Visiting SoCal in November...

[tunnelmot]

Hey all.
Born in SoCal, current Texas resident.
Long story short we will be visiting SoCal this November 2024 (Thanksgiving week) for an impromptu family reunion/taking dad's ashes to the pacific as we were born and lived in El Segundo. We will be staying in Palmdale and visiting the basin (El Segundo, Malibu, Hollywood Hills, Griffith Park, etc) daily. A few quick questions...
1. I will be bringing an XTS R2 T Band split to rx LAPD. I know LASD is transitioning to the 7/800 system. Are/will the legacy UHF LASD freqs still be in use? If LASD is till on the analog T-band fregs then I can load that in my XPR7550.
2. I will also be bringing my Unication G4 7/800. What system(s) are recommended to load for general situational listening?

I have looked over the database, but from afar it is very confusing as to what to anticipate as far as LASD. I really prefer to not lug my laptop.
I will also be bringing VHF portable for hammy stuff along with an 800 meg portable for LAFD stuff. Maybe even my 900 portable to get on some the 900 ham repeaters.

Thanks in advance.

 

[ElevatorsAndRadios]

1) LASD Dispatch is still on the legacy analog system.

2) Your G4 is going to be awfully quiet. The busiest 7/800 system (LARICS) is almost entirely encrypted. You can put in LA STRS or LA CWIRS in there and listen to non-public safety city/county services. The department of sanitation, public works, coroner, etc.

Pretty much everything law enforcement, except LAPD, is encrypted.

 

[ladn]

@tunnelmot --You'd be better off with a scanner. LASD is encrypted, LAPD (UHF), CHP (low band), LA Co FD (both VHF and UHF), LA City FD (800 MHz are all in the clear (for now). Not sure about El Segundo and the South Bay as they're out of my interest and monitoring area.

Be prepared for traffic shock! The commute between the AV and South Bay involves Highway 14 from the AV to the I-5 corridor to the notorious 405. All will be typically jammed with morning/afternoon commuters. And don't forget to budget for our inflated petrol prices!

 

[Randyk4661]

You don't want to lug the laptop around and yet carry many different receivers?
Get a SDS100 (simulcast scanner), extra batteries, backup SD cards, load it up as best as you can before traveling. If you don't you will most likely be spending most of your down time reprogramming your other devices. I don't think people from out of state realize how much radio traffic there is that can still be listened to.
There is much encryption here but there is much more to listen to. Many tourist traps can still be heard.

There are many locals here in the forum to help you work out little programming tricks and tweaks to make the trip here worth the listening experience.

 

[tunnelmot]

You don't want to lug the laptop around and yet carry many different receivers?

I understand the sentiment, but I literally do not own a single scanner. All my trunked monitoring here has been on motorolas for over a decade now and rarely change my programming. A large percentage of hams, media and tow truck types went Motorola when the simulcast sites rolled out in our area way before the SDS series existed. Around here you can even get a phase 2 APX for cheaper than a new SDS200 And I have NXDN and DMR equipment that I use for ham/gmrs that also do double duty for VHF/UHF monitoring. Here almost 95% of every agency over 33 counties are all on the same wide area 7/800 phase 2 system. One radio (my APX or the Unication) will hear everything you need, but I know that's not the case there. If I lived there a multiband scanner would make more sense.

 

[tunnelmot]

LASD is encrypted

Looking at the LA-RICS system in the database, LASD dispatch shows to be clear. Is that changing?

 

[tunnelmot]

Be prepared for traffic shock! The commute between the AV and South Bay involves Highway 14 from the AV to the I-5 corridor to the notorious 405.

Oh yeah. Before moving to Tennessee/Texas our dad made that commute every day. I totally remember the "snake" leaving AV at around 4:30 am headed to the basin. We're renting a 12 passenger van to make our rounds and I've already prepared the family that we'll be making our treks in the super pre-dawn hours and return after everyone gets home. As stated above I grew up in LA County. I took my wife to CA years ago (she's a country girl from East Texas) and she was floored at the standstill traffic. I explained to her that the suburbs/bedroom communities can only grow in one direction...east. The houses I grew up in still stand and we plan on showing the kids/grandkids, but we have planned plenty to do between commute times.

 

[ladn]

Looking at the LA-RICS system in the database, LASD dispatch shows to be clear. Is that changing?

I haven't run into my contacts from LASD communications to confirm, but my suspicion is that everything will go big E eventually. Even before the changeover to RICS, I rarely monitored LASD (or LAPD) dispatch channels because there was just too much routine traffic. More significant incidents would pop up on the L-Tac or A-Tac (or other special unit) channels.

 

[oldradioguy2010]

Hey Tunnel, where are you going here in so. cal?
Or did I miss that.
We are in Oxnard.

DW
So. Cal.

 

[oldradioguy2010]

Opps.
Reread your blog.
It's OK I am getting old.

DW
So. Cal.

 

[Tomcu96]

lafd is uneycped from an analog system I recommend once you land turn on the police in your area. plus also make sure you are listening to the countywide dispatch it will help out the Santa Monica airport and the lax airport would be the best ones to listen to or if you are near the port listen to the port traffic ounce I went down there I listen to the countywide dispatch and the lax dispatch