Phoenix/Sun City Area Questions

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Mountain343

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Hey everyone, I'm visiting the Sun City area right now for at least another week and i brought with me a 396xt. I've been playing around with various things I found in the database, and spent hours searching the forums and various websites but I still have a few questions that hopefully someone has the answers to:

RWC -
I can pick up Simulcast G - West Valley, Thompson, Towers, White Tanks (kinda), and Simulcast B - FD (kinda). I'm a bit surprised that White Tanks barely comes in since I think I'm pretty close to it.

On G I can hear Phoenix PD 600, 700, 800, and 900. On Thompson I can hear 200. Am I just SOL for 400 and 500?

I can hear Peoria, Avondale, El Mirage, Glendale, Surprise, and Tolleson on G, Thompson gives me Scottsdale. I'm guessing none of the towers I can receive carry Buckley, Chandler, Goodyear, Maricopa, or Tempe?

Is G best for listening to K deck?

Maricopa County -
I can hear White Tanks great, but does anyone have a list of what unit designators mean what? Henry, Paul, unit numbers and such? Also does anyone have a beat map? I believe the area I'm in is district 3, and I've also got the Posse programmed which has been fun to listen to.

Gila River Indian Community -
I can pick up the control channel well, but I never hear any traffic on the trunk system. Is it just really quiet, or should I redo the programming? Or do they mostly just use the conventional channel for fire dispatch?

AZWINS -
I can get White Tanks and Towers... is there any reason to program in Towers, or will I get most of the stuff on WT?

Phoenix Fire -
I've heard some units with the LA designator, is that a Light/Air unit or something else? It sounded like it was primary on scene which is why I'm not sure that it's that.

General Question -
What areas are the "most fun" to listen to? Like if you came out to Los Angeles I'd recommended LASD East LA, LAPD Southeast, Mission, and 77th divisions, CHP Blue, LAFD Brush 5/Structure Command, and LAcoFD Blue channels. Any recommendations for out here? I've got Luke AFB also programmed in, and thats been interesting, both the trunk and vhf/uhf milair comms. But I have no idea which freqs/areas are most interesting.

Thanks!
 

rwier

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If you are using the ProScan Software (I know, not likely) I can attach a 396xt File suitable for your "West Valley" location. Many of your detailed questions I am not competent to answer.
 

KB7MIB

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4,194
Location
Peoria, AZ.
For Phoenix PD 400 and 500, try Simulcast A. Your reception should be as good, or bad, as Simulcast B. Otherwise, yes, you are out of luck.

Unless they're now encrypted, in which case your Uniden will mute their transmissions, Goodyear PD should be monitorable on Simulcast G, along with Glendale, Peoria, El Mirage, Surprise, Tolleson, Avondale, the Tohono O'Odham police/security at Desert Diamond Casino near the Westgate center, and Phoenix PD 200, 800, 900. I wasn't aware that 600 was also on G.

Buckeye PD is fully encrypted. They're mostly on Simulcast J, and occasionally on the White Tanks IR. (Goodyear PD is also on Simulcast J.)

Chandler and Maricopa PD's are on Simulcast C. Tempe PD is on Simulcast F. We're out of range of these systems.

Yes, the Phoenix FD RDC K-decks can be fully monitored on Simulcast G. Otherwise, Simulcast B. They're also on Simulcasts C, F, H, and J. K-2 can be heard on White Tanks and Thompson Peak. K-1 and K-6 can occasionally be heard on Towers Mtn.

Gila River is P25 Phase II, IIRC. I don't think your Uniden is Phase II capable? PD is encrypted, anyway. (Salt River is the same way. Phase II, and PD encrypted.)

The White Tanks site for AZWINS I think isn't really aligned for best coverage across the Valley, but rather for north, west, and south of the White Tanks (US 60, I-10 and AZ 87.) I use a combination of North Mtn, South Mtn, White Tanks, Thompson Peak and Towers Mtn for AZWINS monitoring.

An "LA" unit is a 2-person "Low Acuity" unit. Some departments call them "Community Paramedics".


Glendale Fire launches low-emergency pilot program

MCSO District 2 is south of Northern Ave and west of I-17. District 3 is north of Northern Ave and west of I-17. These are the West districts.
The prefixes A, C, G, I, L, and N indicate a 1 deputy unit. The prefixes B, D, H, J, M and O indicate a 2 deputy unit. There are two prefixes per shift. (Adam 341 is a single deputy day shift unit. Charlie 341 would be the second car in the same area, with a single deputy., etc.)

340 is a sergeant. 341-343 mainly cover the Sun City/Youngtown area, and unincorporated Glendale/Peoria areas.
344-346 covers Sun City West, El Mirage, Surprise, Waddell, Wittmann and Circle City.
347 covers the Vulture Mine area south of Wickenburg.
351-353 cover Morristown, Wickenburg and Aguila.
390's are "at large" units that can roam district 3.

In addition to the West TG's, program in the VTAC's as well.
VTAC 11: 151.1375
VTAC-12: 154.4525
VTAC-13: 158.7375
VTAC-14: 155.4725
Deputies frequently use these, especially VTAC-12, but occasionally VTAC-11, for *very* informal car-car chit-chat :)

For district 2, 220 and 230 are the sergeants. 221 covers Laveen. 222 covers the Avondale and Tolleson area. 223 and 224 are around Litchfiled Park. 225 and 226 are in the South Glendale area.
231 and 237 are in the Rainbow Valley area. 232 is around Buckeye. 233 covers Tonopah and Harquahala Valley. 234 runs up and down AZ 87. 235 is in Gila Bend. 236 covers Mobile and far south Goodyear areas. 290's are at large.

You may occasionally hear a Lake Patrol 500 district or Mountain 800 district deputy on West. Usually they're out of Lake Pleasant and the White Tanks park.

MCSO beat boundry's aren't as rigid as a city police department's beat boundry's may be.

Be sure to include DPS Metro West and Metro West Tac UHF channels. They cover the 101 from I-10 to I-17. I-10 west of the 101 to the La Paz County line. I-17 north of the 101 to the Yavapai County line. The 303 from I-10 to I-17. Grand Ave/US 60 in Sun City as well as from Surprise through Wickenburg, and AZ 87 from Buckeye to Gila Bend.

On AZWINS be sure to have the ADOT ALERT West TG. If there is a need for a freeway closure anywhere west of Central Ave (including I-17 in DPS' Metro Central District), a lot of information can be gleaned from listening to them.

I hope this helps.

John
Peoria
 
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KB7MIB

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Location
Peoria, AZ.
Oh, I forgot.

On Thompson Peak, you'll only hear Scottsdale PD North. You won't hear all of Scottsdale. Phoenix PD 200A/B can also be heard on here.

You'll want to add in the interoperability G-deck and O(cean)-deck talkgroups on the RWC. They can be rather interesting at times with planned and spontaneous multi-agency incidents, including surveillance.
If You Hear A Surveillance Operation In Progress, Do Not Post About It.
And obviously, stay away from the area if they mention street names.

The RWC PSAP East/West TG's will have roll calls regularly throughout the day. It's mostly police and fire, but other agencies will also be called at certain times.

On the Maricopa County system, MCDOT has a special response unit called "REACT". They are not the CB radio REACT types, but a group of traffic control specialists who will assist city's with extended road closures due to police or fire incidents. TG 912. They also work with ADOT's ALERT units at times.

Maricopa County Emergency Management has TG 1565 on the RWC. As well as TG's 24016, 24048 and 24080 on the Maricopa County system. There is also the VHF Lowband 47.660 frequency. You may hear roll calls on occasion.

Arizona Division of Emergency Management has a couple of TG's on the APS statewide trunked system, as well as a statewide network of VHF repeaters. They have regular roll calls on both, as well as National Guard helicopter traffic on the VHF system.

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=2350

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=7279

John
Peoria
 

Mountain343

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Jul 21, 2009
Messages
74
If you are using the ProScan Software (I know, not likely) I can attach a 396xt File suitable for your "West Valley" location. Many of your detailed questions I am not competent to answer.

I appreciate the offer but I use freescan and idtracker III instead. ID tracker is the only one I know where I can set it up like a dispatch console and select the frequencies/depts I need on the fly.

tumblr_inline_o9b9i8WZf51ro1s9y_500.jpg


It works really well with a system like RWC as I can put each dept in it's own button and toggle on and off as needed, even if the programming is a bit of a pain at first.

For Phoenix PD 400 and 500, try Simulcast A. Your reception should be as good, or bad, as Simulcast B. Otherwise, yes, you are out of luck.

Guess I'm out of luck then! I can kind of get B (1 or 2 bars, but control channel found), with A I can barely hear and get "finding control channel" so I'm gonna just accept that 400/500 is not possible for me.

Unless they're now encrypted, in which case your Uniden will mute their transmissions, Goodyear PD should be monitorable on Simulcast G, along with Glendale, Peoria, El Mirage, Surprise, Tolleson, Avondale, the Tohono O'Odham police/security at Desert Diamond Casino near the Westgate center, and Phoenix PD 200, 800, 900. I wasn't aware that 600 was also on G.

Of that list, I just haven't heard Goodyear, but I'll keep listening! And I've gotten 24 hits on 600, but it could just have been someone with a radio affiliated for their shift vs a regular occurrence. I'll keep my ears out for that!

Buckeye PD is fully encrypted. They're mostly on Simulcast J, and occasionally on the White Tanks IR. (Goodyear PD is also on Simulcast J.)

Ok, I'll delete buckeye then. I had "4203 106b D Buck PD Alt Dispatch (Alternate)" programmed.

Chandler and Maricopa PD's are on Simulcast C. Tempe PD is on Simulcast F. We're out of range of these systems.

I'll delete these too!

Yes, the Phoenix FD RDC K-decks can be fully monitored on Simulcast G. Otherwise, Simulcast B. They're also on Simulcasts C, F, H, and J. K-2 can be heard on White Tanks and Thompson Peak. K-1 and K-6 can occasionally be heard on Towers Mtn.

Gila River is P25 Phase II, IIRC. I don't think your Uniden is Phase II capable? PD is encrypted, anyway. (Salt River is the same way. Phase II, and PD encrypted.)

OH! I absolutely missed that in the listing. No the 396xt isn't. I do have an sdr dongle with me but for one system, it's not worth messing with.

The White Tanks site for AZWINS I think isn't really aligned for best coverage across the Valley, but rather for north, west, and south of the White Tanks (US 60, I-10 and AZ 87.) I use a combination of North Mtn, South Mtn, White Tanks, Thompson Peak and Towers Mtn for AZWINS monitoring.

That is really helpful! I'll plug those others in then since AZWINS has been super quiet for me using just WT. CALTRANS/LADOT are always hopping and even with this weather, it was shocking how quiet AZWINS was.

An "LA" unit is a 2-person "Low Acuity" unit. Some departments call them "Community Paramedics".

Ah! Thanks! It's definitely interesting to learn how different things are done in different places. SoCal has some variation, such as LACoFD using paramedic squad pickup trucks that don't transport, and LAFD using both ALS and BLS ambulances. But Ladder Tenders and Squad tenders are definitely concepts that we don't have. We actually go the other way around and have Light Forces which are ladder trucks paired with a semi-staffed pumper. Both units roll together and can function as either a truck or engine company depending on the incident need.

MCSO District 2 is south of Northern Ave and west of I-17. District 3 is north of Northern Ave and west of I-17. These are the West districts.
The prefixes A, C, G, I, L, and N indicate a 1 deputy unit. The prefixes B, D, H, J, M and O indicate a 2 deputy unit. There are two prefixes per shift. (Adam 341 is a single deputy day shift unit. Charlie 341 would be the second car in the same area, with a single deputy., etc.)

340 is a sergeant. 341-343 mainly cover the Sun City/Youngtown area, and unincorporated Glendale/Peoria areas.
344-346 covers Sun City West, El Mirage, Surprise, Waddell, Wittmann and Circle City.
347 covers the Vulture Mine area south of Wickenburg.
351-353 cover Morristown, Wickenburg and Aguila.
390's are "at large" units that can roam district 3.

In addition to the West TG's, program in the VTAC's as well.
VTAC 11: 151.1375
VTAC-12: 154.4525
VTAC-13: 158.7375
VTAC-14: 155.4725
Deputies frequently use these, especially VTAC-12, but occasionally VTAC-11, for *very* informal car-car chit-chat :)

For district 2, 220 and 230 are the sergeants. 221 covers Laveen. 222 covers the Avondale and Tolleson area. 223 and 224 are around Litchfiled Park. 225 and 226 are in the South Glendale area.
231 and 237 are in the Rainbow Valley area. 232 is around Buckeye. 233 covers Tonopah and Harquahala Valley. 234 runs up and down AZ 87. 235 is in Gila Bend. 236 covers Mobile and far south Goodyear areas. 290's are at large.

You may occasionally hear a Lake Patrol 500 district or Mountain 800 district deputy on West. Usually they're out of Lake Pleasant and the White Tanks park.

MCSO beat boundry's aren't as rigid as a city police department's beat boundry's may be.

This is great info and helps make sense of a lot of what i've been hearing. I'll definitely add the VTACs, and keep my ears out for 344-346

I was hoping for more maps like this one I found:
6-0.jpg


But with your explanations, i can really get a handle on what is where so thank you so much!!

Be sure to include DPS Metro West and Metro West Tac UHF channels. They cover the 101 from I-10 to I-17. I-10 west of the 101 to the La Paz County line. I-17 north of the 101 to the Yavapai County line. The 303 from I-10 to I-17. Grand Ave/US 60 in Sun City as well as from Surprise through Wickenburg, and AZ 87 from Buckeye to Gila Bend.

On AZWINS be sure to have the ADOT ALERT West TG. If there is a need for a freeway closure anywhere west of Central Ave (including I-17 in DPS' Metro Central District), a lot of information can be gleaned from listening to them.

I hope this helps.

John
Peoria

It really does help a lot!!! I greatly appreciate it. I'll definitely reprogram my scanner now to make use of this new info.

Also I found that G13 Interop was being used at the Cardinals game tonight, heard a lot of ejections and weather reports. Really interesting listening!

I notice that you're in Peoria, is there ever any traffic on B and C channels? I only ever hear anything on A.

Thanks again!
 

KB7MIB

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Aug 17, 2003
Messages
4,194
Location
Peoria, AZ.
I can't say if Buckeye has ever used their unencrypted 4203 alternate dispatch TG or not. I don't normally listen to them. Otherwise, Buckeye is fully encrypted.

Some of the encrypted TG's on Peoria PD's B and C deck are used, but as far as dispatch, no. Supposedly, there is a future plan to divide the city up into thirds, and then the B and C decks will come live. I don't know if there's a timeline for that, though. I do keep all 3 deck dispatch, events, metro, city common and EOC TG's in my scanner, just in case.

BTW, here's the missing channel lineup for Peoria PD:
A-12: 769.05625 National 1
A-13: 851.01250 8AIRS-AZ (156.7)
A-14: 855.21250 Backup A repeater (146.2)
A-15: 855.21250 Backup A simplex

B-12: 769.06875 National 2
B-14: 855.71250 Backup B repeater (162.2)
B-15: 855.71250 Backup B simplex

C-12: 774.99375 National 3 (NAC 293)
C-14: 855.46250 Backup C repeater (127.3)
C-15: 855.46250 Backup C simplex

460.3500 Peoria Stadium security & traffic (203.5)

The analog conventional backup repeaters and simplex channels are in the event of an RWC failure. These were from the former city services trunked system that was in place before the RWC. The Peoria stadium repeater is an old police channel they was kept licensed and repurposed.

There's only 1 or 2 squad tenders. Otherwise, the squads are 3-axle heavy rescue vehicles that carry extra equipment, including TRT and Haz-Mat, as well as fire fighting, and extrication tools.

Squad 19 is a brush-truck type vehicle used at Sky Harbor airport. It's small enough, and lacks the roof light bar, that it can access the parking garages where a full size engine company just can't go.

The ladder tenders help save wear and tear on the big ladder trucks, and carry everything the big ladder does, except for the aerial and the longer ground ladders. Some have, or have had, small water tanks with a pump and limited hose line, giving them even more flexibility to handle car fires, dumpster fires, etc.

In the Phoenix system, if you hear "Rescue", this is an FD ambulance that is staffed with two firefighters. It may be ALS or BLS.
If you hear "Medic", this is an FD ambulance that is staffed with two fire department EMS employees, who are not trained as firefighters. I believe they are usually ALS, but may be BLS. (All firefighters in Arizona are required to be EMT-Basic certified. Many go on to achieve paramedic certification.)

A Crisis Response, or CR, van, is staffed with two people who can assist homeowners who have been displaced by a fire (occupant services), who can provide non-emergent transport of family members of injured or ill patients who get transported by ambulance to a hospital, and who can be a shoulder to cry on when someone loses a loved one due to illness or injury.

You should be able to find YouTube videos of the CR program, as well as of the Low Acuity/Community Paramedic program.

John
Peoria
 
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