Merced Co Updates

[lbfd09]

Thought I post this while awaiting the log jam in the DB posting to clear.

Merced SO still uses their VHF frequencies; in fact they never abandoned them. Somehow the dB here lost tract of them some 5 or so years ago. Many of the channels have the NFM approval from the FCC. The old 980 net or channel is sometimes still heard county wide, but is normally on one of the low level repeaters, if not in simplex operation.

SO -
155.985000 153.935000 WQAC485 RM unkn Co Jail
Jail Ops FM SO
155.88000 unkn WQAG528 RM unkn SO FM SO
155.89000 unkn WQAG528 RM unkn SO 980 Net 980 Channel FM SO

Some years ago Atwater Fire moved over to a schedule A contract with CDF (sorry CDF is easier to type than CalFire). They are now dispatched on the Merecd County Local. They use "Atwater Cmd" as command channel for larger incidents and also have their old tac channel designated as "Yellow Tac" (154.20500).

CHANGE -
154.01000 156.10500 WNPF988 RM 114.8 PL Atwater CMD Fire Command FMN Fire Area Command
ADD -
154.20500 156.20500 WPPW385 BM 114.8 PL Yellow Tac Atwater Tac "Yellow" FMN Fire East Side/Atwater Tac

To help in reducing the overload on Merced County Net, major incidents on the west side of the ranger unit will use "CDF CMD 2" and "CDF CMD 4" is used on the east side. The tac channels as divided up as needed.

Livingston (home of those famous Foster Farms traffic jams) is returning to active use on their old VFH Hi Band channels as well. They still can be heard yammering on the trunked system also.

ADD -
155.68500000 158.98500000 KMH518 RM LivingstonPD1 Police Dept FM PD
154.890000 KMH518 BM LivingstonPD2 980 Channel FM PD

The County DPW operates the two county dump sites or land fills if you prefer. They operate on their long time established VHF Hi band channel. This is only for local ops, so one channel for both locations.

Public Works -
155.10000 WNPA711 BM D032 Billy Wright Ops Billy Wright Dump FM Ops
155.10000 WNPA711 BM unkn Hiway 59 Dump Ops Hiway 59 Dump FM Ops

Merced County several years ago set up a county wide interop channel outside of the Trunked system, in the 800 meg band. This originally was used for key management to contact each other and coordinate resources. It seem now to be used primarily as county wide EOC inter op channel.

InterAgency -
854.4625 809.4625 WQKP275 RM unkn Inter Agency Inter Agency Comm Link FM Ops

Castel AirPark and Development Park, a county project of the "non-RDA" (thanks gov and state rep's) uses the following for their op's:

155.0400 158.8800 WPYH274 RM Castle Ops Castle Air Park FM Ops

Not submitted for the dB, WalMart in Los Banos is heard using MIRS-5.

Let the re-submitted VHF Lo band channels be a lesson to all of us when advising the dB admins of channel abandonment. Many, if not all at the time, agencies when moving to their trunked system kept their hi band frequencies and in many cases radios. Such moves may only free up the old channels for new uses or be held for reserve.

More fun will come with the move to NFM on the east side of the county.

 

[zerg901]

Add 154.205 156.205 ?

I think you mean ADD 154.205 154.205

 

[lbfd09]

Add 154.205 156.205 ?

I think you mean ADD 154.205 154.205

Yeah - I thnk you discovered my great BIG FAT fingers....

 

[zerg901]

I dont think that I have ever seen a non standard freq listed in the RadioRef database. Either they have super human editors, or they have a computerized way to check for non standard freqs. I seem to remember a license in the FCC database for 155.345 or something like that - but that was many years ago. 155.34 vs 155.345 might not be a major issue, but 155.34 vs 156.34 is not going to work. Having hundreds of eyes checking the info is useful of course.

 

[lbfd09]

Another had passed the transition to narrow banding. Along with that Merced City Fire has realigned their channels.

155.80500 158.93250000 WPKZ634 RM 173.8 PL Merced Cmd1 Fire Dispatch NFM Fire Dispatch
153.90500 158.96250000 WPKZ634 RM 173.8 PL Merced Cmd2 Fire Command NFM Fire Ops
154.13000 KMB463 BM 173.8 PL Merced Tac2 Fire Secondary NFM Fire-Tac
154.17500 KMB463 BM 173.8 PL Merced Tac4 Fireground NFM Fire-Tac
153.90500 WPKZ634 BM 173.8 PL Merced Cmd1 Fire Cdm direct NFM Fire Tac


This is a preview as their still seems to be a back log in getting into the data base.

 

[inigo88]

In the context of law enforcement radio communications in Merced County, what is a "980 channel?"

Also, can you elaborate on what sort of traffic you heard on the interagency 800 MHz freq?

Either they have super human editors, or they have a computerized way to check for non standard freqs.

Can't it be both?

 

[lbfd09]

In the context of law enforcement radio communications in Merced County, what is a "980 channel?"

Also, can you elaborate on what sort of traffic you heard on the interagency 800 MHz freq?
.... ... ... ...

The 980 channel or net is the old SO primary channel that was never taken out of commission. When the trunking system came in about 15+ years ago it was use as a back up and inter op for various law enforcement activities. It also in in the county fire load for fire units as an alternative and inter-op channel. One person reported hearing some jail ops on there as well, maybe as over flow traffic? It gets it's name from the call sign "KMA980" as all the various agencies originally used the numbers of their FCC call as their numeric ID. That is except for CHP, they be refereed to as control 2 and fire was control 3 the fire reference other than for the old-timers is a BC (before CDF contract) term

While 99% of the SO's radio traffic is used on the trunking system there have been reports that some events have caused the use of the VHF system. I believe with this round of grants this is being corrected and have heard rumor that this frequency may be incorporated to the new inter-agency inter-op use.

Many of the channels are in a flux state as the county is one of the first in this OES Region to address narrow banding and interoperability with all agencies. This transition is not without hiccups, burps, delays, and the few human oppss and goofs; but has over all transpired relatively smoothly and received positive notice by the grant providers.

A lot of older frequencies are being refarmed or designated as the all agencies and departments county wide and multi-jurisdictional adapt the NIMS and SIMS lessons into the radio systems, learning from past events across the nation.

I am guessing that the "800 inter-op" may change also. I am hearing all kinds of traffic sporadically (have heard an SO unit or 2 chatting and other chatter but never enough to answer the 5 W's). And I do see that the hit counter will spike on it when I am not near the scanner. I am guessing that radio service is testing for repeater range and building penetration for what ever the ultimate use of the channel will be.

There also is a new trunking system on the west side. I have yet to find the setting to get it to work out west here. I have heard the rural buses in the area through it and the main system, but that's when monitoring the channels in conventional mode. Running the analytical software that's mentioned in the trunking forum, I have not been able to make sense of this system - maybe it's still in test mode and waiting for the next stage? Maybe someone more intelligent than I can figure that out?

Did that answer any, all, or none of your questions? If not and if the Chiefs let me keep my typing fingers - more to come.....

 

[inigo88]

Haha yeah that helped, thanks!