DPS UHF to 700MHZ

[SCANHF]

It is with sad news that AZ DPS will follow the same ENCRYPTION guidelines as CHP.

December is the expected date for 💯 transition to AZ WINS. The word from DPS, is that ALL new & CURRENT talkgroups will be 💯 ENC.

The current groups for Metro and districts could be changed? The current groups may be removed removed from the talkgroup lineup?? Too early to tell.

Users will have to compare usage the current groups to anything new that's ENC. We can tell if the current groups are patched to a new ENC group or not.

UHF will be abandoned.
DPS started the mutual aid transition over a year ago to WINS.

For example, Gila Counties new radios have NXDN along with P25. Agencies are already using WINS for mutual aid.

2 talkgroups have been setup for LZ. Medical helos within AZ will use the LZ groups when landing for DPS. VHF will be a backup for mutual aid. AZ has a new VHF for LZ. Seems the thinking is to leave mutual aid 154.280 strictly for fire mutual aid between fire agencies.

Sure more information will be posted as the December deadline approaches.

 

[mbnv992]

Writing has been on the wall for some years now. Most departments will be 100% encrypted before everyone knows it. The few departments that are still in the clear now - won’t be for much longer.

For those wanting to drop $600+ for an SDS100 or SDS200, might want to reconsider. ( unless all you like listening to is Public Works and Fire ).

 

[oracavon]

It is with sad news that AZ DPS will follow the same ENCRYPTION guidelines as CHP.

December is the expected date for 💯 transition to AZ WINS. The word from DPS, is that ALL new & CURRENT talkgroups will be 💯 ENC.

Please provide the source(s) for your claims. Where is this "word from DPS" that you refer to? I can't find any DPS statements regarding abandoning UHF or the use of encryption. Also, 3 years ago (Aug 2021), CHP stated that they would not be using encryption due to the nature of their statewide radio equipment (see CHP won’t encrypt radios — even though cities like Palo Alto have to – Palo Alto Daily Post), and they're still using that same equipment today. So exactly what do you mean by "the same ENCRYPTION guidelines as CHP"?

 

[mbnv992]

Supposedly even when they are fully on AZWINS they will simulcast with UHF for quite while after that. And I haven’t heard anything with the big “E” for DPS either. I think UHF will be here for awhile. If someone has something absolutely concrete on what’s actually going on over there would be much appreciated to post up here.

 

[GlobalNorth]

I am very suspicious with no substantive evidence to the contrary.

AZDPS has been slowly building out a 700/800 MHz bandplan, but they have not been handed tens/hundreds of millions of dollars to get it done at the zone level, the district level, the region level, or the state level. Phoenix and Tucson dispatch centers have to be modded to accept the new radios, new antennas, new cabling, new infrastructure, etc. So too do the district HQs and support buildings. Every aircraft, every helicopter, every patrol vehicle, every truck/4wd/Bearcat/van/motor/code 34 vehicle/booking van/etc. has to been re-fitted with a new radio system.

It takes years to get it done and I saw it when they went from VHF to UHF back in the day.

Where is Motorola's PR piece on being a critical contractor on this? Where are other companies' participation in this? Where are the pro-police Legislators on this? There hasn't been a wholesale training schedule written up for all employees that use radios.

This is far more complex and involved than a Ham deciding to switch from Icom to Kenwood / going from 2 meters to 5 GHz.

 

[MEDIC135]

I believe this is false claims from someone that’s brand new to the site just trying to stir up emotions. Nice try bubba…

 

[eg153wftx]

I am very suspicious with no substantive evidence to the contrary.

AZDPS has been slowly building out a 700/800 MHz bandplan, but they have not been handed tens/hundreds of millions of dollars to get it done at the zone level, the district level, the region level, or the state level. Phoenix and Tucson dispatch centers have to be modded to accept the new radios, new antennas, new cabling, new infrastructure, etc. So too do the district HQs and support buildings. Every aircraft, every helicopter, every patrol vehicle, every truck/4wd/Bearcat/van/motor/code 34 vehicle/booking van/etc. has to been re-fitted with a new radio system.

It takes years to get it done and I saw it when they went from VHF to UHF back in the day.

Where is Motorola's PR piece on being a critical contractor on this? Where are other companies' participation in this? Where are the pro-police Legislators on this? There hasn't been a wholesale training schedule written up for all employees that use radios.

This is far more complex and involved than a Ham deciding to switch from Icom to Kenwood / going from 2 meters to 5 GHz.

Exactly, DPS does not have enough of a budget to keep a fully staffed Highway Patrol division.... Unless all the money spent on a fully encrypted radio system will help hide that fact from public and media.

 

[DeoVindice]

The coverage just isn't there without serious money spent on buildout of additional sites. UHF will be around for years to come.

 

[DanRollman]

Writing has been on the wall for some years now. Most departments will be 100% encrypted before everyone knows it. The few departments that are still in the clear now - won’t be for much longer.

For those wanting to drop $600+ for an SDS100 or SDS200, might want to reconsider. ( unless all you like listening to is Public Works and Fire ).

Yes. We've heard. For 30+ years.

Clearly there is a transition in the direction of encryption and not away from it. No doubt about that. No doubt over the years we've lost things to encryption, including some important things, depending on where you live and what you consider important. But the "sky is falling... by tomorrow!" stuff really gets old. I still remember a conversation with the then-commander of the communications unit for Tucson Police in 1998 who asked me what I plan to do with my scanners when they "go to 100% encryption early next year." I left that conversation disappointed of course, for the future of both my hobby and for my then small publishing business (Scannerstuff). For the record, I still listen to Tucson Police some 26 years later on my travels there, and have vowed to "believe it when I hear it (or don't!)" as it relates to encryption.

Sure glad I didn't not buy that new scanner in 1999 and beyond.

 

[oracavon]

In of March 2023, CHP did say that they plan to move to an encrypted radio system.

Once again, there is no documented source to back up that claim. That link is to a speculative thread here on RadioReference, and the Vimeo file that it supposedly links to does not exist. The only documented official word from CHP is the one I referenced, which definitively states that that their statewide low band analog radio system is not compatible with encryption. Nothing has changed since then. Enough with the false, undocumented claims already.

 

[oracavon]

I still remember a conversation with the then-commander of the communications unit for Tucson Police in 1998 who asked me what I plan to do with my scanners when they "go to 100% encryption early next year." I left that conversation disappointed of course, for the future of both my hobby and for my then small publishing business (Scannerstuff). For the record, I still listen to Tucson Police some 26 years later on my travels there, and have vowed to "believe it when I hear it (or don't!)" as it relates to encryption.

A lot of non-technical people have confused the use of digital radio systems with "encryption". They simply didn't know the difference, and consequently make inaccurate statements. I've learned not to assume that people actually know what they're talking about until it is confirmed by documented facts that can be verified.

 

[KD7JVRinAZ]

I Would think if they had plan on encrypting, you'd hear some test encrypting going on. It will probably happen, but not anytime soon

 

[KD7JVRinAZ]

I am very suspicious with no substantive evidence to the contrary.

AZDPS has been slowly building out a 700/800 MHz bandplan, but they have not been handed tens/hundreds of millions of dollars to get it done at the zone level, the district level, the region level, or the state level. Phoenix and Tucson dispatch centers have to be modded to accept the new radios, new antennas, new cabling, new infrastructure, etc. So too do the district HQs and support buildings. Every aircraft, every helicopter, every patrol vehicle, every truck/4wd/Bearcat/van/motor/code 34 vehicle/booking van/etc. has to been re-fitted with a new radio system.

It takes years to get it done and I saw it when they went from VHF to UHF back in the day.

Where is Motorola's PR piece on being a critical contractor on this? Where are other companies' participation in this? Where are the pro-police Legislators on this? There hasn't been a wholesale training schedule written up for all employees that use radios.

T

I Would think if they had plan on encrypting, you'd hear some test encrypting going on. It will probably happen, but not anytime soon

his is far more complex and involved than a Ham deciding to switch from Icom to Kenwood / going from 2 meter

I am very suspicious with no substantive evidence to the contrary.

AZDPS has been slowly building out a 700/800 MHz bandplan, but they have not been handed tens/hundreds of millions of dollars to get it done at the zone level, the district level, the region level, or the state level. Phoenix and Tucson dispatch centers have to be modded to accept the new radios, new antennas, new cabling, new infrastructure, etc. So too do the district HQs and support buildings. Every aircraft, every helicopter, every patrol vehicle, every truck/4wd/Bearcat/van/motor/code 34 vehicle/booking van/etc. has to been re-fitted with a new radio system.

It takes years to get it done and I saw it when they went from VHF to UHF back in the day.

Where is Motorola's PR piece on being a critical contractor on this? Where are other companies' participation in this? Where are the pro-police Legislators on this? There hasn't been a wholesale training schedule written up for all employees that use radios.

This is far more complex and involved than a Ham deciding to switch from Icom to Kenwood / going from 2 meters to 5 GHz.

I love my Icoms. I don't think I'd ever change

 

[N9JIG]

Let's remember that this is the Arizona forum, please discuss California issues elsewhere.

 

[GlobalNorth]

Encryption is fairly easy to implement. Building out repeaters and microwave links on the Reservations, the forests, the Arizona Strip, the Colorado River Valley, the deserts, etc. are the engineering headaches and the massive expenses they are facing.