Monument Fire frequencies - Weaverville CA

[zerg901]

todays list

Command 1 - 173.8125 R - Weaver Bally

Command 2 - 171.5375 R - Hayfork Bally

Command 3 - 171.0875 R - Bully Choop

Command 4 - 173.50 R - Brush Mtn

all Commands have PL 107.2 on repeater output

Tac 1 - 168.05

Tac 2 - 168.60

Tac 3 - 166.725

Tac 4 - 166.775

Tac 5 - 168.25

Tac 6 - 168.2375

all Tac channels have PL 107.2 on TX and RX due to nearby fires using same channels

A/G Command - 171.8625 - PL 0.0

A/G Tac - 171.0375 - PL 0.0

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Group 08 Initial Attack includes also

A/G 2ndary - 166.875 - PL 0.0

A/G Primary - 167.60 - PL 0.0

(possibly listed so units onscene can comm with nearby initial attack units on new fire starts in the area)

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NOTAMS - a/a - 126.275 AM

Air Tactics - 169.725 - PL 0.0

A/A Rotary - 123.775 AM - (that should be rotory shoudnt it - a helo has rotors not rotars)

Deck - 168.35 - PL 0.0

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anybody know if the 4 command repeaters are tied together? if so - they could free up 3 input channels - right?

 

[es93546]

When command repeaters are tied together they use separate VHF High frequency pairs and each repeater is linked using UHF frequencies. In the case of a common repeater frequency input a voter has to be utilized. A voter system adds complexity to something that works quite well without it. With a common input frequency without the use of a voter some mobile/handheld radios would hit more than one repeater at the same time. If all the inputs were linked into one signal the repeater with the best signal would not be able to pass that single signal on to the whole system. I'm not even sure if all the input could be linked together without a voter. Handhelds are not the only radios being used as all engines, command rigs, crews and dozers on a fire have mobiles with the NIFC System in them. That increases the chances of multiple repeaters picking up a common input frequency.

We used to have some simple Bendix-King mobiles 20-30 years ago and they could be cloned, but most mobiles at the time had more memory than the Kings and were preferred as a result. If I recall correctly the cloning cable for the handhelds was different than that of the mobiles. I think you had to plug the cable into the mic connection on the mobiles. The connection looked like a standard clear plastic phone/data cable. I had to program the King mobiles in two of my subordinates trucks one channel at a time. It wasn't worth it to me to buy the cable. They only had two banks of 16 channels each and we didn't change the program very often. I purchased the King mobiles because they were far cheaper than the Midland in my truck that required a laptop to program. The only laptops authorized to use the software for the Midlands were those in the radio shop.

There is no need to free up 3 input channels. The interference that might result between incidents is not the input so much as the output frequencies of the repeaters.

In the context the word is used, rotary is the correct spelling. Rotor applies to each wing, rotary applies to the system.

When a large fire occurs on a unit, often times there is a drawdown of local resources. Sometimes it is quicker and more effective to dispatch resources assigned to the large fire. This is usually done when a new start needs additional resources beyond that included in the standard initial attack dispatch.

Tones are required on TX and RX for all NIFC frequencies, be they tac or command. This became policy about 5 years ago. Incidents use the same tone for the output frequencies of command repeaters and on both sides of the tactical frequencies. Doing so is not triggered by another nearby incident using the same frequencies. If they didn't do this every time, should interference from another fire be experienced, the first fire would have to bring in every radio once again to be cloned with tones. An adjacent or second fire just picks another tone and their radios are cloned with it right from the get go. Tones are not used on air to ground frequencies as far as I know.

It is rare to use more than one command repeater and not link them. It is essential that all command positions hear all command traffic on an incident. UHF linking is not all that complex, it just requires a link radio in a large fiberglass box be taken with the VHF repeater when a site is chosen. Antennas for VHF repeaters and UHF link radios are stored in the boxes. The boxes aren't huge and one person can carry them for a distance. They are larger and heavier than most suitcases, but not by a huge amount. There are some limited circumstances when non command personnel need to contact the incident communications unit or the incident dispatcher directly and so all command repeaters need to be linked.