPK EMS 746.6 1006.6
JARR 928.4 410.8
LOAK 928.4 1006.6
LSPR 1063.2 433.7
LYTL 832.9 410.8
REHAB 810.5 496.8
SHED 1321.0 458.0
SOM 879.2 410.8
WIND FIRE 510.5 350.2
WIND EMS 510.5 1006.6
ALL DEPT 1006.6

ps - I have a few Motorola Minitor 4 SV tone out pagers that I got off of eBay and want to also
have the 2 out of the planned 4 WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) ie HAZMAT response teams .
So, now I only have 2 or the 4 sets of tones programmed and would like to enter the 2 other sets
and would be very interested in programming the other BCFA WMD station # 156 tones if known ?
So for now I just have BCFA stations 142 & 155 entered and am open to any interesting ideas, etc.
I believe 155 is the Bexar-Bulverde WMD team and BCFA 156 is the Leon Springs team not sure ?

BCFA Station # 155 WMD Tone A = 1679.7 ish Tone B = 1685.8 ish ( these are the tones I captured)
BCFA Station #156 WMD Tones ? (Questions=what dept does S#156 and what are the tone-outs ?)
 

Michael-SATX

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Any New Updates for HAZMAT (WMD) Tone-Out Sets ?

Does anyone have or know any updates for the 2 known special WMD/HAZMAT BCFA stations ?
BCFA Station # 155 = Bexar-Bulverde's WMD/Hazmat and #156 = Leon Springs WMD/Hazmat Team
I am running the Commtekk 2-Tone Decoder II program hoping to eventually log and solve this mystery !
Any opinions or info regarding whether these stations still exist ? or if they have an A&B or just a B tone?
I sure wish they had regular roll call pager testing kinda of like the weekly MEDCOM Friday 9am roll calls.
These stations are so very rarely toned out so I do know to be patient and check my logs daily and someday bingo ;)


Bexar County Fire Alarm Paging Tones
Department Station Tone A (hz) Tone B (hz)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Departments A=None B=1006.9
County Hazmat 155 A=???? B=1687.2
County Hazmat 156 A=???? B=????
County Rehab 149 A=810.2 B=496.8

Bexar / Bulverde 103/104 707.3 389.0
China Grove 110 1433.4 457.9
District 2 EMS 121/122/123/161/162/163 1687.2 1006.9
District 2 Fire 121/122/123/161/162/163 1687.2 483.5
District 7 115/116 1122.5 433.7
ESD #5 118/119 788.5 410.8
Gardendale Fire 120/164 1285.8 457.9
Gardendale EMS 120 539.0 1006.9
Gardendale EMS 164 1285.8 1006.9
Grey Forest 126 979.9 433.7
Harmony EMS 127 1513.5 1006.9
Harmony Fire 127 1513.5 483.5
Hollywood Park Fire 128 746.8 389.0
Hollywood Park EMS 128 746.8 1006.9
Jarrett 130 928.1 410.8
Leon Springs 132/133/420 1063.0 433.7
Lone Oak 136 1185.2 457.9
Lytle 206/706 832.5 410.8
Shavano Park Fire 139 767.4 389.0
Shavano Park EMS 139 767.4 1006.9
Somerset 140 879.0 410.8
St Hedwig 142 1357.6 457.9
Windcrest Fire 145 510.5 349.0
Windcrest EMS 145 510.5 1006.9
 
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Michael-SATX

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Thanks ComTekk ! ~ 1 team ID'd & 1 team left to ID :)

Well a little persistence finally paid off as I logged and confirmed the BCFA WMD/Hazmat Team 155 Tone Out !
I used ComTekks Multi Decoder 2.03 program which logs tone-outs and also records associated dispatch audio.
The ComTekk Multi Decoder 2.03 is far superior to the ComTekk 2-Tone Decoder II for accuracy and Log Viewing.
This program is awesome and when the "Standard" detection mode is selected the "Measured" tones
are automaticaly error corrected to match the valid Motorola Tone Table Chart saving both time and guess work !
Next, I programmed my Motorola Minitor IV Stored Voice pagers that alerted perfectly Friday Feb 12 at 13:42pm.

I already updated the Bexar Co Wiki with the following edited section to aid local users in programming.
In the future after I nail down the final funded and valid BCFA Hazmat/WMD Team 156 I will post the tones.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

All Depts - Special Notices & CAD Issues ALL None 1006.9
Bexar Co Rehab - OnScene Support Vehicles 149 810.2 496.8
Bexar/Bulverde FD Based- Hazmat/WMD Team 155 600.9 496.8
Leon Springs FD Based - Hazmat/WMD Team 156 UnID'd 496.8

Note: Hazmat/WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) Teams have specialized equipment
used for Toxic Chemical Spills, Biological and Nuclear Weapons Type Public Disasters.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Down below the 2 program images is the ZIP file of actual Bexar Co Fire Alarm WMD Team 155 dispatch as paged Friday 2/12/16 @ 13:42pm !
SAFD Hazmat was called out on a suspicious package call so WMD Team 155 was placed on standby for a suspicious odor in downtown San Antonio area ~ Take a Listen :) Also note: My screenshots of Multi Decoder is during a Leon Springs station 132 call today and 2-Tone Decoders
screen image is just for a basic comparison in features and both are NOT from the WMD Team 155 call I could not capture since I was at work.
 

Attachments

  • BCFA Hazmat WMD Team 155 32Bit.zip
    113.9 KB · Views: 91
  • CommTekk Multi Decoder V2.03 BMP BCFA S132.png
    CommTekk Multi Decoder V2.03 BMP BCFA S132.png
    16.7 KB · Views: 699
  • CommTekks 2-Tone Decoder II.png
    CommTekks 2-Tone Decoder II.png
    10.6 KB · Views: 586
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Michael-SATX

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Well 3 months after installing Comtekks Multi-Decoder on my PC logging the Bexar County Fire Alarm
I review and listen to as many as 100 Fire Tone Out Dispatches on a daily basis in my effort to better
document each depts unique Fire Tone Out data that activates their radios and or pagers for their calls.
So I have already updated the Bexar Co Wiki page and also wanted to post the updates to this thread.
Also, as noted I have not logged any tones for Jarrett (station#130) so are they now part of a district ?
Further, for programming Minitor 3 & 4 Pagers for BCFA ALL Depts Alerting Dispatches, you must
program a single tone of 1006.9 in a single tone Call 5 or 6 slot since it's a special 6 sec Long B tone.
If you just program in 1006.9 in Call Positions 1,2,3 or 4 in either Tone A's or Tone B's slot it will only
be treated as a standard 4 second long tone and your pager will NOT alert for BCFA's ALL Dept pages!
Lastly, I am still patiently waiting to capture the missing Tone A for the HAZMAT/WMD Team 156 ;)
So scan down my list and see if you notice a few changes and yes even a few new stations #'s added :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Bexar County Fire Alarm Tone-Outs for programming Scanners and Pagers
Department Station Tone A (hz) Tone B (hz)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Depts - Special Notices & CAD Issues ALL None 1006.9 (Long B)
Bexar Co Rehab- OnScene Support Vehicles 149 810.2 496.8
Bexar/Bulverde FD Based- Hazmat/WMD Team 155 600.9 496.8
Leon Springs FD Based - Hazmat/WMD Team 156 UnID'd 496.8

Note: Hazmat/WMD(Weapons of Mass Destruction)Teams have specialized equipment
used for Toxic Chemical Spills, Biological and Nuclear Weapons Type Disasters.

Bexar/Bulverde 103/104 707.3 389.0
China Grove 110/112 1433.4 457.9
District #2 EMS 121/122/123 1687.2 1006.9
District #2 EMS 161/163 1781.5 1006.9
District #2 Fire 121/122/123/161/163 1687.2 483.5
District #7 EMS & Fire 115/116 1122.5 433.7
ESD #5 EMS & Fire 118/119 788.5 410.8
Gardendale EMS 120 1285.8 1006.9
Gardendale EMS 164 539.0 1006.9
Gardendale Fire 120/164 1285.8 457.9
Grey Forest 126 979.9 433.7
Harmony EMS 127 1513.5 1006.9
Harmony Fire 127 1513.5 483.5
Hollywood Park EMS 129 746.8 1006.9
Hollywood Park Fire 128 746.8 389.0
Jarrett (still valid?) 130 928.1 410.8
Leon Springs 132/133/134/420 1063.2 433.7
Lone Oak 136 1185.2 457.9
Lytle 206/706 832.5 410.8
Shavano Park EMS 139 767.4 1006.9
Shavano Park Fire 139 767.4 389.0
Somerset 140 879.0 410.8
St Hedwig 142 1357.6 457.9
Windcrest EMS 145 510.5 1006.9
Windcrest Fire 145 510.5 349.0
 

Michael-SATX

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Yes - The Bexar Co Wiki Page was updated prior to my posting .

So I have already updated the Bexar Co Wiki page and also wanted to post the updates to this thread.

Good work - you might want to update the wiki page with all these latest confirmed / corrections

Thank You Lindsay ! Yes I had updated the Wiki first and then pasted it here as it appears in the Wiki :)

btw ~ Next, I need to focus my resources on the Comal Co FD tones as listed incorrectly in the CCo Wiki
they are a real mess. It should not take to long to sort out what like 6 different "Zones" as they call them?

Note: These are invalid / skewed Fire Tone Outs as they currectly appear in the Comal Co Wiki page:
All I can say is "Ouch" ! Perhaps someone well meaning thought that Unidens "Tone-Out" search mode
would do the trick and not have any skewing and or doppler effect ? Yes I used to be one of those people :)

Comal Co Fire Dispatch on 154.2950 PL Tone = 203.5 I'll try to decode tones from my house or get closer ?

Bulverde: Tone A 726.8, Tone B 553.9
Bulverde SB-EMS: Tone A 799.0, Tone B 950.0 ( Neither A or B are valid Motorola Tones or even close !)
Bracken Fire: Tone A 799.0, Tone B 1232.0 ( Neither A or B are valid Motorola Tones or even close !)
Spring Branch: Tone A 799.0, Tone B 1036.0 ( Neither A or B are valid - B might be 1034.7 who knows ?)
Canyon Lake Fire: Tone A 553.9, Tone B 584.8
Canyon Lake EMS: Tone A 553.9, Tone B 6174 (Hmm, maybe B is actually 617.4 not 6174, typo error ? )
 

Michael-SATX

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Messages
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Thanks ComTekk ! ~ 2 for 2 ~ We now have Both teams ID'd :)

Well a lot of persistence finally paid off as today I confirmed our other BCFA WMD/Hazmat Team 156 Tone Out !
I've been patiently reviewing daily an average of 75 BCFA calls for 5 months awaiting a Station 156 Tone Out !
So who would have thought that both of our funded BCFA WMD/Hazmat teams 155 & 156 used the same tones ?
I already updated the Bexar Co Wiki with the following edited section to aid local users in programming.

Bexar County Fire Alarm Tone-Outs for programming Scanners and Pagers
Department Station Tone A (hz) Tone B (hz)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Depts - Special Notices & CAD Issues ALL None 1006.9 (Long B)
Bexar Co Rehab- OnScene Support Vehicles 149 810.2 496.8
Bexar/Bulverde FD Based- Hazmat/WMD Team 155 600.9 496.8
Leon Springs FD Based - Hazmat/WMD Team 156 600.9 496.8

Note: Hazmat/WMD(Weapons of Mass Destruction)Teams have specialized equipment
used for Toxic Chemical Spills, Biological and Nuclear Weapons Type Disasters.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well case closed just in time for the 4th of July festivities ;)
You all have a safe celebration of America's 240th Birthday :)

Note: I have attached both BCFA Hazmat calls below in Zipped MP3 format for anyone to have a listen !
Also below are 2 local news stories about the 5 car derailment and 3 of those train cars spilling the sodium hydroxide chemical.
BREAKING: Hazmat crews called to train derailment in SW Bexar County | WOAI
Five train cars overturn, spilling chemicals in Southwest San Antonio - San Antonio Express-News
 

Attachments

  • BCFA Hazmat Team 155 & 156 7-3-16 411pm Standby ToneOut.zip
    101.8 KB · Views: 53
  • BCFA Hazmat Team 155 & 156 7-3-16 505pm Standby Cancel ToneOut.zip
    83.1 KB · Views: 47
Last edited:

Michael-SATX

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Location
San Antonio, Texas
BCFA - Jarrett VFD Station 130 tones finally confirmed.

While I was reviewing BCFA - Dispatch Tone-Outs I spotted something rare in my 6 months of logging.
Low and behold on 9-1-16 at 11:24am I finally see Jarrett Station # 130 get dispatched to an EMS call.
Sometime back I posted a list for Bexar Co Fire with a question as to whether Jarrett 130 was still valid.
Does anybody have any thoughts as to why they don't receive more calls ? Did they just get re-funded?
So it's confirmed and the Tone-Outs in the Bexar Co Wiki are up to date. Here is an updated list below.

Department Station Tone A (hz) Tone B (hz)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Depts - Special Notices & CAD Issues ALL None 1006.9 (Long B)
Bexar Co Rehab- OnScene Support Vehicles 149 810.2 496.8
Bexar/Bulverde FD Based- Hazmat/WMD Team 155 600.9 496.8
Leon Springs FD Based - Hazmat/WMD Team 156 600.9 496.8

Bexar/Bulverde 103/104 707.3 389.0
China Grove 110/112 1433.4 457.9
District #2 EMS 121/122/123 1687.2 1006.9
District #2 EMS 161/163 1781.5 1006.9
District #2 Fire 121/122/123/161/163 1687.2 483.5
District #7 EMS & Fire 115/116 1122.5 433.7
ESD #5 EMS & Fire 118/119 788.5 410.8
Gardendale EMS 120 1285.8 1006.9
Gardendale EMS 164 539.0 1006.9
Gardendale Fire 120/164 1285.8 457.9
Grey Forest 126 979.9 433.7
Harmony EMS 127 1513.5 1006.9
Harmony Fire 127 1513.5 483.5
Hollywood Park EMS 129 746.8 1006.9
Hollywood Park Fire 129 746.8 389.0
Jarrett VFD 130 928.1 410.8
Leon Springs 132/133/134/420 1063.2 433.7
Lone Oak 136 1185.2 457.9
Lytle 206/706 832.5 410.8
Shavano Park EMS 139 767.4 1006.9
Shavano Park Fire 139 767.4 389.0
Somerset 140 879.0 410.8
St Hedwig 142 1357.6 457.9
Windcrest EMS 145 510.5 1006.9
Windcrest Fire 145 510.5 349.0
 

Attachments

  • BCFA Jarrett 130 ToneOut.PNG
    BCFA Jarrett 130 ToneOut.PNG
    32.5 KB · Views: 416
  • BCFA Jarrett 130 9-1-16 1124am.zip
    67.8 KB · Views: 33

Michael-SATX

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Messages
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Location
San Antonio, Texas
BCFA will soon tone-out/dispatch Leon Valley directly!

Bexar County Fire Alarm Tone-Outs for programming Scanners and Pagers
Department Station Tone A (hz) Tone B (hz)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All Depts - Severe WX,Notices,CAD Issues ALL None 1006.9 (Long B)
Bexar Co Rehab- OnScene Support Vehicles 149 810.2 496.8
Bexar/Bulverde FD Based- Hazmat/WMD Team 156 600.9 496.8
Leon Springs FD Based - Hazmat/WMD Team 155 600.9 496.8

Note: Hazmat/WMD(Weapons of Mass Destruction)Teams have specialized equipment
used for Toxic Chemical Spills, Biological and Nuclear Weapons Type Disasters.

Bexar/Bulverde 103/104 707.3 389.0
China Grove 110 1433.4 457.9
District #2 EMS(West Side) 121/122/123 1687.2 1006.9
District #2 EMS(South Side) 161/163 1781.5 1006.9
District #2 Fire(D2 FDs) 121/122/123/161/163 1687.2 483.5
District #7 EMS & Fire 115/116 1122.5 433.7
ESD #5 EMS & Fire 118/119/130 788.5 410.8
Gardendale EMS 120 1285.8 1006.9
Gardendale EMS 164 539.0 1006.9
Gardendale Fire 120/164 1285.8 457.9
Grey Forest 126 979.9 433.7
Harmony EMS 127 1513.5 1006.9
Harmony Fire 127 1513.5 483.5
Hollywood Park EMS 129 746.8 1006.9
Hollywood Park Fire 129 746.8 389.0
Jarrett(Part of ESD#5) 130 928.1 410.8
Leon Springs 132/133/134/420 1063.2 433.7
Leon Valley EMS? 159 903.2 1185.2
Leon Valley FD? 159 903.2 688.3
Lone Oak 136 1185.2 457.9
Lytle 206/706 832.5 410.8
Shavano Park EMS 139 767.4 1006.9
Shavano Park Fire 139 767.4 389.0
Somerset 140 879.0 410.8
St Hedwig 142 1357.6 457.9
Windcrest EMS 145 510.5 1006.9
Windcrest Fire 145 510.5 349.0

Special note: I just logged Leon Valley S#159 test tones - will sort out their EMS/FD tone out pairs
as soon as BCFA starts to dispatch them directly instead of being under the Grey Forrest dispatch.

Quadrant Multiple Dept Group Dispatching (still a work in progress)
Quadrant 1 (ESD5) (VonOrmy118/VO119FD) None 445.7 (Long B)
Quadrant 2 (Jarrett130/Lytle206/706/Som140) None 410.8 (Long B)
Quadrant 3 (BexarBul103/104/HP129/SP139) None 389.0 (Long B)
Quadrant 4 (CG110/GD120/H127/LO136/SH142) None 457.9 (Long B)

Also trying to nail down these Quadrant (multi-dept group) tone outs using a single long B tone (6 sec)
Note: Without replaying a frillion calls I can only remember hearing reference to Quadrant 1 & Quadrant 4
So I am trying to piece together exactly which departments would make up Quadrant 2 & Quadrant 3 ?
The official BCFA map/chart which does not mention "Quadrants" https://www.bexar.org/636/Resources
So one would think that for example Harmony S#127 w/ B-tone=410.8 would belong in Q2 not Q4 right ?
This will all sort itself out in time with future dispatches to learn from and perhaps some community help ;)

Lastly, a big Texas thanks to the BCFA radio dept for finally fixing on or about Aug 17,2017 that right console (maybe?) programming error
the result of which was when Shavano Park EMS would be dispatched all the pagers I programmed with the ALL DEPT CALL would sound off ;(
So perhaps the timing of the Shavano Park EMS B-Tone was not right or to long so all the Motorola Minitor IV pagers alerted like a long type
(6-sec) 1006.9 B-Tone ALL DEPT CALL instead of a standard (4-second) 1006.9 B-Tone that Shavano Park EMS uses. Oh the calls I got
during this period asking me to reprogram and remove the ALL DEPT CALL tone - speaking of the last ALL DEPT CALL WX call was logged Aug 7 !
Further my BCFA dispatch log shows the last Station #149 REHAB call was back on Aug 17, 2017 to assist Castroville FD. Is R#149 still active ?
Are these events possibly all related to the relocation of the BCFA Dispatch center from downtown out to the new SP area $2M dispatch facility ?
 
Last edited:

Michael-SATX

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1) Today 9/29/17 @ 1:52pm Leon Valley EMS got their first offical dispatch from BCFA for a 2 vehicle crash.

2) Leon Valley Station # 159 "EMS" Test Tones Logged and Pager Alerted Confirmed: Tone-A 903.5 Tone-B 1185.2

3) Leon Valley Station # 159 "Fire" Test Tones Logged and Pager Alerted Confirmed: Tone-A 903.5 Tone-B 688.5

4) Problem Report for ALL CALL Console Tone Outs NOT alerting Motorola Minitor IV Stored Voice pagers(12 units in all).
Latest Example: 9/28/17 9:35pm Announcement that Leon Springs VFD member Annette Hodson age 19 passed away from an MVA.
It appears that the 1006.9 Long B tone lasted a whopping 12 seconds instead of 6 seconds which is a standard long B-Tone.
Previous Example: 9/11/17 8:46am 911 Memorial Broadcast "FDNY 343 respond to Fire Alarm at the World Trade Towers" ...
It appears pagers did NOT alert this time because the 1006.9 Long B was only 4 seconds instead of the standard 6 seconds.
In addition to make matters worse timing wise 2 ALL Call Tone Outs were spaced ONLY 22 seconds appart(8:46:11 & 8:46:33AM)
The dispatcher should have spaced out the 2 same ALL Calls at least 45 seconds to a minute appart to be properly recorded!
At 8:46:11am dispatcher lady says: "All units All stations switch to open monitor and stand by for a special all route broadcast"
At 8:46:33am dispatcher lady says: "FDNY 343 respond to Fire Alarm at the World Trade Towers" (343 FDNY members died 9/11)
I have noticed all these pager alerting problems ever since the BCFA moved to their new center in the Shavano Park area.
I'm confident that a radio tech programmer can stroll over there and edit the long B-Tone length again ~ back to 6 seconds!
 
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