ScanDiego.com

Are some of the fire conventional and sheriff conventional freqs still in use?

I think County Red (155.0850) is still in use with burn information in the morning. The OES Whites (154.2800, 154.2650, and 154.2950) get used for firegrounds and helicopter landings. CDF and the Forest Service are all over VHF as well.

I think the SO still uses 453.5000 for some SAR stuff. You'll also hear various agencies on the 800 MHz non-trunked channels (Cars 1-4, I-Tacs, etc) and some law enforcement activity on CLEMARS (154.9200) and NaLEMARS (155.4750) and even CALCORD (156.0750).

I remember I used to hail "Inland Fire" aka Sta X I think 154.175 we used white 3 as fireground tac

The "County Fire" call sign was changed to "Inland Fire " around 1982, about the same time the SO's dispatch moved to Overland from Downtown and Sheriffs moved to UHF. Some of the low band stuff was used for rural fill-in's.

The funny thing was that the sales tactic of motorola was "we are running out of available freqs" and that the old freqs would be returned to "the pool".

Well the "give back" sure never happend because once you are given an allocation by the FCC you sure as hell don't give it up unless they pry it from your dead hands.

Deja Vu?

Motorola and GE used that tactic all over the USA to sell systems....
Did the county return the UHF freqs when RCS was purchased?
NO.

Did the City of San Diego return the VHF allocations from the old SDPD system?
NO.

Of course the "undocumented transmitters"(PC term for mexicans) poached some of them.

But......

The old vhf freqs in SD county are a goldmine for low-power operations and wildcatting. Don't discount those old vhf inputs/outputs, or those old vhf public works channels from El Cajon or National City etc.

Haha.

Wildcatting?