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Posted: 3/19/2006 7:30:51 PM EDT
Have Phoenix Police frequencies changed or is something wrong with my scanner?  I started noticing chatter reducing in my area and now I can't seem to get any signal with the frequecies I have stored.  However I get the weather channel just fine.

Here is what I have programmed:

Channel 1 (Chase 1, North Emergency) 154.890
Channel 2 (Chase 2, Tactical Operations) 154.755
Channel 3 (Chase 3, South Emergency) 155.790
Channel 4 (South Mountain ) 155.370
Channel 5 (Central City [C]) 155.070
Channel 6 (Desert Horizon [NE]) 155.640
Channel 7 (Squaw Peak [N]) 155.520
Channel 8 (Maryvale [W]) 155.430
Channel 9 (Cactus Park [NW]) 155.700
Channel 10 (Car-to-car) 155.760  
Channel 11 (Tactical) 156.060  
Channel 12 (Info/Talkaround) 155.610

Thanks!

Link Posted: 3/20/2006 12:36:45 AM EDT
[#1]
Oh man have they changed.

The whole police dept, fire dept, and several other cities have joined a trunked network that's digital, using APCO 25.  Mesa, Phoenix, and several other subcities will be sharing this network down the road, but for now I think it's just Phoenix and Mesa; Possibly Tempe.

Important!  You cannot listen or track the new digital trunking systems without a digital scanner.  The transmissions are digital, therefore analogue radio is worthless for scanning govt. frequencies now.  Some places like Scottsdale are still using the analog system, however, it's trunked and still requires a trunking scanner.  The cities and various agencies/businesses not using digital now, will be in the very near future.  

The bad news?  A large portion of what has always been "hot" traffic in PHX and other cities is now encrypted.  Therefore, a shitload of calls are now missed because you can't get around the encryption.  Also, the new digital trunking scanners are around 400 to 500 dollars.  Even at that high price, people are not happy with the quality of sound and overall lack of listening ability the digital age has put them in.  As a scanner buff myself, I don't think I'll ever buy a digital scanner simply because they're making it impossible for us.
Link Posted: 3/20/2006 3:39:26 AM EDT
[#2]
... Yup, I used to garner some enjoyment from listening to police/fire scanners on weekend nights. My two analog scanners are relics of the past and are pretty much worthless to me these days.
Link Posted: 3/20/2006 5:36:38 AM EDT
[#3]
Ahhh I see.  So those who justly listen to scanner traffic will find it becoming more difficult for the public to watch the watchers.  Kind of troubling.

From an online article:
"In the case of public safety agencies (Police, Fire, Rescue Ambulance), it is perfectly legitimate to montitor them, provided you do nothing to compromise their safety (by showing up at the scene, discussing what they are doing with a third party, or committing a crime). This makes sense, as these individuals are paid with YOUR tax dollars, and the radio equipment they use to communicate on the public airwaves was also purchased with your money. Also, given the recent scandals involving police departments in major cities, doesn't it make sense that we should be able to keep a watchful eye on those who are charged with protecting us?"
Link Posted: 3/20/2006 7:21:42 AM EDT
[#4]

Quoted:
... Yup, I used to garner some enjoyment from listening to police/fire scanners on weekend nights.



Reminds me of a DPS call I heard last weekend.  Some dumb broad had a flat on the 143 or somewhere.  She called DPS, but Could not tell them WHAT freeway she was on OR what direction she was going!!  

HOW CAN YOU BE THAT FUCKING DIZZY?  
Link Posted: 3/20/2006 8:04:44 AM EDT
[#5]
If you have to balance 'watching the watchers' and securing the communications systems of our emergency response folks, it's a no brainer to me.

Do you really want Johnny Jihadist to know our response times?  Do you want them to know from where and to where they are responding from?  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that ambushing your first responders is a sure way to magnify the impact of a terror attack.

If you want to keep an eye on the police force and make sure they stay a citizen force beholden to the public and not the executive branch, do ride alongs, get active as a volunteer.  Let them know you care about police policy.   Knowing someone 'might' be listening in on their radio calls is much less of a deterant to abuse than knowing that the community is interested in what they do.






Link Posted: 3/20/2006 3:38:41 PM EDT
[#6]
Here's an article from eham.com I saved a couple months back. Some of it is good only if you're a ham radio operator, but there is much more information that can be used even if you're not an amateur radio operator.

Is Your Analog Scanner Really Obsolete?
(KC8VWM) on February 8, 2006
View comments about this article!

A few of my analog scanners have made nice dust collectors and nice bookend supports in recent years in my shack. However, I may have found new uses for them lately that I would like to share.
Crystallized scanners are truly obsolete however programmable ones regardless of the number of memories they are capable of receiving, may still offer some valuable uses when correctly “interfaced” with the amateur radio experience as I will explain later in this article.
These scanners are obsolete primarily due to the fact that over the past few years, more and more public safety agencies have been transitioning towards operating on trunked and digital radio systems making some of these older analog scanners obsolete.
Recently, I have revisited this equipment in my shack and decided to A) Throw them out, B) Sell them on ebay and get absolutely nothing for them or C) Explore new uses for them.
Yeah…, let's think about option C for a moment. My old outdated analog scanners might actually still have some uses.

Most programmable scanners will typically be capable of VHF and UHF reception from 30 - 512 mhz. Some even as high as 800. This means many of them are quite capable of 6 and 10 meter reception. I found this especially useful for monitoring 6 and 10 meters for a band opening.
This really free's up the “good equipment” for other operating activities with little or no additional investment required for a second 6 meter transceiver in the shack. When I start hearing activity on 6 meters using my scanner, I simply tune the main radio in the shack to 6 meters and operate.
Most scanners are portable than most fixed amateur radio stations so it can be toted with you outside so you can monitor for a band opening during your backyard BBQ activities.

A scanner can also be programmed to monitor for the next satellite pass. Depending on the number of memory frequencies available in it, you might decide to program every bank with nearby “doppler effect” frequencies so you can specifically monitor for the next satellite pass in your area. This also free's up your main radio equipment in your shack not to mention that if it's accidentally dropped or gets broken while using it outside near the pool, you lost virtually nothing.
In fact, you could just leave the scanner running all day and all night long with a VOX tape recorder attached to it. It's always fun to play the tape back at a later time. I found it especially revealing to listen to the recorded satellite passes and radio communications I have been missing.

Use a scanner as an APRS receiver? Sure why not?, just tune your scanner to 144.390 and connect the output of your scanner to an old junk laptop you bought at a hamfest for $10.00. Now download a free program called “MultiPSK” and install it on your junk PC.
http://multipsk.eqth.org/

How about turning that obsolete scanner into an International Space Station receiving machine? The program below is designed specifically for receiving and deciphering packet signals from the ISS: http://users.belgacom.net/hamradio/uissscreenshot.htm

Now you will be able to use that inexpensive and obsolete scanner as a cheap radio receiver for decoding ISS PACKET, SSTV, PSK, CW, APRS and many other digital modes commonly used on VHF/ UHF bands. Total equipment investment = $20.00

A radio scanner can provide tactical or battlefield intelligence that is normally unavailable from any other source. In almost all cases it even can even scoop your local news media coverage of events before the public even knows about them. Just program it for common media outlet communications frequencies to see what I mean. For example you will enjoy listening to the media news traffic copters. You will hear more about what's going on from them, than you would on a higher priced - cream of the crop digital police scanner.

Some media communication frequencies can be found here:
http://www.wiscomm.com/media/

An analog and obsolete scanner can be turned into an Emergency Management monitoring machine. This will be especially useful equipment for the emcomm group's go kit requirements. Just program the analog scanner solely for the purpose of using it as a national emergency frequency monitoring device as follows:

National search and rescue frequencies
40.500 US Military joint operations
47.460 National Jeep Search and Rescue
121.500 Civilian ELT/EPIRB / National Air Distress Calling
121.600 US/Canada On-Scene S&R
138.450 Air Rescue Service On-Scene
138.780 Air Rescue Service On-Scene (discrete)
156.300 Merchant ship/USGC Channel 6 On-Scene
156.800 Maritime Channel 16 (Distress/Safety/Calling)
156.750 Maritime Class C EPIRB 15-second homing signal
243.000 Military Aeronautical Emergency
259.000 Air Rescue Operations
381.000 Air Rescue Operations
381.800 USCG Aircraft Working Frequency
406.500 ELT
Civil Air Patrol (CAP)
26.620 AM
121.500 Civilian Aeronautical Emergency/ELT/EPIRB
121.600 ELT Testing
122.900 SAR
123.100 SAR
143.900 SAR (AM/FM)
148.125 Secondary
148.150 Primary
149.925 Packet Data
173.580
282.800 SAR DF/On-Scene Primary
American Red Cross
47.420 47.520
47.460 47.540
47.500
47.42 Primary channel used across the United States by the Red Cross for relief operations.
US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
138.225
138.575 142.350
139.450 142.425
139.950 142.450
138.225 This is the prime disaster relief operations channel used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency; it is active during earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and other catastrophic events.
US DOE Nuclear Emergency Search Team (NEST)
149.220 164.400
150.450 164.475
164.025 164.525
164.100 164.675
164.175 164.700
164.225 164.775
164.375
National Transportation Safety Board
165.750 Channel 1
165.7625 Channel 2
166.175 Channel 3
Nationwide interagency frequencies
155.160 Used for inter-department emergency communications by local and state agencies
154.28: Used for inter-department emergency communications by local fire departments.
155.475 Used for inter-department emergency communications by local and state police forces.
155.175 Emergency Medical Services
155.205 Emergency Medical Services
155.235 Emergency Medical Services
Other National Emergency Frequencies:
34.90 This frequency is used nationwide by the National Guard during emergencies
163.4875 National Guard during emergencies
163.5125: This is the national disaster preparedness frequency used jointly by the armed forces.
164.50: This is the national communications channel for the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
168.55: This is the national channel used by civilian agencies of the federal government for communications during emergencies and disasters.
243.00: This channel is used during military aviation emergencies.
259.70: This channel is used by the Space Shuttle during re-entry and landing.
296.80: This channel is used by the Space Shuttle during re-entry and landing.
311.00: This is an active in-flight channel used by the US Air Force.
409.625: This is the national communications channel for the Department of State.
165.375: This is the national communications channel for the Secret Service.
167.5625: This is the national communications channel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
415.70: This channel is used nationwide by various federal agencies.

Well that should fill a few memory banks for the emcomm enthusiasts out there! These frequencies are usually dead quiet but the minute something starts happening they instantly come alive.

I recall during 9/11 my scanner would stop on just about every frequency programmed into it. These frequencies were otherwise just dead air for months. You can just leave your Emergency Management Receiving scanner on all the time if you like.

When something happens in your area, I guarantee you will be the very first to know.
For example, I once heard a commercial plane going down into Lake Ontario. I heard the pilot calling “mayday! mayday!” on 121.500. It's truly an eerie feeling when you actually hear these things live as they happen. It was reported all over the news about an hour later. The power these scanners have in terms of first hand information can sometimes be astonishing.

So you have a sophisticated antenna analyzer, SWR and field strength meter in your shack huh? I bet most of you don't have a station monitor & spectrum analyzer yet?

You would be amazed at the great audio fidelity some of these analog scanners produce. You can effectively turn your obsolete radio scanner, er I mean “station monitor” in combination with your PC into a high-resolution spectrum analyzing equipment. Simply plug the audio output from your scanner into your mic input of your PC soundcard and download this program:
http://www.hamalyzer.com/shots.html

Now program your scanner on all your favorite repeater input frequencies and you can not only use it with the program listed above, but when you connect a pair of high quality headphones, it becomes a cheap an effective method of monitoring the audio quality of your stations transmitted signal.

Just what can be heard with an obsolete radio scanner? Technically speaking, anything. What you can do with them is only limited by one's imagination. Scanners are not just intended for listening to police calls but they can make a nice inexpensive interface to compliment many areas involving your everyday amateur radio activities.
Link Posted: 3/20/2006 3:44:14 PM EDT
[#7]

Quoted:
If you have to balance 'watching the watchers' and securing the communications systems of our emergency response folks, it's a no brainer to me.

Do you really want Johnny Jihadist to know our response times?  Do you want them to know from where and to where they are responding from?  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that ambushing your first responders is a sure way to magnify the impact of a terror attack.

If you want to keep an eye on the police force and make sure they stay a citizen force beholden to the public and not the executive branch, do ride alongs, get active as a volunteer.  Let them know you care about police policy.   Knowing someone 'might' be listening in on their radio calls is much less of a deterant to abuse than knowing that the community is interested in what they do.




Most everything is done via MDT now days anyway. You can still listen in on the police and fire if you shell out $500 for a new digital scanner. It's not like "Johnny Jihadist" can't pick one up these days off of ebay

Link Posted: 3/21/2006 4:53:28 AM EDT
[#8]
heres what i got

Phoenix Police, VHF:
154.890 - Channel 1(Chase 1, north emergency)
154.755 - Channel 2(chase 2, tactical operations)
155.790 - Channel 3(chase 3, south emergency)
155.370 - Channel 4(South Mountain)
155.070 - Channel 5(Central city)
155.640 - Channel 6(Desert Horizon)
155.520 - Channel 7(Squaw Peak)
155.430 - Channel 8(Maryvale)
155.700 - Channel 9(Cactus park)
155.760 - Channel 10(Car to car communications, SIMPLEX)
156.060 - Channel 11(Tactical)
155.610 - Channel 12(Info/TalkAround)


Phoenix Police, UHF:

453.100 - Channel 1(Chase 1, North emergency)
453.200 - Channel 2(Chase 2, Tactical operations)
453.450 - Channel 3(Chase 3, South emergency)
453.600 - Channel 4(Organised crime)
453.800 - Channel 5(special assignment/SWAT)
453.675 - Channel 6(Special assignment/SWAT)
453.525 - Channel 7(Proactive patrol squad)


Air channels (Helicopters!):

123.500 - Air-To-Air Phoenix Police Helo's
123.025 - Air-To-Air with other agencies


Highway patrol:

453.325 - metro-1 phoenix central
453.225 - metro-2 main dispatch
460.300 - phoenix west/quartzite
460.025 - casa grande/florence/flagstaff/page
460.400 - yuma(tucson dispatched)
460.325 - holbrook/winslow/sierra vista/safford
460.475 - district 1, show log/payson/globe/kingman/lake havasu
460.425 - prescott/seligman/tucson/nogales
460.275 - Criminal investigation, channel 1/3
460.500 - criminal investigation, channel 2/4
460.225 - statewide uhf
154.935 - statewide vhf
Link Posted: 3/21/2006 10:07:51 AM EDT
[#9]

Quoted:
Ahhh I see.  So those who justly listen to scanner traffic will find it becoming more difficult for the public to watch the watchers.  Kind of troubling.



But who is watching the watchers watching the watchers? Give it a rest man, go buy a nice TV and watch COPS....or Jerry Springer reruns if you prefer.
Link Posted: 3/21/2006 10:49:36 AM EDT
[#10]
Ocorvo,

Thanks for the helpful reply.  Nice community spirit. Troll.

Link Posted: 3/21/2006 5:15:06 PM EDT
[#11]
Im not sure for PD but for FD only Mesa, Gilbert, and AJ are using the new 800 Mhz trunked system. PHX started the research YEARS ago and has been delaying the implementation because with the 800 Mhz reception sucks inside building, more so then our current system. Mesa, Gilbert, and AJ went to because they are on a separate dispatch center from everyone else (everyone from Chandler, Sun Lakes, Tempe, and Scottsadale west to Tonopah use PHX Alarm) and after waiting and waiting for PHX to work their kinks out they decided to stop wasting money and time an implement it. Word we are getting is that 800 Mhz is going to be scrapped for something that will be here in 2010. This will probably effect PD radios as Homeland Security and FEMA want FD and PD to be able to talk to each other.
Link Posted: 3/21/2006 5:28:17 PM EDT
[#12]

Quoted:
heres what i got

Highway patrol:

453.325 - metro-1 phoenix central
453.225 - metro-2 main dispatch
460.300 - phoenix west/quartzite
460.025 - casa grande/florence/flagstaff/page
460.400 - yuma(tucson dispatched)
460.325 - holbrook/winslow/sierra vista/safford
460.475 - district 1, show log/payson/globe/kingman/lake havasu
460.425 - prescott/seligman/tucson/nogales
460.275 - Criminal investigation, channel 1/3
460.500 - criminal investigation, channel 2/4
460.225 - statewide uhf
154.935 - statewide vhf



The Phoenix Police are 100% NOT on VHF anymore.  They're on 800 Digital trunked.

Highway patrol is still on the list you posted AFAIK.
Link Posted: 3/22/2006 9:19:13 AM EDT
[#13]
Some 800 systems are reliant on the phone system being up and running. Just think, if the phone lines go down, they're fooked..

Then they call in the Hams to save their collective butts...  
Link Posted: 3/22/2006 9:12:14 PM EDT
[#14]
The sad thing is the 800 MHz digital radios suck something fierce.
On Spt 11th, FDNY Had some real serious probs w/ com....many F/F's never heard the orders to evacuate the towers...
Here in Phily, police & fire just switched over to 800 MHz about a year ago....everybody hates the system (cops, F/Fs & dispatchers).  Follow the money trail.heAll for the sake of being able to talk to other agencies anywhere in the country - what a disgrace.
There are not enough MDTs in the RPCs (radio patrol cars).
Corruption is rampant in this city - starting at the top with the mayor, and this is just a prime example.
I'm glad I'm getting out and heading for the Valley of the Sun.
Link Posted: 3/22/2006 11:29:52 PM EDT
[#15]

Quoted:
The sad thing is the 800 MHz digital radios suck something fierce.
On Spt 11th, FDNY Had some real serious probs w/ com....many F/F's never heard the orders to evacuate the towers...
Here in Phily, police & fire just switched over to 800 MHz about a year ago....everybody hates the system (cops, F/Fs & dispatchers).  Follow the money trail.  Motorola made a bundle selling the city a crappy system which has had additional probs with it crashing completely! Cops do not go out on patrol without their own cell phones.
All for the sake of being able to talk to other agencies anywhere in the country - what a disgrace.
There are not enough MDTs in the RPCs (radio patrol cars).
Corruption is rampant in this city - starting at the top with the mayor, and this is just a prime example.
I'm glad I'm getting out and heading for the Valley of the Sun.



Did you ask markm's permission if you could come here? He has a direct line to Janet Mulletano! He'll hook ya up! She's a real nice guy!
Link Posted: 3/23/2006 12:49:07 AM EDT
[#16]
Yeah, when Glendale switched to their 800 digital, they hated it.  They said it's so unreliable that they hoped they never really needed help or they'd be fucked.  This was in the beginning, so perhaps they've worked out the bugs, but there wasn't anything wrong with the VHF/UHF freqs they were using.  Always this technology is better bullshit, and it's all about "newer is better", which is total BS.
Link Posted: 3/23/2006 11:03:56 AM EDT
[#17]
btt
Link Posted: 3/23/2006 4:37:10 PM EDT
[#18]
It's all about bandwidth, which the newer systems use much less of.
Link Posted: 3/23/2006 6:39:21 PM EDT
[#19]
The issue with that EODINERT, is that Glendale was already using a trunked radio system for the whole city, which seemed to work just fine, from the scanning I did.

I have one of the newer scanners and I gotta tell you, many of the transmissions sound like they're speaking under water.
Link Posted: 3/23/2006 11:16:51 PM EDT
[#20]

Quoted:
It's all about bandwidth, which the newer systems use much less of.



You really don't believe that do you???

You ever scan various bands across the spectrum?  You can go for a long time and never hear shit.  Trust me.  I was into amateur (ham) radio for a few years and there are so many places with no activity.  Everything just keeps getting pushed higher and higher into the spectrum.  Those high frequencies are pretty shitty for certain Tx/Rx purposes, and I'd love to know what fool thought digital was a good avenue for public service.  At least if your signal is weak in analog you have a chance at getting through.  With digital, it's all or nothing.  
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