San Diego / Imperial Co Regional Communications System Update Thread

[MtnBiker2005]

^ Wednesday RCS meeting reminder at 1:00pm. ^

 

[SDBud]

Ok, Ive counted about 4 active topics all about the RCS. Please use either the updates thread here, or the question thread here:

San Diego Co/Imperial Co Regional Communications System (RCS) Question Thread


Update thread are for system updates (talkgroups, sites etc)

Question thread is for questions about the system (how to program your scanner etc).

I've had the SDG&E TGs on the NG system from the start, but tonight was the first time a few of them have been active.
They were as slammed as PD and FD were, with this storm.

 

[MtnBiker2005]

RCS NextGen Agenda for October 13th Wednesday 1pm Meeting.

NEXTGEN RCS BOARD OF DIRECTORS REGULAR MEETING
WEDNESDAY, October 13, 2021 1:00 PM
5500 OVERLAND AVE., ROOM 120 SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA 92123

FREE PUBLIC PARKING
There is a parking garage adjacent to the meeting room.

Standing space available in back of room, if all the seats are taken…

https://www.rcs800mhz.org/sites/def... 13 2021 NextGen RCS Meeting Agenda_Final.pdf

https://www.rcs800mhz.org/board-of-directors

 

[jimbrogers]

Looks like San Diego County Sheriff Department has gone full encryption as of today.
My scanner has gone quiet. Sad day, got to find another hobby.

 

[SDBud]

For those who only had their scanners to monitor the SO, I would be HAPPY to accept any donations of them, since you won't need them any longer. I only need P2 or 700mhz capable units, I have plenty of older radios that don't work for the newer systems. They DO work for the existing SD City 800, and all conventional stuff, of course.

 

[tsalmrsystemtech]

Del Mar Fair Security just say it went encrypted and I was listening to them last night on the North Site.

2059

80b

DE

DMR FAIR

Del Mar Fair Security

Security

 

[desertscan]

City of Calexico Police dept in Imperial county has gone encrypted. lets hope others dont follow. They also changed radio systems.

Calexico Police Department Transforms First Responder Communications with FirstNet

The Official Website of the City of Calexico, California

www.calexico.ca.gov

Calexico Police Expand Communication Services - Calexico Chronicle

For the past few months, Calexico police traffic controllers have been utilizing push-to-talk radios that have benefited the department.

calexicochronicle.com

 

[Peter_SD911]

The police department did NOT move law enforcement communications off RCS. This is for the non sworn "Traffic Control/Parking/CSO" only.
As far as Calexico PD going encrypted?
I have no clue.

City of Calexico Police dept in Imperial county has gone encrypted. lets hope others dont follow. They also changed radio systems.

Calexico Police Department Transforms First Responder Communications with FirstNet

The Official Website of the City of Calexico, California

www.calexico.ca.gov

Calexico Police Expand Communication Services - Calexico Chronicle

For the past few months, Calexico police traffic controllers have been utilizing push-to-talk radios that have benefited the department.

calexicochronicle.com

 

[desertscan]

More encryption in Imperial County yesterday 2-6-23 Sheriff dept started encryption deputies are encrypted but dispatcher is not at least for now and today 2-7-23 same with Brawley PD which dispatches for Westmoreland PD and Calipatria PD.

 

[tsalmrsystemtech]

And Oceanside is gone now too. Its all gone now.

 

[N6XAX]

New SDS200 scanner owner here in North County SD looking for some assistance (so type slowly for this newbie!). I added the San Diego-Imperial RCS NextGen to my Favorites list - County Sheriff, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, etc and have been scanning away for a few days but nothing comes up. Based on a review of this thread I'm am going to guess that all of these channels are now encrypted and cannot be scanned. So, am I now the proud owner of a $700 brick? Do any of the software upgrades address this?

 

[kg6nlw]

New SDS200 scanner owner here in North County SD looking for some assistance (so type slowly for this newbie!). I added the San Diego-Imperial RCS NextGen to my Favorites list - County Sheriff, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, etc and have been scanning away for a few days but nothing comes up. Based on a review of this thread I'm am going to guess that all of these channels are now encrypted and cannot be scanned. So, am I now the proud owner of a $700 brick? Do any of the software upgrades address this?

Unfortunately, most of the San Diego-Imperial RCS system is encrypted now. If it shows TE or DE in the RRDB then it is encrypted. NO, you can not work around that. There are plenty of other things to scan/listen to though.

Regards,

-Frank C.

 

[Anderegg]

New SDS200 scanner owner here in North County SD looking for some assistance (so type slowly for this newbie!). I added the San Diego-Imperial RCS NextGen to my Favorites list - County Sheriff, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, etc and have been scanning away for a few days but nothing comes up. Based on a review of this thread I'm am going to guess that all of these channels are now encrypted and cannot be scanned. So, am I now the proud owner of a $700 brick? Do any of the software upgrades address this?

Well, there is a common and annoying DEFAULT problem with these Sentinel based scanners. They have SERVICE TYPE selections, meant for weird people who scan by zip code, which allows them to toggle on or off such service types as police dispatch, police tac, police mutual aid etc. Anyone with brains enough to be on RR forums doesn't use a scanner in this way, so you need to go into the main menu and select them all, or use the select all in Sentinel software. This will start the scanner hearing lots of stuff that was not enabled previously.

That is common problem one, now common problem two. The Uniden programming from RRdb contains ALL 30-50 "sites" for the RCS. For north county, you need to go into manage favorites, and set every site except WEST to AVOID. If you do not do this, you could lock onto an active conversation, yet the scanner would not be receiving for 10-20 seconds while it scans all the sites not related to your area of coverage for signal.

For your area, your only really going to be listening to Northcomm 3A through 3N, lifeguards for Del Mar Solana Beach Encinitas and Oceanside, RSF Patrol comes in handy. There is then CHP conventional the Tan and Brown for Oceanside area to monitor, as well as conventional State Parks Aqua. If you really get bored for radio traffic, FSP (north talkgroup) tow trucks are busy at rush hour, there are some Mira Costa college talkgroups on the RCS, and if feeling really hard up for something to keep the scanner crackling, DoD Camp Pendleton FD and PMO Tac 1 gets you all the cool crashes on the I-5 up there.

Paul

Easier to Read SDS100/200 Digital Scanner Manual

 

[N6XAX]

Well, there is a common and annoying DEFAULT problem with these Sentinel based scanners. They have SERVICE TYPE selections, meant for weird people who scan by zip code, which allows them to toggle on or off such service types as police dispatch, police tac, police mutual aid etc. Anyone with brains enough to be on RR forums doesn't use a scanner in this way, so you need to go into the main menu and select them all, or use the select all in Sentinel software. This will start the scanner hearing lots of stuff that was not enabled previously.

That is common problem one, now common problem two. The Uniden programming from RRdb contains ALL 30-50 "sites" for the RCS. For north county, you need to go into manage favorites, and set every site except WEST to AVOID. If you do not do this, you could lock onto an active conversation, yet the scanner would not be receiving for 10-20 seconds while it scans all the sites not related to your area of coverage for signal.

For your area, your only really going to be listening to Northcomm 3A through 3N, lifeguards for Del Mar Solana Beach Encinitas and Oceanside, RSF Patrol comes in handy. There is then CHP conventional the Tan and Brown for Oceanside area to monitor, as well as conventional State Parks Aqua. If you really get bored for radio traffic, FSP (north talkgroup) tow trucks are busy at rush hour, there are some Mira Costa college talkgroups on the RCS, and if feeling really hard up for something to keep the scanner crackling, DoD Camp Pendleton FD and PMO Tac 1 gets you all the cool crashes on the I-5 up there.

Paul

Easier to Read SDS100/200 Digital Scanner Manual

Thanks Paul, I appreciate the local knowledge. I did dig into the Service Types and make what I thought were the right selections; I'll go back and select them all. I will also block out all of the non-relevant areas. What frequency is the Patrol on - are they also on Northcomm? I don't see them in RRDB and have not been able to pick them up. I assumed they were also on RCS since they work closely with the Sheriff.

 

[Anderegg]

Thanks Paul, I appreciate the local knowledge. I did dig into the Service Types and make what I thought were the right selections; I'll go back and select them all. I will also block out all of the non-relevant areas. What frequency is the Patrol on - are they also on Northcomm? I don't see them in RRDB and have not been able to pick them up. I assumed they were also on RCS since they work closely with the Sheriff.

Rancho Santa Fe Patrol is on the Nextgen West site. They are dispatched by Northcomm, they even have robots talking from time to time

Paul

 

[N6XAX]

Rancho Santa Fe Patrol is on the Nextgen West site. They are dispatched by Northcomm, they even have robots talking from time to time

Paul

Another question for you = I did a conventional scan (10 mile radius) and picked up seven New Found frequencies with Digital NAC. Have you purchased any of the Upgrades - DMR, ProVoice, NXDN - and would any of these allow me to listed to tx on those frequencies? Or, are they likely also encrypted?

 

[inigo88]

Another question for you = I did a conventional scan (10 mile radius) and picked up seven New Found frequencies with Digital NAC. Have you purchased any of the Upgrades - DMR, ProVoice, NXDN - and would any of these allow me to listed to tx on those frequencies? Or, are they likely also encrypted?

A digital NAC means what you were receiving was P25, so your scanner does not need an upgrade for P25.

DMR - used extensively in San Diego, but only by business users (think tow trucks, school buses, security companies, etc).

NXDN - Used less than DMR but some users, also all business.

Pro voice - not used in San Diego area at all.

If you’re interested in hearing everything that’s going on the DMR and NXDN upgrades are worth it, but just know it’s not going to unlock anymore public safety.

 

[Sjoe]

New SDS200 scanner owner here in North County SD looking for some assistance (so type slowly for this newbie!). I added the San Diego-Imperial RCS NextGen to my Favorites list - County Sheriff, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, etc and have been scanning away for a few days but nothing comes up. Based on a review of this thread I'm am going to guess that all of these channels are now encrypted and cannot be scanned. So, am I now the proud owner of a $700 brick? Do any of the software upgrades address this?

Hi N6XAX, I live in north county San Diego and was wondering if you are happy with the SDS200, were able to get it programmed, and if there is any valuable public safety information you can hear with the scanner.

 

[N6XAX]

Hi N6XAX, I live in north county San Diego and was wondering if you are happy with the SDS200, were able to get it programmed, and if there is any valuable public safety information you can hear with the scanner.

Hi Sjoe - yes, I am very happy with the SDS200, and there's plenty to listen to in North County. I set up a few different scanning lists, mostly based on an increasing x-mile radius around my location, which allows me to expand my listening area or switch it out altogether for a different area. I've gotten comfortable with the programming and would recommend it (as others have on this forum) - the best way to learn how to use your new scanner is to program it yourself. I'm also not sure there's much benefit to having it preprogrammed initially, as 1) preprogramming it for all of San Diego County pulls in tons of channels - some I want to listen to but many I do not, so I would have had to reprogram it anyway; and 2) because these scanners have tons of options, they are intricate - I'm still learning about different features and will be for some time. So you'll need to get up the learning curve, might as well start right when you unbox it. There are plenty of resources (such as the Easier to Read SDS200 manual mentioned above) and many folks on the forum here that are willing to help out. Another note: if, like me, you're interested in public safety in smaller towns/cities in North County, know that those entities just don't transmit as often as the larger cities (say Escondido) or anything in the City of San Diego. So if you're scanning all SD County+City, the bigger burgs will swamp the smaller areas and you'll miss all of the local traffic. Dial the scanning area in tight to start and then open it up as you go.

 

[Sjoe]

Hi Sjoe - yes, I am very happy with the SDS200, and there's plenty to listen to in North County. I set up a few different scanning lists, mostly based on an increasing x-mile radius around my location, which allows me to expand my listening area or switch it out altogether for a different area. I've gotten comfortable with the programming and would recommend it (as others have on this forum) - the best way to learn how to use your new scanner is to program it yourself. I'm also not sure there's much benefit to having it preprogrammed initially, as 1) preprogramming it for all of San Diego County pulls in tons of channels - some I want to listen to but many I do not, so I would have had to reprogram it anyway; and 2) because these scanners have tons of options, they are intricate - I'm still learning about different features and will be for some time. So you'll need to get up the learning curve, might as well start right when you unbox it. There are plenty of resources (such as the Easier to Read SDS200 manual mentioned above) and many folks on the forum here that are willing to help out. Another note: if, like me, you're interested in public safety in smaller towns/cities in North County, know that those entities just don't transmit as often as the larger cities (say Escondido) or anything in the City of San Diego. So if you're scanning all SD County+City, the bigger burgs will swamp the smaller areas and you'll miss all of the local traffic. Dial the scanning area in tight to start and then open it up as you go.

N6XAX, Thanks for taking the time to respond with your feedback, sharing your experience with the SDS200, providing guidance on what to expect in North County and the tips for programming. I appreciate it and will likely be purchasing the SDS200 (or SDS100) soon and look forward to learning how to operate it. Have a good one!