Burleson PD

[cmilviper]

I have noticed this week that my scanners have been pretty quiet due to the Burleson radio changes ect.

I have a couple of Radio Shack scanner that are a few years old...Pro-433, Pro-97.

Question: Does anyone know if Burleson has any plans to encrypt in the near future?

I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade both of my radios to digital scanners at this point.....

Thanks for any help or info.

 

[jasday]

If they haven't done it when they started on the system, I probably wouldn't worry about it. Things could change with administration changes, but it's a lot of dough.

 

[cmilviper]

Thanks jasday!

 

[ce2576]

I have noticed this week that my scanners have been pretty quiet due to the Burleson radio changes ect.

The LTR system is quite because they are no longer on it. They have moved to this system:
Fort Worth Regional Radio System Trunking System, Tarrant, Johnson Counties, Texas - Scanner Frequencies

Always a good idea to frequently visit the county database pages to see if they have any updated information. I have submitted two updates to the Johnson County database page. The JoCo database page now reflects that Burleson has moved to the FW Regional Radio system. And if you go to the link above you will see that that I have also submitted 3 confirmed talkgroups for Burleson. They are using Site 004 on the above system.

I just submitted an update for the Tarrant County database page. I asked the database admins to update the 'Burleson' section there so it will reflect their move to the FW Regional Radio System.

I'm trying to decide if I should upgrade both of my radios to digital scanners at this point.....

Yep, you will definitely need a digital scanner to hear Burleson PD/FD. The three talkgroups that I have confirmed are all in the clear. No encryption. As to any plans that Burleson has for encryption now or in the future, I have no clue.

For what's worth, there is only ONE encrypted talkgroup in use among the users on SITE 004. It's 5804 which is used by Cleburne PD as their INFO channel. I have it on good authority that as far as CPD,CFD, JoCo Sheriff, and JoCo Fire, there are no plans at this time to encrypt anything other than the CPD Info channel. I should note that what I was told at that time did not cover Burleson. What they plan to do as far as encryption have no idea. The vast majority of what you will hear on SITE 004 should remain in the clear, except for 5804.

As jasday mentioned, utilizing encryption means more money and some of these smaller cities might not have it. It's expensive enough just moving to P25 let alone adding encryption.

 

[cmilviper]

Awesome info Chris...I do appreciate it sir.

 

[SCPD]

Just wanted to add to convo the enc isn't going to cost dough. Radios now days come with a standard cheap adp solution for ten bucks more or so or a des/aes for little more. It is rare a new set of radios come without any enc capability. it's just a matter of otap or in shop programming. The old myth enc cost too much is long gone per say. Majority of smaller towns tend to lean to adp as a cheap solution to one thing.

 

[kc5rhb]

FYI: Burleson SWAT/TAC channels are encrypted ( I heard them right before they did the switch over, is was 66??), Im assuming its Burlesons SWAT/TAC channels, and the same with JCSO, their narc channel, or STOP (5787) is encrypted, Im assuming that what it is. And Cleburne's TAC channels are encrypted also.

All I know that this is the crappiest radio system I have heard. I thought it was me but Im hearing a lot of traffic between Burleson officers and dispatchers of "10-9s", "I cant hear you", "I didn't understand what you said", as im writing this I just heard an officer talk, and they sounded crapy, and it wasnt me because the dispatcher told the officer they didn't understand what they just said, "TEN NINE!!" The thing about this crappy *** digital radio system is that it picks up every little bit of noise around you. So wind noise, siren, crowd noise, overrides the officers voice and sounds like crap. And when you have to have 3 towers in the county to make the system work, that should tell how weak the system is. I could be wrong, but I know what Im hearing on the Burleson talk groups when it comes to them having issues. And I know a scanner is NO WHERE near comparable to the Moto APX radios, but still, I know they have some issues, from what I have been hearing.

I didnt see anything wrong with their LTR other than they had some dead spots in the area. Easy fix, bump up the wattage and receive on the repeater and have a nice day, also, on the handheld issue, take the damn handheld out of the holster if you are having issues.

And I know this is all about "interoperability" which is highly overrated. I hear more traffic of people getting lost in the interop channels now because there are so damn many. There are still a lot of agencies that cant talk to each other. But back in the day of "intercity" EVERYONE was able to talk to each other. If its not broke, dont mess with it.

Well, when it comes to listening to this P25 system on a handheld, try not to move if you want to listen, unless you right by the tower.

Oh, and Burleson ACO is on 6682. Im sure once there is a major incident in Burleson (weather, special event, etc) we will hear more talk groups show up (EOC, FIRE2, FIRE3, talk channels, COP, CID, etc)

 

[Linn]

I use the system daily and while it's not perfect there's no comparison to any of the previous systems used by Johnson County agencies when it comes to coverage and reliability. I've heard some of the same things you have on the Burleson Channels when people have asked "10-9". What's funny is in most cases I have heard them just fine. The digital sound takes some getting used to and most users are very pleased with the new system.

As far as the digital system picking up every little noise around you that's not entirely true either. Yes there are times background noise affects transmissions, especially phones ringing in dispatch but that happened and was worse on analog. There are plenty of other times where the radio blocks out background noise. Sirens are not as loud, crowd noise is not as loud. While testing on the system I stood near a generator and talked in a normal voice, the people I was talking to had no idea I was standing next to a generator. The radios also block out traffic noise when your on the side of the road.

Having three towers in the county provides coverage that the old analog single site VHF systems didn't. Have you been in a fight in a rural part of the county and tried to talk on a handheld to get help on the VHF systems? I have and the radio didn't work even once the guy was in custody and I could take the radio off of my belt and hold it over my head. Now in the same place, not only does it work but it works on the belt. Also there is no more interference that plagued the JCSO VHF repeater making it sound like deputies were always getting covered.

For Burleson in particular, "bumping up the wattage and receive on the repeater" wouldn't fix the problem. Burleson has grown immensely in the last 10 or so years. Some areas of the city just will not get coverage outdoors let alone indoors on the single site LTR system they were using because of distance, terrain and height of the water tower the system is on. As far as taking the radio out of the holster as mentioned above, it's a little difficult to take the radio out of the holster and hold it up when your rolling on the ground with a bad guy.

Interoperability is highly overrated? That's a silly thing to say. For the first time since I can remember everyone, except Keene PD and Cleburne Fire both of which will be on the system soon, in Johnson County is using the same system with common channels. With the change of a channel selector I can talk to whatever police or fire department I need to and dispatch centers have the ability to patch talkgroups together. If I get in a chase that goes north into Tarrant County I have the ability to communicate directly with Tarrant County agencies on the system either by changing the channel or by having dispatch patch to an interop talkgroup. That sounds like a big step forward to me.

As far as scanners listening to the system they do have problems in places. I'm fortunate where I live that my scanners hear the system fine. Try one of the new Uniden's. I've used them at home and while mobile and although they are not perfect they are way better than any other scanners I own.

So to summarize what I wrote....as a system user I can tell you it's not perfect, but it is WAY better than what we used in the past. I know my wife sleeps better knowing my radio works now.

 

[cmilviper]

Thanks for the great information here guys!

Linn, that's good to hear about the Uniden scanners, as that's what I have been looking at!