DPS questions for your serious DPSers...

[texasemt13]

I happen to be in a very active DPS area and my location is conducive to picking up two regions at once. This past Friday I went atop a parking garage on the highest hill in town and was able to pull in some really far off frequencies. Hopefully some of you Central TX guys can help me out. I happen to be able to hear multiple dispatch centers in Reg.s III and VI.

First off- I'm hearing the troopers and dispatch on a conventional dispatch channel of 155.4450 calling "SO" & "Seguin." This station is using a DCS tone of 546, which is the current Guadalupe County DCS tone. I caught this by mistake as I also get two other tones on this channel in conventional mode. I also get the CTCSS tones of 131.8 and 136.5 on this frequency and haven't been able to identify where they are coming from. So 3 questions: Can anyone else confirm/ have knowledge that GCSO uses 155.445 in conventional mode with a 546 PL? Does anyone know where the 155.445 conventional frequencies with CT tones of 131.8 and 136.5 are coming out of in Central TX?

Second, I was hearing 155.4675 in digital (KKD303 out of Austin). I'm a lot closer to Austin than S.A. but hear Reg. VI troopers calling in to S.A. all the time from as far north as Kyle and Buda on I-35. At what point do troopers start calling Austin Dispatch? I thought my line of sight was better to Austin than S.A. but I can hear S.A. on any day and Austin only when I climb to the top of the parking garage. Anyone scanning around the Austin area have any clue as to how far south on 35 they're hearing troopers call in?

Third, I heard some 31XXs and 32XXs call in to "Calallen" on 155.4600 in digital and noticed this is the Victoria Dispatch, but the dispatcher used the KKC784 callsign of Calallen. Anyone have any insight in to this? I'm 99% sure that Calallen doesn't have a dispatch. I just don't understand why the trooper wouldn't say "Victoria" or the dispatcher didn't use the Victoria callsign?

It was a crazy night. I also heard Pierce dispatch on 159.2175 in digital (that's about 115 miles to Pierce, TX). Lastly, I also heard Fairfield, TX Dispatch on 159.2175 in digital with some 66XXs, that is nearly 165 miles from me. Great conditions.

So my official questions are:

1. Does anyone else live enar enough to Seguin to confirm 155.4450 in conventional mode with a PL tone of 546?

2. Can anyone tell me where 155.4450 in conventional mode with a CTCSS tone of 131.8 is coming from (near my location)?

3. Can anyone tell me where 155.4450 in conventional mode with a CTCSS tone of 136.5 is coming from (near my location)?

4. Does anyone know at what point the on I-35 northbound the troopers can finally raise Austin dispatch (mile marker would be good)? Follow up: Does anyone know if the dispatch center off Lamar is the Austin Dispatch still?

5. Why the Region III trooper was trying to raise "Calallen" instead of "Victoria?"

Thanks for your help guys. I listen to enough DPS that I have more questions than this but I'll let this go awhile before I ask those.

MOD: Can I request a Texas DPS sticky in the Texas forum again? It seems many DPS questions continually pop-up and I could just subscribe to one thread in that case...

 

[TXEMT]

the 155.445 you are hearing is just bleed over from there 155.4375 dispatch channel for GCSO..the 4375 and 445 are so close togeather they bleed over.

 

[texasemt13]

I could see that- though I can listen to GCSO at the same time if I want to. I might try to listen to both at once and see BUT I doubt this as the other night it was only DPS on there and I normally hear DPS call in on GCSO Ch3 when they do you use Guadalupe County. I'll check on this.

 

[WX5JCH]

I was listening to Childress DPS in P-25 mode yesterday from Oklahoma, very cool!

 

[Russell]

Texasemt13,

Are you using a Pro96? I have one of those, as well, and it bleeds over real bad from adjacent channels. I can copy analog just like it's right on the programmed channel when it is not. However, I can not copy digial on an adjacent channel as it will not decode. Do you have another scanner that you program with the GC channel and see if you hear traffic on both scanners at the same time. Don't forget that DPS frequently uses SO channels for their ops.

Before Austin went digital, I could hear SA all the time from north Austin on just the rubber ducky. I think the SA channel is a higher power because it comes booming into Austin. When traveling I lose Austin in a hurry, it seems like the VHF channel just barely covers Travis a little of the adjacent counties. Troopers in Austin have Austin/Travis digital radios and are using much more often, now. DPS Austin also has A/TC radios and some of the channels are patched to the VHF channels.

Russell

 

[texasemt13]

Russell,
Yes I am using the 96 for this as it is the only digital I have right now. Maybe if I can convince a buddy of mine to come up with his 96 and his 500 we could sort some fo this out. I can receive GCSO from my house in San Marcos with my 95 though no problem. I'll put a 95 on GCSO only compare the audio with the 96 on the freq 155.4450. But, if this is the case (and I can see why as those two freqs are really close as TXEMT suggested) but, why would the "bleed over" happen with the CT tones of 136.5 and 131.8?

The only place in the surrounding 9 counties that uses the 136.5 tone, that I can find, is S. Hays FD Dispatch (freq of 154.355 CT of 136.5) but hopefully it is not bleeding over that bad (and this isn't fire traffic but 4 unit DPS numbers in the 6XXXs) and 155.4450 w/ the CT of 131.8 has left me lost (but this again is DPS traffic).

 

[davidbond21]

I have a PSR-500 and I hear what sounds like mostly DPS traffic on 155.445 DPL 546, with the only other units that I've heard on there being K9 units(don't know if DPS or GCSO). I guess the thought hadn't occurred to me that it could be bleedover from Ch. 1. I'll have to dust off the 96 and fire it up side by side with the 500 and see.

 

[Russell]

Is GCSO Ch 1 still 155.4375? If so, that's only 7.5 khz off of 155.445. 155.4375 is also still 11 khz "wide" (read 'not narrow'). The Pro96 is not selective enough to reject that frequency on 155.445. The PSR 500 may be able to if you set it to FMN on 155.445. However, I think you may still hear it since it is still an 11khz channel. This is the problem all users will find until all users move to narrowband channels. They don't have to be digital, just narrowband. You might be hearing DPS units on GCSO's channel as this is a common practice for DPS Troopers. I'm real curious what you with two scanners tuned to the different channels simultaneously.

Russell

 

[rattlerbb01]

As far as the Victoria question goes, DPS Victoria dispatch was closed sometime ago. All radio towers in the Victoria region are remotely controlled from Corpus Christi dispatch. I didn't know they went by Calallen, though.

 

[davidbond21]

Listened last night to 155.4375 and 155.445, both DPL 546, for over 3.5 hours before I had to leave my house. Not a peep.

 

[Russell]

Listened last night to 155.4375 and 155.445, both DPL 546, for over 3.5 hours before I had to leave my house. Not a peep.

Isn't that always the way?

 

[davidbond21]

Isn't that always the way?

Yeah, but once you learn to accept it, life becomes much easier I've found.