California Radio Interoperable System (CRIS)

[norcalscan]

Other sites logged doing the ocean northbound trip, no new info....

Tower Number (Decimal): 1-20
Tower Number (Decimal): 1-25
Tower Number (Decimal): 1-27
Tower Number (Decimal): 1-29
Tower Number (Decimal): 1-40

Were you going up the 1 or 101 north? I saw earlier post you were northbound passing Cambria. If up the 1 that's an impressive investment for 4-5 sites to cover such little population. I'd see Piedras Blancas and Pt Sur being doable for 700 shooting up and down the coastline but the rest of the lonely strip of pavement called Hwy1 would need sites inland, which quickly dissolves in cost/quantity vs benefit/coverage.

 

[mmckenna]

Were you going up the 1 or 101 north? I saw earlier post you were northbound passing Cambria. If up the 1 that's an impressive investment for 4-5 sites to cover such little population. I'd see Piedras Blancas and Pt Sur being doable for 700 shooting up and down the coastline but the rest of the lonely strip of pavement called Hwy1 would need sites inland, which quickly dissolves in cost/quantity vs benefit/coverage.

Cell carriers have sites at Big Sur village and near the light house. Coverage sucks loudly along most of Highway 1.
Nothing I've seen from the state suggests they'll be investing anything to cover that stretch of coastline with CRIS, even CHP has issues down there. Most of the privately owned land is closely guarded and any attempts to install new infrastructure is met with damn near outright violence. I have some repeaters down in that area and getting any useful coverage is a huge undertaking. Cell carriers have made a half-azzed attempt and it still relies on standing in the right location to get a tiny bit of signal. AT&T wireline only covers down to about Lucia. No internet providers other than satellite, the tiny areas covered by cellular or within reach of copper AT&T circuits (no DSL, dialup if you are lucky and a slide hasn't take out the cable). GeoLinks is attempting to bring some service into the area, but coverage will depend on clear line of sight to the limited access they have on the coast.

Not sure what the future will bring, but I think the drivers behind CRIS are about covering the major population areas/major highways. The amount of investment that would be needed to cover that part of the state held up against the number of actual users would make it unlikely.

 

[norcalscan]

Nothing I've seen from the state suggests they'll be investing anything to cover that stretch of coastline with CRIS

I agree, and now that I read his comment again and compare with the known sites in the DB, it appears those listed were other known sites logged throughout his whole trip from LA to north, and not just between Cambria and some point north. Reading comprehension on a Friday afternoon is rough. I was counting on you jumping in to clarify any happenings near your turf.

 

[MtnBiker2005]

Going up the Pacific Ocean via the cruise ship the other day.
Now going southbound today, left San Francisco at midnight.
Site 1-20 control channel has great reach out into the ocean when passing Monterey southbound.
Cabin room on the AFT of the ship is for the best scanner logging.

Be back on the Pacific Ocean in September from Alaska/Canada to LA.

 

[mmckenna]

Going up the Pacific Ocean via the cruise ship the other day.
Now going southbound today, left San Francisco at midnight.
Site 1-20 control channel has great reach out into the ocean when passing Monterey southbound.
Cabin room on the AFT of the ship is for the best scanner logging.

Loma Prieta. Has a great view out over the water. I've been up there a few times. About 3800 feet. Distance to Horizon puts that at about 75 miles. Pretty good view down the Salinas Valley, too.

Be back on the Pacific Ocean in September from Alaska/Canada to LA.

I did that trip once, and it was something to remember. My parents used to do the repositioning cruises frequently, and then continue up into Alaska. Many times I'd talk to them on 2 meters when they were passing.

 

[ScannerDude244]

Cell carriers have sites at Big Sur village and near the light house. Coverage sucks loudly along most of Highway 1.
Nothing I've seen from the state suggests they'll be investing anything to cover that stretch of coastline with CRIS, even CHP has issues down there. Most of the privately owned land is closely guarded and any attempts to install new infrastructure is met with damn near outright violence. I have some repeaters down in that area and getting any useful coverage is a huge undertaking. Cell carriers have made a half-azzed attempt and it still relies on standing in the right location to get a tiny bit of signal. AT&T wireline only covers down to about Lucia. No internet providers other than satellite, the tiny areas covered by cellular or within reach of copper AT&T circuits (no DSL, dialup if you are lucky and a slide hasn't take out the cable). GeoLinks is attempting to bring some service into the area, but coverage will depend on clear line of sight to the limited access they have on the coast.

Not sure what the future will bring, but I think the drivers behind CRIS are about covering the major population areas/major highways. The amount of investment that would be needed to cover that part of the state held up against the number of actual users would make it unlikely.

Yeah Monterey County has 3 sites on the coast and it still sucks. Public works has to report they are going out of radio coverage once they hit the coast. I Know they Feds, state and County were talking about comms after that kid died. Carmel man's mission to bring cell service to Big Sur gets attention in Washington. I don't think CRIS will be down the coast like mmckenna said.

 

[mmckenna]

Yeah Monterey County has 3 sites on the coast and it still sucks. Public works has to report they are going out of radio coverage once they hit the coast. I Know they Feds, state and County were talking about comms after that kid died. Carmel man's mission to bring cell service to Big Sur gets attention in Washington. I don't think CRIS will be down the coast like mmckenna said.

I needed to get a microwave shot into a location along the coast. I went through the process with the forest service. It's nearly impossible to install any radio sites down there. At one point someone at the USFS signed an agreement that released control over the road to Anderson Peak. Now a handful of locals have 100% control over who is allowed to use the road, and who can access the mountain top. There are locked gates across the road with cameras, and unless you are AT&T, FAA, State of California or USFS, you don't get up there, and I was told that getting shot at was a very high possibility if the land owners found out. How the USFS let that happen is beyond me. The process to get equipment up there would have taken several years to make it through USFS, and ultimately the final decision came down to a handful of property owners who controlled road access. The land owners don't want -anything- to change. They don't want cell phone coverage, they don't want internet. They want to sit on their land with a shotgun across their laps and take pot shots at anyone from the outside. It's a bizarre and close knit community down there.

The terrain is so unbelievably rugged that it would take hundreds of small cell sites to provide any reliable coverage along highway 1. Big issue with the hundreds of sites is that there's no way to get connections to the outside without using satellite. I have a few phone lines down there that are near the very end of the AT&T cable, and they go down frequently due to slides or failing cable. There's no fiber, and the only way in/out is satellite. GeoLinks is trying to build out some microwave paths and I've been working with them to use our site as a mid point, but it's slow going.

Big Sur Fire Brigade has a heck of a time getting VHF coverage down there.

It's going to take a lot to get cell coverage down that highway, and I don't think the feds are going to be able to strong arm some of those nut jobs that live down there.
Unfortunately it's such a tourist attraction that there is a lot of bad accidents down there. Usually requires someone driving up the coast to find a working phone to report it.

 

[es93546]

I needed to get a microwave shot into a location along the coast. I went through the process with the forest service. It's nearly impossible to install any radio sites down there. At one point someone at the USFS signed an agreement that released control over the road to Anderson Peak. Now a handful of locals have 100% control over who is allowed to use the road, and who can access the mountain top. There are locked gates across the road with cameras, and unless you are AT&T, FAA, State of California or USFS, you don't get up there, and I was told that getting shot at was a very high possibility if the land owners found out. How the USFS let that happen is beyond me. The process to get equipment up there would have taken several years to make it through USFS, and ultimately the final decision came down to a handful of property owners who controlled road access. The land owners don't want -anything- to change. They don't want cell phone coverage, they don't want internet. They want to sit on their land with a shotgun across their laps and take pot shots at anyone from the outside. It's a bizarre and close knit community down there.

The terrain is so unbelievably rugged that it would take hundreds of small cell sites to provide any reliable coverage along highway 1. Big issue with the hundreds of sites is that there's no way to get connections to the outside without using satellite. I have a few phone lines down there that are near the very end of the AT&T cable, and they go down frequently due to slides or failing cable. There's no fiber, and the only way in/out is satellite. GeoLinks is trying to build out some microwave paths and I've been working with them to use our site as a mid point, but it's slow going.

Big Sur Fire Brigade has a heck of a time getting VHF coverage down there.

It's going to take a lot to get cell coverage down that highway, and I don't think the feds are going to be able to strong arm some of those nut jobs that live down there.
Unfortunately it's such a tourist attraction that there is a lot of bad accidents down there. Usually requires someone driving up the coast to find a working phone to report it.

This is a little fuzzy and I had to take a look at the Los Padres National Forest Visitor Map in an attempt to clarify. The private land involved is both inside and outside the National Forest boundary and there are 3 gates between Highway 1 and Anderson Peak. The map lists these as permanent, not seasonal, closures. Anderson Peak is entirely on National Forest land, again, according to the Visitor Map. What I don't know is the history of the right of way, if any, the Forest Service had on the road. I'm wondering if they gave up a legal right of way, or never had one to begin with. In most cases if a right of way exists over private land then the road is open to the public. However, I said in most cases, but there are exceptions to this. The Forest Service has a repeater on Anderson so they would be an agency with access on the road. Anderson Peak is adjacent to the Ventana Wilderness and this may have resulted in the land management plan for this electronic site to allow no new users. I don't know the specifics of this particular road and electronic site so further comment is pointless.

South and east of Anderson Peak all the National Forest land is within designated wilderness, the Ventana Wilderness. However, most of Highway 1 is not within the boundary of the Los Padres NF, which is about 1/4 to 1 mile east of the highway. This issue would preclude/prohibit any electronic site development on National Forest land. South of Limekiln State Park this highway is mostly located on National Forest land until Rugged Point, a coastal feature. The Silver Peak and Ventana Wilderness Areas are located just east of a most of the highway down to the Forest boundary near Rugged Point and again, would prohibit electronic site development in the area. I think that this is likely an issue for electronic site development for portions of this coastal area, at least for the highest peaks. Those boundaries are set by congressional designation and the Forest Service does not have discretion to allow electronic site or any other type of site in those wilderness areas.

That is my take on this issue, but just by looking at a map. The Anderson Peak access issue would require that I call of visit the Monterey Ranger District office in King City, nearly 200 miles line of site from me. I think there is probably more to this than either of us understands.

 

[kg6nlw]

TG 861, 121, 135, and 143 keep popping up on Mt Saint Helena, just affiliations.

Regards,

-Frank C.

 

[vince48]

TG 861, 121, 135, and 143 keep popping up on Mt Saint Helena, just affiliations.

Regards,

-Frank C.

those TG have been active down here in Visalia for the last couple weeks testing

 

[kg6nlw]

those TG have been active down here in Visalia for the last couple weeks testing

With actual audio? I'm surprised I'm not hearing it up here then...Thanks!

Regards,

-Frank C.

 

[vince48]

With actual audio? I'm surprised I'm not hearing it up here then...Thanks!

Regards,

-Frank C.

yes Frank, Voice these are techs testing the system. they were do something with the CHP, base and one mobile radio the mentioned.

 

[kg6nlw]

yes Frank, Voice these are techs testing the system. they were do something with the CHP, base and one mobile radio the mentioned.

Good to know they aren't re-broadcasting all TG's across all sites then. I know they were doing that with TG861 for a little bit...Thanks!

Regards,

-Frank C.

 

[kj6psg]

New site on the air, noticed it today.

RFSS 1 ($01), Site 51 ($33)

Control 773.05625
Secondaries 773.29375, 773.58125, 773.80625.
BSI 774.80625 as CHANGEME

From my location, it's about 15-20 dB weaker than South Mountain, weaker than Oat, significantly stronger than Rincon and SYP, and only a smidge weaker than Lukens. About 6 dB weaker than Ventura County's 700 MHz East County site (773.95625 MHz). I'm pretty sure it went on the air today. No activity on it while writing this post.

 

[MtnBiker2005]

It didn’t come on the air today.
Btw… nice report from your area.

Go back to post 711
it was logged on Mar 29, 2022

 

[kj6psg]

It didn’t come on the air today.

Go back to post 711
I logged it on Mar 29, 2022

How strong was it from Santa Barbara? Might be Red Mountain or La Cumbre Peak.

 

[MtnBiker2005]

Not sure, I was on the ocean, I was logging too many P25 sites to remember.

 

[vince48]

you go MtnBiker2005, you have been a great contributor for a few scores now. Thanks for your contribution.

 

[KK6ZTE]

I can confirm that there's no equipment for CRIS at Peidras Blancas.

The Lompoc area hits are very likely Plowshare and Mt. Solomon

 

[kj6psg]

How strong was it from Santa Barbara? Might be Red Mountain or La Cumbre Peak.

Driving around the Ventura area and listening on a portable, it felt more consistent with Red Mountain; it was fairly strong on the 101 around Oxnard, which I wouldn't expect from La Cumbre on 700 MHz, but too weak to be a site like Laguna Peak. Eventually I'll check coverage along the 33 (as I need to go to Ojai anyways), which should be able to determine if it is indeed on Red, and if so, which tower on Red and possibly even roughly how high up on the tower. If it's not on Red, I should have enough data to identify the hilltop regardless.