CHP I-5 Travel Map

[joe_97478]

Just curious if anyone has put together a map or list of CHP frequencies to be monitored for those who travel up and down I-5? Omitting everything from the West and East that isn't pertinent to the I-5 corridor would be a useful tool while traveling up and down the I-5 from San Diego to the Oregon border. Does anything close to this already exist?

 

[gmclam]

The answer to your question is yes, but not exactly.

For me it is not just about CHP. And the list(s) doesn't end at the state line. In the "older" scanners such as PSR-310/PSR-500 that employ dynamic memory (lists), I organize my lists by county. As I cross a county line, I turn off the county I just left and enable the one ahead of me (the one I just entered is already on by this point). Organization of the lists include CHP (or equiv) for the county, plus the sheriff, fire and other channels.

I have a list I actually call I5 which is programmed to handle from San Joaquin Co, CA to King Co, WA. Because of limits (20 lists, 1800 objects) I have to be careful about what gets in there. I don't usually include fire tac channels or PD secondary channels. But I'll get to hear what's going on around me, focusing, but not limited to the freeway.

It's a new game with the SDS scanners because they'll hold the entire continent in them. 100 lists of 100 systems with 100 departments and endless channels under that. Presently Favorite Lists are state, System is either county or trunked system and so on.

Before a trip I haven't exactly taken before, I'll map out the expected highways, mileages where I expect to change counties and scanner codes needed when I cross those lines. These are just simple text files I prepare and print on paper.

 

[gmclam]

Omitting everything from the West and East that isn't pertinent to the I-5 corridor would be a useful tool while traveling up and down the I-5 from San Diego to the Oregon border.

I am thinking about CHP channels from San Joaquin to the Oregon border. While White handles Amador to the east, it is the main channel for I5 in SJ. While Black is the main channel from the SJ/Sac county line to the Yolo/Colusa line, you do pass through an area that is predominently Gold. While Brown is dispatched from Chico and has a lot of calls on the 99 corridor, it is also what you need for I5 in Colusa & Glenn. Then it's Red and Purple until at Oregon.

My point is that there's not dedicated channels for the "east" that don't also include I5 (The Los Angeles area is certainly another situation). Yeah Green can be omitted. And don't forget to include the Blue channels. It's no longer one frequency. Each division has its own Blue channel(s) (some more than one).

 

[joe_97478]

Thanks Gmclam. I do have a Uniden BCD-436 and an SDS100 that I've taken along on trips using the GPS unit plugged into them, and it's worked pretty well, but I still prefer using frequencies that I've programmed rather than the National Database. I'll be making another trip from Eugene Oregon to the Pomona Valley and Hemet and Palm Springs areas on Sunday, so I'll try out your suggestions. Thanks!

 

[mikegilbert]

Funny you mention that. I just drove up from LA to Eugene to visit my folks and was wishing for a similar map. I programmed all divisions in my lowband HT1250, but found myself not quite knowing which division I should be on once I hit the central valley.

I've got scanlists in my APX/XTL radios for just such an occasion;

I5 North (Eugene > WA Border)
I5 South (Eugene > CA Border)
58 East (Eugene > Bend)
126 East (Eugene > Bend)
126 West (Eugene > Florence)
Coast (Crescent City > Astoria)

 

[joe_97478]

It can get tricky through the middle of the state, Mike! That's where I start having problems deciding which CHP frequencies to monitor. I would rather avoid the sites that are too far to the east or west and just contribute a noisy weak signal. I'm also a Ham, so I'm trying to monitor ham repeaters along the way and it can get noisy, especially if you're getting local police, sheriffs departments and fire calls. So I usually just try to monitor CHP along the way, and occassionally access a ham repeater. It makes a quieter trip!

 

[markclark]

I have Thomas Guide California State Edition where each office area and channel boundary is marked from San Diego to Sacramento and east to the Nevada state line. You can do the same with a folding road map. I used colored pencils and highlighter. It works well, but now I have the areas memorized, so I just switch channels as nedded. Most areas follow the county line in the rural counties.

 

[KK4JUG]

GPS will give you all the frequencies you need. And, if you decide to veer off to Reno or wherever to play the slots, you've got that covered, too.

 

[amoking]

I travel from SO CAL to Sac all the time. Less channels than you think however the variances are going to be in your route through LA. From LA proper to Sac (with the exception of the Blue channels) it's: Central LA, Altadena (slightly), Newhall, Buttonwillow/Tejon, Hanford, Los Banos, Tracy/Stockton, Sacramento, Woodland. Some of these channels are quiet compared to their neighbors (ie Hanford vs Fresno). VRS channels are active as well. Feel free to PM me.

 

[2k1typeSH]

This map contains all the info you will need. Credit goes to ka6sqg for his work on this product.

CHP Map - Google My Maps

 

[AM909]

This map contains all the info you will need. Credit goes to ka6sqg for his work on this product.

CHP Map - Google My Maps

Neat map! There's a problem with some areas, though. If you click on San Bernardino in the map, it doesn't locate the office (860 San Bernardino "75" Copper 1). I'll note that the icon beside it in the list shows what appears to be a line boundary instead of a filled polygon, and the area on the map is unfilled or filled in white (I can't really tell which).

A similar problem is '435 Fresno "65" Silver'.

Another uncovered area appears when you click on Irvine or Santa Ana.

One more is the area to the northeast of San Clemente and San Onofre State Beach (which may be legitimately uncovered due to much of it being mountainous and/or Camp Pendleton). Another is a large area surrounding Edwards AFB and part of SR-14, and another, including the area around Rosamond Blvd & 130th St W, to the west of it.

There's also a small area gap in the borders between '830 Mojave "59" Gold' and '545 Antelope Valley "89" Tan 3'.

Again, cool map!

 

[norcalscan]

Another uncovered area appears when you click on Irvine or Santa Ana.

I'll let Matt better explain if he's here, but I believe all the data was derived from scraping lat/lon of calls in the CAD for a while. So if there are any gaps in the coverage, it is likely there just weren't any calls in that area when the data was collected. Also roadless areas or military areas, non-CHP jurisdictional areas would probably not provide enough data points to accurately draw the polygon.

 

[joe_97478]

This map contains all the info you will need. Credit goes to ka6sqg for his work on this product.

CHP Map - Google My Maps

Excellent! Thank you for all the hard work and info!

 

[xilix]

Does the CHP still do speed enforcement on the I-5 via aircraft ? Would they be on one of the Blue channels or elsewhere ?

 

[gmclam]

Does the CHP still do speed enforcement on the I-5 via aircraft ? Would they be on one of the Blue channels or elsewhere ?

Ya know, I5 is a long freeway, even if just talking California. I haven't been south of Sacramento county recently but I sure have driven the other half a lot. I just listen to hear what's going on up ahead of me, but would certainly pick up enforcement activities if they were broadcast.

In the Sacramento area (not specifically I5), I'll hear aircraft, Blue or Car-to-car radio traffic. But outside the area I am more likely to just see someone sitting in a spot with a great view operating their RADAR/LIDAR.

 

[mikkut]

Here is a statewide CHP map that has been floating around for several years. I don't have any info on who to give credit to for making it but it is very handy for planing road trips