Garland / Mesquite / Rowlett / Sachse P25 System

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Chance

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I have started picking some activity on the new system. All towers are not online yet. I'm in Sachse with a tower a mile away which is still silent. I'm able to pick up a decent signal from the south.

Unitrunker has confirmed 7 of the 16 published FCC frequencies so far.

774.13125 CC
772.93125 Backup CC
773.43125 Backup CC
774.68125 Backup CC
769.53125
772.04375
772.16875

BEE00-899 SITE 1-001


Have only seen affiliations from Radio ID 7558658 to groups 221 and 786. No voice calls in the last 8 hours.

Callsign in BSI Motorola messages is "CHANGEME" and the broadcast time is from 2003.
 
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PiccoIntegra

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I have started picking some activity on the new system. All towers are not online yet. I'm in Sachse with a tower a mile away which is still silent. I'm able to pick up a decent signal from the south.
It must have come online within the past two days. I just checked them on Sunday and there was no activity seen.

I hope you're right about Sachse's site not being online, because the signal I'm getting is fairly faint here in Collin County.

In addition to the above info, the NAC and frequency tables listed below.

Code:
NAC 0x891

tbl-id: 0 frequency: 851.006250 step 0.006250 offset -45.000000
tbl-id: 1 frequency: 762.006250 step 0.006250 offset 30.000000
tbl-id: 2 frequency: 851.012500 step 0.012500 offset -45.000000
tbl-id: 3 frequency: 762.006250 step 0.012500 offset 30.000000
tbl-id: 4 frequency: 935.012500 step 0.012500 offset -39.000000
tbl-id: 5 frequency: 935.012500 step 0.012500 offset -39.000000
 

IAmSixNine

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Picking up a very weak signal in NE Dallas, 4th floor facing north around the NW HWY & Skillman area.
Ill set up a scanner and run unitrunker.
 

Chance

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Still no activity on this system. However the Sachse tower is now online and I'm getting perfect reception, even with no antenna. From driving around the area, I believe all towers are online now and we will start to finally see some activity.

The system can be officially called GMRS. There was a recent letter filled with the FCC signed: Johnathan Morgan, GMRS - Radio System Manager. Also GMRS referenced in the intro licensing.fcc.gov/myibfs/download.do?attachment_key=1160168

I started to pick up on some chatter by radio techs on the existing Motrolla SmartNet system on talkgroup 3376, Garland Telecommunications. A few mentions of the new system and coordinating reboot of current system last week. May have been missing some good stuff there and now have it my main scan list.
 

28056

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I have been told to expect a switchover in June/July (conventional user going to the new TRS).

It's possible that existing users will be switching sooner.
 

kv5e

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Ø

A little birdie says that PD and FD comms are going to be covered by default. Evidently this was a system wide decision.

Key management for interops will be relatively easy to do with OTAR.

It is a shame that law abiding citizens are out of the loop now.

The PD and FD radios were ordered with AES-256 from the Mesquite RFP, I am sure the same elsewhere.

So now it's down to traffic analysis and if the channels are not strapped those who forget to enable Ø.
 

Chance

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In Sachse I have been directly assured that PD1 and FD1 and FD2 will be in the clear and PD2 will be secure. Since my city is a paying user of the system they should have their own choice.

For Rowlett I was very much assured all PD and FD is to be secure. Hence the end of the Rowlett/Sachse Scanner Facebook page...although we let it go a few months early and not enough happens in Sachse to make it worthwhile to keep up just for Sachse.

I have no direct knowledge of Garland and Mesquite. But I'd hope they would at least leave FD in the clear.

But ultimately what you have heard may very much become true and override everything else.

Hope to find out soon before investing in more digital radios.... There's a nice radio on Ebay I'm drooling over currently at $700 but I'm sure will hit $2k before it ends.
 

motorola_otaku

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Crosspoint (formerly DFW Communications) is the preferred sub for Motorola in the region on large system buildouts, so it's highly likely.
 

hiegtx

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Side note on the forthcoming GMRS system:

Apparently, when building one of the new towers for the new GMRS system, Rowlett started building the new tower on the wrong property. They owned a plot where the antenna was to be built, but the work crews started construction on a neighboring property. By the time the error was constructed, it was too late to move the tower under construction without a larger cost than simply buying the property it was being built on.

Story here:
Rowlett spends $478k after building police radio tower in wrong location | WFAA.com
 

28056

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LOLOLOL

At least Mesquite didn't have to worry about that.

Put it on that tower already there
Put it in that water tower already there.
Put the new tower right next to that water tower, inside the big fence.
 

Motoballa

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I saw a Crosspoint Communications truck yesterday with a Motorola logo in Rowlett. Are these the guys who are helping to put together the new system?

https://imgur.com/a/Tcy5P

I was told DFW Communications are the people working on it, they came into the Rowlett Dispatch Center a few weeks ago to work on the CAD System if I'm not mistaken. I've spoken to a few of the Officers and they don't like the CAD System, I don't know if its the CAD Software itself or what, but it seems to not work.. a lot.. Perhaps they were working on that.
 

Chance

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Still not a lot going on with the system, from a scanner user's perspective at least. Just did a quick search and realized I had missed an update to Garland City Council on 2/20/2017. It's about 12 minutes in under the second agenda item.

The Motorola estimate was the first quarter of this year. As of 2/202017, it is by year's end that system will be fully in use. Which means it could likely be mid 2018 before it's really fully transitioned.

Encryption is mentioned for all PD channels, except Sachse still leaning to be in the clear. Garland FD channels were specifically mentioned as remaining *in the clear* with the exception of one special purpose channel.

Video Link at: (Item 2 at 12:25)
February 20, 2017 Work Session - Garland, TX

Agenda Packet with presentation starting on Page 42
http://destinyhosted.com/garladocs/2017/CCWS/20170220_91/AGENDApacket__02-20-17_939_86.pdf


Side notes not from above:

Rowlett built their tower on the wrong piece of land and then had to buy the property or pay a delay fee.

There has been sporadic field use, mostly for testing the various lapel mics and general radio usage. I heard Garland PD using it for training doing simulated undercover drug sting ops. Other than that ... Test 1 2 3 4 5 5 4 3 2 1!

--Chance
 

IAmSixNine

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Chance i heard that same undercover testing a few weeks ago.
I also caught Fire dept testing the evacuation tone and some other testing using saws as background noise.
I think that was on TG87 I have it noted somewhere but not in front of me.
Also heard the techs testing on the way home and one of them in a van with mobile antenna was able to get almost to midlothian before it dropped out on him.
Im glad to see it being done right and not rushed.
Stupid Encryption.LOL
 
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