I have heard several NE OK small FDs dispatch on 154.13 which RR calls an Interop frequency and only lists in the state Interop section, not in the county listings.
I believe dispatch freqs should b listed where they are used.
EG
154.13 CTCSS 67 Washington Co EMS
154.13 CTCSS 146.2 Craig Co, Bluejacket'
154.13 CTCSS 18.3 Ketchum Fire, Cleora fire
I submitted one a few years ago and it was rejected since it was an Interop freq.
HOWEVER, if an FD is dispatching on a freq/pl/dpl shouldn't it be listed in the appropriate county?
Discuss
w
Hey Wally,
I agree with you, at least on the surface.
It makes sense that if a user has a unique tone or a way to differentiate their use from Mutual Aid use, then they should have a separate entry in the database. The problem is the way that today's scanners interpret direct scanner programming from the database.
When I began my scanner listening many years ago, VHF was everything. Most counties, certainly every rural county used 154.130 MHz for fire and 155.490 MHz for police. Almost always carrier squelch. My paper frequency lists included dozens of users on these frequencies. When I began as a RadioReference admin, I included these on each county page, so a user could tell what frequencies might be in use for that county.
As scanners evolved with GPS and direct computer programming, the RadioReference database also changed. Now, frequencies used on a statewide basis (such as 154.130 MHz) are in a "Statewide category, with GPS coordinates that include the entire state. Rather than add the same frequency for each county, it is in the database once and the scanner does the work. It's not a perfect system, but the folks that make the rules for this site have decided these situations should be handled on a statewide basis. This is from the RadioReference Administrator's Handbook:
"Statewide or Multi-County Frequencies
In general, a frequency with a given usage shall never be entered more than once in the database. Exceptions may be made in limited cases where there is region-specific usage information for a frequency that is otherwise a “wide area” use frequency. Do not duplicate “wide area” use frequencies on multiple county pages."
You could argue that this is one of those "limited cases" for an exception and I could accept that, but the scanner is still going to lock in on the transmission as "State Fire Net," since that is statewide CSQ. It seemed more logical to note that these few entities used the State Fire Net than to enter each one. I could certainly revisit that. Specifically regarding 154.130MHz, it is even more complicated, because some fire departments still use it for tone out. (Are you listening, Deer Creek?) The state has been encouraging agencies to move daily use off this frequency. You can imagine trying to mange a wildfire event while an agency 30 miles away is setting off tones at 100 Watts and a 300 foot tower while you're trying to talk with your hand held to a brush pumper stuck in a gully. I guess I had hoped that by now the only use on this frequency would be mutual aid.
--fast2
