New Chicago OEMC Public Safety - 800 MHz P25

[werinshades]

Radio checks and testing heard since 0900 Hrs. on TGID 7036. One of the users was at City Hall, the other at 69th Damen. Probably going to be another city agency leaving the 453 mhz. analog system. Will await confirmation to determine the user.

Just some range testing heard...RID 9000421 tested with 9000419 (Operations Manager) from 133rd Ave. O out in my old neighborhood of Hegewisch! "Loud and clear"..they really like the audio quality apparently.

 

[werinshades]

O'Hare will be conducting the triennial disaster drill today starting at 1000 hrs. Some of the infrequently used, but previously documented talk groups are going to be in use. City companies are starting the change of quarters into the O'Hare Rescue houses already.

2025 O'Hare International Airport Triennial Exercise Series Full-Scale Exercise

 

[werinshades]

Some of the 1st Fire District Battalion Chiefs were testing on Fire-Main and Fire-Englewood utilizing the cell phones from the DEX computers which are mounted inside the vehicles. The cell phones can be removed and have an app on them which allows access to the 800 trunking system. Battalion 1 caught my attention when he was testing from underground (I'm assuming CTA tunnels but can't confirm). I've heard other exempt ranks using the cell phones for awhile now, but this is the first time I've heard range testing from the battalion chiefs. No radio ID's are showing when they're using the cell phone instead of the portables too.

Portables are being reprogrammed so when a user presses the Home button, it will go to the FD 800 / EMS 800 Zone (Main or Englewood) now. It was programmed for the "old" 470 Mhz system.

 

[wirr]

"Just hearing some activity on 5930-5932 full enc, 9xxxxx series RIDs."

Talkgroup - Patch radio? to Starcom??
5930 - 9000032 IL SECLAW7
5931 - 9000033 IL SECLAW8
5932 - 9000035 IL INC A1

 

[werinshades]

"Just hearing some activity on 5930-5932 full enc, 9xxxxx series RIDs."

Talkgroup - Patch radio? to Starcom??
5930 - 9000032 IL SECLAW7
5931 - 9000033 IL SECLAW8
5932 - 9000035 IL INC A1

OEMC console radio ID's, CPD talk groups on the city's system.

 

[KEVINWSFF819]

"Just hearing some activity on 5930-5932 full enc, 9xxxxx series RIDs."

Talkgroup - Patch radio? to Starcom??
5930 - 9000032 IL SECLAW7
5931 - 9000033 IL SECLAW8
5932 - 9000035 IL INC A1

I know they have Seclaw 8 patched to encrypted Citywide 85. The other two are not patched to a CPD resource

 

[werinshades]

Academy-84	-	5176
Academy-85	-	5177

Self-identified this morning...in use for recruit training.

 

[werinshades]

Another Harris-Motorola ISSI failure going on now. Midway Communications Center (All Harris consoles in use), and one of the O'Hare Communications Center's consoles (Harris CPD console), as well as the Boot Team dispatch console all went down about the same time (just before 1000 hrs.). Those Motorola console replacements can't come soon enough! MCC and Boot Team dispatch currently using their Motorola portable radios.

CFD consoles at the OEMC not affected because of the patch that's been in use.

 

[That_Radio_Geek]

I'm new to listening to these systems, and I've noticed particularly on the OEMC Public Safety P25 system that I have to constantly turn the volume up or down with different individual system users because some are REALLY loud, and others I can barely hear. It's like some people whisper into the mic, and others appear to yell into it or speak too closely into the mic.

 

[KEVINWSFF819]

I'm new to listening to these systems, and I've noticed particularly on the OEMC Public Safety P25 system that I have to constantly turn the volume up or down with different individual system users because some are REALLY loud, and others I can barely hear. It's like some people whisper into the mic, and others appear to yell into it or speak too closely into the mic.

which channels?

 

[That_Radio_Geek]

which channels?

A lot of the time, it's someone on one of CFD's talkgroups like Fire Main, Englewood, EMS North, or EMS South. Sometimes it's someone on CPD's O'Hare talkgroup, but usually CFD. Every now and again I'll hear someone on the booting talkgroup get too loud.

 

[ChicagoRadio736]

A lot of the time, it's someone on one of CFD's talkgroups like Fire Main, Englewood, EMS North, or EMS South. Sometimes it's someone on CPD's O'Hare talkgroup, but usually CFD. Every now and again I'll hear someone on the booting talkgroup get too loud.

Yes, I have to do the same. It's not just with scanners on my APX when the CPD Dispatch talks its way louder than other TG and I have to turn it down.

 

[Premises2972]

I'm new to listening to these systems, and I've noticed particularly on the OEMC Public Safety P25 system that I have to constantly turn the volume up or down with different individual system users because some are REALLY loud, and others I can barely hear. It's like some people whisper into the mic, and others appear to yell into it or speak too closely into the mic.

in my experience the ORD CPD dispatcher is 10x louder than everyone else on that system, i have no idea why

 

[werinshades]

I'm new to listening to these systems, and I've noticed particularly on the OEMC Public Safety P25 system that I have to constantly turn the volume up or down with different individual system users because some are REALLY loud, and others I can barely hear. It's like some people whisper into the mic, and others appear to yell into it or speak too closely into the mic.

A lot of the time, it's someone on one of CFD's talkgroups like Fire Main, Englewood, EMS North, or EMS South. Sometimes it's someone on CPD's O'Hare talkgroup, but usually CFD. Every now and again I'll hear someone on the booting talkgroup get too loud.

There's a mix of Motorola and Harris dispatch consoles. CFD Harris consoles have a patch set up to get around the Harris ISSI since it's constantly crashing and taking the CFD consoles off line. The EMS consoles have the annoying MDC tone at the beginning of the dispatch consoles transmissions and it also is affecting the receive and is cutting off the first part of inbound transmissions. The patch causes low audio and is more evident on the Englewood Fire and even worse on Englewood EMS. O'Hare CPD has 1 Motorola console (audio sounds like someone talking into a tin can and produces a radio ID), and 1 Harris console...louder and clearer. The Boot Team dispatch has a Harris console too and is louder than most. Midway Communications Center uses all Harris consoles.

As it's been said, it's not your scanner, it's the system unfortunately.

 

[werinshades]

Another Harris-Motorola ISSI failure going on now. Midway Communications Center (All Harris consoles in use), and one of the O'Hare Communications Center's consoles (Harris CPD console), as well as the Boot Team dispatch console all went down about the same time (just before 1000 hrs.). Those Motorola console replacements can't come soon enough! MCC and Boot Team dispatch currently using their Motorola portable radios.

CFD consoles at the OEMC not affected because of the patch that's been in use.

This might have been a "scheduled" event as I'm hearing the CFD consoles operating without the patch after 0900 hrs. this morning. Audio is much louder, no MDT tone on the EMS talk groups/ channels, hopefully this will be a permanent resolution by Harris.