West Boca Raton PBCO Fire/Tac

[blackbelter]

Visiting this area next week and would like the active Fire/ Tac talk groups for my G5.
Thanks in advance

 

[jasonk]

All info is in the database. Use the Boca Site

 

[N4KVL]

West Boca is serviced by PBCFR. The Boca Site will not help them.

598 Simulcast. FRMAIN for unit status Countywide. TAC4A for South County routine calls. TAC7A - 12A for anything expanded - Countywide.

 

[blackbelter]

N4KVL .. Thank you and appreciate your response .

 

[Firedad23]

6A is the main dispatch. Tach 2A is north PBcounty, 3A is central and 4A , as stated by N4KVL, is southern PB county, which includes City of Delray. Their units are numbered 111 through116. 5A is the City of WPB and Riviera. West Palm units are 1-9. Riviera Beach is 85-89. Boca, Boynton Beach, and the Town of Palm Beach have their own separate systems.

 

[blackbelter]

Thank you !

 

[W4KRR]

So, all fire/rescue units are dispatched on 6A, which is the automated dispatch? If so, then what is the use of the "PBCFR FR Main" channel? Do all units automatically switch to 2A, 3A, or 4A after being dispatched, depending on where they are located?

 

[N4KVL]

Units are dispatched by multiple systems at once. Overhead in station, MDC in truck, belt pagers, etc. TAC6A exists as an situational aid only resource for staff to hear where other units are going, not a means of dispatching units.

FRMAIN is for unit status messages if the MDC is not working or the unit does not have one, queries not related to an active call, etc.

Most units stay on the TAC channel for their zone unless told to move to 7A-12A or elsewhere for training purposes.

 

[W4KRR]

Thanks, that clears it up for me a bit. I am more accustomed to monitoring Broward F/R.

 

[Firedad23]

As a retired FF from WPB and had used it for years, I think I know what I am talking about. Correct about the calls being dispatched via the station, pager, and MDT but it also comes across on Tac-6a. Usually we kept the radio on 6a when in service unless directed to Fire Main for a message from dispatch but you will hear barely anything and never any dispatches. If you want to hear all the dispatches through the county it will be on Tac6a. Depending on which Battalion zone or Dept, they switch to 2A for north county, 3a for central and 4a for the southern part, which includes Delray Beach. WPB and Riviera beach use tac 5A. Those are used as arrivals and any other normal communications other than very large which are assigned. If there is a structure fire or any other large incident then 7A is the tac channel assigned. If multiple incidents then others will be assigned but that rarely happens. Since you will be visiting and monitoring what you want to listen to is 6A and the other tac channels mentioned

 

[Firedad23]

Yes, after units are dispatched they switch to Tac 2,3,4, and 5.

 

[N4KVL]

As a retired FF from WPB and had used it for years, I think I know what I am talking about. Correct about the calls being dispatched via the station, pager, and MDT but it also comes across on Tac-6a. Usually we kept the radio on 6a when in service unless directed to Fire Main for a message from dispatch but you will hear barely anything and never any dispatches. If you want to hear all the dispatches through the county it will be on Tac6a. Depending on which Battalion zone or Dept, they switch to 2A for north county, 3a for central and 4a for the southern part, which includes Delray Beach. WPB and Riviera beach use tac 5A. Those are used as arrivals and any other normal communications other than very large which are assigned. If there is a structure fire or any other large incident then 7A is the tac channel assigned. If multiple incidents then others will be assigned but that rarely happens. Since you will be visiting and monitoring what you want to listen to is 6A and the other tac channels mentioned

As a current radio technician for said system for the past 16 years, all of what you said is correct, but "officially" TAC6A is not for unit dispatching. Most calls dispatched to actual units are simultaneously transmitted to TAC6A a few seconds after the in-station tones and secondary means of dispatch are alerted via their primary paths. There is an inherit delay in the keying of the radio, channel grant being given and the actual audio going out over the air via RF as well as the time it takes for the end user radios to actually bring the recovered call to your ear. Locution audio on TAC6A exists in it's current form because officers and command staff relied on listening to the old "Command 1" and later "Command 2" two-tone voice paging to have situational awareness of what was going on where.

Also, FRMAIN sure beats the good old days of hitting the emergency button on your XTS3000 to get the PDMAIN dispatchers attention eh?

 

[Firedad23]

As a current radio technician for said system for the past 16 years, all of what you said is correct, but "officially" TAC6A is not for unit dispatching. Most calls dispatched to actual units are simultaneously transmitted to TAC6A a few seconds after the in-station tones and secondary means of dispatch are alerted via their primary paths. There is an inherit delay in the keying of the radio, channel grant being given and the actual audio going out over the air via RF as well as the time it takes for the end user radios to actually bring the recovered call to your ear. Locution audio on TAC6A exists in it's current form because officers and command staff relied on listening to the old "Command 1" and later "Command 2" two-tone voice paging to have situational awareness of what was going on where.

Also, FRMAIN sure beats the good old days of hitting the emergency button on your XTS3000 to get the PDMAIN dispatchers attention eh?

That's cool. I was just trying to relate to someone monitoring with a scanner. Lol, about FRMAIN, it does seem that it should be used more than it's name implies. Guilty of accidentally hitting the emergency button. Good job of keeping this system running as well as it does.