1. This website contains information about public safety radio systems. Information is entered by YEAR, or under MISC.
2. Use the SEARCH box at the upper right to find what you need
3. Please see "firerad2" at yahoogroups.com or "sonofrcma" at yahoogroups.com for much more public safety radio information spanning the last 13 years (or more)
4. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DlwfLSFgtuOdHgOakYBYp_ThuTTKzBgf2BH9-XeJK8Y/edit?usp=sharing - USA and Beyond Freqs spreadsheet - in recent months I have been adding lots of info to this spreadsheet - new licenses weekly - plus wildfire freqs for 2017 and 2018 as I can dig them up
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JUST THINKING OUT LOUD - https://sites.google.com/site/publicsafetyradio/home/misc/just-thinking-out-loud - My grand radio schemes
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrestrial_Trunked_Radio - TETRA article at Wikipedia - with links to many other radio articles
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Most recent postings
June 14 2018 - SCANNER SCHOOL! - https://www.scannerschool.com/
December 10, 2017 - https://archive.org/details/CALAFDSkirballFireStart2017120606453771312846 - radio tape - LAFD at Skirball Fire - doubles at 18:16 & 19:13 - you might have to listen closely to hear them - really hard to avoid but can be mitigated
March 23, 2017 - https://web.archive.org/web/20170323203322/http://www.fireengineering.com/articles/print/volume-156/issue-3/features/firefighter-safety-and-radio-communication.html - 2003 article about FD LODDs and portable radios
August 28, 2016 - I never saw a FIRESCOPE plan for 2016 - did they publish one?
January 22, 2016 - Bozeman 2015 radio study
January 22, 2016 - Region 19 application form for 700 Mhz channels - "digital radios tend to be less tolerant to interference than analog" - page 21 of 34
Dec 24, 2015 - Bay County FL - addendum to TRS RFP
November 2, 2015 - Field User Operations and Procedures Manual - Berks County Pennsylvania - October 15, 2014 - look in 2014 sub folder
July 11, 2015 - CalFire Dispatch Agreement - Mendocino County - 2015
July 3 2015 - Hampshire County Massachusetts - nice list of FD freqs - look in the 2014 sub folder
June 19, 2015 - the SOPs for Banks County Georgia 911 center are online - I have not stored them here - they are a large pdf file
June 19, 2015 - I added 2004 California / Firescope radio channels - look in the 2004 sub folder
June 19, 2015 - Missoula County MT - fire radio agreement
June 4, 2015 - East Bay San Francisco Fire Radio Channel Lineups
June 2, 2015 - Tulare County EMS Freq Changes
June 2, 2015 - Somerset County PA - 2015 Info on New TRS
June 2, 2015 - Brevard County FL - 2013 TRS Update Info
June 2, 2015 - California 2015 Mobilization Guide Appendix
May 10, 2015 - Upgrade Report on Nevada Statewide TRS
May 3, 2015 - $150 mobile radio UHF & VHF 199 channels PL/DPL 10 watts - Jetstream
April 29, 2015 - FirstNet is imploding
September 30, 2014 - https://sites.google.com/site/newjerseypublicsafety/home/hillsborough - 2013 - Hillsborough NJ FD Radio SOPs
September 26, 2014 - https://sites.google.com/site/2011radiointeropstudy/home/2011-study-lexington-ky - 2011 - Lexington KY Radio Interops Study -
September 2, 2014 - Houston Texas FD Report on 4 LODDs - big problems with new trunked radios - multi bonks etc
August 27, 2014 - Alabama - 2013 list of PLs for 155.34
July 21, 2014 - 2014 FIRESCOPE Radio Comms Guidelines - mostly California channels - but some nationwide wildfire and disaster channels are also included
July 17, 2014 - 2014 MOU for Chugach NF & Bear Creek AK FD re Radio Channels
July 17, 2014 - Dane County WI 2006 Radio Needs Assessment
May 13, 2014 - LAPD comms "issues" - I really need to read the report and see if there is any cry for encryption
April 7, 2014 - 2014 Oregon SFM Comm Plan
April 4, 2014 - 2014 Montana Fire Mutual Aid Channels
April 4, 2014 - 2012 Nevada Field Ops Guide
March 21, 2014 - United Kingdom Ambulance Radio Channels - 1986 ish - 34 pairs
March 21, 2014 - Boston Marathon Radio Comms 2014 - preplanning - prethinking
March 21, 2014 - Wash DC area FD comms centers info 1977
March 19, 2014 - 1978 Info about USA FD Comms Centers - 2 pages - freqs - # of stations - # of incidents - etc
March 19 2014 - Washington DC area freqs - maybe 1982
March 17, 2014 - Los Angeles County FD - 1992 Radio Guidebook
March 17, 2014 - Info about Calif Highway Patrol MO3 from 1982 APCO Magazine
March 16, 2014 - Karuk Indian Tribe 2014 RFP for Radio System Upgrades - California
March 16, 2014 - https://sites.google.com/site/blackhawkcountyia/home/2014-rfp-for-radio-study
Feb 28 2014 - Bad firefighting - Cheektowaga NY - fatal house fire
Feb 22 2014 - Boston Fire Department UHF Channel List - 2013
Feb 22 2014 - Lawrence County PA - RFP for VHF P25 TRS
Feb 22 2014 - Pacific County Washington - RFP for Radio Consoles - lots of details about their radio systems
Jan 25 2014 - Lincoln Nebraska 911 Center SOPs - 500 pages - 2008 IIRC
Jan 12, 2014 - https://sites.google.com/site/usapublicsafety/home/usa---federal/2014-wildfire-comms-guidelines
Jan 9 2014 - Here is a very funny lesson in radio usage - some cussin and swearin and ribald stuff - this is a 2 minute video from the Archer cable TV show - "M like Mancy"
Jan 9 2014 - Wallingford CT FD Radio System - possible MO3 usage scheme
Dec 27, 2013 - http://www.keysso.net/miscellaneous/downloads/MOT_Technical_Proposal.pdf - 500 pages approx of very detailed info about a brand new Motorola TRS - it is a 2013 proposal to Monroe County FL (Key West area) for a new trunked radio system (TRS)
Dec 27, 2013 - RFP for fire dispatch service - Middlesex County Ontario
Dec 27, 2013 - https://sites.google.com/site/publicsafetyradio/home/2014/approved-federal-wildfire-radios---usa
Dec 23 2013 - CT - Middlebury PD and Southbury PD ordered to turn off encryption - apparently by local politicians
Dec 23, 2013 - Very interesting discussions about the costs of upgrading TRSs
Dec 9 2013 - https://sites.google.com/site/canadapublicsafety/home/frazer-bc/2013-radio-info-for-fd-more - Frazer British Columbia - extensive radio info - RFP for radio antenna filtering upgrade
Nov 27 2013 - http://statter911.com/2013/11/28/mayday-radio-traffic-boston-fd-lt-ryan-mcgovern-burned-after-falling-through-floor-of-house-in-jamaica-plain/
Nov 21 2013 - Sepura upgrades 800 Mhz TETRA radios
Oct 23 2013 - El Medio CA FD Master Plan 2012 - very slow dispatch - < 60 seconds only 14%
Oct 22 2013 - Raleigh NC pager list
Oct 19 2013 - California PL Tones from 2013 Mobilization Guide
Oct 19 2013 - Alberta Canada - 2013 Fire Pilots Handbook - includes Radio Guidebook
Oct 19 2013 - Black Forest CO - radio problems at major wildfire
Oct 19, 2013 - Calif VFIRE Channels 2013 - CalEMA Ops Bulletin 28
Oct 13 2013 - added 2 items under MISC - " Federal Wildfire Freqs " and " Bakersfield CA Area Federal Wildfire Repeater Sites "
PIFC 2012 radio channels - Phoenix Arizona - federal wildfire dispatch center
2013 Okanogan Wenatchee NF Radio Guide
2011 Fire Comms Manual - Cowlitz County Washington - link to pdf
2013 Fire Freqs List for Santa Clara County CA
Encryption faces scrutiny in Illinois
August 2013 - Boise Idaho FD - using radios suberbly - burning house collapsed
New York City - roaring 5 alarm fire - with portable radio traffic - 2 MAYDAYs
Onondaga County NY - 2010 - Fire Radio SOP
Uintah Basin UT - 2013 radio users guide - has freqs and radio words and general radio info - wildfire dispatch center for UT and CO
California - San Bernardino County FD - 2013 Radio Channels
USA - New Freqs - 2013 - my spreadsheet
April 2013 - Rome NY police radios need better mutual aid capabilities
NJSP getting more radios - New Jersey State Police are adding VHF & UHF radios to new marked cruisers for interops - I guess the millions and millions spent on a statewide 800 Mhz TRS wasnt enough
Firefighters shot - Wesbter NY - December 2012 - radio traffic
Distracted cops face danger on the road - NBC Nightly News - Nov 19 2012
California Highway Patrol - Radio Enhancement Project
2012 - mutual aid channels near Boston MA
2012 Mutual Aid Radio Channels for Texas
2012 Freq List for Ventura County California
Mass - 2 PDs have problems with P25
2012 California Firescope Radio Comms Guidelines
Clinton County Pennsylvania - Radio Documents - SOP + Freqs + Narrowbanding
Delaware County PA - 2012 Fire Radio SOP
Iowa radios have problems - I think the writer has ten times more problems than the radios though
SE Minnesota - Tac Interop Comm Plan - May 2012
Columbia County Oregon - radio users handbook
Houston Texas - Fire Service Radio Traffic - 6 Sept 2012 - routine messages from the automated voice dispatch channel
Greenwich CT - RFP for Radio Study - August 2012
FAA - words of wisdom about "phraseology"
Radio Study June 2012 - Spotsylvania County Virginia - $22M for 15 site 15 channel simulcast 800 mhz TRS - $200,000 for police encryption - $1.5M annually for maintenance - no guarantee on coverage - more BDAs will probably be needed - report is also here
http://www.firehouse.com/news/10757738/worcester-workshop-focuses-on-future-technology - WPI continues to develop wireless firefighting tracking system - August 2012
https://sites.google.com/site/washdcfire/home/reports-significant-incidents/811-48th-place-ne---vacant-house-fire---april-8-2011 - Extensive information about Washington DC Fire Department Dispatch Center and mobile repeaters here
Warren County NJ - 2012 Radio Operators Guide - lots of info about their VHF highband radio system - also available here - https://sites.google.com/site/newjerseypublicsafety/home/warren-county/2012-radio-operators-handbook
Marion County SC loses 400 foot tower
Oakland California - 2012 report on TRS
LEX 700 from Motorola - 2012 - handheld communicator with video, voice, & data
Spreadsheet - new USA freqs - 2008 to 2011
San Antonio area radio study - 420 pages - lots of pictures
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Note to self -
I COULD POSSIBLY CLEAN UP THIS WEBSITE BY SORTING BY DATE OF PUBLICATION - and throw the rest in the Misc file - I could also make up "specialty pages" - such as a 'Radio Comms SOP' page or a "Comms SOP" page - 10/25/2010
Maybe first I should figure out how LODD RADIO, PUBLIC SAFETY RADIO, MODERN FIRE PROTECTION, and SONOFRCMA should play together
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How bad are interop comms in the USA? Pretty bad. http://forums.radioreference.com/community-announcements-news/236761-ny-statewide-interop-emergency-communications-board-holds-meeting-march-27-a.html
https://sites.google.com/site/northcarolinapublicsafety/home/charlotte/who-is-samantha - March 2012 - Who is Samantha? - the computer generated voice of the Charlotte North Carolina Fire Department
https://sites.google.com/site/bostonmasspublicsafety/home/boston-fire/2011/aug-2011---4-alarms-in-dorchester - good radio usage by the Chief gets 2nd due Ladder into perfect position - radio instructions were probably - "have the 2nd due Ladder go X St to Y St to Z St"
http://youtu.be/XXo25xL01MM - FDNY radio traffic - Black Sunday - 2005 - firefighters bail out windows
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?ctid=2910 - Warren County Virginia - Sheriff and Front Royal Police use a private 800 Mhz TRS
http://forums.radioreference.com/community-announcements-news/228795-cleveland-oh-cleveland-proposes-merger-public-safety-radio-systems.html - Dec 2011 - Cleveland Ohio proposes to merge public safety radios with suburbs - extensive public comments to the newspaper article discuss the future of public safety radios
http://urgentcomm.com/mobile_voice/commentary/lte-lmr-coexistence-20111011/ - Oct 2011 - LTE and LMR will co exist for a long time
http://forums.radioreference.com/california-radio-discussion-forum/219243-lassen-volcanic-national-park.html - Sept 2011 - last post on page 1 says that P25 does not work as well as MotoTbro or Nextedge
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-10-26-emp_N.htm?csp=DailyBriefing - EMP issues - October 2010
http://www.jems.com/article/technology/exchanging-information-multime?utm_source=Go+Forward+Media+eMail%2C+Powered+by+Bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Tips+for+Good+Communication+Between+Public+Safety+Agencies&utm_content=zerg90%40gmail.com&utm_campaign=JEMS+eNews+10-19-10 - October 2010 - interops for EMS is no good
http://www.firehouse.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34884 - dual band VHF / UHF portable radios - Chinese model for $100
http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-products/communications/articles/882024-Motorola-unveils-first-radio-designed-for-firefighters/ - Sept 17 2010 - new APX 7000XE portable for firefighters from Motorola
http://www.jems.com/photos/hands-january-2011?utm_source=Go+Forward+Media+eMail%2C+Powered+by+Bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Motorola+AX7000XE&utm_content=zerg90%40gmail.com&utm_campaign=JEMS+eNews+01-04-11 - radio can take a beating and keep on ticking
http://forums.radioreference.com/community-announcements-news/191588-houston-tx-slow-development-radio-standards-frustrates-first-responders.html - the dark side of the public safety radio business
http://www.kcra.com/news/25034699/detail.html?treets=sac&tml=sac_break&ts=T&tmi=sac_break_1_10500109162010 - Sept 2010 - Oakland California cops starting to wear video cameras
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJCfUm21BsI - the Family Guy "Over" bit - too funny
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AoX8tpb0l73sdE1fNGpWOWNPTUFERk9mZ3VsVVctMWc&hl=en#gid=0 - Largest City FDs in USA - radio systems
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3y_eVmRbEA - May 2008 - Orlando FD radio problems - whole bunch of videos here about sucky digital radios
http://rochfordvfd.com/Documents/Radio%20Needs%20CSFA%20Article.pdf - this is a great article that points out the problems of trunked and digital radios for the fire service
http://blog.tcomeng.com/index.php/2008/communications-guide-for-the-fire-service/ - read the "Communications Guide for the Fire Service" - even if you are police or EMS - if you have questions, drop me a note - Peter Sz [ zerg90 at gmail.com ]
http://www.fcc.gov/pshs/docs-best/imel-wireless03.pdf - "Understanding Public Safety Wireless Systems" - from the FCC - 2000 / 2003 - 175 pages - specifying - funding - technical aspects
Interesting info about the difference between Motorola and EDACS synchronized control channels - see the "rebanding" article - http://www.tusaconsulting.com/september.09.backscatter.pdf
See "Oxnard Ohio FD" for Motorola radio users guides
http://firechief.com/technology/ar/specify-fire-department-radio-system-201001/ - How to write specifications for a FD radio system