Better understanding police/sheriff frequencies...

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drew4392

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Hi everyone,

Hoping I can ask a basic question here. I've certainly looked and search, going back about 5 years in threads.

I am trying to listen to a local sheriff dept here in Southern California.

This is a great guide, and use it to find necessary frequencies:

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?ctid=201#cid-109


When I listed to dispatch, obviously, I'm not hearing the individual units. Do we know how to capture the unit's part of the conversation?

If I have a radio that can listen on two frequencies at once, should I have dispatch on one side, and local tactical on the other side?

The specific station in question is lost hills / malibu sheriff. The principle might apply to other local LE stations in Los Angeles, or anywhere for that matter.

Thanks in advance!!
 

ScanWI

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The answers to these questions will depend on the system being used by the agency you are trying to listen to. The systems being used can vary greatly which can greatly affect how you need to listen to them.

That being said what county are you attempting to listen to?


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drew4392

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Thank you for chiming in.

Los Angeles County.

To your point, I just caught wind of another thread (from 2006) that speaks of the multi-modal systems. I'm hoping that knowing it is LA County is specific enough and we have a known answer.

Thanks again
 

nd5y

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Read the last paragraph of the large text box labled
County Sheriff
Dispatch

in the database link you posted. It says:

NOTE: Mobile traffic is not rebroadcasted over the output frequency of the dispatch channels. Instead, only a beeping tone is broadcast to signify to the field units that someone is talking. To monitor units in the field you must program in the input frequencies also.

Now scroll up right above the text box label and find the drop down list that says
Input Frequencies: Hidden
and change it to Shown

Now you will see the input frequencies in the database listing. You need to listen on those to hear the mobiles instead of the beep tone on the repeater output frequencies. Depending on your ground elevation and type of antenna you might not be able to hear the mobiles anyway unless they are nearby.
 

drew4392

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Thanks, Tom. I missed the toggle for input frequencies.

Antenna and height are non-issues, yet I still don't hear anything on that input frequency. Maybe something has changed since the database was created/updated.

I'll try and scan around just after dispatch finishes transmitting.
 

Mike_G_D

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Vista, CA
Thanks, Tom. I missed the toggle for input frequencies.

Antenna and height are non-issues, yet I still don't hear anything on that input frequency. Maybe something has changed since the database was created/updated.

I'll try and scan around just after dispatch finishes transmitting.

Not sure what you mean by "Antenna and height are non-issues"; listening to mobile traffic direct without a repeater, which is what you are trying to do,is always a challenge pretty much no matter what your antenna consists of. If you are on a high mountain overlooking LA County with a good UHF antenna up high and using low loss coax then, yes, you will probably be in a good position to catch some mobile traffic direct. But not necessarily all of it! Anything lesser than that will absolutely be hit-or-miss. Pretty much forget it if you're using a handheld or indoor antenna unless the mobiles in question are really close by.

Check out the Los Angelos County section and look over the old posts. There is a lot of discussion about this. If you post the same question there you should get a pretty quick response concerning that topic. It's been a challenge for everybody in that area for a long time.

-Mike
 

drew4392

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Aug 27, 2014
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Not sure what you mean by "Antenna and height are non-issues"; listening to mobile traffic direct without a repeater, which is what you are trying to do,is always a challenge pretty much no matter what your antenna consists of. If you are on a high mountain overlooking LA County with a good UHF antenna up high and using low loss coax then, yes, you will probably be in a good position to catch some mobile traffic direct. But not necessarily all of it! Anything lesser than that will absolutely be hit-or-miss. Pretty much forget it if you're using a handheld or indoor antenna unless the mobiles in question are really close by.

Check out the Los Angelos County section and look over the old posts. There is a lot of discussion about this. If you post the same question there you should get a pretty quick response concerning that topic. It's been a challenge for everybody in that area for a long time.

-Mike

I simply meant antenna gain on UHF and height is plenty sufficient. I can see the station from my home, and the area where units operate are within line-of-sight. At least a good chunk, that is. I'll definitely check out the regional forum, thanks for making me aware of it.
 
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