Interops

[mejnetguru]

Q:

In the NoVA are when would PS units use P-MARS/SIRS/RINS instead of the NIFOG national standard channels? Does P-MARS even still exist/get used at all? Do units ever use the NIFOG channels (UTAC/VTAC/VLAW/etc)?

Anytime I hear "interop" in Fairfax, units are just relaying messages through dispatch on the county P25 system, they don't even use the SIRS/P-MARS patch TGs, just normal dispatch TGs.

 

[mejnetguru]

Nobody has any idea?

From what I gather, SIRS is/may be used but only outside the major metro areas (e.g. not in NoVA). But what about P-MARS?

Do units ever use the NIFOG channels? And if so, when would they do so.

 

[fredva]

We've had a similar discussion in the STARS system thread. The use of interop systems, such as SIRS, varies throughout the state. I don't normally monitor the local agencies in the larger northern VA jurisdictions, so I can't really tell you what is or is not used there.

 

[Samuel]

P-MARS is used for comm center to comm center and is tested daily. SIRS is not used much in the core area of NoVa but the outer counties may still use it some for interop with VSP.

 

[BushDoctor]

SIRS

P-MARS is used for comm center to comm center and is tested daily. SIRS is not used much in the core area of NoVa but the outer counties may still use it some for interop with VSP.

I live in Shenandoah County and hear Warren County talking on SIRS to state units on 39.54. However i have never heard Shenandoah County talking to them. Last night I heard a Shenandoah unit running code and on my Stars pro-96 a state unit called Culpeper and requested them to call Shenandoah to because he was in Strasburg and requested to know where the Shenandoah unit was enroute to which his dispatcher did and advised him of such.

 

[freqhopping]

Never heard of NIFOG being used in the area. Usually units will just switch to the channel on the other jurisdictions system if compatible with their radios. Or like in the case this morning where Loudoun was requested to help VSP and Clarke Co with a search for a suspect that bailed out after a pursuit, Loudoun set up a patch to Clarke Co since they are single freq P25 VHF.