LAFD - Direct or Repeater?

[zerg901]

Does anyone listen to the Los Angeles City Fire Department on a regular basis? When they are using their fireground / TAC channels, do they usually operate thru the repeater, or do they operate in talkaround mode? Does the Incident Commander (IC) talk to the dispatcher on the TAC channel? Someone told me that they use a combination of repeater and direct traffic on the TAC channels, and I am trying to figure out the rhyme and reason behind the procedure. Peter S Arlington MA

 

[Eng74]

The reason you go to "direct" is so you can run more than one call on a channel. It also keeps trafic down from for dispatch that they have to monitor. You can also say some things a little less formal than when it goes over to the whole department.

 

[zerg901]

In my hometown (Arlington MA) and in Prince George County Maryland, the IC stays on the repeater with the dispatcher; and the rest of the units at the scene go to the talkaround channel on the output of the repeater. Boston FD typically does everything thru the repeater, except, if portable radios are having trouble reaching the repeater, they will switch to talkaround. AFAIK, the IC in Boston never (seldom) goes to 'direct'.

A major problem with this procedure is that the dispatcher can override firescene comms, and never realize that it is happening. In addition, the dispatcher has no way of hearing a MAYDAY call from the scene.

In addition, in large buildings, or below grade, units that are on 'talkaround' ('direct') have very limited range.

Peter S

 

[RobertW1]

I don't listen to LAFD a lot, but I believe that when on TAC channels they are still running through the repeater. I usually have no problem hearing the units on the TAC channel when listening to a brush fire or large structure fire. Being in the 800 MHz freq range there would be no way I could hear them as well as I do, unless they are using the repeater.

Whether the radios are actually capable of "talkaround" and whether they ever use them in that mode, I'm not sure.

 

[RTfireguy]

All LAFD radios are XTS handhelds, that have and do use the direct feature and also the repeater feature. As far as i know it you can switch between the two, when on TAC channs

 

[zerg901]

Thanks for the replies - you answered my question.

As far as I know, LA City FD has 10 repeater sites. All channels are synchronized simulcast from all sites. Therefore, if a portable radio is accessing a repeater OK - the message can be heard from Oat Mtn to San Pedro - and everywhere in between. Peter S