Power & Utility trucks: truck-to-truck simplex freqs?

[Gilligan]

Just thinking about the current power crisis that the metro is in right now and how there are utility trucks from all over operating in the city. Many of these trucks have two-way radios on trunked systems in their home coverage area. Would anyone know if they usually have truck-to-truck simplex frequencies programmed into their radios for situations like these. I see many of these trucks in small convoys and I can't imagine that they don't have a better way of talking with each other than with cellphones.

From their website:
OG&E has more than 1,000 people in the field working on ice storm response, with OG&E employees assisted by contractors, utility personnel and tree crews from states including Texas, Arkansas, New Mexico, Louisiana, Mississippi and Indiana.

 

[rfradioconsult]

In the case of PSO if it's another AEP company, the SOP is for a company telecom tech to program in the required talk groups and correct base station frequencies for the area where they will be assigned to. Sometimes the techs will travel with their own crews to take care of radio issues.

 

[Gilligan]

So what you're saying is that, for example, AEP would actually program their trucks for OG&E's trunked system? This idea brings up a few more questions?

Do they have separate radios in their trucks for other regional systems in other states?

What kind of radios (models) do these trucks use, considering the large number of sites and talkgroups that must be programmed into them for just one system?

Anyone know what model radios OG&E uses in their trucks?

Do techs in the field have any kind of portables?

 

[grack]

Keep in mind, that OG&E rarely uses their radios, in normal circumstances, for voice.

Hardly normal circumstances at the moment, though.

 

[rfradioconsult]

My post was regarding PSO not OG&E. OG&E closely controls access to their radio system. AEP (west) is headquartered in Tulsa; has a wide-area EDACS system with trunking controllers in Tulsa, Shreveport, Corpus Christi, Laredo and Abiline, these are connected to a second controller in Tulsa allowing for system-wide operation. Some talkgroups are capable of allowing mobiles anywhere in the system to talk to another mobile in the system. In other words a unit in Rogers, AR can talk to a unit in Laredo, Tx. The coverage area is approx. 55,000 sq miles.

 

[grack]

I was replying to the original posters post.

 

[SkipSanders]

Truck to truck use could be pretty much anything. Especially 'at the job site'.

Power company workers may have seperate, same or different band HT's on simplex channels, they may even use FRS or GMRS (License, what license?) HT's between themselves in a neighborhood.

 

[Gilligan]

I wasn't sure if they even used handhelds, since they could probably just yell at each other (from the bucket, of course...). But it would come in handy in emergency situations and when jobs require a larger work area. Almost kind of applies the same way fire departments deal with trunked radios at firegrounds and the need for conventional simplex channels.

 

[n5tda]

I dont know which companys they are but some of them are useing MURS freqs here in the Tulsa area. I have heard and talked to them on MURS 154.570 in and around Tulsa.