Coming down to SF

[scannerizer]

This week I will be in San Fran visiting a relative who is visiting there now. I found the police/fire/ambulance TRS, but I have several questions:

1. What do SFPD stations use "Service," talkgroups for? I note that dispatch channels are Mobiles, while service channels are Portables.

2. I am confused about City Ambulances TG 13512. I thought SFFD had an ambulance division that provided EMS transport to the county. Please explain.

Other than that, I think I am all set.

 

[rooivalk]

1. The "Service" TG's are a throwback when SFPD used a VHF/UHF set-up: VHF was used for the in-car radios, UHF was for the handhelds. When the Agency switched to the trunked system, they kept the dual channel system: Service is meant to be used to broadcast calls, while Dispatch is used to run record checks, etc. It's a weird, and I'd call it a dangerous way of doing things.

2. That's a "Tactical" or secondary channel for ambulances. SF is chronically short on ambulances, so the City/County contracts with AMR.