Scanning I-45 between Dallas and Houston

[chainsawman]

If I wanted to monitor highway traffic events on I-45 between Dallas and Houston, what should I be trying to scan?

Is it THP via Harris and Dallas County Sheriffs on TxWARN and Dallas Layer 2?
And/Or is it DPS Dallas and DPS Houston?
Would these cover the entire stretch of I-45 between Dallas and Houston? Thanks!

 

[Enforcer52]

Quick answer from someone who travels the I-45 corridor from Huntsville to Fort Worth regularly.

Last TxWarn tower is in Madisonville so between Leona and Centerville you will lose the TxWarn system. As you approach DFW you start picking up Dallas and Fort Worth NTIRN systems around Ennis. In between you have to program Leon, Freestone, and Navarro counties SO depts to cover the gap between TxWarn and NTIRN.

Of course you would have to also program in Harris, Montgomery, Walker, and Madison counties TxWarn into your scanner and relevant DPS channels you are wanting to listen to, but often DPS is dispatched over a SO channel in Walker and Madison counties.

Dallas depends on the layer that DPS channels communicate over.

I have a quick key set up on my BCD325P2 called I45 North that covers this area and just switch to it when going to DFW.

 

[hiegtx]

If I wanted to monitor highway traffic events on I-45 between Dallas and Houston, what should I be trying to scan?

Is it THP via Harris and Dallas County Sheriffs on TxWARN and Dallas Layer 2?
And/Or is it DPS Dallas and DPS Houston?
Would these cover the entire stretch of I-45 between Dallas and Houston? Thanks!

Here in the DFW Metro area, you won't hear much of the DPS Highway Patrol units. There is a talkgroup, used in Johnson County, on NTIRN for the Mineral Wells dispatch office to communicate with units in that county. The only other DPS TGIDs on NTIRN are used by the DPS units contracted by NTTA to patrol the various tollways.

There are a couple of talkgroups, for the DPS units dispatched out of Tyler, on TxWARN, but unless one of those units gets far enough west to affiliate with the Kaufman County TxWARN site, you'd never hear them. There are no dedicated TX DPS TGIDs on GMRS or PAWMCo.

 

[kmartin]

Ellis county , NTIRN, Navarro county conventional freqs , Feestone county conventional , Leon county conventionnal , Madison county TXWARN , Walker , Montgomery, Harris county all TXWARN

 

[kmartin]

Also DPS Fairfield on 159.21750

 

[Echo4Thirty]

Ellis county , NTIRN, Navarro county conventional freqs , Feestone county conventional , Leon county conventionnal , Madison county TXWARN , Walker , Montgomery, Harris county all TXWARN

Keep in mind Montgomery Co Law is encrypted. If you are just looking for traffic, might want to add MC FD 4 in your list. They handle the MVAs there. You wont hear the initial callouts, but thats where they work them. DPS in Montgomery Co is in the clear and on TxWARN.