ISP District-Chicago Changes

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werinshades

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I've been paying a little closer attention to District-Chicago the past week and have noticed some talk group changes. Chicago A (9005) which previously was designated as Priority is handling all Administrative radio traffic that used to be handled on Chicago E,F,G (9009,9010,9011) which is now silent. Chicago H (9010) which is tagged as Aux use, I've never heard radio traffic on.

Detail A, B, C (9027,9028, 9029) are still being used and Detail C is the Thompson Center Detail. The new Priority (9051) is ISPERN is still in use as well as Car-to-Car (9067).

The other talk groups listed I don't recall hearing traffic on in the past but might be used in the event of a natural disaster. IREACH Patch (9043), Local Patch (9059), Intercom...not sure what that is? (9103), Chicago Police Interagency Talk Groups (9117,9118) I can't recall hearing traffic on in the past, so I've removed them from my list.

As some may know here, District-Chicago has taken over dispatching for District-2 (Elgin) and District-5 (Joliet) which probably accounts for the talk group changes. I've heard District-6 (Pontiac) dispatch on District 5 in the past, but it would appear District-Chicago now has these duties.

I've submitted these changes to the database. The only one I wasn't sure of until recently was Chicago G which it would appear are also being dispatched on Chicago A (9005). This has been quite a change since the introduction of Starcom many years ago with all this talk group consolidation, and dispatch centers consolidating too.
 

MikeyC

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I've been paying a little closer attention to District-Chicago the past week and have noticed some talk group changes. Chicago A (9005) which previously was designated as Priority is handling all Administrative radio traffic that used to be handled on Chicago E,F,G (9009,9010,9011) which is now silent. Chicago H (9010) which is tagged as Aux use, I've never heard radio traffic on.

Detail A, B, C (9027,9028, 9029) are still being used and Detail C is the Thompson Center Detail. The new Priority (9051) is ISPERN is still in use as well as Car-to-Car (9067).

The other talk groups listed I don't recall hearing traffic on in the past but might be used in the event of a natural disaster. IREACH Patch (9043), Local Patch (9059), Intercom...not sure what that is? (9103), Chicago Police Interagency Talk Groups (9117,9118) I can't recall hearing traffic on in the past, so I've removed them from my list.

As some may know here, District-Chicago has taken over dispatching for District-2 (Elgin) and District-5 (Joliet) which probably accounts for the talk group changes. I've heard District-6 (Pontiac) dispatch on District 5 in the past, but it would appear District-Chicago now has these duties.

I've submitted these changes to the database. The only one I wasn't sure of until recently was Chicago G which it would appear are also being dispatched on Chicago A (9005). This has been quite a change since the introduction of Starcom many years ago with all this talk group consolidation, and dispatch centers consolidating too.

I'm not sure what the "intercom" talkgroups are but I *believe* they were intended as a comm center-to-comm center talkgroup? I've heard some ISPERN-type broadcasts patched into them before but never any dispatch-to-dispatch traffic.

I have logged affiliations on the "CPD" talkgroups and even a patch but I don't monitor those towers enough to know if they're used. It was probably just troopers flipping through channels

Talkgroup - 9117 - Trunked Radio Info
Talkgroup - 9118 - Trunked Radio Info
 

werinshades

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I'm not sure what the "intercom" talkgroups are but I *believe* they were intended as a comm center-to-comm center talkgroup? I've heard some ISPERN-type broadcasts patched into them before but never any dispatch-to-dispatch traffic.

I have logged affiliations on the "CPD" talkgroups and even a patch but I don't monitor those towers enough to know if they're used. It was probably just troopers flipping through channels

Talkgroup - 9117 - Trunked Radio Info
Talkgroup - 9118 - Trunked Radio Info

With the exception of C-90, it's been a long time since it was used. I submitted the updates I have.
 

RoninJoliet

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It maybe old news but I will mention that T102 has been re-worked and new freqys added plus two new Alternates....Yesterday on T113 they kept rotating the CC's as it may be due to "Grundy Co now joing in on some new towers down there for T113 and T125 has been eliminated...TY for the info "werinshades there much appreciated....
 

werinshades

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It maybe old news but I will mention that T102 has been re-worked and new freqys added plus two new Alternates....Yesterday on T113 they kept rotating the CC's as it may be due to "Grundy Co now joing in on some new towers down there for T113 and T125 has been eliminated...TY for the info "werinshades there much appreciated....


It's not too old because their have been a couple of changes recently. The control channel changed briefly, but it's back to 774.34375. The alternates have changed and I have updated and added some of the surrounding counties in the event I travel. One other noted change is the Paul-Sam (Protective Service Unit), is strictly using Detail C which is still at the Thompson Center.

Sooo...District-Chicago is only using at A,B,C, Detail A,B,C, Car-toCar and Priority ISPERN. In addition, District-Chicago dispatches for District 2-Elgin and District 5-Joliet.

We can consolidate that listing down..lol!
 

RoninJoliet

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YUP, we here in Joliet were being dispatched by "D6-Pontiac but now were back to D15-Chicago, wonder why the flip-flop.....
 

werinshades

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YUP, we here in Joliet were being dispatched by "D6-Pontiac but now were back to D15-Chicago, wonder why the flip-flop.....

District-Chicago is dispatching. District 15 is Oak Brook or we better know it as the Tollways. I just corrected and re-submitted for changes to the database.
 

RoninJoliet

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Techs rotating the new 770 CC's on T102 this morning....Back to the original ….
 

werinshades

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Dan Ryan Protest/Starcom

DChi Metro E (9009), DChi Metro F (9010) and DChi Metro G (9011) were being used today, so it would be a good assumption these channels are still in the radios but not in regular use.

In addition Command Zone 1-A (9085) and Command Zone 1-B (9086) were in use for the auxiliary and support personnel at this event.

IDOT was using T1Task 2 (1412) for the operation.
 
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ISP D Chicago Changes

I've noticed that the same things. If you listen right before shift patrol sign on at 2300 hrs, the dispatcher for District # 5 will sometimes tell the unknowing patrols where to switch the radios to, usually "Chicago B". Mondays seem to be ISP's dispatch (short staffed/day off days), so nobody knows where to be.

I usually receive mainly Chicago Metro B out here, but Chi Metro A is now being used more in the last year or so, but I never heard it used for a Priority TG, only regular patrols. I never received D Chi Metro D thru Metro H, off of the Kane or McHenry sites at all. I believe D Chi Metro C is mostly used when they have added extra "Enforcement Patrols" used on certain nights. Then it goes nonstop every 30 seconds with calls. I do not ever hear Chi Detail A, B or C, here but I hear these patrols log back into the D15 Tollway North or South TG's at 0200 hrs when they finish their "Detail Patrols" on Chicago Xways, and go back to D15 Tollway TGs. I have had TG #9003 and TG #9006 to both show up on Unitrunker with the same exact call a few times in the middle of the night. I guess their control computer has to sleep Zzzz sometimes too.

I have heard the Ispern patch to TG #9051 many times, but it gets messy as it has to be relayed from the CPD dispatcher over to the ISP dispatcher. And the CPD dispatcher will mostly stay Live on CW #1, for this because CW #1 "Just Works Right" and is available on all the CPD radios. So the Ispern VHF winds up as 2nd fiddle. CPD should be able to patch CW #1 directly into Ispern VHF in such an emergency, and take that CW #1 feed and also patch it directly into ISP TG #9051 bypassing the (ISP dispatcher) which is only then a middleman adding lag time. Because the ISP dispatcher is also on other TGs too doing the same message. Many times Ispern VHF signals are "unreadable" so it also adds more to the mess.
 
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tepping1

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Hey RF....you are located about 100 miles from me...I have hit the antenna doldrums and my struggles with RACOM/EDACS and would like to chat privately or via email/phone...rather than post...is that possible via RR? Thank you
 

tepping1

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RF...the Illinois moderator tells me I have to post 4 times to be able to PM....so here is what I picked up on another thread specifically about static on a 536: https://forums.radioreference.com/uniden-tech-support/320818-bcd536hps-static-back.html now before you reply...there is nothing from trying other outlets, to firmware update ..everything possibly suggested.....I d/l from Sentinel....I would have posted at that thread...but not 1 person responded to that guy...this is the frustration I have. I also reached out to a sr RACOM tech in the Quad Cities and he is as stumped as me....so in review...I get static on every RACOM channel...so I then tried to eliminate everything in the QC except for Dav PD, Fire, Bettendorf PD, Fire and Scott County S.O....I would say with the provided telescopic antenna the static is 1 in 5 transmissions...with my discone and expensive RG8 it's nearly every one(I've changed BNC adapters 3x's)....the P2 Illinois State is clear as a bell...I just heard a car stop by Dist 1 on I 39 which is 90 or so miles away....the conventional channels I can hear decent with provided ant....pick up 40 miles with Discone....I've seen on another thread where the fact that RACOM simulcasts conventional signals that it can cause issues? How? The conventional freq are the little towns in Scott County that RARELY transmit into the Scott County Sheriffs office dispatch that is RACOM/trunked.......the RACOM tech thought it might be a RACOM transmitting tower issue....I have one .65 mi from me in Dav and another 2 miles away in Bettendorf.....I have no technical background or experience so I haven't a clue other than what I read here and try and digest. It's ONLY RACOM.......P2(Starcomm21) and all the conventional channels which include the Iowa State Patrol are fine....as one last sidenote....I hooked my Discone out of frustration to an old Uniden 700a just to listen to Iowa state patrol...performs perfectly....spending this kind of $ for the 536 has got me beyond frustrated...btw UPman's reply on another thread that it might be encrypted is just not the case....you can hear them talking but it's covered by static...if I quickly roll the knob...it can catch back up to that same channel within a sec a be perfectly clear...how do you explain that? sorry for the rant and I'm hoping I can get something from someone like you that is more definitive...thanks
 
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Static and Antennas

Static can be atmospheric. Sometimes I have it worse too usually daytime only as it relates to the sun and various other man made noise sources which are all getting worse by the day. But 1 in 5 conversations, quite an intermittent problem. You've changed RF adapters, so it isn't those. But your other old scanner works fine with conventional? Just the BCD536 has the issue. (There's a BIG clue right there.) There are various rants and messages here about the 436's bad VHF analog reception but you have a 536. Encrypted voice sounds like a garbled duck talking, not static. But the scanner Would mute for Encrypted calls. And with a Discone Antenna, the static gets worse? Okay, the big antenna is getting more noise out of the sky and it makes your problem worse. The telescoping antenna works better, as less gain is received. But the static is sporadic and not on every call. And only on the BCD536. So you need Two scanners, use the 536 only for digital P-25 and the older scanner for analog stuff. This is the thing I do. Use analog units for analog and the digital scanners for only digital. The 536 is receiving more unwanted noise in your signal. Unfortunate but true. A booster will only amplify the noise and may not solve your problems. But this just started? Tough one. You wouldn't get any static ever on P-25 digital.

As for EDACS, well, I did have similar static on an old EDACS system near me, I was too far from it, but...since everything is going to P-25 digital, the "static noise" I received was coming from all these new P-25 digital systems on the same frequencies just bleeding over onto EDACS (same freq) analog channels and I heard it as a buzz in the background. Maybe this is what you have now. Since transmissions come and go, it was not constant, as when the same freq was used for both analog and digital, at the same time, you'd get interference noise as you describe. Buzz noise.

The static could be anything nearby, transformer switching noise from wall wart power supplies, it could be your neighbor doing things, a bad electric motor on a device, fluorescent bulbs, CFL bulbs, etc, it sounds like some item that switches on/off. May even be some device on the AC Lines you have or someone near you has like a wireless security camera running a signal on the AC power line, or a WiFi router over AC lines extender, anything running a RF signal over an AC line will cause noise and it will leak into the air. And you will receive it as more noise/static and the bigger the antenna, the more static you will get.

You can try to pinpoint the noise source, (pull out cords, shut breakers, etc) which may be impossible, but since the techs are giving you the runaround, they can't help you out because it requires their time. And it may be that they just don't want to help. Since your problem just started, I have a feeling something changed in the 536 (possibly) which is bad, or a new noise source started near you which is also bad. It may very well be in the power supply of a nearby device also going bad at times. Static noise also means that the signal is weak getting to you, (signal to noise) and it may also be that there is nothing you can do to fix this easily. But it may very well be that they are using the same freqs for analog and digital broadcasts and it doesn't work well together and the digital makes the buzz noise in the analog signals and it does interfere. I hope some of this helps.
 
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tepping1

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thanks

RF....thank you very much for taking the time to post that reply which touched on many things....so having gone through this for several weeks I do agree/believe there is something electrical that is bleeding....I have a security cam hooked up directly to my wifi that is handled completely through my phone...it lights up when cars or people go by...I'd like to blame the signal and or light...but too many people and cars drive by..but I may disconnect just to see......what baffles me is why? is it worse on my Discone? my powerline coming off the pole running into the house is about 2 ft below my Discone on gable peak then coax running inside my attic from the gable peak down to where I dropped it in the wall cavity to come down to where I needed it to punch through the wall to my 536. I've tried unplugging everything and isolating the scanner....still get it...you are right...it does seem to be more noticeable during the day....it seems to settle down.....so here is another baffling part....let's say it lands on Dav PD Main Dispatch...if it's staticy...I can usually very quickly hit the knob and it will rescan and it typically takes less than a sec to get back...it may be completely gone, perfect transmission.....I was a FF in Florida so I bought 3 of the 700a when our county first went to trunking 25yrs ago....well of course I was an idiot not understanding how trunking worked but kept them because the fire pagers as in most rural places in the country stayed conventional...I am 1/2 mile from the RACOM/EDACS closest tower...so would the next closest tower which is 2 miles away have or make any difference? As much as I love this 536 because it has so much capability...I want to throw the darn thing at the wall...back in the mid 70's I used to drive through Huntley on 47 going to Kenosha every weekend to visit my girlfriend....my current bus partner lives in Woodstock..love to drink an ice tea and pick your brain...thanks again for the response!....at least other things to think about
 
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Another Idea for tepping1

A possible fix would be a yagi antenna tuned to the right freqs and pointed in the right direction to null out the P-25 digital you don't want on those same freqs. Your discone is an omni directional and getting too much P-25 signal "hash" in and creating interference, that's why the telescoping rod works better, it cuts most of the distant P-25 interfering signals out. I believe that this is your issue with that particular scanner. Atmospheric noise or P-25 "hash" should show up in your other scanner too, but the old analog scanners were real good at their Analog only game. The Uniden 700A wasn't looking to decode P-25, so it dealt with it better. If you coax is over 50 feet, even on RG8 you are losing a tiny bit of signal at 700-900Mhz and gaining some noise which is also giving you a bit more static. Shouldn't even be an issue, and the discone it isn't really the best to use for that band either, which is also why you're getting more static using it.

You are probably receiving some "other" P-25 digital system's freqs over a distance and these are coming in at your specific location (home) much stronger than the other EDACS analog freqs signals you want to hear, and the 536 scanner is having a hard time deciding which to use. Lake In The Hills had a serious evening problem with digital P-25 "hash" interfering/bleeding over into their old analog 155.4300 Mhz channel. Some of it was due to skip from many many miles away. Their repeater input was just amplifying it making it worse. Many times they went to their backup freq. channel as the main freq was "completely unusable" due to some "other distant P-25 system" based "digital hash" totally ruining it. They went to Starcom21 P-25 digital and now have a different set of issues.
 
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tepping1

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thanks

hmmm.....so the Yagi is directional and it seems that the nearest RACOM and Starcomm21 antennas are approx in the same line....would that still cause me they same issues assuming the P25 is the issue?
 
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Tepping1 Yagi Reply

Yes it would. If they are in the same line of sight, you have a problem. The P-25 digital systems are probably making the static noise you're hearing below your trunked analog channels. I figured out that you had an analog trunked system because you said "static noise," and you explained it well. I myself would try getting a used Analog Only Trunking scanner off Ebay, it will not try to decode the digital side and it might work slightly better (on analog trunking) or have better filtering. You could also set the 536 for "Analog Only" receive mode just for the specific system you want to hear, but it might not help. Until everybody you want to listen to goes to P-25, this noise will likely persist at your location. Sounds like they are nearly ready to switch over, but I suspect that RACOM are having some interference issues too in certain areas, but living with it knowing that full P-25 is coming soon.

If you are only 1/2 mile from the Racom/Edacs tower you should have great reception, unless the tower 2 miles away is P-25 (and the frequencies are being shared) then you're setup for interference problems. I can't see how they would not interfere. They have a mess, they have an analog control computer (running EDACS) and a digital control computer (running P-25) probably sharing nearly the same frequencies and not talking to each other. Interference possible on their end? Nah. Just more noise on the analog channels, P-25 is noise free as it is just data packets converted to speech.
 
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