Iowa Statewide Interoperability Communication System (ISICS)

autovon

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Jul 10, 2008
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The patching of the 155.655 repeaters in the SW part of the state (district 3B) has been absent the last few days and all DPS traffic is on LAW 3B. (at least during my monitoring time). There is the occasional straggler on the VHF system due to equipment.
 

Dockjockey53

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Oct 29, 2018
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Shenandoah, IA
Hello! Did this sight go silent? I've been reading this sight to learn more about ISICS and now I see that no one is saying anything.
 

tepping1

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Feb 26, 2018
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don't know if I can help living in far Eastern Iowa....Muscatine and Maqouketa still use VHF on occasion...not quite sure if it's because they don't have the radio's installed in every car yet......the sites linking to Cedar Rapids Dispatch are working just fine...most all Troopers in Dist 11 and 12 are on p25. What I do like about the new P25 is the ability of any state talkgroup to link to another...for example...about a week ago, the state out of Des Moines through talk group 14401(If I recall) did a broadcast to all Eastern Iowa Troopers about a pursuit reaching 120mph that had initiated in Des Moines eastbound, had just crossed out of Poweshiek into Iowa county when Trooper had subject pulled over and at gun pt....that was at the 198mm which is 100 miles from me....not quite sure how LEA is working because there have been a couple of pursuits down here where the Dist 12 Troopers switched to LEA yet even though I monitor and scan did not hear the cross agency conversations....how's it going in SW Iowa?
 

Dockjockey53

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Shenandoah, IA
What impressed me was, 2 pursuits from Hwy34, down Hwy 71 to near Clarinda near Hwy 2, three days apart. The ability of State troopers to talk to the Page County sheriffs and coordinate units to stop both pursuits. No having to relay messages through the dispatchers, and the new system eliminates talking over one-another. I live in the SW corner and can hear trooper traffic from Storm Lake to all of area B. The way Page County has set-up it's system works well. They make contact on Law 1 then after giving info to the deputy have that deputy go to Com 1-5 for further communications so the main channel is free for other deputies to communicate with dispatch. They also have a car to car TG. I only have a BCD996P2 but it works real satisfactory for me.
 

Bandit52240

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Mar 4, 2005
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Last week, Lee county had a pursuit and state patrol assisted and cedar rapids state patched beverdale lea to 4D so state could talk to them.
 

Dockjockey53

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Shenandoah, IA
I'm a former EMT, and I wish I would have had a communications system like the emergency responders have now. I'd get 6 or 7 miles out of town and if I wanted to talk to the other units I'd have to go through the dispatcher instead direct. If I have confidential info, now, I can go to an encrypted channel and give personal info and not break HIPPA rules. When I was serving we had to substitute bulky cell phones which had dead zones too. Now with what I have heard there are no dead spots anywhere in the county. It's altogether better.
 

MidwestRadioListener

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Mar 21, 2004
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Des Moines Iowa
It seems like the State Patrol's Des Moines dispatch center is broadcasting all their erratic drivers and such across LEA and Regional 1 Calling talkgroup. Other than that there doesn't seem like central Iowa has moved to hit for the troopers. There are lots of conversations on the DOT talkgroups around here though. The coverage seems pretty great in all the conversations I hear from the DOT trucks out working.
 

newsman04

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May 4, 2018
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Local sites starting to come alive possibly in SE Iowa. Heard trooper on Albia base be told they were using Law 4D.

However on my Whistler WS 1088 struggling to get traffic. It keeps hitting on either Law 4D or my wildcard channel. It shows “VC: 850.63750” or VC: 850.65000” and “Radio ID: 10981” or “Radio ID: 11124”. Never hear voice it’s like someone is just clicking the mic button repeatedly. Still playing with the settings...anyone have any tips?
 

newsman04

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May 4, 2018
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Local sites starting to come alive possibly in SE Iowa. Heard trooper on Albia base be told they were using Law 4D.

However on my Whistler WS 1088 struggling to get traffic. It keeps hitting on either Law 4D or my wildcard channel. It shows “VC: 850.63750” or VC: 850.65000” and “Radio ID: 10981” or “Radio ID: 11124”. Never hear voice it’s like someone is just clicking the mic button repeatedly. Still playing with the settings...anyone have any tips?

Update: Setting Trunking Tables to “AutoFill” instead of normal seems to have cleared the issue in case others experience the same.
 

radioboy75

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Jul 31, 2004
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Rock Rapids, Iowa
Have heard no ISP VHF patching in NW Iowa lately. Not sure how they're able to cover the extreme NW, since there's no Rock Rapids tower yet, but it seems like they're all 700 MHz. In addition -- I have not heard much ISP traffic over ISICS either on my Phase I scanner. Have they switched to P2?
 

firemedic78

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Dec 15, 2007
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Location
Menlo, IA
Have heard no ISP VHF patching in NW Iowa lately. Not sure how they're able to cover the extreme NW, since there's no Rock Rapids tower yet, but it seems like they're all 700 MHz. In addition -- I have not heard much ISP traffic over ISICS either on my Phase I scanner. Have they switched to P2?

Yes, they are in phase 2. What I have found over in my area in West central Iowa is I don't necessarily need a specific tower, all I need are control channels programmed into scanner from just a few counties within the area I live in which is Area B, and with just having those few control channels from different counties within the area and then having all of the area B talk groups, I'm able to pick up the whole area, not just my local area but the whole area B, because they're running off of the control channel and therefore I am able to get 1B, 2B, and 3B, as well as all of the law talk. But yes they are in phase 2
 

radioboy75

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Rock Rapids, Iowa
OK, thanks for that confirmation. Looks like it's time to bite the bullet and buy a Phase 2 scanner. Been trying to hold off as long as possible. Figured they wouldn't go Phase 2 and turn off VHF until the Rock Rapids tower was done up here, due to having to maintain connection with troopers out of range of Sanborn and Le Mars ... but apparently that is not the case.
 

firemedic78

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Dec 15, 2007
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Menlo, IA
OK, thanks for that confirmation. Looks like it's time to bite the bullet and buy a Phase 2 scanner. Been trying to hold off as long as possible. Figured they wouldn't go Phase 2 and turn off VHF until the Rock Rapids tower was done up here, due to having to maintain connection with troopers out of range of Sanborn and Le Mars ... but apparently that is not the case.


Trust me, once you get a fase to scanner, you will definitely notice a difference and be able to hear traffic in your area. I use a Uniden BCD 996P2 and in fact I have 3 of them now, one for the house and 1 for each car and they work perfectly.
 

radiowa

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May 15, 2012
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In the DSM area - they have Capitol PD on the ISICS. However, DSM and St. Mary's ISP units are still primarily VHF. It does appear that DOT units might be on ISICS. I'm hearing a lot from the Storm Lake ISP dispatch, some from the Cedar Rapids ISP dispatch, and ATL from Des Moines ISP dispatch on R1 CALL11.
 

tfhphoto

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Jul 4, 2005
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Sioux City
@radioboy75
ISP is running Phase 1 on the Starcomm towers. Can't advise on the others (Sanborn, Le Mars, etc) as I have the displays on my 325P2 and 996P2 set to a display mode that doesn't differentiate between P1 and P2.

@raruzicka
That TG has popped up on the Sioux City towers occasionally too.
 

radiowa

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May 15, 2012
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For those that want to be a part of the ISICS setup - the state is looking for temporary workers to listen to "voice" recordings and score them

The State of Iowa is in the final stages of construction of a new Statewide Public Safety Radio system, ISICS (Iowa Statewide Interoperable Communications System) As part of the acceptance process, voice audio quality testing will be conducted by the States vendor Motorola.

Motorola will be using vehicles to drive across the state in all 99 counties using computer software to testing the audio quality of the radio system. This testing is estimated to start in the middle of June and completed by August 8th, 2019. Once the testing is started, audio files will be uploaded to a server for review. The State of Iowa is seeking individuals to review and score the audio file quality using a scoring rating system provided by the State.

Approximately 98,000 recordings will need to be scored. This team of selected individuals will be trained by the State on the scoring system with rooms and equipment provided, including daily supervision of the teams that are scoring the files. The State anticipates using facilities in the greater Des Moines area for the duration of the project, June 15th, 2019 thru August 8th, 2019.

Successful applicants must be able to pass a thorough background investigation conducted by the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

Applicants must be 18 years of age or older. The job will be temporary employment of 40 hours/week through August 8, 2019.

Starting wage will be $15.00/hour.

No specific education or experience is required.


Interoperability Voice Specialist for Public Safety - job application
 
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