New Tower Behind Abilene DPS

[trunkerman63]

Does anyone here in Abilene know what the new tower is for right behind the DPS office on Industrial? It's pretty tall. I saw some antennas on it today and they look like the ones DPS would use.

Thanks-

 

[redhelmet13]

I would presume it would be for DPS communications. Watch the FCC database for any license or tower modifications for DPS-ABI...

 

[trunkerman63]

Sure will! Thanks for that info!

 

[nd5y]

There are no new FCC applications so there will probably not be any new frequencies.
All I could find is the FAA obstruction study.
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=128469139

 

[sudsyjkh]

I heard unit 5047 [maybe a radio tech]? doing a bunch of radio checks around 22:00-23:00 tonight. He would radio the Abilene dispatch every 8-10 miles to see how he was being copied. Each time dispatch could read him 10-2.

 

[nd5y]

Unless they changed recenty the communications people had IDs like Rxyy (R+region number+2 digits)

 

[texasemt13]

Units with the second digit of 0 are usually sergeants and above.

Unit #000 would be the region commander (a major I think), then sequentially from there are the subregion commanders. 5001, is the captain in charge of the region 5, subregion 1 office. 5002, the captain in charge of the region 5, subregion 2 office, etc. Usually for sergeants, the third digit indicates the subregion they belong to, so 5047 would be a a region 5 sergeant, in subregion 4, the 7th highest sergeant in that subregion.

This is how I understood it to be, back in the days before they changed their regions.

 

[ericsnowman8]

Does anybody monitor the dps with a p-25 scanner? What goes on on their radios?

 

[fasteddy64]

Does anybody monitor the dps with a p-25 scanner? What goes on on their radios?

Honestly to me it sounds the same as before. Traffic stops, accidents, etc...

 

[sudsyjkh]

The dps are very busy in the Abilene area. You will hear them dispatched to accidents, running vehicles/people, pretty much whatever the dps does you'll hear it. A lot of their stuff is done on mobile work stations, but they still use the radios quite a bit.
And with the way the radios are set up now, the listener can hear both sides of the conversation when it is between the dps office and local cars.
-Johnny

 

[mass-man]

Interesting as around Dallas the radio is used MUCH less than before. Guess the MDT is kept busy and whenever they use a radio on a local or county system as opposed to their own. I have heard DPS units on the Denton Co, system many times.

cleve

 

[nd5y]

There are no new FCC applications so there will probably not be any new frequencies.
All I could find is the FAA obstruction study.
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=128469139

I found this application today.
ULS Application - Public Safety Pool, Conventional - 0005075543 - TEXAS, STATE OF (DPS) - Locations Summary
Click on the Location and Frequencies tabs to see what they are changing.
It appears that the new tower is replacing the one on a hill 15 miles SE of Abilene.

Frequencies for the new tower are:
155.4525 repeater (Base D)
159.0900 repeater (probably CLE)
154.6875 control station (probably for Brownwood repeater)
153.8675 control station for Lorain repeater
155.3700 base (Texas Law 2)