Radio Communications Page
Updated March 28, 2010
RADIO PAGES
Cape Cod Fire Radio
(Updated Jan 2006)
Cape Cod Police Radio
(Updated Jan 2006)
Cape Cod EMS Radio
Martha's Vineyard Radio
(Updated Jan 2006)
Cape Frequencies
(Updated Jan 2006)
Island Frequencies
Plymouth Frequencies
Bristol Frequencies
Print Frequency Lists
Cape Cod (Barnstable County)
The Islands (Martha's Vineyard & Nantucket)
Plymouth County
Bristol County
Scanner
LISTEN TO CAPE COD
FIRE RADIO LIVE !
Listen to Cape Cod Scanner
Multi-Agency Live Feed
Two great ways to Listen to Cape Cod's 800 Mhz Trunked
Fire Radio Communications
while looking at
CapeCodFD.com pages.
SCANNERS I'VE LOVED
My scanner story
September 9, 2002
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Some Favorite Radio Links
APCO - Association of Public Safety Communications Officers International
Barnstable County Radio Frequencies.............Jim
Fordyce...........lots of freqs
BC780XLT Scanner.......................
...............Strong
Signals 780 Radio Club
Bob Hendricks Radio Links............................Huge sire for
radio & other info
Boston Area Live Fire Radio..........................A live 365
Live Radio Feed
Bristol County Radio Frequencies...................Jim Fordyce
Caldwell's Antena...........................................Tim's
list of radio info
Caldwell's Antena Fleet IDs............................Tim's list
of 800 mhz info
Caldwell's Capewide News............................Tim's
Emergency New Updates
Caldwell's Cape Cod Radio LIVE FD............Tim's Media Player Live Scanner
Cape Cod Info Center....................................Scanner
Freqs - Dan Hamilton
Eastern Mass Trunking System Info.................Good info on
area radio freqs
Island Radio Frequencies.................................Jim Fordyce
Jim Fryes Home Page......................................Lots of good links
Long Island Scanning Resources......................Jim Fordyce
has lots of freqs
L.I. / Barnstable County Freqs.........................Jim Fordyce
Cape Cod Freqs
L.I. / Bristol County Freqs...............................Jim
Fordyce Bristol County Freqs
L.I. / Vineyard & Nantucket Freqs..................Jim Fordyce Island Freqs
L.I. / Plymouth County Freqs...........................Jim Fordyce
Plymouth Freqs
Massachusetts Fire Freqs................................Caldwell's
Mass Freqs List
NEFNN - LIVE RADIO FEEDS....................Many Live Radio Links
Plymouth County Radio Frequencies............... Jim Fordyce site
Providence Citywide Fire Network..................To hear Providence FD Live
Public Safety Broadcasts.................................Fire,
Police, Other live radio links
Radio Shack....................................................Scanner page
Scan Boston.com.............................................Great
site for Boston Metro area
Scan Boston Trunk Tracker LIVE FEED.........Live Boston area radio
Scan Cape Cod...............................................Scott
Halligan's great site.
Scan Cape Cod LIVE FEED...........................Scott Halligan's
Live Scanner Online
Scan Cape Cod Message Board......................Scott Halligan's
Message Center
Scan Cape Cod Software Data Files................Scott Haligan's
Computer Software
Scanner Master...............................................Freqs and more
Scannerworld.com...........................................Order
Scanners & stuff
Scan Plymouth.................................................Plymouth
County Freqs
South Shore Radio Freqs..................................Mostly
Plymouth County
Strong Signals Home Page................................Great info
on scanners
The Bravest.com...............................................Live
FDNY, Boston,Prov FD radio
The Bravest Boston...........................................Live Radio
The Bravest Brooklyn........................................Live Radio
The Bravest Bronx.............................................Live Radio
The Bravest Manhattan......................................Live Radio
The Bravest Providence.....................................Live Radio
The Bravest Queens...........................................Live Radio
The Breakroom.................................................For
Public Safety radio people
Trunk Tracker.com............................................Large
Trunking data base
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1
CAPE COD COMMUNICATIONS
FIRE COMMUNICATIONS
Cape Cod Fire Departments have traditionally operated on the low band
in the 33 mhz range. At one time all departments were on a single
channel....33.70 mhz. As departments got busier and communications
more frequent, many departments switched to their own "fire alarm"
frequency. The 33.70 mhz channel continued to be used as a common
"county" frequency for inter-department and mutual aid communications.
By the late 1970's all departments were off the "county" frequency and
operating on their own channels. The county frequency continued to be
used, and is still in service today, for mutual aid purposes.
"Skip" used to be a very common problem on the 33. mhz frequencies,
particularly the summer. To overcome this extremely irritating
condition, all departments added PL (private line) tones (CTCSS) to
radios. The common tone in the county is 114.8. This helped greatly in
reducing the foreign noise.
As departments continued to grow in recent years, some added
additional VHF and UHF frequencies that could be used for
administrative purposes. Primary operations however, continued on the
33. mhz channels.
Today all Fire Departments utilize an 800 Mhz Trunked Radio System....See below.
POLICE COMMUNICATIONS
Cape Cod Police Departments originally operated in the high band. The
(4) channel 155. mhz police radio system was once utilized by all Cape
Police Departments. Ch.1 operated by the Sheriff's Department was used
for General Broadcasts (GBCs), General Info broadcasts (GIs), Be On
the Look Outs (BOLOs) and other countywide communications. All
departments used FCC callsigns. Each department had assigned car
designations (Able, Baker, Charlie, David, Easy, etc...).
As communications increased, some departments aquired their own police
channels, while others continued to use Ch.2, 3, and 4. Most of the
departments continued to stay on 155. Mhz frequencies.
When 800 Mhz radios became available, some departments switched to 800
Mhz "conventional" frequencies with local repeaters. Others remained
on VHF high band.
When the 800 Mhz Trunked Radio system came a couple years ago, all the
departments still on the VHF high channels joined the 800 Trunked
system. Departments which already had conventional 800 Mhz radio
channels stayed on those.
Today, all Cape Police Departments are on 800 mhz, some trunked and
some conventional.
EMS COMMUNICATIONS
Cape Cod Fire Departments have provided EMS service on the Cape for
many years. In 1975 a 400 Mhz UHF EMS CMED radio system was installed
providing ambulance to hospital communications for over 60 ambulances
operating within the region. The Cape & Islands Emergency Medical
Services System (CIEMSS) provided the system and the Barnstable County
Sheriff's Department staffs and operates it.
Barnstable CMED is a system of radios, repeater sites, and telephone
circuits which connect ambulances to (4) area hospitals. There are (6)
repeater tower sites in the area, each having multiple channels
available for "patches" to local hospitals. Channel 4 is the primary
calling channel for rescue units. Channels 2,5,7 and 8 are available
for "patching" an ambulance radio communication via phone line to the
area hospital. It is a duplex system allowing two way conversations.
Each channel has an input and output frequency. CMED is an active
system with over 35,000 incidents per year being handled.
TRUNKED RADIO SYSTEM
A few years ago, the Massachusetts State Police radio system upgrade
to 800 mhz trunking began. Cape Fire and Police Departments worked out
arrangements to join with the State Police Trunking System. The result
has been a considerable change in Cape Cod communications. While not
yet 100% completed, the system has been utilized quite reliably now
for over (2) years.
The "Trunked Radio System" is someone complex to understand and
explain, but basically it is a Motorola Type II system. It presently
utilizes a bank of (15) 800 mhz frequencies. Within these frequencies
is a "data" channel which allows user radios to track communications
by user groups known as "Talk Groups." The system utilizes several
repeater sites on the Cape. All radios must reach the repeater site to
transmit. A very sophisticated computer controls the whole system.
These frequencies are shared by all Cape Cod Fire Departments, most
Police Departments, the State Police, Environmental Police, and
perhaps more.
Mobile and portable radios issued to fire departments have (3) banks
of 16 channels each.
The "A" Bank, contains the home department's channel, a mutual aid
dispatch channel, 5 neighboring departments, the local police channel,
a Capewide Administrative channel, a CIEMSS talkgroup, and (5) common
I-Call / T-Tac channels. Channel 1 in the "A" bank is a low power,
Direct channel. Radios in the "A" Bank typically can scan the home
channel, neighboring departments, and the mutual aid dispatch channel.
The "B" Bank in each radio contains the remaining fire department
channels not included in the "A" bank.
The "C" Bank has the home channel, (3) OPS channels for major
incidents, and other channels.
The "C" Bank in each radio was designed for use at multi-department
incidents. Channel 1 is the Direct channel. The direct channel is a
conventional 800 (not trunked). This is paired with the C2 channel
which is the home department's primary channel. C1 and C2 scan each
other. If for some reason, a portable in a building cannot transmit
out (it is unable to hit one of the cape's repeater sites), the person
in the building can switch to the direct C1 position to reach command
or other units on the scene. The (3) OPS channels are similarly
paired....C3 is direct/C4 is OPS 1..........C5 is direct/C6 is OPS
2......etc.... Each pair scans itself for this "backup" for emergency
purposes. The direct channel frequency is the same in all positions.
The Cape does not utilize a "regional" or centralized dispatch center.
Each of the Cape's Fire Departments have their own dispatch centers,
each department uses its own channel (Talkgroup), and all of the
departments using the "Trunked" system simulcast radio communications
over their 33. mhz frequencies for tone activated pagers. Most
dispatch centers have (1) A fire alarm channel for dispatch and day to
day operations...simulcast over 33. mhz, (2) a countywide "Mutual Aid
Dispatch" channel used for inter-department and mutual aid dispatch
purposes. This is strictly used for station to station communications
and is not used for mobile or portable communications. Dispatch
centers then use mobile radios which can be selected as needed for
access to OPS channels during major incident.
Protocol for an incident is basically as follows. Each department
dispatches its incidents on their own "fire alarm" talkgroup (A2 and
C2 positions on their radios.) These communications, including pager
tones, are simulcast on their 33. mhz frequency. When a working fire
or major incident is encountered, the fire alarm dispatcher contacts
the mutual aid center via phone or the M/A Dispatch talkgroup, and is
assigned an "OPS channel" for fireground / incident communications.
All units responding to and operating at the incident are instructed
to switch to an OPS channel (OPS 1, 2, or 3). Units on scene will stay
on the OPS channel until the incident is concluded. Units given
coverage / moveup assignments are dispatched by the mutual aid center
on the M/A Dispatch talkgroup. As apparatus responds, it remains on
its own fire alarm channel until reaching the community to be covered.
Upon reaching that community, apparatus switches to the fire alarm
talkgroup of the department being covered and remains on that channel
for assignments. If additional moveups occur, units switch to the
talkgroup of the next community being covered. It is complex and may
be confusing to follow... but so far it works.
Monitoring fire communications on the Cape by scanner has actually
improved greatly with the 800 trunked system. Obviously, having a
newer scanner with "Trunk Tracking" capability helps to provide best
control over what you hear. Listening with older, non-trunking radios
has also improved, as the process of simulcasting communications has
made it possible to hear portable radios as well as mobiles in most
cases. Monitoring with a Trunk Tracker scanner involves programming
the (15) 800 mhz frequencies and then the 5 digit talkgroups of the
departments you wish to hear.
The trunked system is being improved on again at this time with
additional repeater sites being installed soon to provide the desired
95%/95% coverage for in building use.
Presently all Cape Fire Departments are capable of using the 800 mhz
trunked system. Mobile and portable radios, as well as dispatch center
radios are in place. Due to some concerns about "in building"
coverage, Hyannis and Yarmouth Fire Departments have not yet made the
switch to 100% use. The West Barnstable Department has shared a low
band frequency with the Barnstable Fire Department. This creates a
situation with simulcasting, so WBFD has not switched to 800 mhz yet
pending a new 33. mhz channel to put pagers on. All other departments
are on and working well.
The Mutual Aid Center for Barnstable County (Barnstable County
Control) is located at the barnstable Sheriff's Department in
Barnstable. This is the center piece of Cape Fire Communications.
COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM FAILS
A fierce early morning thunder storm is getting the blame for a rather
concerning
failure of Cape Cod's 800 mhz trunked public safety communications system today
(Friday July 2, 2004). The timing could not have been worse as the
violent storm
with numerous lightning strikes to homes and other buildings in the area was at
its height. As fire departments began to respond to fires, the
ability to dispatch
and communicate with apparatus and off duty personnel failed! The backbone
of the system, a communications site in Barnstable apparently took a direct hit,
causing circuit boards to fry. The system was down for a couple hours and was
reported to be about 80% back on at noon.
All of Cape Cod's Fire Departments, and the majority of its Police Departments
use the 800 mhz trunked radio system, which is part of the statewide
State Police
radio system. Implemented several years ago, the system enhances mobile and
portable communications by using a sophisticated repeater system that enables
radios to be heard at greater distance than the previously utilized 33 mhz
conventional radios. For the most part the trunking system has performed well.
There have however been other episodes and failures of the system since its
inception, that have brought police and fire communications to a standstill.
These problems were supposedly addressed and appropriate backups
and maintenance in place to avoid catastrophic failures. Unfortunately, the
ability to avoid a direct lightning strike has not yet been perfected.
In response to the failure of the trunking system, fire departments utilized
some of the old 33 mhz mobile and portable radios that are still in some
stations and apparatus. Most of the newer apparatus no longer have the
low band radios and few vehicles carry low band portables any more.
There really isn't a good backup to 800 mhz system. When the system
failed, apparatus was dispatched by phone and other means. Hardly
a reliable or efficient system when departments are being hammered
by lightning or other severe weather. Some departments responded to several
simultaneous reports of housefires
within their own community and mutual aid was
not available due to calls of their own. No major fires or serious injuries
have been reported at this time.
Compliments go out to all the dispatchers
who were working the night shift that handled this challenge professionally
and did the best they could to get help where it was needed.
No doubt, police and fire chiefs across the area will be looking into the
failure and demanding more improvements in backup systems for our
vital communications needs.
Several 'symptomatic' problems followed over the following days
with a static sound trailing transmissions for a brief period and a
number of 'bonk' situations, where the ability to transmit was prevented
for some reason.
Radio frequencies and information are provided for private legal
listening purposes.
Information on radio frequencies gathered from various sources.
If you see any errors or have any additions for the pages please email
them to me.
Copyright Britton W Crosby
CapeCodFD.com 2000-2006
All Rights Reserved