Fairfax County Talk Group IDs?

[ke6vqy]

Can anyone confirm the TGID listed for Fairfax County? I am only able to receive a handful of them, mainly HQ, FD 4A and 4B, and a couple of the OPS channels.

I did do an ID SEARCH and found the following active TGs not listed in the RR data:
17427 - (in the Centreville area)
17043 - 41CHARLIE
22928 - Radio Check
20720 - Motor Unit
17331 - PD dispatch
20720 - PD in area of Main St/Rt 123 FFX
21808 - Animal Control

I am looking for the main PD dispatch channels. I hear W SPNGFLD and RESTON OPS 1 on the IDs listed in the RR database, but none of the main dispatch channels.

Thx.

 

[ericcarlson]

I did do an ID SEARCH and found the following active TGs not listed in the RR data:
17043 - 41CHARLIE
17331 - PD dispatch
17427 - (in the Centreville area)
20720 - Motor Unit
20720 - PD in area of Main St/Rt 123 FFX
21808 - Animal Control
22928 - Radio Check

I am looking for the main PD dispatch channels. I hear W SPNGFLD and RESTON OPS 1 on the IDs listed in the RR database, but none of the main dispatch channels.

17427 is 17424+3, the +3 indicates the talkgroup is patched to another talkgroup. 17043 is 17040+3. 17331 is 17328+3. 20720 and 21808 are llisted in the database on this site.

Please see this page for an explanation of the "status bit" portion of the talkgroup ID: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/wiki/index.php?title=Motorola_Talkgroups

-Eric

 

[ke6vqy]

17427 is 17424+3, the +3 indicates the talkgroup is patched to another talkgroup. 17043 is 17040+3. 17331 is 17328+3. 20720 and 21808 are llisted in the database on this site.

Please see this page for an explanation of the "status bit" portion of the talkgroup ID: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/wiki/index.php?title=Motorola_Talkgroups

-Eric

Yeah I overlooked a couple of them in the database....

So, I am assuming based on your status bit explanation that they are not simply using:
16016 CH-1 HQ/motorcycles/helicopter/K9 
16848 CH-2 Mount Vernon 
17232 CH-3 3 McLean 
17136 CH-4 Mason
17328 CH-5 Reston 
16944 CH-6 Franconia 
17040 CH-7 West Springfield 
17424 CH-8 Fair Oaks
...but are patching 2 or more TGs together when they are not so active? If so, how do I figure out which are patched? Should I just program all 8 of these TGs with the +3 method and add 8 extra TGs to my System to cover all the possibilities?

Thnx again.

 

[ericcarlson]

So, I am assuming based on your status bit explanation that they are not simply using:
16016 CH-1 HQ/motorcycles/helicopter/K9
16848 CH-2 Mount Vernon
17232 CH-3 3 McLean
17136 CH-4 Mason
17328 CH-5 Reston
16944 CH-6 Franconia
17040 CH-7 West Springfield
17424 CH-8 Fair Oaks
...but are patching 2 or more TGs together when they are not so active?

Yes. The channels are the same and appear the same to the system users. If you had an actual radio on the system you could have your radio on either of the talkgroups that are patched together and it would work seamlessly. However, scanners are not smart enough to know what the second talkgroup is.

If so, how do I figure out which are patched?

You can't directy tell using a scanner but you can probably figure it out based on what traffic you hear on the talkgroup when it is patched.

Should I just program all 8 of these TGs with the +3 method and add 8 extra TGs to my System to cover all the possibilities?

You can. If you have a newer scanner (generally those that support control channel-only tracking) with a status bit mode (consult your scanner manual), then you can tell the scanner to ignore the status bit information and always display talkgroup 17424 instead of 17427 (for example) or any other status bit mode. I recommend disabling the status bit information if your scanner supports it. You will still only hear a conversation on your scanner on the talkgroup ID that originated the patch, the scanner will not stop on the second talkgroup.

-Eric

 

[WesFFXFire]

Fairfax patches 2/6, 3/5, 1/8, 4/7..during the day motors have thier own disp sometimes.....they are pretty much like that 24/7.....sometimes they might be split if there is a busy night and there are dispatchers avalible. I can't explain why certin disp channels often don't work.....I have the same problems. But due to having MCT's some channels jst aren't very active.......