Cleveland National Forest New Forest Net

[Teotwaki]

Callsign Question

I'm looking for clarification of a CNF callsign I've heard a few times: UTILITY

Is this simply someone driving a USFS utility truck or are these folks who perform maintenance?

Things such as: Bathroom cleaners? Trashmen? Repairmen?

Thanks!

Jim

 

[f40ph]

Most fire departments have pickup trucks or stakebed trucks that are not equipped for emergency responses (nearly all of them don't even have red lights). Some agencies actually put a decal on them saying "UT" or "U" and a number such as "UT 31". Others just have the department decal with no number. The operator does not need to use their radio very often but at times when this needs to happen, they usually refer to themselves as "Utility" with a number such as "Utility thirty-one". I wouldn't suspect maintenance folks rather I'd suspect you're hearing someone attached to a USFS fire station running an errand in the pickup truck that is normally kept "out back".

 

[Teotwaki]

Most fire departments have pickup trucks or stakebed trucks that are not equipped for emergency responses (nearly all of them don't even have red lights). Some agencies actually put a decal on them saying "UT" or "U" and a number such as "UT 31". Others just have the department decal with no number. The operator does not need to use their radio very often but at times when this needs to happen, they usually refer to themselves as "Utility" with a number such as "Utility thirty-one". I wouldn't suspect maintenance folks rather I'd suspect you're hearing someone attached to a USFS fire station running an errand in the pickup truck that is normally kept "out back".

Wow! Thanks so much for the insights. Next time I am hanging out in any of the local NFs I will have to pay closer attention to those details when I see any NF motor vehicles.

Jim
Orange County, CA

 

[Teotwaki]

Another interesting call sign for CNF

Trails 21 out of the Corona District Office

Heard them speaking with Patrol 23 about trail improvements including a tree removal from an unspecified trail

Jim
Orange County, CA

 

[Teotwaki]

Some fair strength signals on TAC 4 (166.550) this morning. I can hear that some radios are transmitting a PL but am not set up for easy decode & ID. Trying to get a directional antenna on the brief signals to see if they are from CNF or ANF. Good to know that these simplex frequencies are in regular use.

Jim
Orange County, CA

 

[Teotwaki]

Some fair strength signals on TAC 4 (166.550) this morning. I can hear that some radios are transmitting a PL but am not set up for easy decode & ID. Trying to get a directional antenna on the brief signals to see if they are from CNF or ANF. Good to know that these simplex frequencies are in regular use.

Jim
Orange County, CA

This looks to be activity in ANF., some sort of controlled burn

Callsigns heard:

Burn Boss Trainee
LA City Crew 3
Water Tender 10
Engine 16
Engineer 8139

Jim
Orange County, CA

 

[Teotwaki]

Heads up that there is activity on the Region 5 Project Net frequency 168.6625 MHz

It's a bit scratchy at my location.


Jim
Orange County, CA

PS: interesting El Dorado NF site documents from 2015. See Bendix King programming sheet for frequencies

Main URL: https://gacc.nifc.gov/oncc/forests/enf/response.html

https://gacc.nifc.gov/oncc/forests/enf/files/Wildfire Response/Radio Operating Plan/Copy of Radio Programming Sheet 2015.xlsx

 

[Teotwaki]

Forest Net 171.425

I just heard a USMC V-22 announce in simplex that he was "... a single V-22 heading in to the MAL site"

Probably no 103.5 PL and Cleveland dispatch did not respond to the broadcast.

Jim
Orange County

 

[Teotwaki]

TAC 4 (166.550) traffic, ongoing

Appears to be coming from Cleveland but hard to get a good Yagi heading on the brief simplex transmissions but seemed to be east of me. Asking about air-to-ground. Also mentioned water tenders, backpack pumps, local water tanks, engines 12 & 13

Jim
Orange County, CA

 

[Teotwaki]

Heads up that there is activity on the Region 5 Project Net frequency 168.6625 MHz

currently hearing a single user on simplex as he apparently huffs and puffs his way up a steep mountainside.


Jim
Orange County, CA

 

[Teotwaki]

Forest Net 171.425

I just heard a USMC V-22 announce in simplex that he was "... a single V-22 heading in to the MAL site"

Probably no 103.5 PL and Cleveland dispatch did not respond to the broadcast.

Jim
Orange County

Just heard the same type of traffic; definitely the helo was transmitting FM simplex when requesting the use of the MAL site 11

Jim
Orange County

 

[Teotwaki]

Lots of USFs communications technician activity. I heard a late day broadcast yesterday with (I think) Comm 22 in ANF getting help from Comm 27. Comm 27 mentioned heading back over to CNF for the night. Just now I heard Comm 27 on CNF Forest Net asking dispatch if they had heard him calling out on the air to ground frequency. Dispatch remarked they had only heard noise.

Jim
Orange County, CA

 

[allend]

Lots of USFs communications technician activity. I heard a late day broadcast yesterday with (I think) Comm 22 in ANF getting help from Comm 27. Comm 27 mentioned heading back over to CNF for the night. Just now I heard Comm 27 on CNF Forest Net asking dispatch if they had heard him calling out on the air to ground frequency. Dispatch remarked they had only heard noise.

Jim
Orange County, CA

Check Posting # 77 within this thread. I thought this was already discussed for this thread.

 

[Teotwaki]

Check Posting # 77 within this thread. I thought this was already discussed for this thread.

View it as a heads up that communications techs are working on the USFS radio system and it is an opportunity to hear information on changes to tones and frequencies.

I did not give out the names, locations or other info about the techs.

 

[allend]

View it as a heads up that communications techs are working on the USFS radio system and it is an opportunity to hear information on changes to tones and frequencies.

I did not give out the names, locations or other info about the techs.

My apologies then

 

[Teotwaki]

Yesterday the techs got the ANF tone 6 site repaired. It had a bad duplexer cable.

Today is more interesting as they announced a "new" frequency/location:

Tone 2 for Mount Hawkins

Jim
Orange County, CA

 

[Teotwaki]

FYI for Cleveland listeners. About 4.5 miles from Ortega Highway where South Main Divide Road pavement ends the road has been closed since the fire season started in earnest. With the motorized public shut out of areas like the Wildomar OHV some of the Admin and Forest Net radio traffic has been reduced.

Jim
Orange County, CA

 

[Teotwaki]

My apologies then

No need to apologize but it is something better handled in PMs in the future.

I would have responded sooner but something funny was going on with my account here. Folks were telling me that when responding to my PMs to them they got a message "user not found". It seems somebody messed with my account (deleted it?) but that issue may have been resolved at the source. My account seems to be working fine now and I am getting PMs again.

Jim
Orange County

 

[Teotwaki]

168.6625 R5 Project Net is active with weak comms

Jim
Orange County, CA

 

[Teotwaki]

USFS Comms 29 was fixing some problems with CNF's repeaters. He had to install a temporary link antenna and then talked to dispatch on Tones 1, 2 and 9.

Apparently Tone 8 is down for both Forest Net and Admin Net. I did not hear where the temp antenna was installed. If you got it you can shoot me a PM.

List from http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/US_Forest_Service_-_Cleveland_National_Forest_(CA)

1 Sierra 110.9
2 Santiago Pk 123.0
3 Elsinore 131.8
4 High Point 136.5
5 Cuyumaca 146.2
6 Ortega 156.7
7 Los Pinos 167.9
8 Boucher 103.5
9 Lyons Peak 100.0
10 Portable Rptr 107.2
11 Black Mtn. 114.8
12 Sitton Peak 127.3

Jim
Orange County