Well it looks like from the RR database that they are using these 700mhz spectrum for vehicle extenders which I have never been able to pickup any of these 700mhz frequencies in the Greater LA area.
I think they are still on their older VHF system because of budget cutbacks and the millions of dollars its going to take to upgrade their statewide system. Probably a cost of over 500 million probably.
I think within a few years you will see them migrate off of VHF and go straight to 700mhz system. Its most def going to be 700mhz for sure since its already in use. Not sure if it will be a statewide trunked system or APCO P25 conventional system. Yes they do need to get off of the old VHF system for sure. I bet they have a lot of communication problems because I hear car units and dispatcher complaining hear and there.
You need to read the CHP threads that are currently active. VHF Low serves them quite well. There are a host of reasons that the CHP cannot migrate to 700 MHz frequencies, including the necessity for a quadrupling, or more, of the number of mountain top radio sites needed to provide state wide coverage. This number is an estimate based on the feasibility study the state did in San Diego County for replacing low band with a 700/800 MHz system. The expense of building these sites along with the fact that many of them will likely never be available for construction.
There is nothing wrong with VHF Low, Just because some people consider trunking, higher frequency systems as superior and digital as the latest and greatest, this does not mean the lower frequency, conventional and non-digital radio systems are sub par. The new mobile radios will be able to work on every band, thus allowing the officer full interoperability with all the agencies in the area, with some trunking systems being unavailable for use and being limited to the local trunked system. A CHP car used in Riverside is configured to be able to work on the countywide trunked system there, but may not be able to work on the City of San Francisco trunked system. This is conjecture on my part, but I can't imagine radios that have the capacity to work on a large number trunked systems, especially when considering that EDACS, Motorola and LTR systems are not compatible.
A lack of funding is not the reason that the CHP has not made a move away from VHF Low. The current threads on the CHP radio system and older threads discussing the current CHPERS (California Highway Patrol Enhanced Radio System) project cover all the reasons the CHP is not moving off VHF Low. These threads contain posts from some very well informed people. It would be beneficial for you to find those threads and read up.
Being trendy by installing radio systems with bells and whistles many departments don't need has resulted in many radio system failures and cost over runs when the current VHF or 400 MHz system they have are working very well, is a big mistake. Take a look at what the Las Vegas Metro PD did and the outcome. Their VHF High conventional system worked far better than the Open Sky systems that replaced it. A well functioning trunked radio system exists in Clark County, but Metro chose not to join, favoring a more trendy system. They have wasted 10's of millions of dollars and have to build a new system as a result.
The trunking system bandwagon has been created by sale people who work with agency personnel that don't know anything about radio. While 700/800 MHz trunked radio systems may fit the needs of agencies in metro areas, they can be a disaster in rural areas. The CHP covers the entire state, not just metro areas, some in areas where there is no cell phone coverage and will likely never have it. That tells you something about the higher frequencies not being able to cover what VHF is already providing. The 800 MHz conversion of Caltrans and State Parks could not be completed in the northwest portion of the state where dense pine tree forests exist. Pine needles attenuate the signals of the higher frequencies such that a huge number of sites, some covering very small areas, would have to be added. State Parks is now using a VHF High system for their jurisdiction in that portion of the state. Caltrans has largely reverted to their original 47 MHz system. The disadvantage for both agencies is that units from the rest of the state cannot work in up there and vice versa.
People who haven't read about the situation the CHP is in and the program to upgrade their system should not knock the CHP VHF-Low system they are spending money on. The CHPERS project is supposed to have a $500 million cost. It is taking longer to complete for a number of different reasons, funding being one of them. They have made a number of changes to reduce the cost of the original project and even then funding has resulted in delays. When completed it will be an outstanding system without jumping on the trendy, complex system bandwagon.
