Red Cross 460.2625 digital in DFW area

[nd5y]

The Red Cross in the Dallas/Fort Worth area recently added some digital repeaters and base stations to this license.
ULS License - Public Safety Pool, Conventional License - KIZ256 - AMERICAN NATIONAL RED CROSS
The emission designators appear to be for NEXEDGE.

 

[BenScan]

Tom,

I've heard some analog (PL 110.9) on this frequency a few months ago, when they were setting it up.

Since, then I've only heard some occasional NEXEDGE.

Ben

 

[Michael-SATX]

About a year ago a customer came into my Radio Shack and I glanced at his work ID badge
and saw he worked for the Red Cross. I asked him what his capacity was and he said that
he was the lead radio communications guy for the San Antonio, Texas office. Now you know
I just had to bring up the subject of frequencies ... imagine that I asked if they really still
used their listed HF frequencies and he responded oh yes they did. I have never any logged traffic
on these freqs, however, I still faithfully have them programmed in with my State & Federal freqs.

Red Cross CH-1 47.420000 FM CTCSS 146.2 0
Red Cross CH-2 47.580000 FM CTCSS 146.2 0
Red Cross CH-3 47.600000 FM CTCSS 146.2 0

ps ~ I think I will program in 460.2625 with an open tone search mode and see if I reel in any traffic ?

btw ~ On a side note, has anybody ever confirmed any FEMA traffic recently in the Texas area ?
Here is what I have programmed in so far lQQking for FEMA along with the Red Cross freqs.

FEMA CH-1 139.450000 FM None 0
FEMA CH-2 142.400000 FM None 0
FEMA CH-3 139.950000 FM None 3
FEMA CH-4 143.625000 FM None 0
FEMA Nat'l Cmd 163.100000 FM CTCSS 136.5 0
FEMA Nat'l Pri-1 138.225000 FM None 0
FEMA Nat'l Sec-2 141.725000 FM None 2
FEMA Warning CH1 164.862500 FM None 0
FEMA Warning CH2 165.975000 FM None 3

 

[nd5y]

47 MHz is VHF low band, not HF.

Red Cross CH-2 47.580000 FM CTCSS 146.2 0
Red Cross CH-3 47.600000 FM CTCSS 146.2 0

I don't know where you got those. ARC isn't licensed on those frequencies in Texas.
A list of their nationwide licenses is at Disaster Relief - The RadioReference Wiki. They have other frequencies licened statewide and locally. A lot of them are not in the RRDB so you would have to search for FCC license in your area.

In the past FEMA in Denton used 139.950 and 173.625 (one of the government wide channels) both with PL 118.8. I don't know if either are still active.

 

[Michael-SATX]

Thanks Tom, I checked out that link, I still didn't find the FEMA freq list, they need a site map
I must have gotten 47.58 & 47.60 from someones RR thread some time back ?
I have added 47.50 to the valid 47.20 VHF Low Band freqs. Any opinion on the use of PL tone 146.2 ?

 

[nd5y]

Any opinion on the use of PL tone 146.2 ?

The last time I heard anything on 47.42 it was CSQ but that was probably at least 15 years ago. Maybe they have a nationwide common tone now, I don't know.

 

[NC5267]

Volunteered for the Red Cross back in the late 90's and maybe they used the radio a few times in a year on those 47.XXX, Also you won't hear any FEMA unless you are in a disaster area and from a friend who was in the N.O. area during Katrina most of the vhf ops were encrypted

 

[kc8vlv]

Recently several red cross chapters around the country have been trying uhf in metro area, our county's chapter has a amateur radio division, plus vhf high band . Also Sprint has direct connect that they offer to the red cross chapters..

 

[nd5y]

Also you won't hear any FEMA unless you are in a disaster area

The repeaters I listed above were at the regional HQ in Denton. Also once I heard a vehicle convoy on 139.95 simplex PL 118.8 on I-35 going from Denton down to the gulf coast right before a hurricane. None of which were encrypted.

 

[Michael-SATX]

I should look over the Hurricane Sandy threads to see if anyone monitored any ARC or FEMA comms?

 

[SCPD]

A Group of Dallas Ham and GMRS folks who ended up volunteering for the Red Cross and a few that managed to wind up on the Board of Directors convinced the Dallas Red Cross to go to DMR last summer. Much of the system and licensing were paid for with donations. Its supposed to be iCOM's flavor of DMR "IDAS" The Dallas chapter includes Waco to Denison and somewhere out west to Greenville so the concept was that using DMR they would get 30 to 50% greater coverage over P25 and Analog and was still Much cheaper than P25 or a Trunked system. The other option they tried was to use Amateur for Red Cross business which was of course shot down. Prior to operating in Digital they were on a local GMRS repeater but as we all know, GMRS is for individual use only. And NO they were not on the REACT channel.

If your hearing NEXEDGE then someone wised up because IDAS is horrible. But the original plan was to go IDAS DMR.

Site-6: 2 MI. NORTH SHWY 26 ON FM2449, 100YDS WEST OF 2449 GRAPEVINE, TX DENTON County Happens to Also be home to TPWD 159.2700 PL: 141.3, Flower Mound CERT repeater and N5ERS repeaters. Google N5ERS sometime.