New antennas on CHP.

[scannerboy02]

I admire how the CHP seems to do everything a little bit different. No boring Toughbook and Havis console. Instead they have a floor mounted equipment console, iKey(?) monitor/keyboard, and a Kenwood LB radio. A unique setup to say the least.

Looks a lot better than the ridiculous CVPE deal they had going.

If you'll notice, that control head is for more than just the LB radio. They control the entire Kenwood RF deck from that head.
Radio 1 - 301 GG Div - Low
Radio 2 - CDF AEU - VHF
Radio 3 - CALAW4D - UHF
Radio 4 - CALAW8D - 700/800

 

[nokoa3116]

I admire how the CHP seems to do everything a little bit different. No boring Toughbook and Havis console. Instead they have a floor mounted equipment console, iKey(?) monitor/keyboard, and a Kenwood LB radio. A unique setup to say the least.

Looks a lot better than the ridiculous CVPE deal they had going.

Also, the neighbor's CHP SUV had the full antenna setup I've seen in the latest photos shown here on RR. The only 700 MHz use in both counties would be the CHP, DFW and State Parks extenders. There are only 2 trunking systems in the region as well. SCE's Phase 2 system and the 30-35 year Type 1 trunked system of the Mammoth/June Mountains Ski Areas. If a person doesn't want to listen to those a Bearcat 210 is sufficient to hear everything else. I'm hoping it will stay that way.

All that nice equipment and they choose Coban for the video system lol.

I actually found a video of this setup too. It appears to be in their new Chevy Tahoe

 

[es93546]

I admire how the CHP seems to do everything a little bit different. No boring Toughbook and Havis console. Instead they have a floor mounted equipment console, iKey(?) monitor/keyboard, and a Kenwood LB radio. A unique setup to say the least.

Looks a lot better than the ridiculous CVPE deal they had going.

All of the systems in CHP vehicles are installed at one state shop in the Sacramento area. The work is not contracted out, CHP employees do the work. In my time with the federal government, working for an agency that was involved in a "cause" (public lands, the environment, etc.) I noted that dedication and passion can't be contracted out. Everything is standardized. The vehicles arrive from the factory without any of the electronics installed. I don't recall, but I think there are some minor engine modifications made during the process as well. CVPE was a great concept and I don't know why it was dropped. It reminded me of that Soviet fighter jet that Clint Eastwood stole in a movie I don't remember the name of. It was set up to read the pilot's thoughts, a bit of a science fiction type movie.

 

[mmckenna]

CVPE was a great concept and I don't know why it was dropped.

Likely radio interfaces were a challenge. With them switching to the EFJ/Kenwood setup, having it all on the single control head made it sort of redundant.

It reminded me of that Soviet fighter jet that Clint Eastwood stole in a movie I don't remember the name of. It was set up to read the pilot's thoughts, a bit of a science fiction type movie.

Firefox

 

[alexgeo]

All of the systems in CHP vehicles are installed at one state shop in the Sacramento area. The work is not contracted out, CHP employees do the work. In my time with the federal government, working for an agency that was involved in a "cause" (public lands, the environment, etc.) I noted that dedication and passion can't be contracted out. Everything is standardized. The vehicles arrive from the factory without any of the electronics installed. I don't recall, but I think there are some minor engine modifications made during the process as well. CVPE was a great concept and I don't know why it was dropped. It reminded me of that Soviet fighter jet that Clint Eastwood stole in a movie I don't remember the name of. It was set up to read the pilot's thoughts, a bit of a science fiction type movie.

Seems like off-the-shelf components would give the radio shop more control over the installation (and price lol). I'm guessing every time a new radio had to be interfaced some Rockwell Collins engineer had to set the CVPE system up to communicate with it.

Somebody did a hit-and-run on my car last year and I had to file a police report with a CHP officer. We ended up talking about his Harley for a bit and I noticed his bike still had a GE Rangr! They seem get good use out of their equipment...

 

[mmckenna]

Seems like off-the-shelf components would give the radio shop more control over the installation (and price lol). I'm guessing every time a new radio had to be interfaced some Rockwell Collins engineer had to set the CVPE system up to communicate with it.

Yeah. And the Kenwood/EFJ control heads will do everything they need in a smaller package. Big benefit to going with a common radio platform.
It gets pretty cramped in those cars with all the equipment, and being able to eliminate some of it really helps.

The CVPE system made sense back in the 90's, but technology has moved on.

 

[ScannerDude244]

I wonder if they can change tones OST on their radios for calfire

 

[mmckenna]

I wonder if they can change tones OST on their radios for calfire

Not sure how the new system is set up, but they used to have a really cool system that allowed reprogramming of the radios remotely. We had CHP on site for a rather large event. When they got here, we realized that even though we'd been feeding them our system frequencies/tones for years on the interop questionnaires they'd send us, they didn't have us in some of the radios. A call to Sacramento and they reprogrammed the radios on the fly remotely. Had them up and running pretty quick.

 

[es93546]

Firefox

Thanks for that. Both the word "fire" and "fox" were going around in my head, but I could not verify the name at the time and I didn't put the two words together. I could have looked it up on IMDB, but I was a bit lazy.

 

[scannerboy02]

I recently saw a picture of the inside of the new CHP patrol vehicles. It doesn't show the antennas, but maybe related to their new setup?

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1388286650770329600

Does anyone happen to know if the addition of the division (301) number and office (320) number to the display is new? I don't remember seeing that with other setups, I remember it being a combination of the channel color (MRN) and division squelch (GAT) name.

Also, does anyone happen to have a copy of the radio template (long shot, I know) I would be interested in seeing how the rest of the channels are labeled.

 

[kg6nlw]

Does anyone happen to know if the addition of the division (301) number and office (320) number to the display is new? I don't remember seeing that with other setups, I remember it being a combination of the channel color (MRN) and division squelch (GAT) name.

Also, does anyone happen to have a copy of the radio template (long shot, I know) I would be interested in seeing how the rest of the channels are labeled.

I've been looking but I feel it's the same as this now.

Regards,

-Frank C.

 

[djpaulino]

Well with all this new interoperability , I never hear them using it??

 

[ladn]

Also, the neighbor's CHP SUV had the full antenna setup I've seen in the latest photos shown here on RR. The only 700 MHz use in both counties would be the CHP, DFW and State Parks extenders. There are only 2 trunking systems in the region as well. SCE's Phase 2 system and the 30-35 year Type 1 trunked system of the Mammoth/June Mountains Ski Areas. If a person doesn't want to listen to those a Bearcat 210 is sufficient to hear everything else. I'm hoping it will stay that way.

That's on of the (many) things I like when I visit Eastern California. The radio landscape is very simple compared to what I am used to at home in SoCal.

You didn't mention the LADWP system, which is also trunked. I've never listened to it, but have, on occasion, listened to their lowband system.

There's a fair amount milair traffic throughout the region that's fun to monitor as well and the local amateur radio club (BARC) has a very friendly nightly net on their linked repeater system that covers a significant portion of the Owens Valley.

 

[ScannerDude244]

Well with all this new interoperability , I never hear them using it??

They always get stacks of radios still rely on dispatcher to dispatcher maybe they will use it this time around.

 

[ScannerDude244]

fleet operations video shows a little bit of the radio stuff still cool to see

 

[scannerboy02]

If this is too off topic let me know.

While watching this video on Facebook from 'CHP - Golden Gate Division Air Operations' I notices two different sounds (one at the 1:06 mark and the other at the 1:25 mark) that appear to be some kind of communications system but I can't identify it. After the sound at 1:25 you can hear some say something that sounds like "is anyone on ________." Is anyone familiar with these sounds or know what communications system they may be coming from? It almost sounds like some kind of cellular PTT system but I'm not sure.

 

[kg6nlw]

If this is too off topic let me know.

While watching this video on Facebook from 'CHP - Golden Gate Division Air Operations' I notices two different sounds (one at the 1:06 mark and the other at the 1:25 mark) that appear to be some kind of communications system but I can't identify it. After the sound at 1:25 you can hear some say something that sounds like "is anyone on ________." Is anyone familiar with these sounds or know what communications system they may be coming from? It almost sounds like some kind of cellular PTT system but I'm not sure.

The first tone around 1:06 is a fire dispatch on another radio being put out for REDCOM (Sonoma County)...

The second tone sounds MDC like and it's "is anyone on a bike?" sounding to me.

Regards,

-Frank C.

 

[scannerboy02]

The first tone around 1:06 is a fire dispatch on another radio being put out for REDCOM (Sonoma County)...

Thank you.

The second tone sounds MDC like and it's "is anyone on a bike?" sounding to me.

Regards,

-Frank C.

The more I listen to it the more it sounds like "anybody with spikes."

 

[kg6nlw]

Thank you.


The more I listen to it the more it sounds like "anybody with spikes."

Quite possibly. I just did a quick listen...Yeah that was definitely REDCOM and then REDCOM again towards the end. Almost sounded as if they overlayed scanner audio from a Broadcastify stream onto the video! Radios usually sound much better than that in vehicles, even air!

Regards,

-Frank C.

 

[scannerboy02]

Quite possibly. I just did a quick listen...Yeah that was definitely REDCOM and then REDCOM again towards the end. Almost sounded as if they overlayed scanner audio from a Broadcastify stream onto the video! Radios usually sound much better than that in vehicles, even air!

Regards,

-Frank C.

I don't normally listen to REDCOM but I have been listening to them over the past hour or so and I definitely agree the first sound was REDCOM.

As for the second, I'm still not sure what that was.

The audio quality is just from the volume being over modulated on the recording. I'm fairly sure they don't add any additional radio traffic into the videos afterwards.