DFW Area Mutual Aid

[NC5267]

Its interesting. For SMU football games they run all Fire/EMS on an I/O channel on GMRS for medical responses, but for Law Enforcement, SMU PD, HP, UP, Dallas County SO, and Dallas County colleges PD all operate on their own channels. lol.

• SMU PD is DMR RC4 encrypted on UHF (but on demand patched in the clear on GMRS)
• University Park PD is AES encrypted on GMRS with their own encryption key
• University Park Fire/EMS is AES encrypted on GMRS with their own separate encryption key
• Highland Park DPS (shared pd, Fire, EMS) AES encrypted on GMRS with their own separate encryption key
• GMRS Fire IO-8 is used for shared EMS units for the game.
• Dallas Colleges is in the clear on what is presumably their own event talkgroup on NTIRN (36560).

so, there are 4 separate encryption keys in use, one encrypted talkgroup patched to GMRS in the clear, and only what seems to be some interop in use for medical calls.

sigh. LOL.

Sounds like what we have down here in Bexar/San Antonio on the AARRS system. Everyone is on the same system, but SAPD has multiple encryption keys within its own agency. They have really clamped down on what other LE agencies can monitor, and of course, the media access radios, which are controlled by them and can be disabled whenever they feel like it. There are 75 Mutual Aid channels on the system, but this past year, LE has not used them for anything. The first 10 are used for brush fire mutual aid calls between the city and the county. That is about all they are used for. Even Fiesta all of the city events are now on encrypted event channels.

 

[BrokenCircuit]

I heard a DPS unit calling DPS Ft. Worth on GMRS yesterday on Law Calling then the same unit requested a talkgroup for an operation in Dallas, they gave him Law I/O 6. What was striking though was the unit talking to DPS Ft. Worth. (A) I didn't know there was a DPS Ft. Worth, (B) How are they patching GMRS to cover Ft. Worth? GMRS seems to be a lot more sophisticated.

 

[K5TXC]

I have been hearing communications between various agencies from Northeast Tarrant Co. They are on the

Northeast Tarrant (Site 3), Alfa Tag: NE Tar/DenCo, Talkgroup 6478.​

 

[blantonl]

I have been hearing communications between various agencies from Northeast Tarrant Co. They are on the

Northeast Tarrant (Site 3), Alfa Tag: NE Tar/DenCo, Talkgroup 6478.​

Good catch. Thank you!

 

[NC5267]

Sorry to open an old thread. I'll be in the Richardson area for a few days, and I know they are fully encrypted except for UT Dallas, it looks like. I was curious since Richardson is a standalone system, do they have the GMRS Law I/O patched to them? Or the NTIRN Law I/O also? Listening to the feeds, I heard Dallas calling Richardson on the GMRS Law I/O Call and coordinating an incident. I just noticed that the Richardson system in the database has no I/O talkgroups listed. Thanks for any info.

 

[Russell]

Yes, they do. I've heard both Dispatch and units on GMRS many times. They also have backup talkgroups on PAWM.

I'd like to see them join NTIRN.

 

[NC5267]

Yes, they do. I've heard both Dispatch and units on GMRS many times. They also have backup talkgroups on PAWM.

I'd like to see them join NTIRN.

Thanks for the info. Yeah, just from looking at the database for Dallas and Collin Counties, it seems that Richardson, McKinney, Frisco, and Balch Springs are on their own separate systems. I guess politics and money play a part in them maintaining their own systems, as in most metro areas. Here in San Antonio, most of the LE is encrypted, but every agency in the county is on the same system, except one or two. But even they are on the LCRA network, which is linked.