New pro197 Programing Region 2 DPS

[thinshavings]

I am setting up my sons Pro 197. TxWarn is working well for the local Brazoria Co. PD's and SO's.
I downloaded the region 2 DPS freqs. from RR into ARC500 and to the radio but am not hearing anything.
Any tips??
Thanks

[hiegtx]

Originally Posted by thinshavings

I am setting up my sons Pro 197. TxWarn is working well for the local Brazoria Co. PD's and SO's.
I downloaded the region 2 DPS freqs. from RR into ARC500 and to the radio but am not hearing anything.
Any tips??
Thanks

By "region 2 DPS freqs", are you referring to the Tx DPS talkgroups on TxWARN(analog), the DPS talkgroups on the P25 version of TxWARN, or the Region 2 frequencies (P25 Vhf-high conventional) from the main DPS page?

Somebody in your area may have a better (area specific) answer, but here in the DFW area, while DPS has talkgroups assigned on several of the local trunked systems (we don't currently have a regional system, such as TxWARN), they primarily use either their Vhf channels, or their MDT's. In most of the rural areas in this region, they'll often work off the county S.O.'s channels, as well as their own.

[thinshavings]

P-25 VHF is what I imported into the scanner.

[hiegtx]

Originally Posted by thinshavings

P-25 VHF is what I imported into the scanner.

OK. Somebody much more local to that area than I am will need to chime in on this, to confirm what is being used.

However, there are several talkgroups on the analog TxWARN system.
26192 A DPS Brazoria Brazoria County "DPS 1"
46544 A DPS Chambers Chambers County
46864 A DPS Chambers2 Chambers County Ch. 2

I'm not using ARC500, so not sure if this is a problem with it. But in Win500, if you import the Tx DPS Statewide channel plan, & forget to uncheck the "skip duplicate frequencies", you won't get all the channels. DPS reuses the base, mobile, and repeater frequencies multiple times, but the same frequency may be used with 4 or more NAC codes, each of which needs to be imported.

[thinshavings]

I imported the P25 DPS Trunked system this morning....Working great!
Maybe I am too far away for the conventional P25 system?

[hiegtx]

Originally Posted by thinshavings

I imported the P25 DPS Trunked system this morning....Working great!
Maybe I am too far away for the conventional P25 system?

In many cases. DPS uses the VHF channels in "duplex" mode, not through a repeater.
The base transmits on one frequency (the ones labeled DPS Base A, B, C, or D).
If you're reasonably close to the dispatch office, you may hear that, since it's usually a good signal.
But, the mobile units are answering on a different frequency, from an antenna mounted on the vehicle. Generally, unless you are within a few miles (maybe 6 to 8, the exact distance is going to vary depending on terrain, are you on a hill? are they? what kind of antenna are you using? etc), you'll never hear them.

For areas where the "dispatch" frequency is one of the repeaters (usually 159.2100 or 159.2175), like this one:
159.21750 154.67250 KVX672 RM 123 NAC DPS RPT 08 Columbus - Dispatch
You'll hear both sides of the conversation on these (if you can hear the repeater).

I can't speak directly to how much use there is in the Houston area on the Vhf channels. Here in the DFW area, though I can hear Dallas DPS base without a problem (they're about 20 miles away on the other side of the county), I almost never hear the mobiles, unless the dispatcher switches the console to "repeater mode", which sometimes occurs during a chase. Even the base traffic is much reduced, as units use their MDT's for routine traffic markouts and subject checks. West of the metro area here, towards Weatherford & farther west, I do get a lot of radio traffic from Mineral Wells DPS dispatch.

[motorola_otaku]

DPS in Brazoria County use 155.5125 repeated with NAC 162 dispatched by the Texas City office. Both it and the Texas City repeater on 159.0975/162 NAC are not very active now that troopers are using MDTs for primary comms and traffic stops.