Sac Citys 400 mHz public safety licenses

[mkewman]

Whats with the 400mhz licenses? what does the city of sacramento use them for? the callsign is WNGR825.

 

[RolnCode3]

If I get over to the radio shop sometime soon, I'll ask the guys.

 

[Mick]

Medical channels

Hello. Those are all medical channels used by hospitals, ambulances, medics, etc.

In Orange County, where they switched to 850 MHz TRS years ago, they also maintain a current licensed on the Med channels even though all I ever hear is testing. Perhaps Sacto. County does the same w/their WNGR825 license is my best guess.

 

[RolnCode3]

I saw that those are extremely common freqs for hospitals and ambulance companies.

I haven't seen any UHF radios installed in vehicles, so I don't know if the County is actually using them, or just maintains a license on them.

 

[Sac916]

Kma & Kmj

SPD's 400 was under FCC Lic KMA something, I can't recall off the top of my head. Even though SPD doesn't use that radio system they still refer to themselves as such. Often just 'KMA'. It's kinda iritating since it's been years since they have used that callsign/radio system.

SSD was KMJ500, which is still licensed (like spd) but not used by the departments.

Gone are the days of voicing timestamps with callsigns every 30 or 60 minutes. I actually miss doing that.

 

[kma371]

Well, I know it isn't KMA371

Contra Costa still voice Id's every 30 mins. We got a pop up message to remind us.

 

[icom1020]

Simple rule of thumb is never give up a frequency unless you have to, hence the current licensing and freq assignment. Lots of places that have 800 systems will continue to keep the legacy VHF UHF freqs and repeaters up and running. Portland never gave up all of their UHF freqs, likewise some of the suburban counties have done the same. It's a backup

 

[mkewman]

ah yeah, i just realized they were mednet.

but it's retarded to keep all those licenses when the only time a mednet freq is used is when calstar or another chopper is calling ucdavis.

 

[servo_fan]

I think SPD is/was KMA907.

Gone are the days of voicing timestamps with callsigns every 30 or 60 minutes. I actually miss doing that.

That practice is still alive and well to anyone who listens to AM radio. Why don't you have to do it anymore?

 

[Sac916]

I think SPD is/was KMA907.


That practice is still alive and well to anyone who listens to AM radio. Why don't you have to do it anymore?

Yeah - KMA907 that's it.

Sorry, "we" meaning "SSD"
FCC doesn't mandate the "voicing" of callsign and timestamp if an automated "morse code" system is in place. If you listen to the TRS freqs in conventional mode, you'll hear the callsign tones being sent out.

 

[gmclam]

Sacramento call signs

SPD's 400 was under FCC Lic KMA something, I can't recall off the top of my head. Even though SPD doesn't use that radio system they still refer to themselves as such. Often just 'KMA'. It's kinda iritating since it's been years since they have used that callsign/radio system.

SSD was KMJ500, which is still licensed (like spd) but not used by the departments.

I have kept a database of valid frequencies for over the years. Call signs are a very important part of that data.
Sacramento City PD = KMA907
Sacramento Sheriff = KMJ500
Sacramento Animal control = KAX597
SMUD = KML445

As each year goes by more of the 400MHz licenses for these agencies are dropped. But it does take time. And there are still a few listed.

George

 

[BirkenVogt]

ah yeah, i just realized they were mednet.

but it's retarded to keep all those licenses when the only time a mednet freq is used is when calstar or another chopper is calling ucdavis.

All ambulances nationwide are required to have those freqs. Most have the radios and never use them. However it is a good idea to hang on to them because in times of real disaster they are universal between ambulances (at least the ones that are compliant).

"Hanging on" to these frequencies is generally meaningless because even if you were to give up a license, you could likely get it back since they are wide mutual aid type channels. Rather, they probably keep the license because they would be handy to have if you had to bring in lots of outside ambulances.

Birken

 

[KMA367]

Licenses/callsigns

SPD's 400 was under FCC Lic KMA something... Even though SPD doesn't use that radio system they still refer to themselves as such. Often just 'KMA'..

LAPD still has its original 3x3 callsign, KMA367, which was first issued in 1949 to replace "KGPL", but only a couple of VHF freqs are on it. As the old mostly 4-letter licenses came up for renewal in the late 40s they were replaced by the new ones, and California happened to get a LOT of "KMA---" callsigns. Many LAPD coppers still use the abbreviated "KMA" to ID the mobile-side freqs when they end lengthy transmissions, even though the UHF callsign has been KJC625 for almost 25 years now. Of course "KMA" with a noticeable inflection would on rare occasion be uttered by an officer who was irritated at the dispatcher, leaving no doubt that he meant "Kiss My A--".

Sac PD had radio cars by 1935, but I can't find their old 4x callsign. Berkeley was the first radio-equipped PD in California in 1927 with KSW, followed by in 1930 by Tulare's WPDA, and Pasadena with KQJX.

Gone are the days of voicing timestamps with callsigns every 30 or 60 minutes. I actually miss doing that.

Yep, that was fun. Whoever was working as our "link" operator would voice the dispatch and "hotshot" freqs callsigns every 15 minutes, and include the time at the top of each hour, almost like a litany "KMA367, KMA785, KMA786, KMA787 and KGW725." Went to an automated recorded voice when UHF moved in, and now it's done in CW: -.- .--- -.-. -.... ..--- .....

A little compendium of the 75 years of ID sounds at http://harrymarnell.com/media/KMA-KJC.wav

 

[mkewman]

interesting bit of info harry! thanks!

 

[etofsrud]

I echo the thanks to Harry for that quality tidbit!
To bad the FCC doesn't offer vanity calls for commercial users. Would be nice to be
able to snag some mothballed KMA calls, replacing the current
Throughout my radio bobby that started in the mid 60's, KMA--- has been staple food,
and deeply ingrained...

- Eric N6OIM

 

[KMA367]

Licenses / Callsigns (OT?)

Sac PD had radio cars by 1935, but I can't find their old 4x callsign.

OK, found it. Sacramento PD's first callsign in about 1932 was KNGF on 2422 kcs (AM), with 500 watts. I would guess they kept that until "KMA907" came along in the late 40s, and they probably stayed on that frequency until the 1950s when VHF-high became popular. Some agencies went to VHF-low for a while, but I don't know about SPD.

For the first few years it was one-way only... mobile transmitters didn't come along in great number until the late 30s. Not only that, but Sacramento Police shared 2422 kcs (2.422 mHz) with Marysville, Woodland, and Vallejo PDs, and Glenn and Humboldt Co S.O.s. Back then the Federal Radio Commission required all PDs in a "zone" to use the same frequency, and it was common in those days for agencies with radio licenses to contract with their neighboring departments - and sometimes fire departments (most FDs didn't get radio systems until after WWII) - to broadcast their calls for them. Talk about interoperability ! On those MW frequencies, in AM mode with 500 watts, signals could travel dozens, hundreds or sometimes thousands of miles, especially at night.

Here's the FRC's reasoning for that stuff, taken from their 1930-1932 annual reports: