Austin going encrypted April 22

[garys]

I think it's some sort of hand held device so they can get the call if they are out of the ambulance. They then go en route via a voice channel.

I think, but I'm not 100% certain that I heard one of the medics refer to a "page" on the voice channel. That could even be a smart phone. Unlike most of the FD systems around here (and a few up there) ATCEMS does not use an allocution system.

I know you'll be "shocked" to learn that EMS and fire use each others talk groups to communicate and sometimes fire will take a cancel from EMS.

It's a very complex system and that includes the fact that cities can be in two counties. Parts of Austin are actually in neighboring Williamson County and parts of cities in Williamson County are actually in Travis County. There are a lot of what you and I would call Mutual Aid agreements. Austin Fire Department has a station in Cedar Park, which is in Williamson County. As a result apparatus from both agencies will sometimes respond to the same incident and I'll hear the dispatch go out on two different radio systems.

It's complicated.

Page is a broad term. Is it possible that they have the call sent to the MDT and have to verbally acknowledge the call? That would clear up so much radio time that it would make sense (sarcasm that only you would understand.) Or possibly an app? Pages seem so 1980s.

 

[Whospoonbill]

It seems that ATCEMS initial dispatch is via page of some type. Units then respond on a TG or are assigned a Med or event AFD Tac channel to use for the call. The more I listen, the more I'm starting to figure out.

EMT to Hospital TGs are clear.

It’s this frequency I’m surprise you haven’t figured it out yet

1291

50b

D

TCEMS STA

EMS Station Alert

 

[Harold]

Probably using Logis for the dispatch and I know they use Pulsara for generating and transmitting patient information from the field.

 

[garys]

That's what I originally thought, but I don't hear it consistently. Maybe I'll just lock on that TG for a while and listen.

It’s this frequency I’m surprise you haven’t figured it out yet

1291

50b

D

TCEMS STA

EMS Station Alert

 

[garys]

Pulsara is a very interesting program. I only heard of it recently and a couple of clients have showed me how it works. I haven't seen the hospital side of it, and don't expect I will. Other than the information on their website that is.

Probably using Logis for the dispatch and I know they use Pulsara for generating and transmitting patient information from the field.

 

[Whospoonbill]

Have there been a date of when everything will be shut down cause officer keep bragging that hey APD is encrypted so TCSO will eventually be to but I’ve been getting conflicted story however it seems like I was right that APD would most likely go encrypted which they did but other agency wouldn’t follow. And they didn’t EMS reversed there decision so did TCSO and Fire. If we look at Vegas PD there encrypted what the sheriff like Nye county isn’t. Same with some other departments out there where the police department is encrypted but Sheriff’s isn’t or they have it like Tac and swat channel are encrypted but dispatching channel stay open to the public. Maybe sheriff office’s are more open to the public than Police department I mean it shows with APD decision they could have backed out to. So either the officer just are getting the wrong information or are just bragging to brag

 

[Whospoonbill]

Also TCSO and Small police department that gets dispatch on TCSO have gotten new radios from APX I believe 6,000 or 8,000 somewhere around those models to APX NEXT. Don’t know about APD refuse to interact with them.

 

[Whospoonbill]

Has anybody know if Travis county sheriff will go encrypted I heard it’ll be soon but I also heard there not gonna go fourth with it

 

[Giddyuptd]

In the end it's the chiefs, sheriff's, fire chiefs, EMS company, and or the dispatch authority in some cases all combined on input for it. Unless someone is in know hard to say.

 

[Whospoonbill]

In the end it's the chiefs, sheriff's, fire chiefs, EMS company, and or the dispatch authority in some cases all combined on input for it. Unless someone is in know hard to say.

When APD was gonna go encrypted fire ems and tcso was gonna join it but they all back out of it besides obviously you know APD go figure why. But before this even started when it was brought that Encryption was gonna happen in 2019 I know some people in the county including me who went to Andy I think his name is to try to stop encryption from happening he emailed me I’ll half to find it if I still have it but when I kept emailing him I was forward to the chief of TCSO, a couple of CID detective and a sergeant. A couple of them said we don’t have plans at this time to encrypt. And I can see why there changing there codes up like using Zebra, and 2300 and other numbers whatever those means and when it comes to certain situation where dispatcher thinks that someone has a scanner or know that that individual does they said they’ll message that officer or sometimes they’ll move to swat or tac channel. So encryption really doesn’t need to happen on the patrol channel if TCSO is using what they have APD could have done the same which again is why there hated.

 

[Whospoonbill]

And also not to mention those new radio the Motorola APX NEXT dispatcher can send message to other officer so can deputy and deputy or deputy and county officer like manor or mustang ridge could message a TCSO deputy since they use TCSO BAKER to get dispatch on so again encryption really doesn’t need to be used. Hopefully Pushpa notices all of this or someone like Andy. I can see swat and tac Channel being encrypted and there’s a law in California that blocks law enforcement agency or I don’t know if it has pass yet from encrypting dispatching channels so if it comes down to it the next person to go atleast for me again is if TCSO does go encrypted is Abbott he can pass a law like California that will keep dispatching channels open but actually sensitive channels will be encrypted like swat and tac channels

 

[garys]

Don't forget the politicians. I can't speak definitively about Austin, but in Boston it's the Mayor driving the potential move to encryption.

In the end it's the chiefs, sheriff's, fire chiefs, EMS company, and or the dispatch authority in some cases all combined on input for it. Unless someone is in know hard to say.

 

[Whospoonbill]

Interesting So I just found out TCSO SWAT channel both of them are unencrypt haven’t seen that ever so either there going to encrypted the dispatch channels and have swat operation go on that channel when swat incident happen or they decided they didn’t need encryption on swat channels anymore

 

[garys]

That's odd. I would expect that SWAT operations would be encrypted. That's where they should be encrypted.

Interesting So I just found out TCSO SWAT channel both of them are unencrypt haven’t seen that ever so either there going to encrypted the dispatch channels and have swat operation go on that channel when swat incident happen or they decided they didn’t need encryption on swat channels anymore

 

[Whospoonbill]

That's odd. I would expect that SWAT operations would be encrypted. That's where they should be encrypted.

Maybe Travis county could also be trying to keep everything open I mean Swat is never streamed you half to have a scanner in order to hear them and going out and buying a 1,000 dollar scanner just to hear swat movements makes no sense I can see using it to see where the police are or just what’s going on but to just listen in one and one thing only makes no sense same thing with regional law channels so and also there was a pursuit a couple of days ago where a Manor PD officer got spiked by accident and TCSO broke off and cause it was to fast and going on for so long it started in a Elgin guess who left the channel patched to a1 region law 1 when the pursuit came to a stop and it was all over. APD

 

[Giddyuptd]

Probably the old mindset of ert, swat surveillance being localized simplex someone slipped up on PD end. I'd imagine that'll change now.

 

[Motoballa]

Probably the old mindset of ert, swat surveillance being localized simplex someone slipped up on PD end. I'd imagine that'll change now.

This reminds me of some departments with trunked system talkgroups labeled "Talk Around" when in fact it's most certainly not talk around lol..