Alabama Interoperable Radio System (was: Alabama First Responder Network)

[BenA2013]

Northport and University of Alabama Police

Both Northport police and fire, along with the UA police are using AFRN. However, they are using full encryption. Northport fire is still simulcasting to the 856.71250 frequency.

I'm not sure what talk groups UA uses.

 

[codeplug]

New 700 MHz Tower Site - Birmingham 911 District

New 700 MHz Pending Application - Birmingham 911 District
ULS Application - Trunked Public Safety 700 MHz - 0007282479 - BIRMINGHAM 911 DISTRICT

Site Location:
1732 Valley View Drive, Birmingham, AL., Jefferson County

Site Frequencies.
770.55625 / 771.10625 / 771.60625 / 772.18125 / 774.40625 / 774.65625

Site Emissions:
8K10F1E - P25 Phase I FDMA
8K70D1W, 9K80D7W - P25 Phase II TDMA

I assume this new Site will be connected to the Alabama First Responder Network.
Any activity on this new Site please post any Control Channels or Site Info you find.

 

[gagilley03]

Anyone hearing anything of Coffee County Sheriff's Office lately? I have lost all contact.

 

[morganAL]

Yes, It will be part of the network

New 700 MHz Pending Application - Birmingham 911 District
ULS Application - Trunked Public Safety 700 MHz - 0007282479 - BIRMINGHAM 911 DISTRICT

Site Location:
1732 Valley View Drive, Birmingham, AL., Jefferson County

Site Frequencies.
770.55625 / 771.10625 / 771.60625 / 772.18125 / 774.40625 / 774.65625

Site Emissions:
8K10F1E - P25 Phase I FDMA
8K70D1W, 9K80D7W - P25 Phase II TDMA

I assume this new Site will be connected to the Alabama First Responder Network.
Any activity on this new Site please post any Control Channels or Site Info you find.

 

[medic9351301]

That is the channel 13 tower in birmingham on red mountain.
If i am correct that will be the second tower site in jefferson county .

here is a google map of the first tower site in birmingham

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.416...rN0T0zEqAORTW4khuckQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en

 

[codeplug]

Possible New AFRN 700 MHz Trunked Site - Escambia County

This is a new 700 MHz Trunked Site licensed in 2015.
Anyone in Escambia County, AL. close enough to get a signal on this site below.
It is reportedly now part of the AFRN TRS but not in RRDb yet.

Poarch Band of Creek Indians
FCC License / Call Sign: WQWN743
Site Location = 5811 Jack Springs Road, Atmore, AL. - Escambia County
Emission Designators are: 8K10F1E, 9K80D7W
There are two Tower Site Locations on this FCC License, Atmore & Rabun, AL.
The Rabun 700 Site Location is listed to have one frequency on the Baldwin County Commission License, WQPQ914.
If this is an AFRN site please post the RFSS & Site #, any Talk Groups seen, Neighbor Sites, Control Channels
or if this site is Phase I or Phase II.

Site Info Needed.
Sysid == RFSS = Site ==== Name === County
46B === ? (?) == ??? (?) = Atmore == Escambia

Freqs
771.28125 / 771.53125 / 771.80625 / 772.00625

 

[codeplug]

Hoover, City of - Police Department

Hoover, City of - Police Department
ULS Application - Trunked Public Safety 700 MHz - 0007315930 - HOOVER, CITY OF - POLICE DEPARTMENT
New Pending - SY - Trunked Public Safety 700 MHz
Five Multi-Cast Tower Sites - Four Frequencies per Site - Looks Like P25 Phase 1.
This may be part of AFRN soon if not already there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hoover, City of - Pending License Application
ULS Application - PubSafty/SpecEmer/PubSaftyNtlPlan,806-817/851-862MHz,Conv - 0007257170 - HOOVER, CITY OF
Private Internal Communications of the Police Department.
Not sure if this will be connected to AFRN somehow or just a separate Site.

Frequencies: 851.27500 - Fixed Base, 806.27500 - Mobile
Emission Designators = 8K10F1E - P25 Digital

Don't forget about the other two 700 MHz Sites for Birmingham 911 District.
More changes on the way, get ready.
Start looking for a 700 MHz Trunking Scanner, better get one with Phase 2 capability.

 

[csuggs73]

Looks like DPD is no longer using analog as of yesterday afternoon. Both of the analog channels are silent.

 

[pattybwx]

I'm hearing Lee County Sheriff Tact East (155.715) on Alabama First Responder Network now. TGID is 11828

 

[KU4WW]

AFRN (or other) in Northwest Alabama?

Hi all,

Even though I've had the BCD996T for a few years now, I'm new to trunking activity. I don't have an adequate 700 MHz antenna for good reception, but I'll work on that.

The only activity I'm hearing is MSWIN ID's 13200, 23621, 23625, 62030 and 14041 and I think it's coming from Woodall Mt. near Iuka, MS.

I live in Cherokee, AL. (EM64as) about 15 miles east of Iuka.

I was wondering if there is any activity in the Shoals area? Also, I'm not far from the APT (channel 36) TV antenna site (or I think it used to be years ago) at Crooked Oak. Could there be a repeater there for Trunking activity?

Thinks for any info.

Jeff

 

[cessna_172]

Hi all,

Even though I've had the BCD996T for a few years now, I'm new to trunking activity. I don't have an adequate 700 MHz antenna for good reception, but I'll work on that.

The only activity I'm hearing is MSWIN ID's 13200, 23621, 23625, 62030 and 14041 and I think it's coming from Woodall Mt. near Iuka, MS.

I live in Cherokee, AL. (EM64as) about 15 miles east of Iuka.

I was wondering if there is any activity in the Shoals area? Also, I'm not far from the APT (channel 36) TV antenna site (or I think it used to be years ago) at Crooked Oak. Could there be a repeater there for Trunking activity?

Thinks for any info.

Jeff

Hi Jeff,

I'm not too far from you, just a couple counties over. I don't know if I can answer all of your questions but I will answer what I can to the best of my ability. The Alabama First Responder Network is really a patchwork of systems mostly concentrated in the Mobile, Montgomery, Birmingham, and Huntsville areas but not those exclusively. It is very incomplete outside of those larger areas. There are no active sites in Northwest Alabama to my knowledge. Everything in the Shoals area is still pretty much conventional / analog. The nearest AFRN site to the Shoals is over in Trinity. Decatur PD just went on the network a while back and I'm also assuming other agencies in the city did as well. I have a feeling it will be a long time before we ever see this AFRN complete, if ever. I do listen to the MSWIN system quiet often and it really is nice the way they have that system set up. If you want to send me a PM maybe we can get on the air sometime when our schedules permit. I could explain some things a whole lot better over the air and give you a lot more information about it than I could on here.

Jason

 

[KU4WW]

Thanks Jason. I would like to do that. I assume you're a ham? All I have now is an HT, but depending where you are, might be able to hit a repeater between you and I. I will PM you soon. Thanks again.

Jeff

 

[cessna_172]

Thanks Jason. I would like to do that. I assume you're a ham? All I have now is an HT, but depending where you are, might be able to hit a repeater between you and I. I will PM you soon. Thanks again.

Jeff

I can hit the Muscle Shoals repeater and possibly the Iuka repeater as well. I contacted another local ham that knows you and ended up sending you an email, assuming that email address is still valid. You'll remember me when you read the email. You bought a Kantronics KPC-3 Packet TNC from me many many moons ago. I guess I'm a little paranoid about putting out too much personal information on public forums but if you got that email give it a read and we can communicate further over there. If you didn't receive it we can just communicate here and set up a schedule for a vhf contact maybe sometime this weekend or next week.

Jason

 

[medic9351301]

Birmingham fire department

Hearing birmingham fire on the jefferson county tower

3073 patched from the jefferson county trunked system.

Unknown mode has to be phase 1 since my 996t is only phase 1

 

[Kc124]

City of Madison

Does anyone know if the City of Madison Police Department police talkgroup is now encrypted? I was able to hear them but can no longer. The following talkgroup id is what I'm using.

30325 7675 D MPD DISP Police Dispatch

 

[Scanner_Rider]

Now that Morgan Co S.O. has switched to P25 does anyone know if they are running full encrypted or just encrypting critical tactical operations?

When our local VFD switched, one of the trainers with the department told me the department went total encryption because some of the volunteers were not following acceptable protocol.

Years ago I was told that for transparency and public notification when needed, general dispatch of LEA and VFD/EMS transmission was legally required to keep rural folks who monitored the public service frequencies better informed while the tactical (no encrypted) frequencies were kept classified to prevent criminal exploitation or premature fatality information release.


If all of my county agencies that have switched to P25 are encrypting so they can use their radio systems like Southern Linc , then I might as well save the $500 I was going to spend on a P25 receiver and spend it on a higher voltage electric fence since patrol units are generally 15 to 20 minutes away now due to budget reductions.

20 years ago my scanner did help me keep two guys who tried breaking in the house at bay after I went out the side door after calling dispatch for a patrol telling them that I had the B&E guys under guard on my porch and the potential thieves could hear the traffic of converging units on the scanner on my belt as we waited the 10 minutes or so for them to arrive.

Yes bad guys may use scanners, however many elderly law abiding citizens use them to know first hand weather or wild fire conditions or how far away a patrol unit is in case a dope zombie is trying to break in

 

[kingpin]

I've never heard of this. Sounds like someone grasping at straws. I hate to sound like the bad guy here, but the radio systems are put in place to service to serve police / fire / ems, and not entertain scanner listeners. Being able to listen for all these years as a side item of technology has been great, but making demands that people turn off their encryption only makes the support for it better.

Years ago I was told that for transparency and public notification when needed, general dispatch of LEA and VFD/EMS transmission was legally required to keep rural folks who monitored the public service frequencies better informed while the tactical (no encrypted) frequencies were kept classified to prevent criminal exploitation or premature fatality informaton release

 

[morganAL]

There is very little encryption in Morgan Co. There are a few tactical talkgroups that are encrypted but the majority of the traffic is in the clear.

 

[Scanner_Rider]

kingpin,

When I heard the reasoning for the VFD total encryption I also thought it a bit outlandish but then had to consider it a possibility as over the last few years I had heard some younger volunteers using vulgar language on occasion when fighting house and grass fires in our area and I was monitoring in case we had to move livestock away if it was getting too close to our grazing pastures.

morganAL.,

Thanks for the update. I know my current receiver was expensive in it's day, but just as then , in bad weather, fire risk or knowing they are chasing a criminal into the area adds a security level comfort factor since the rural area drug freaks have gotten so bad.

Before the conversion a number of times I heard our dispatch inform the responding units that a resident reported seeing the vehicle they were chasing in an area they didn't initially suspect and it was the one they were looking for.

Many of those older folks are in the same situation I am and while willing to pay the expense of upgrading the receivers they bought in past eras at expensive costs are reluctant to do so if more than the tactical communications are secret because we were all concerned that buying new receivers would be throwing away hundreds of dollars if everything in our area was encrypted and all we heard was dead air and data bursts.

Scanner monitoring of the general information has been a part of rural community watch efforts and a safety factor for as long as I can remember.

Thanks to both of you for your advice on this.

 

[Julian1]

Birmingham Fire Dispatch TG 468

While parked in Vestavia near I-65 I received from the Tyler Road Antenna

Birmingham (TelVue) Site Details (Alabama First Responder Network)

WQWB435 (BIRMINGHAM 911 DISTRICT) FCC Callsign Details

Hearing birmingham fire on the jefferson county tower

3073 patched from the jefferson county trunked system.

Unknown mode has to be phase 1 since my 996t is only phase 1