Gulf Shores Fire Department VHF Dispatch Frequency

[sadave]

Good morning,

I have a question or two about the Gulf Shores Fire Department VHF frequency (154.965). I've been trying to pick up audio on this frequency but only receive the Morse Code call sign broadcast. Using the search features on my SDS200 and BCD436HP, I've confirmed the Audio Option of CTCSS 123.0 Hz and the modulation is NFM (I've also tried all the other options with no improvement). I even got a 154.965 crystal for my Bearcat IV but only get the Morse Code call sign. So, it seems the frequency is alive but seemingly not doing anything.

The FCC license shows this to be simply a conventional repeater system with the mobile input on 159.120. For kicks, I've even programmed the frequencies as a Motorola, a DMR 1 frequency, a NXDN 1 frequency, a P25 1 frequency, and even as EDACS. I got absolutely nothing from that exercise.

Whenever there is Gulf Shores FD traffic on AIRS, the VHF frequency opens but it just sounds like dead air. I can't seem get my head around what role the VHF plays but I'm fairly certain all the FD radios are actually trunked to AIRS and there are no VHF radios being patched. If there are, this seems unique since all other VHF patched systems I've encountered have voice on the originating frequency regardless to what it is patched. I suppose a department might want to patch from AIRS down to VHF but it seems that audio would be heard on both. I've gone through lots of pages on the Forum and it seems the FD was on VHF several years ago and may have been patched to AIRS during a transition phase but I suspect they have fully transitioned. Their current VHF license (WYR746) is due to expire later this year so perhaps this will all just go away.

If anyone has any insight on this, it sure would be appreciated. I've been spending some free time updating the RRDB page and working on a Baldwin County Wiki.

Shep

 

[KV4PM]

You're probably spot on in assuming the VHF will go away soon. I think there is some FCC requirement to ID every so often, so maybe someone set this up and forgot about it, lol. I don't listen to anything on VHF anymore, not even USCG Sector Mobile on the marine channels. A co-worker is a volunteer fire fighter, Bon Secour I think, and his HT is VHF, still used for economic reasons probably.

 

[medic9351301]

SHEP:
my experc with vhf patching to airs is that the audio is so low that u have to turn the volume up all the way .or they could have the modulation turned down so low you just cant hear it . and some departments only broadcast the base side.

KV4PM:
As for the cw identifer they had to id every hour at one time . vs us ham guys every 10 mins when talking . It's ironic here in my county that when 911 does a 8 pm radio check for all fd's they dispatch for they use there conventional fcc linc. example kxa 317 even though there on the airs trunked system.

 

[morganAL]

Those are either dispatchers that have been in the biz a long time or they are dispatchers that the old heads pounded that requirement into. It took a long time for the agency I worked for to break the old heads from using the old conventional callsigns.

As for the cw identifer they had to id every hour at one time . vs us ham guys every 10 mins when talking . It's ironic here in my county that when 911 does a 8 pm radio check for all fd's they dispatch for they use there conventional fcc linc. example kxa 317 even though there on the airs trunked system.

 

[RadioJonD]

Those are either dispatchers that have been in the biz a long time or they are dispatchers that the old heads pounded that requirement into. It took a long time for the agency I worked for to break the old heads from using the old conventional callsigns.

KIB-511

 

[medic9351301]

Those are either dispatchers that have been in the biz a long time or they are dispatchers that the old heads pounded that requirement into. It took a long time for the agency I worked for to break the old heads from using the old conventional callsigns.

KIB-511

KXA 317, WHNT 860, WNVD 482, WPMY 680 CLEAR AT 2000

 

[morganAL]

KSS821 KNAU443 KDN436

 

[kingpin]

They are primarily on the 700 system. The VHF stuff was working with Motopatch years ago but I suspect it's fallen to the wayside since we transitioned them over to 700.

 

[west-pac]

Most volunteer fire departments still get paged on VHF or UHF analog FM, even though the tones and broadcasts go across a trunked system. Analog FM pagers are still the standard across most departments nationwide.