Which Bay Area CHP frequencies for me?

[LIScanner101]

OK, here goes - this New Yorker is going to stick his neck into the CHP fray :lol: ...

I have traveled in CA with a trunk-lip mounted Antenna Specialists MON-52 (cut-down as per the A/S chart) to 42MHz. Here is the antenna mounted on a rental:

With this antenna I can hear VERY clearly only a FEW CHP low band comms. Once in a while I hear a mobile but I think they were either on the side of the road or right in front of me.

I know this may be a tall order, but I would like to know, if all I want to do is listen to the immediate Bay Area counties (San Francisco, San Mateo, Alameda and Santa Clara) what frequencies do I need to put into my BCT-15X? I am not interested in picking up more distant counties such as Contra Costa, Marin or Santa Cruz.

Here is a map of where I usually stay. I have used the same antenna in hotel rooms in this general area and have picked up some PINK, TAN and BLUE comms. I plan on trying a wire OCFD to see if it improves low band reception in the hotel.

Thanks for any help!

 

[russianspd]

Looking at where you are staying, here's what I would use for my immediate area. Redwood is closest. Followed by San Francisco and then San Jose. Which direction are you traveling during business?

Redwood:
42.08000 WNUH521 B 131.8 PL AMB GAT B Base - AMBER - Redwood City (91) FM Law Dispatch
42.82000 KA4993 M 131.8 PL AMB GAT M Mobile - AMBER - Redwood City (91) FM Law Dispatch
769.44375 RM DB3 NAC AMB EXT P Extender - AMBER - Primary P25 Law Dispatch
769.46875 RM DB4 NAC AMB EXT A Extender - AMBER - Alternate P25 Law Dispatch

San Francisco:
42.44000 KMA962 B 131.8 PL PNK GAT B Base - PINK - San Francisco (32) FM Law Dispatch
42.76000 KA4993 M 131.8 PL PNK GAT M Mobile - PINK - San Francisco (32) FM Law Dispatch
769.21875 RM DB0 NAC PNK EXT P Extender - PINK - Primary P25 Law Dispatch
769.71875 RM DB8 NAC PNK EXT A Extender - PINK - Alternate P25 Law Dispatch

San Jose:
42.50000 KMH700 B 131.8 PL RBY GAT B Base - RUBY - San Jose (24) FM Law Dispatch
42.28000 KA4993 M 131.8 PL RBY GAT M Mobile - RUBY - San Jose (24) FM Law Dispatch
769.19375 RM DAF NAC RBY EXT P Extender - RUBY - Primary P25 Law Dispatch

 

[tahoekid77]

Your BCT15X cannot handle (and you don't want to bother with) the digital extenders.

Most, if not the majority of the time, the mobile frequencies are rebroadcast on the base channels.

You'll probably be fine with this setup: (All PL tones for Golden Gate Dispatch use 131.8)

Redwood 42.08 - (it is rare they do not simulcast the M over B channel, so just scan this)
San Jose 42.50 - They always simulcast the M over B here, I cannot recall that not being the case ever.
San Francisco - 42.44 Base (dispatch). 42.76 M (this area mostly keeps the channels separate for mobile and base - no simulcast).

I drive from San Jose to SF for work every day and run my BCT15X with a NMO 42 inch whip on the trunk. I get crystal clear reception most of the time. Mobile units in the city are mostly clear, though depending on how far away you are, you may not pick them up.

 

[tahoekid77]

Forgot Hayward, which covers Milpitas, Fremont, Hayward, up to Oakland.

Hayward - 42.62 Base, 42.84 Mobile

I scan both the B and M on this area. For whatever reason, the Hayard dispatch has the worst transmitters, mostly scratchy.

 

[tahoekid77]

Also about the antenna - I am able to hear dispatch out of the SF Bay Area when I am dropping out of the Sierra on Interstate 80, probably 100 miles away.

 

[LIScanner101]

Looking at where you are staying, here's what I would use for my immediate area. Redwood is closest. Followed by San Francisco and then San Jose.


Redwood:
42.08000 WNUH521 B 131.8 PL AMB GAT B Base - AMBER - Redwood City (91) FM Law Dispatch
42.82000 KA4993 M 131.8 PL AMB GAT M Mobile - AMBER - Redwood City (91) FM Law Dispatch
769.44375 RM DB3 NAC AMB EXT P Extender - AMBER - Primary P25 Law Dispatch
769.46875 RM DB4 NAC AMB EXT A Extender - AMBER - Alternate P25 Law Dispatch

San Francisco:
42.44000 KMA962 B 131.8 PL PNK GAT B Base - PINK - San Francisco (32) FM Law Dispatch
42.76000 KA4993 M 131.8 PL PNK GAT M Mobile - PINK - San Francisco (32) FM Law Dispatch
769.21875 RM DB0 NAC PNK EXT P Extender - PINK - Primary P25 Law Dispatch
769.71875 RM DB8 NAC PNK EXT A Extender - PINK - Alternate P25 Law Dispatch

San Jose:
42.50000 KMH700 B 131.8 PL RBY GAT B Base - RUBY - San Jose (24) FM Law Dispatch
42.28000 KA4993 M 131.8 PL RBY GAT M Mobile - RUBY - San Jose (24) FM Law Dispatch
769.19375 RM DAF NAC RBY EXT P Extender - RUBY - Primary P25 Law Dispatch

Thanks much! I will try these out with the exception of the 700MHz frequencies as the BCT15X is analog only.

Which direction are you traveling during business?

I always stay as close to SFO as possible, but drive mainly down to Silicon Valley. I also spend a little time in Newark and Pleasanton (over the San Mateo Bridge) but it’s almost always up & down 101.

 

[LIScanner101]

Your BCT15X cannot handle (and you don't want to bother with) the digital extenders.

Yes, I know, thanks.

Most, if not the majority of the time, the mobile frequencies are rebroadcast on the base channels.

That WOULD make life easier for scanning!

You'll probably be fine with this setup: (All PL tones for Golden Gate Dispatch use 131.8)
Redwood 42.08 - (it is rare they do not simulcast the M over B channel, so just scan this)
San Jose 42.50 - They always simulcast the M over B here, I cannot recall that not being the case ever.
San Francisco - 42.44 Base (dispatch). 42.76 M (this area mostly keeps the channels separate for mobile and base - no simulcast).

Thanks again, I will give these a try.

I drive from San Jose to SF for work every day and run my BCT15X with a NMO 42 inch whip on the trunk. I get crystal clear reception most of the time. Mobile units in the city are mostly clear, though depending on how far away you are, you may not pick them up.

I would LOVE to use a dedicated low-band whip like you are doing. Unfortunately, it won’t fit in a suitcase…! I have considered buying an NMO42 and cutting the whip apart in sections small enough to fit in an overhead suitcase (about 22” would be the max) and using threaded couplers to put it back together, but I am worried about the sections coming off at highway speeds…

 

[LIScanner101]

Forgot Hayward, which covers Milpitas, Fremont, Hayward, up to Oakland.

Hayward - 42.62 Base, 42.84 Mobile

I scan both the B and M on this area. For whatever reason, the Hayard dispatch has the worst transmitters, mostly scratchy.

Noted. Thanks!

 

[LIScanner101]

Also about the antenna - I am able to hear dispatch out of the SF Bay Area when I am dropping out of the Sierra on Interstate 80, probably 100 miles away.

I don't doubt it. I tried a dedicated low band antenna on a car once on Long Island (shhhhh!!!) cut to 46mHz and I was able to copy the entire LI area fire dispatch clear as a bell. Unfortunately, not much else came in which is to be expected.

 

[russianspd]

Also about the antenna - I am able to hear dispatch out of the SF Bay Area when I am dropping out of the Sierra on Interstate 80, probably 100 miles away.

Might be using an Mt. Diablo based tower. I can pickup Dublin Dispatch here in Stockton. Coming down on 80 would give you a pretty good line of sight .

 

[LIScanner101]

What about the UHF channels...???

Golden Gate A: 454.8250 127.3
Golden Gate D: 453.8500 127.3
Tactical 1: 460.0875 127.3
Tactical 2: 460.2125 127.3
Tactical 3: 460.3375 127.3
Tactical 4: 465.0875 127.3
Tactical 5: 465.2125 127.3
Tactical 6: 465.3375 127.3

 

[WayneH]

OK, here goes - this New Yorker is going to stick his neck into the CHP fray :lol: ...

I've moved yours and associated posts to their own thread. In the future please start your own thread when you need specific assistance. Unless you're contributing to the original post of the thread it's best you start your own. Thanks.

 

[K6CDO]

What about the UHF channels...???

Golden Gate A: 454.8250 127.3
Golden Gate D: 453.8500 127.3
Tactical 1: 460.0875 127.3
Tactical 2: 460.2125 127.3
Tactical 3: 460.3375 127.3
Tactical 4: 465.0875 127.3
Tactical 5: 465.2125 127.3
Tactical 6: 465.3375 127.3

The UHF channels are used by CHP Protective Services and non-CHP LE agencies who CHP dispatches for.

 

[LIScanner101]

Thanks. Are they fairly active?

 

[K6CDO]

I'm not in the Bay Area, so I don't know their current status.
The pairs in San Diego are calm.

 

[tahoekid77]

Thanks. Are they fairly active?

I had those on my scanner for sometime, but dropped them since they are for the most part dead. If you want dispatch-trooper, just go with the simple setup. Good as gold.

 

[ScannerDude244]

Don't forget the blue channels 42.34000, 44.72000 131.8 PL

I was going to tell you to read the wiki,but it was deleted!

 

[LIScanner101]

I had those on my scanner for sometime, but dropped them since they are for the most part dead. If you want dispatch-trooper, just go with the simple setup. Good as gold.

Yeah, actually I already had put those in a separate system in my scanner so I could lock it out on the fly. I listened to it for many weeks and I think I heard one transmission on it. Thank you for the heads-up, I'm going to delete that system.

 

[tahoekid77]

Don't forget the blue channels 42.34000, 44.72000 131.8 PL

I was going to tell you to read the wiki,but it was deleted!

What sort of traffic does the Blue get?

 

[ScannerDude244]

What sort of traffic does the Blue get?

They use the blue channel for speed traps with planes, but do to the budget cuts they don't do it as much anymore. It's still used for special events and I know CHP Santa Cruz and the county patch thier RED channel with the blue for interoperability.