Tennessee Advanced Communications Network

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tnbound

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I have a general question about range. I live in Columbia and I listen to THP Nashville and Lawrenceburg now on the Theta tower and would like to know if it is possible to listen to statewide comms on this network or do you hve to be able to receive the the tower related to the area you are trying to recieve? I would like to be able to listen to Cities like Memphis and Knoxville but I am not having any luck. I am using the Uniden SDS200. Thanks in advance for any help!
 

tnbound

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On statewide trunked radio systems, traffic from a talk-group is only carried if a subscriber radio is affiliated to the specific site. So no, you can't listen to the entire state from your location (your local site) just because they all use the same trunked radio system.
So if I was able to recieve a site from the talk group I want to listen to I should be able to hear it? Just for clarifaication? And thank you for your response.
 

nsrailfan6130

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You will only receive the TG's from whatever site you receive. As an example, if you live near a site say Chattanooga, you will only be able to hear the TG's that are coming off the Chattanooga tower. Or if you live near Nashville, you will only get the TG's that come off the Nashville tower.

So if I was able to recieve a site from the talk group I want to listen to I should be able to hear it? Just for clarifaication? And thank you for your response.
 

KN4EHX

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Great thanks for the clarification
Many of the THP dispatches can be found online so not all hope is lost. Knox district 1 is streamed with a delay. I’m not certain about Memphis and Chattanooga. Fall Branch District 5 is not. They all have at least one talk group they can switch to go encrypted so if anything is too secret squirrel you probably won’t hear it.

LE Mutual Aid talk groups are also regional. They usually have very little activity. Same for FD and EMS MA talk groups.
 

zachgallop

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Many of the THP dispatches can be found online so not all hope is lost. Knox district 1 is streamed with a delay. I’m not certain about Memphis and Chattanooga. Fall Branch District 5 is not. They all have at least one talk group they can switch to go encrypted so if anything is too secret squirrel you probably won’t hear it.

LE Mutual Aid talk groups are also regional. They usually have very little activity. Same for FD and EMS MA talk groups.
They are used a lot in the Knoxville area for Law Enforcement, so if you live near the Knoxville District or are ever in the Knoxville area, it is worth it to program them. It is not uncommon for LE MUTAID 4, LE MUTAID 5, and LE MUTAID 6 to be active during the week. They see usage just about every day of the week here, sometimes on the weekend and late at night as well. DEA, ATF, USMS, TBI, THP CID, KCSO, BCSO, LCSO, ACSO, and RCSO are the most active users. Some others like TDOC Probation and Parole, HSI, TNG Counterdrug, FBI, and others use them from time to but not too often. "1TNDIST2" is also commonly used in the Knox area for law enforcement ops. I would imagine the mutual aid talk groups for the Chattanooga area are pretty active. I have heard them when I am down that way. I heard that USMS uses law mutual up in District 5 but have not confirmed yet.

I have not heard an EMS MUTAID talkgroup acitve, and I have only heard FIRE MUTAID occasionally.
 

tnbound

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I do get quite a bit of comms on the I-PSAP-5 mutual aid frequency for middle Tennessee departments for accidents or pursuits on the highway. But other than that I have not found anyone else that use the interop freq's for law enforcement in the middle Tennessee area. I do get some helicopter comms for Lifeforce EMS helicopters and a couple EMS freqs for local ambulance calls. I have not heard any Fire mutual aid comms in middle tennessee on the TACN system. I can recive Nashville & Lawrenceburg THP departments but I was hoping I could get other areas but I am not able to get anything further than that. I use a Diamond Discone D130 up about 20 feet and it does work pretty good. Thanks for your input everything helps in this hobby.
 

TNDispatcher

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so if a trooper with d-3 is in the area and has locked onto that tower then that tower will transmit that traffic, if hes on d7 then you wil hear that traffic. If a prison bus is close by and locks onto that tower and you have that TG programmed into your scanner then you will hear that traffic. Each site is capable of transmitting any state wide traffic as long as whoever is close and locked onto that tower for the TG they are on. Mind you if there is no d-7 trooper in that area and that tower has no radio locked onto it then that tower will stay quiet until a users radio registers to that site. I live rite off hwy 7 and not far from you. Text me if you have any questions I know this system quite well. Also im a ham and can get into all the repeaters close by so one day we can have a chat if need be.
k2lxa
931-996-9266
 

tnbound

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Ok thanks I may need some help one of these days. I am figuring out the TACN system slowly and I appreciate everyones input.
 

KN4EHX

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I have LE MA 7, 8, and 9 in my radio, but it is a major incident if I hear anyone on those. As far as the homeland security talk groups like 1TNDIST2 most people are blissfully unaware of who can use those TG and when to use them.

The fine line between North East Tennessee and East Tennessee is pretty sleepy when it comes to the mutual aid TGs.
 

RIVER_5

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Seems like Bradley County and Hamilton County users love to run on LE MUTAID channels on a daily. I have also heard some federal users run on the Mutual Aid Channels with local agencies. Just like @zachgallop mentioned, not uncommon for the Knoxville and SE Tennessee Area's to be active.

Since everyone seems to have had their questions answered just remember, TACN already has an active thread here: The state of Tennessee Advanced Communications Network (TACN)
 
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