Frequency and equipment news
2-20 The Lakewood/West Metro/Wheat Ridge EDACS system may become a public safety only P25 system, with sites on Green Mountain and Mt Morrison. This change is projected for late spring/summer. Other public services would stay on the current analog system, probably by splitting the frequencies into two separate radio systems.
2-12 Three Denver network affiliate TV stations will be sharing one helicopter, beginning April 1. KUSA-9 and KMGH-7 have been sharing one chopper since January 2009, and now KCNC-4 will join that cooperative use. All three stations will share the same video feed, and the chopper will have no station logos.
1-31 Boulder County may be planning to start migrating to 700/800 MHz later this year, using the
Motorola APX-7500 mobile/APX-7000 portable (shown at right). This would be a major departure from Boulder County's past history of heavy VHF conventional system use. It remains to be seen if they will link DTRS TG's to existing VHF systems as a transitional measure, and then possibly completely drop VHF. Longmont has been testing on DTRS, and will probably be included in the move.
1-1 Mesa County (Grand Junction area) is beginning to make the switch from their long-time VHF channels to DTRS as of March 1.
Update 3-6: DTRS usage now being heard on 8431-GJPD-1 and 8432-GJPD-2..
2009 news
12-10 Radio Shack now has the new
PRO-107 scanner (made by GRE). This radio does not receive digital systems, but it DOES receive ESK EDACS systems, meaning the Denver Public Safety and Lakewood/Wheat Ridge/West Metro radio systems. If you want to hear Denver and Lakewood, and other analog trunk and conventional channels, and don't need digital, this could be a good choice. The radio has the entire
RadioReference.com U.S. database of radio systems preprogrammed on a removable SD card (like many cameras use). It comes with software for PC customization of the programming.
Compare this scanner with others on the
Denver Radio radios page. Other non-digital ESK choices are the Bearcat BC-346
XT handheld and the BCT-15
X mobile/base.
10-1 Communications for the Sheridan Police Department has transferred to the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Department. It's unknown if they will continue to use their own separate DTRS talk groups (2151 and others), or move to the main ACSO dispatch channel (3001), also on DTRS.
Sheridan Fire is now dispatched by the Denver Fire Department on DFD primary as Station 51. SFD's DTRS TG is patched with DFD Incident 7 (06-076). SFD will be staying on DTRS for now and will still use current auto/mutual aid agreements.
9-17 Mo
re encryption: San Miguel S.O. is encrypting their mobiles, and Montrose PD is fully encrypted. Garfield County and Fremont County are also encrypting much of their communications. Of course, encrypted communications are not possible to monitor (and not legal to decrypt, under ECPA 1986).
8-3 Chaffee County seems to be transitioning to the Colorado State Digital Trunking System (DTRS). Talk group 8711 is Sheriff dispatch, and TG's up to 8725 have been noted, so any TG's in between those numbers may possibly be used.
6-21 Routt County is the latest area to jump on the DTRS bandwagon. The talkgroups which have been heard are:
11650 Routt County Law Ch-1
11652 Routt County
11655 Routt County Law Ch-2
11657 Routt County School District
11658 Routt County MAC (Mutual Aid Channel)
11659 Routt County Fire Ch-1
11661 Routt County
11662 Routt County
11663 Routt County
11664 Routt County
11665 Routt County Fire Ch-2
11667 Routt County
11700 Routt County
5-27 The Denver Public Works radio system has rebanded. The new frequencies are:
LCN-4 856.6375
LCN-5 856.1375
LCN-14 854.5875
LCN-15 857.1375
The Public works system includes the Colorado Convention Center, Denver Library, Parks & Recreation, Museum, DCPA, Parking Violations (including Boot trucks), Solid Waste, Streets (including snow removal), Theaters and Arenas, Water Dept., and Zoo.
5-29 The frequencies for the trunk system at Denver International Airport (DIA) have changed. This is part of the rebanding that has been going on with most 800 MHz trunk systems. The new channels are:
LCN06 851.3625
LCN07 851.6625
LCN08 851.9375
LCN09 852.5375
LCN10 852.8375
LCN15 857.6375
5-6 The Air Show at Front Range Airport scheduled for June 13-14, featuring the US Navy Blue Angels, has been canceled, according to Dennis Heap, Front Range Airport director. In a press release, he said that disruption to traffic at DIA was the problem. No explanation of why past airshows did not present the same problem.
5-5 Estes Park Police are now using DTRS TG 4084 off and on, apparently replacing the old VHF conventional 155.91 MHz. Reports are that either DTRS or VHF could be in use at any given time.
5-3 Greeley Fire Department is now dispatched on DTRS TG 9001. They may use Weld County Fireground-2 (1908), or other Weld Co. Fireground TG's for scene communications.
4-22 Uniden UASD software for programming the new BCD-396
XT is still not available. In response to an inquiry from
Denver Radio, Uniden provided the following information: "
The software is still in production. It will be available sometime in the near future." For now,
FreeSCAN (free, donations accepted) and
ProScan ($50, free 30-day trial) are currently available to program this new radio. The Uniden software for the BCD-396T was free with registration with Uniden, so perhaps the XT software will also be free if you register.
Update 12-31-09: the software is still not available on the Uniden website.
4-21 RadioReference.com LLC (RadioReference) has announced its acquisition of
Scanamerica.us, online radio communications and public safety scanner audio feeds. This acquisition adds over 500+ live public safety scanner feeds to the RadioReference platform.
4-11 Pueblo County Sheriff, Pueblo City Police, Pueblo City Fire, Pueblo West Fire, Pueblo Rural Fire, West Park Fire, Pueblo City Street Dept., Pueblo County Road and Bridge, and the Pueblo Office of Emergency Management have switched to the Colorado State Digital Trunked Radio System (DTRS).
4-10 The
accessories page on this site is now operational, so check it out.
3-27 Uniden has begun shipping the new BCD-396
XT. For details, click here for
Uniden's data page. It sells at their online store for $549.99, and Communications Electronics sells it for $489.95 including shipping.
3-11 Colorado Springs Trunk Network will join DTRS in July. The Consolidated Communications Network of Colorado (CCNC) executive board announced the integration of the Colorado statewide Digital Trunked Radio (DTRS) system with the Pikes Peak Regional Communications Network (PPRCN) in July 2009. The DTRS has more than 30,000 subscriber units and is an 800 MHz Motorola Project 25 (P25) network. The PPRCN is a Motorola-supplied 800 MHz P25 trunked communications system that servesabout 100 agencies, including police, sheriff, fire, EMS and the department of utilities in the city of Colorado Springs and county of El Paso. The system includes 75 channels and more than 4,500 digital and analog portable and mobile radios.
Update 7-22: The DTRS and PPRCN are now inter-connected. However, at least for now, there will be very few non-PPRCN users heard on the El Paso radio sites, as the system is denying them access, forcing them to affiliate with other sites. The only exception might be CSP.
3-3 Thornton Communications Center is operational. New talk groups so far: 4126 Thornton PD, 4127 Thornton PD 2, 4128 Thornton PD Data, 4129 Thornton FD Training, 4130 Thornton?. Previous Thornton TG's appear to be still in use.
2-28 Denver's Public Safety Trunk (Police/Fire/Ambulance) has rebanded. This means that 3 of the frequencies in the 20-channel trunk have changed. Your radio will need to be reprogrammed, with the following:
LCN 10 854.4375
LCN 19 854.0625
LCN 20 854.5625
If these changes are not made, depending on the control channel assignment, you will either nothing on that trunk, or you will miss about 15% of the transmissions.
2-27 The last issue of the Rocky Mountain News was printed, after almost 150 years of covering news in Denver and Colorado. This leaves just the Denver Post to perform that job.
2-25 KMGH-TV Channel 7 aired a piece about the DTRS, watch it
here. Not much info, but interesting to see what the media has to say.
2-18 Metcom (South Metro Dispatch) is now dispatching West Douglas Fire, replacing the Douglas County S.O. as their dispatch agency.
2-18 GRE has announced that the California Highway Patrol (CHP) has chosen the PSR-600 scanner to install in their cars. More info
available here.
2-2 Wheat Ridge Fire has changed their dispatch to West Metro, still using the same TG's they used before.
1-20 Fairmont has moved their dispatch to West Metro, using primary DTRS TG 1509, 1538 JCSO access, and 1539 Fireground. Tone-out is still also on their VHF conventional channel, 154.725.
1-1-09 Ft Lupton PD has moved from their own separate DTRS TG 1955, to 1946-Weld Co Local Law South.
2008 news
11-23-08 Park County is moving to DTRS. TG's so far: 1104, 1107, 1108, 1109, 1110, 1111, 1112, 1114, 1115. Best sites to receive are probably Bailey and Sacramento Peak.
11-14-08 Cunningham Fire has moved their dispatch to Littleton Fire. They are now dispatched on the main LFD TG 1851, and also have DTRS TG 2996 CTAC-6, 2997 CTAC-8, 2998 CFD Training, 2999 unknown.
11-5-08 Denver PD is considering implementing ProVoice on their EDACS trunk. If this happens, there is no consumer-grade scanner that would receive it.
10-9-08 Denver Fire is planning to build Station 18 at Alameda and Xenia on the south edge of Lowry, and Station 35 at 51st and Beeler in the Northfield area. Station 18 was formerly at 22nd & Colorado Blvd, and is now used as the DPD Gang Unit headquarters.
8-22-08 Denver has implemented a restructured control channel mode on their Public Safety Trunk (Police/Fire/Ambulance). It is called ESK (EDACS Security Key). This is to make it more difficult for anyone who is not authorized, to program a two-way trunked radio to operate on their system. It also has the effect of shutting out many scanners from receiving the trunk. The only radios which can receive this trunk now are the GRE PSR-500 and PSR-600 and the Radio Shack equivalents, the PRO-106 and PRO-197, plus the Bearcat Uniden BCD-396T and BCD-996T, and the new Uniden BCD-396XT. The Uniden 396T and 996T must have have firmware upgrades 3.xx installed to track this Denver trunk, and the Lakewood trunk. The DIA trunk and the Denver Public Works trunk do not require an ESK-capable scanner.
8-1-08 The rebanding of the Colorado DTRS has officially been completed. All frequencies are now changed to their desired configuration, typically frequencies 860 MHz and higher are changed to 15 MHz below their original frequencies.
7-21-08 Arvada Fire has begun using the Arvada/Westminster trunk system. Alerting is no longer being done on the original conventional freq of 453.15 MHz.
| DEC | AFS | Description |
|---|
| 785 | 06-021 | Arvada Fire Department Dispatch |
| 786 | 06-022 | Arvada Fire Department Tac-2 |
| 787 | 06-023 | Arvada Fire Department Tac-3 |
| 801 | 06-041 | Arvada Fire Department Training-1 |
| 803 | 06-043 | Arvada Fire Department Training Tac-3 |
| 804 | 06-044 | Arvada Fire Department Tac-4 |
6-26-08 Lakewood has activated ESK on their trunk, 2 months ahead of Denver (see 8-22 above).
3-28-08 The State of Colorado DTRS (Digital Trunked Radio System) has been rebanded statewide. This means that all of the frequencies, especially the control channels, have been changed, almost entirely by adjusting the frequency down 15 MHz. If you do not have the new frequencies programmed into your radio, you will not hear any of the cities or counties that use the DTRS, including the Colorado State Patrol. For more information on this technical subject, see the
Wiki, which covers the subject in detail.
Abbreviations:
DTRS-State of Colorado Digital Trunking Radio System
TG-Talk Group on trunked system
LCN-Logical Channel Number on an EDACS trunk system
HRO-Ham Radio Outlet