southern california

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MONITORING ASSOCIATION
“In God We Trust – All Others We Monitor”
Serving The Scanner Community Since 1988 – Formally RCMA West Los Angeles Chapter
Volume 3
Issue 4
APRIL / MAY 2011
Editor: Rick Di Fiore, LA–101
LOS ANGELES CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STATION 80
Photos by: Glen Rothstein, SCMA LA–145 L.A.F.D. Tour of Fire Station 80 ( LAX ) on 03 / 05 / 2011
S.C.M.A. MEMBERS GO WHERE THE ACTION IS!
INSIDE THIS EDITION…
SCMA Club News  Do You Have Power For An Emergency  Amateur
Radio Repeaters That Handle Emergency Traffic 
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MONITORING ASSOCIATION
“In God We Trust – All Others We Monitor”
SCMA CLUB NEWS
From: Rick Di Fiore, SCMA LA–101
Qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqq CLUB PRESIDENT
Hello Fellow Members,
Its been a very busy month. We had the club tour of Los Angeles City Fire
Station 80 at Los Angeles International Airport. The tour was great, we had members from the Box 15
Club of Los Angeles and the Crown Firecoach Association. We had about 32 members show up for this
event and that‘s the largest turn out in club history!
Due to the size we had three groups and each group had a firefighter walk us thru this king size
station. Not a thing was left out on this tour and the station captain had one of the crash trucks pulled
out on the tarmac and gave us a great demonstration of the vehicle. Before the tour a group of about 12
of us met at the Grinders Restaurant for breakfast and then we drove over to the fire station.
Right now I am working on getting a tour of ―Verdugo Fire Communications Center‖ so get ready
for this one.
Any members who do not have an ID Card, contact me at [email protected] or at (310) 397–
6581 so we can get them made up and to you.
Please try to put together your list of frequencies that you like to monitor. Every member who
hands me or emails me a list will receive one (1) raffle ticket for the next meeting! ( must be more than
25 frequencies ) and we‘ll share the findings in the next Hot Sheet, that‘s it for now…
Best of Monitoring to all, 73’s…
Photo of the Month…
Rick, LA-101 / WA6KFI
Club Calendar 2011
Monthly Dinner Meetings - 2nd Wednesday
( 5:30 to 6:59 pm Dinner / General Talk. 7:00 pm, Meeting Time )
May 11th, June 8th, July 13th, August 10th,
September 14th, October 12th, November 9th,
Annual Christmas Party: December 14th
THE GRINDERS RESTAURANT
8521 South Sepulveda Boulevard
Westchester, CA. ( 310 ) 641–8210
( Corner of Manchester & Sepulveda )
Looks like the U.S. Border Patrol means business
out there in the desert. This is one tough jeep! I saw
one of these just last month with my brother, when
we were down in San Diego. Also with my brother
we saw what looked like an “Observation Post” on a
hydraulic lift unit, it must have been at least 50 to 75
feet in the air. Rick, WA6KFI
For more information on the club meeting
locations go to…socalscanner.com
NOTICE:
3rd Saturday of Month Breakfast has been
CANCELED until further notice, Sorry!
Thank You…SCMA Officers
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MONITORING ASSOCIATION
“In God We Trust – All Others We Monitor”
DO YOU HAVE POWER FOR AN EMERGENCY?
By: Rick Di Fiore, WA6KFI / SCMA LA-101
First thing is that I‘m not one of those experts. I am still learning myself about what type of batteries, solar, wind or generator
power is the best way to go, or what combination of these will work the best for me and others out there needing emergency
power back-up during a disaster.
Are we all ready for the next big earthquake, brush fire, power outage or terrorist attack? Will we have power to keep our
radios and police scanners turned on? Most likely not! So lets take a quick look at some possible power sources that we all
can use to keep us on the air or monitoring communications. Depending on your pocketbook how much money are you
willing to invest into a back-up power source? Let‘s take a look at what we can do.
No.1 ALKALINE BATTERIES
Alkaline batteries are a pretty good idea to go with
as long as your scanner or two-way will let you use
them. The other thing about alkaline batteries is
that many markets, Red Cross centers and FEMA
will have this type of battery available to the general
public when a major disaster happens. Alkaline batteries can last anywhere from a couple of days to a week which makes
these a good choice for some of us to have and use. The one draw back is the capacity of the batteries. The more you have
to transmit the shorter the life. But for monitoring - like a police scanner - they will most likely last anywhere from half a day to
a full day depending on how loud the audio is. The last thing is, the price is right when you buy in bulk!
No.2 RECHARGEABLE BATTERIES
There are many types of rechargeable batteries out
there to go with depending on your needs. When it
comes to two-way radios there are not many choices
to go with and the same for some police scanners.
One of the nice things about rechargeables are that
there are different capacities, which means a much
longer running time for monitoring or transmitting. And this can mean the difference in hearing what is going on or getting that
urgent piece of traffic out to save someone‘s life! Rechargeables have many capacity rates and can last anywhere from 5
hours to 2 days depending on how you use them and on the equipment that you are using. These rechargeables are a shortterm use battery. Right now prices are good on rechargeables so check out your local radio shop or internet for the deals.
No. 3 LEAD ACID and GELL-TYPE BATTERIES
Now if you really want that back-up power this is
the way to go. If you are like me, you have a lot
of mobile radio equipment that you are using for
base type operations. This is probably the best
way to keep your communications needs going
when there is no power. All you need to do is
keep a trickle-charge on the batteries and you should be set to keep everything powered up when the power goes out. Once
these batteries are charged they can sit for some time. Shelf life ( % of nominal capacity at 68*F – 20*C ) is 1 month = 97%,
3 months = 91% and 6 months = 83% of the original charge. Using these batteries is a very dependable back-up system.
In our next issue of The Hot Sheet we will take a look at Solar, Wind Power and Generators as back-up for long term
emergency power sources for the ―Big One‖ an earthquake. I hope that this will help some of you out in time. Like they
say…‖We Are Out of Time‖, CalTech / USGS.
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MONITORING ASSOCIATION
“In God We Trust – All Others We Monitor”
AMATEUR RADIO REPEATER AND SIMPLEX THAT HANDLE EMERGENCY TRAFFIC
Courtesy of: WA6KFI Amateur Radio Repeater Guide 2011
There are some amateur radio repeaters here in Southern California that handle ―Emergency Traffic‖ 24 / 7 / 365
and the groups that run them. It‘s a good idea to program them in your scanner so you‘ll know what is going on
when a disaster or major event takes place.
6m BAND
50.4000 s
to
50.7200 s
51.8200 51.8200 51.8600 51.9800 52.6000 52.6200 52.9800 -
2m BAND
50.000 to 54.000 MHz. _______________________________________________________________________________
---
----
--------
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
Los Angeles County
--(O)
(O)
(O)
(O)
(O)
(O)
(O)
---173.8
118.8
82.5
100.0
107.2
103.5
103.5
-------WR6VHF
WR6VHF
N6KNW
K6CPT
K6JCC
W6KRW
W6CDF
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
Community Emergency Response Team
Community Emergency Response Team
Santa Clarita RACES Group
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
San Diego RACES Group
Orange County RACES Group
San Bernardino RACES Group
Los Angeles County
Bakersfield
San Luis Obispo
Santa Clarita Valley
Los Angeles County
Cuyamaca Peak
Santiago Peak
Rim Forest
144.000 to 148.000 MHz. _____________________________________________________________________________
144.3300 s
144.9500 /
145.1400 145.1400 145.1600 145.1800 145.2200 145.2600 145.2600 s
145.2800 145.3000 145.3200 145.3800 s
145.4000 145.4000 145.4200 145.4800 145.5000 s
to
145.5400 s
146.1150 +
146.2650 +
146.3850 +
146.4450 s
146.5350 s
146.6400 146.6700 146.7000 146.7900 146.8200 -
--(C)
(C)
(P)
(P)
(O)
(C)
(O)
--( O)
(O)
(O)
--(O)
(O)
(O)
(O)
---
---------------131.8
---136.5
---114.8
100.0
107.2
------103.5
88.5
107.2
----
K6CCR
W6GLN
KH6FL
WD6AWP
KA6EEK
WA6COT
N6SLD
N6ISY
-------WD6FCG
K6CPT
WD6APP
------N6FL
N6ME
N7OD
W6DRA
--------
Culver City ARES Group
Glendora Police Dept. Amateur Radio Club
Huntington Beach RACES Group
Orange County Skywarn
Amateur License Emergency Response Tm.
National Traffic Safety Net. ( 9pm Nightly )
American Red Cross Net. ( Mon. 7:45 pm )
Fountain Valley RACES Group
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
Ventura County ARES Group
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
Escondido RACES Group
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
Ventura County ACS / ARES Group
Orange County Skywarn Net (7:00 pm Sun )
Hemet Valley ARES Group (7:30 pm Tues.)
Palm Springs RACES Group
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
Culver City
Johnstone Peak
Huntington Beach
Santiago Peak
Santiago Peak
Santa Ynez Peak
Santiago Peak
Fountain Valley
Los Angeles County
San Marcos
Mt. Disappointment
Mission Hills
Los Angeles County
Black Mountain
Fullerton
Hemet
Palm Springs Tram
Los Angeles County
--(O)
(O)
(O)
----(O)
(O)
(O)
(O)
(O)
---91.5
107.2
146.2
---------123.0
103.5
131.8
----
-------K7GIL
W6SS
KE6TZG
--------------WA6YBN
WA6HYQ
KB6SSB
K6TZ
W6FNO
Los Angeles County
Victorville
Lyons Peak
Keller Peak
Conejo Valley
Moorpark
Ridgecrest
Perris Hills
Sun City
Santa Barbara
Johnstone / Onyx Peak
146.8500 146.8500 -
(O)
(O)
146.2 W6JBT
94.8 K6AER
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
Victorville ARES Group
San Diego RACES Group
Riverside / San Bernardino Skywarn
Ventura County ACS / ARES Group
Ventura County ACS / ARES Group
Ridgecrest RACES Group
Riverside County RACES Group
Moreno Valley ARES Group
Santa Barbara ARES Group
( 30 Sec. Timer – Control Operator to
handle emergency traffic )
Riverside / San Bernardino Skywarn
Ventura County ACS / ARES Group
Skyland / Crestline
Thousand Oaks
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MONITORING ASSOCIATION
“In God We Trust – All Others We Monitor”
AMATEUR RADIO REPEATERS AND SIMPLEX THAT HANDLE EMERGENCY TRAFFIC
Courtesy of: WA6KFI Amateur Radio Repeater Guide 2011
2m BAND
144.000 to 148.000 MHz. _____________________________________________________________________________
146.8600 146.8800 146.8950 146.9700 147.0300 +
147.0600 +
147.1200 s
147.1950 +
147.1950 +
147.2250 +
147.2400 +
147.2700 +
147.3000 +
147.3300 +
147.3600 +
147.4800 s
147.4800 s
(O)
(O)
(O)
(O)
(O)
(P)
--(C)
(O)
(P)
(O)
(O)
(P)
(O)
(O)
-----
127.3
127.3
136.5
131.8
103.5
---------100.0
---103.5
------131.8
----------
WB6MIA
WA6ZTT
W6KRW
KB6MDG
K6RIF
N6TVZ
-------K6JCC
W6NVY
W6CPD
KA6DAC
KC6TOX
WA6PPS
K6BB
W7AZF
---------------
147.5400 s
147.7050 147.8850 147.9150 -
--(O)
(O)
(O)
---131.8
127.3
127.3
-------N7RDA
N6JMI
WB6ZTQ
1 ¼m BAND
223.7600 223.8000 223.8800 223.9600 224.1200 224.3000 -
70Cm BAND
445.4800 445.5600 445.5800 445.8000 446.1400 446.2400 446.7200 446.7400 446.8400 446.9000 447.0000 447.2000 447.5800 448.7800 449.1000 449.5800 -
San Luis Obispo Emergency Com. Center
Ventura County ACS / ARES Group
Orange County RACES Group
Sweetwater RACES Group
San Diego County Skywarn
Mesa Emergency Svr. Auxiliary Commun.
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
San Diego RACES Group
L.A. Schools Emergency Radio Service
Corona Police Dept. Amateur Disaster Grp.
San Diego Skywarn
San Luis Obispo Emergency Comm. Center
L.A. CITY Fire Department ACS Group
San Bernardino County DCS Group
San Luis Obispo Emergency Command Ctr.
Orange County RACES Group
Ventura County ACS / ARES Group
( 7:00 pm, Tues. Net. )
Ventura County ACS / ARES Group
Los Angeles Red Cross ( 8:00 pm, Thurs. )
Thousand Oaks ARES Group
Ventura County ACS / ARES Group
Los Osos
Sulphur Mountain
Loma Ridge
Sweetwater Summit
Palomar Mountain
Costa Mesa
Los Angeles County
Cuyamaca Peak
Palos Verdes
Corona
Monument Peak
Cambria
Mt. Lukens
Sugar Lump Mountain
Mt. Lowe
Orange County
Simi Valley
Fillmore
Flint Peak
Rasnow Peak
Camarillo Heights
222.000 to 225.000 MHz. __________________________________________________________________________
(O)
(C)
(O)
(O)
(O)
(O)
110.9
---107.3
141.8
97.4
100.0
W6KRW
K6JCC
WA6HYQ
N6CFC
W6COH
K6CPT
Orange County RACES Group
San Diego RACES Group
La Mesa RACES Group
Thousand Oaks ARES Group (7 pm Tues)
Riverside County RACES Group
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
Sierra Peak
Lyons Peak
San Diego
Rasnow Peak
Hemet
Mt. Disappointment
440.000 to 450.000 MHz. __________________________________________________________________________
(O)
(O)
(O)
(P)
(P)
(P)
(P)
(P)
(P)
(P)
(O)
(O)
(O)
(P)
(P)
(P)
131.8
136.5
131.8
---------------------156.7
114.8
131.8
----------
K6OPJ
K6ONT
WA6IBL
KB6CJZ
K6VGP
N6KXK
K6VGP
WD6DIH
K6LLU
K6ONT
AB6WQ
K6JCC
W6KRW
N6IPD
Foothill Intercity Radio Emergency System
Chino RACES Group
Ontario Emergency Communications Svrs.
Los Angeles County Sheriffs D.C.S.
Orange County RACES Group
Disaster Amateur Radio Network
Irvine Disaster Emergency Communications
Disaster Amateur Radio Network
Los Angeles / Orange Counties Skywarn
Amateur License Emerg. Response Team
Loma Linda RACES Group
Ontario RACES Group
Monrovia Emergency Service
San Diego RACES Group
Orange County RACES Group
Irvine Disaster Emergency Communications
Santa Anita Ridge
Chino Hills
Ontario
Mt. Disappointment
Sierra Peak
Santiago Peak
Irvine
Palos Verdes
Santiago Peak
Santiago Peak
Loma Linda
Rancho Cucamonga
Santa Anita Ridge
San Diego
Santiago Peak
Irvine
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MONITORING ASSOCIATION
“In God We Trust – All Others We Monitor”
Disaster Alert System to Save Lives... With Text Messages
In the wake of the second deadliest twister outbreak
that swept across seven states in late April, more
details are being released about the proposed
Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) that
would alert the public via messages on their mobile
devices when disaster was near.
As part of the Warning Alert and Response Network
Act proposed in 2006 as part of the Warren Act, the
CMAS is currently being developed by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and is
expected to be up and running by 2012.
The alert system will have three types of messages
to be sent out to the public via mobile phones:
Presidential Level, Imminent Threat, and Wireless Amber Alert. Because the messages aren‘t standard text messages, there
is no fee associated with them, and consumers can opt out of the two lower-level alerts. However, many consumers will need
a new mobile phone to receive the alert.
―It‘s been a long and involved process,‖ says Brian Josef, assistant vice president for regulatory affairs at CTIA, the
international association for the wireless telecommunications industry. ―One of our main concerns was that these alerts would
become like the car alarm syndrome--incessant and unnecessary. The first thing we did is make sure there are strong
controls on how these alerts function and that things aren‘t just sent willy nilly.‖
The CMAS will use ―broadcast messages‖ that reach cellular phones found in a certain geographical area; even if you have a
cell phone with a Kansas area code and you‘re in Texas, you‘ll receive disaster alerts for Texas. It‘s like a radio signal: Just
as your radio picks up the stations closest to you at the time, your phone will pick up the alert being broadcast closest to your
location.
Sprint is the only carrier to test the alert message system to date because it is the only domestic wireless carrier that makes
phones with the required chip designed to receive the emergency messages.
Interestingly, the new chip—which will legally be required to be in all new phones made as of 2012—doesn‘t just receive
messages, it also makes an ear-splitting emergency noise, which you can‘t mute.
―Remember the noise that you used to hear on TV when there would be severe weather or when they were doing a test of
the emergency broadcast system?‖ asks Terry Beaudoin, Sprint‘s client executive for the California. ―That‘s the same exact
tone that‘s going to come out of your phone so there will be no doubt there‘s an emergency.‖
Currently, Sprint sells two phones that contain the CMAS chip, and is manufacturing others. The chip will not make phones
cost more, according to Beaudoin, and the phones you have now will not be required to be retrofitted with the technology.
However, all phones purchased post-2012 will contain the chip--no matter the wireless carrier.
Since most people don‘t leave the house without their cellular phones these days, CTIA‘s Josef says a move to make mobile
devices the first point of contact in the event of an emergency only makes sense. He stressed that while phone-based alerts
are not meant to be a replacement for watching the news; every alerting and notification service has its advantages.
―The goal is to reach every affected demographic , from the 11 year old to the 81 year old,‖ Josef says. ―Someone in town
may hear a siren, others may be driving down the road and hear it on their radio, but a lot of them will be looking at their
phones. If you‘re on the beach and there‘s a tsunami coming, all you need are a few people getting that text to motivate
everyone to run to safety.‖
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MONITORING ASSOCIATION
“In God We Trust – All Others We Monitor”
RCA Launches New
Battery-Powered TVs
RCA is launching a new line of portable, battery-operated
TV sets; several models can pick up mobile digital TV. All
sets can carry simulcasts of local channels with shows,
sports and news and emergency information.
Radio station feeds can also be picked up in one model.
RCA said battery-powered portable sets have largely been
off the market since the 2009 digital transition.
The Open Mobile Video Coalition is working to deliver mobile digital TV to various portable devices that can be
accessible in a car or elsewhere on the go. As of mid-April, the coalition said 76 stations in 32 markets were
carrying feeds. It projects digital TV (DTV) will have a reach of 77 million-plus U.S. homes by next April.
The new RCA product line comes as storms have ravaged parts of America.
A 3.5" model for a retail price of $119 has DTV reception and can run for three hours on four AA batteries. A 3.5"
DTV-equipped set that also has FM radio reception retails for $159 and has litihium-ion batteries installed. A 7"
screen that is DTV-equipped retails for $179.
San joSe pirate ‘threatened to Shoot’
Pirate radio operators often express defiance of federal agents‘ attempts to inspect and shut them down. For the
pirate, refusal to cooperate can be costly. For the agents, attempts to enforce the law can be downright scary.
The FCC has issued a second notice of apparent liability for $25,000 against Gabriel Garcia, saying he failed to
allow inspection of ―KNRG,‖ an unlicensed station that had been operating on various FM frequencies in San
Jose, Calif.
The commission said its San Francisco enforcement office has issued numerous warnings and notices to Garcia.
In May 2010 agents tried to inspect the radio station but were refused by Garcia, the FCC said. The next month,
after the FAA complained, they attempted to inspect the station. ―Garcia refused and
stated to the agents, ‗Do you want to get shot?‘‖ The agents left but reported the
threat to the local police.
The base penalty for refusing inspection of radio equipment is $7,000, but the
commission wrote, ―We find Garcia‘s misconduct particularly egregious because he
had been warned several times that failure to allow inspection violated the
Communications Act, and threatened to shoot the FCC agents during the June 15,
2010 attempted inspection.‖
The commission in March issued a similar notice to Garcia; this appears to be a
second proposed fine for $25,000.
THE SCMA IS TWEETING
Get the latest news and alerts.
Follow @SoCalScanner at twitter.com
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA MONITORING ASSOCIATION
“In God We Trust – All Others We Monitor”
SHACK PICS
We‘re looking for pictures of your home, work or mobile ―Listening Post‖ or, as Hams call it, your Radio Shack.
Take some photos of your radio setup and send them to us to share with your fellow SCMA members. As
inspiration, here‘s a few photos from the Radio Reference website. Try not to drool too much…
From “Token” Mohave Desert, CA
This pic is of my living room listening location. Years ago
I converted a spare bedroom into a radio room, but the
wife decided she did not like me disappearing for hours at
a time in there, so she made me move some basic gear
out into the living room so that she could at least see me
The basic gear grew over the years. Most of the ham
oriented transceive gear still resides in the radio room,
she does take a dim view on me yelling into the mic while
she is watching TV and she says CW gives her a
headache.
The coverage is 10 Hz to 3000 MHz, no gaps. The
radios used here and in this pic are; RFSpace SDR-IQ
(2x), RFSpace SDR-14, Microtelecom Perseus SDR,
WinRadio G31DDC, WinRadio WR-1550e (2x), WinRadio
WR-1000i, Alden SR-501 Synth HF RX, Yaesu FRG7700, Icom R-75, Realistic DX-302, Hallicrafters CR-3000,
Yaesu FT-2000, Kenwood TS-600, Kenwood TM-742A,
Realistic Pro-2021, Realistic Pro-2004, Icom R-7000, and
Icom R-8500.
There are also 5 PCs installed under the desk to control radios and run logging and digital decode software. Each PC has a
dedicated sound input, a radio that goes straight to it for record/decode, and also each radio goes to the mixer so that allows
any radio or combination of radios to be sent to the amp/speakers, headphones, or separate record/decode PC.
From “Robertson40” Dover DE
I have 4 Homepatrol's
4 Pro 135's
1 Pro 106
1 Pro 197
1 Bct15x
and 1 Icom Marine Radio
I listen to Kent, New Castle and Sussex fire
and EMS, State Police and Maryland fire as
well as PD.
So now let‘s see your pictures!
Email them to [email protected]