Tompkins County Jail

[sflmonitor]

Does anyone have any information on what radio system/frequencies the Tompkins County Sheriff use in their jail? I haven’t heard any activity on the county’s trunked system and haven’t found any conventional licenses for the actual jail. Unfortunately I don’t live in the area and only visit a few times a year so my monitoring is very limited.

 

[k2hz]

There is no record of any current license at the Jail site. As is typical of other jails, they may be operating portables on some County Law frequency. Since this would only be heard at the Jail site it is seldom observed and reported in the RRDB.

 

[sflmonitor]

There is no record of any current license at the Jail site. As is typical of other jails, they may be operating portables on some County Law frequency. Since this would only be heard at the Jail site it is seldom observed and reported in the RRDB.

Thanks, I figured as much. I’ve seen municipalities use some of their trunking frequencies in simplex mode with a different NAC. The possibilities are endless.

 

[GTR8000]

I’ve seen municipalities use some of their trunking frequencies in simplex mode with a different NAC.

That would be a very bad idea.

 

[sflmonitor]

That would be a very bad idea.

Agreed.

 

[sflmonitor]

I’ll be back in Ithaca next week. I found this pic today posted today on social media. It appears to be a pic of Tompkins County corrections. The radios look like they may be UHF. I’ll do some homework while I’m there. I’ll be staying very close to the jail, so hopefully I can identify their frequencies, even if simplex. I’ll do some FCC license searches for UHF. If anyone has any suggestions, I’ll gladly take them.

 

[k2hz]

In many cases, Jails operate simplex with an indoor base antenna and can only be heard within about 1/2 mile or less of the facility. The County has some UHF conventional licenses but none seem specific to the Jail. Another possibility is a frequency on the trunking license that is not actually used in the system. That is usually the case with conventional use and different NAC vs use of an active system frequency.

 

[sflmonitor]

In many cases, Jails operate simplex with an indoor base antenna and can only be heard within about 1/2 mile or less of the facility. The County has some UHF conventional licenses but none seem specific to the Jail. Another possibility is a frequency on the trunking license that is not actually used in the system. That is usually the case with conventional use and different NAC vs use of an active system frequency.

I was just up there for a few days and tried searching the UHF band (450-474 MHz) but did not find it. After getting home, I did an FCC search and netted 42 UHF frequencies, 11 of which have been identified in RR. I also found six 800 MHz frequencies that are not part of the trunked system but licensed to Tompkins. I’ll be there for a few days and will concentrate on those to see what they net. The radios in the pic are similar to Kenwood UHFs so I have some hope but I’m not dismissing the 800 MHz possibility.

BTW, it seems that the jail has at least one radio on the county’s trunked system as I’ve heard patrol deputies and police call them on the main law dispatch channel to request opening gates upon their arrival at the jail.

 

[dave3825]

BTW, it seems that the jail has at least one radio on the county’s trunked system as I’ve heard patrol deputies and police call them on the main law dispatch channel to request opening gates upon their arrival at the jail.

Could also be another tg on the system that either no one has discovered and or submitted to the database.

 

[sflmonitor]

Could also be another tg on the system that either no one has discovered and or submitted to the database.

I thought about that and ran the scanner in discovery mode for hours during different times of the day but unfortunately yielded nothing. Unless they’re encrypted and I missed that, but they don’t appear to have too many encrypted talkgroups. However, the pic shows what appear to be UHF radios so that makes me think otherwise. I’ll be back up there next week and will dedicate some effort to it.

 

[k2hz]

I thought about that and ran the scanner in discovery mode for hours during different times of the day but unfortunately yielded nothing. Unless they’re encrypted and I missed that, but they don’t appear to have too many encrypted talkgroups. However, the pic shows what appear to be UHF radios so that makes me think otherwise. I’ll be back up there next week and will dedicate some effort to it.

There is a person in the area that is diligent in finding and submitting new TGs on the system. He was recently looking specifically for the Jail to resolve an improperly listed TG. We resolved it and no indication of any Jail activity.

Good luck with your efforts! My experience with attempting to monitor Jails is you have to be very close and there may not be a lot of activity.

Pro tip: Check the 458 and 465 Mobile channels on the licenses.

 

[dave3825]

My experience with attempting to monitor Jails is you have to be very close and there may not be a lot of activity.

If a jail is on a trunked system, it can also depend how its set up in the db. Our jail is on the counties Smartzone system that's being phased out and listed under Miscellaneous with a range of 45 miles, which covers the whole county. Nice for anyone in the area as they can listen without having to be close. Was going to make a sub to change the range but little to no activity on that system so pointless.

The jail and public works are starting to utilize the newer p25 system and I will be submitting those soon. If a jail range is set to what the jail covers, which would be small, those not in range of the jail could increase their scan range or change the range on the department on their end.

 

[MegaHertz315]

I thought about that and ran the scanner in discovery mode for hours during different times of the day but unfortunately yielded nothing. Unless they’re encrypted and I missed that, but they don’t appear to have too many encrypted talkgroups. However, the pic shows what appear to be UHF radios so that makes me think otherwise. I’ll be back up there next week and will dedicate some effort to it.

Try 460.1875

 

[sflmonitor]

Try 460.1875

Thank you. I’m back in Ithaca and monitoring it now.