Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex Scanning Blog

Static grows between Plano, southern cities over police radio signal

2008-08-20T21:59:00.003-05:00

Static grows between Plano, southern cities over police radio signal

12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 20, 2008

By THEODORE KIM / The Dallas Morning News
tkim@dallasnews.com

How about this for a digital-age dispute?

The cities of Cedar Hill, DeSoto and Duncanville recently began testing a powerful new police communications system, but the system is so robust that the radio signals are reaching as far as 30 miles away.

In Plano, the signals have wreaked havoc on a network of radio-controlled sprinklers the city uses for parks and road medians, prompting expensive system upgrades and a complaint by the city to the Federal Communications Commission.

Now, what started as a quirky technical matter has taken on a life of its own, stirring tensions between the Collin County suburb and its neighbors south of Dallas. The dispute also shows how crowded the nation's airwaves have become in an era when municipal radio systems and other wireless networks are virtually everywhere.

Read full story

New FCC License

2008-08-20T14:10:00.002-05:00

There is only one new FCC License that has been added in the past week. This license is for the Allen Independent School District. The address listed is 11 Prestige Court in Allen which from doing a Google Search looks like a water tower with a control point of 2 Butler Circle in Allen which again from another Google Search looks like the Allen ISD Service Center. From the license information on the FCC web site it looks like they will be using a repeater on 464.0500 with 25 watts of power and is going to be for the school buses.

Scanner Feed

2008-08-19T23:09:00.004-05:00

The scanner feed was down for about 1/2 hour tonight in the late evening. I switched over the feed from my Linux machine to my Windows machine for the time being so I could start upgrading my Linux box to more current version of Linux. The feed will be running on my Windows machine until the upgrade is done. Please let me know if you have any type of problems with the feed.

Web Page Updates

2008-08-19T00:05:00.003-05:00

DFW Range Search List-North Dallas

Updated 462.4250 DCS343 Commerce Plaza Hillcrest - Security (Dallas)
Updated 464.3625 PL 151.4 Citigroup Credit Services - Security (Irving)

DFW Range Search List-West Plano

Updated 462.4250 DCS343 Commerce Plaza Hillcrest - Security (Dallas)
Updated 464.3625 PL 151.4 Citigroup Credit Services - Security (Irving)

DFW Retail Scan List

Added 467.8500 PL 67.0 Circuit City - Operations (Garland-Firewheel Town Center)

DFW Scanner Frequency List

Added 462.4250 DCS343 Commerce Plaza Hillcrest - Security (Dallas)
Added 464.3625 PL 151.4 Citigroup Credit Services - Security (Irving)
Added 467.7625 DCS065 Home Depot - Operations (Garland)
Added 467.8500 PL 67.0 Circuit City - Operations (Garland-Firewheel Town Center)
Updated 857.6875 PL 173.8 Dallas Area Rapid Transit - Transit Police (Dallas) *Updated Frequency*

LTR Analyzer Logs

2008-08-16T16:38:00.003-05:00

I guess I never did add my LTR Analyzer logs to the web page when I said I was originally going to. So I have added to the web page in it's own section here under the Trunked Radio section. I will add more to it as I check out other LTR systems down the road.

Radio Shack Pro 106

2008-08-12T13:56:00.004-05:00

It looks like Radio Shack is going to be releasing a new digital scanner sometime in the 3rd quarter of 2008. The scanner will be manufactured by GRE and we will be called the Pro 106. The scanner looks very similar to GRE's PSR-500 except in a different case. For more information check out the FCC webpage at this link and the Radio Shack Pro 106 Yahoogroup at this link.

New FCC License

2008-08-09T12:53:00.003-05:00

There is not much is report as far as new FCC licenses or any kind of updates to the web page to talk about. There is only one new FCC license to report about, the University Of Dallas in Irving on 1845 East Northgate Drive has a new repeater license for 464.7375 with 35 watts of power. According the the license information this frequency is going to be use for campus coordination and security.

Web Page Updates

2008-07-31T22:24:00.006-05:00

DFW Range Search List-Downtown Dallas

Added 451.6000 DCS565 Sara Lee Bakery Group - Operations (Carrollton)
Added 453.0000 DCS343 Park Central - Security (Dallas)
Added 455.9250 CSQ KKDA FM - Remote Pickup (Grand Prairie)
Added 461.5500 DCS565 Four Seasons Resort & Club - Hotel Operations (Irving)
Added 461.9750 DCS546 Presbyterian Hospital Of Dallas - Security (Dallas)
Added 462.0250 DCS245 Heard in Plano Heard at night
Added 462.0250 DCS754 Heard at night
Added 462.0750 DCS311 Perot Systems - Security (Plano)
Added 463.2500 PL 179.9 Heard in Plano
Added 463.3500 PL 100.0 Heard at night
Added 463.7000 DCS664 Valley View Mall - Maintenance (Dallas)
Added 463.9250 PL 127.3 Heard at night
Added 466.4750 PL 179.9 Elm Place - Security (Dalllas)
Added 468.6125 DCS243 Ritz Carlton Dallas - Security (Dallas)
Added 469.8500 DCS115 Renaissance Tower - Security (Dallas)
Updated 461.4750 PL 179.9 Elm Place - Security (Dallas)
Updated 463.2250 PL 103.5 Nokia - Operations (Irving)
Updated 464.8750 PL 114.8 Arlington Convention Center - Maintenance & Security (Arlington)

DFW Range Search List-North Dallas

Added 451.8000 DCS205
Added 452.0125 DCS532
Added 461.2500 PL 241.8 Heard at night
Added 461.5500 PL 162.2 Heard at night
Added 462.1000 DCS047
Added 463.2500 PL 179.9 Heard in Plano
Added 463.8125 DCS627 Heard in Plano Heard at night Possibly office building security
Added 464.9625 DCS174
Added 464.9750 DCS115
Added 467.8375 DCS263 Home Depot - Operations Ch 3 (Dallas)
Updated 461.4750 PL 179.9 Elm Place - Security (Dallas)
Updated 462.0250 DCS245 Heard in Plano Heard at night
Updated 463.5500 DCS152 Heard at night
Updated 463.9250 PL 127.3 Heard at night

DFW Range Search List-West Plano

Updated 462.0250 DCS245 Heard in Plano Heard at night

DFW Scanner Frequency List

Added 455.9250 CSQ KKDA FM - Remote Pickup (Grand Prairie)
Added 467.8375 DCS263 Home Depot - Operations Ch 3 (Dallas)
Added 467.8500 PL 67.0 The Sting - Security (Dallas)

Scanner Feed Problems

2008-07-30T22:43:00.003-05:00

I am not sure what happened but the encoder and the server that runs the scanner feed was not running at all. I corrected that problem tonight and the feed is back up and running. I would like to thank everyone who emailed me about having problems with the feed. Without you it might be days before I realized that there are problems with the feed.

New FCC Licenses

2008-07-29T11:12:00.003-05:00

Another couple new FCC licenses have been added to the FCC database. The first one is the Dallas Victory Hotel on 2440 Victory Park in Dallas. They are licensed for hotel operations and security on 4 repeaters, 461.5125, 463.2625, 463.6625 & 464.4375 all with 30 watts of power. The second new license belongs to a company called DCFS USA LLC on 13650 North Freeway in Fort Worth. According to the license information they will be using 5 simplex frequencies, 452.0875, 452.1375, 452.1625, 452.2875 & 452.3125 all with 4 watts of power for office building security and maintenance. The last new license is for the First Baptist Church Of Lewisville on 1251 Valley Ridge Boulevard in Lewisville. They are licensed for 2 simplex frequencies 457.7875 & 457.8375 with 4 watts of power for maintenance and security operations at the church.

Scanner Feed Is Back Up

2008-07-26T11:32:00.006-05:00

The scanner feed is back up and running. I was able to upgrade the memory for that machine from 384MB to 512MB. I wanted to see if I could upgrade it to 768MB. But when I had the memory in the system the kernel panicked. So it could be either bad memory which I don't think it is as I just removed the memory not too long ago from one of my unused systems or the feed system doesn't support that much memory. I am happy that I was able to get at least 512MB in there.

Scanner Feed Maintenance

2008-07-25T08:55:00.003-05:00

I will be doing a bit of maintenance on the computer that the scanner feed runs on to see if I can so a memory upgrade. I will be doing this tomorrow morning (Sat July 25th) between 10am and noon so expect the feed to be up and down between that time. I will make a general announcement when the feed goes back up.

Web Page Update

2008-07-22T23:26:00.002-05:00

Well here is just a small update for tonight, I converted the Dallas Fire Stations Map in the Scanner Feed from a PDF to a JPG. I am also planning to convert my Frequency List from a Excel spreadsheet to a plain text file when I get some time to make it easier for people like me who want to view this information on PDA's.

Web Page Updates

2008-07-21T15:42:00.002-05:00

DFW Retail Scan List

Added 467.8125 PL 67.0 DSW Shoes - Operations (Frisco-Center At Preston Ridge)
Added 467.9250 DCS155 Target - Operations (Frisco-Center At Preston Ridge)

DFW Scanner Frequency List

Added 467.8125 PL 67.0 DSW Shoes - Operations (Frisco-Center At Preston Ridge)
Added 467.9250 DCS155 Target - Operations (Frisco-Center At Preston Ridge)

New FCC Licenses

2008-07-18T08:30:00.003-05:00

I know I haven't done one of these yet this week but there has been three new licenses that were granted in the past week and a bit. The first one is for the Preston Park Financial Center at 4975 Preston Park Boulevard in Plano. They are licensed for one repeater on 464.2125 for 40 watts of power and 5 simplex frequencies, 451.4125, 452.1625, 452.2875, 452.4875 & 452.7875 all for 4 watts of power. The next one is the Billingsley Company which is listed as a property management company on 1722 Routh Street in Dallas is licensed for a 40 watts repeater on 463.6625. The last one added is Niagara Bottling which is a water bottling company on 4851 Mountain Creek Parkway in Dallas is licensed for 5 simplex frequencies, 451.3125, 451.4125, 452.5125 & 452.9875 all for 4 watts of power and 461.5375 for 25 watts of power.

Unknown Frequency

2008-07-17T22:05:00.002-05:00

Well someone on the DFWscan answered my question this afternoon about this unknown frequency I posted earlier today. For those who are wondering I also found this link the event, http://www.lorraineandassociates.com/DCC_News/cc.html

Re: [dfwscan] 482.3875 PL 210.7

It's Mary Kay time again in Dallas. You're hearing the activity from the Dallas convention center. I think they've rented approx 100 or more radios and that freq is one of the ones they use for logistics. On a side note, anyone wanting to see the biggest collection of pink Cadillacs in one place at one time, check out the convention center this weekend. :)

Unknown Frequency

2008-07-17T08:55:00.004-05:00

I have been hearing talk on 482.3875 PL 210.7 the past couple days that I have been trying to identify. I can heard them talk all day and into the evening all throughout North Dallas and up into mid Plano. What I am hearing sounds like some type of a convention center. I have heard talk about opening the doors for a certain group of people at 5:15pm and then for everybody else at 5:30pm. Also I have heard them mention a variety of halls that go from Hall A to E. As well I have heard them talk about which direction to set elevator 15, 16, 17, 18 & 19. This leads me to the conclusion that this is a big convention center or some type hall. I did a check on the FCC list but there is nothing that would match this. The only one I can think of is the Convention Center in Dallas but they are on the Dallas City Trunk. If anyone has an idea what this is let me know!

Web Page Updates

2008-07-09T22:10:00.002-05:00

DFW Retail Scan List

Added 467.9250 DCS743 Victoria Secret - Operations (Allen-Watters Creek)

DFW Scanner Frequency List

Added 466.7500 PL 94.8 Cinemark Movies McKinney - Operations (McKinney)
Added 467.7625 DCS065 Home Depot - Operations (Allen)
Added 467.7625 DCS065 Home Depot - Operations (McKinney)
Added 467.9250 DCS743 Victoria Secret - Operations (Allen-Watters Creek)
Added 854.7625 DCS712 Raytheon - Security (McKinney)

New FCC Licenses

2008-07-08T10:06:00.003-05:00

Only two new licenses have been added to the FCC database this week. The first is one is for Petermann Southwest LLC for a company based out of Cincinnati that provides school bus transportation. They are licensed for Saginaw in the area of Jarvis and Bailey-Boswell Road and a control point of 1200 Old Decatur Road in Fort Worth for a 100 watt repeater for 464.9625. When I did a search online I found they are under contract with the Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District. The last new license is for Radiology Associates on 3400 Camp Bowie Boulevard in Fort Worth which is the University of North Texas Health Science Center. This frequency is licensed for a 50 watt repeater on 463.2125 which will be in the transporting of patients around the medical center for medical radiology imaging services.

Web Page Updates

2008-07-06T18:25:00.003-05:00

DFW Range Search List-Downtown Dallas

Added 452.5000 DCS346 Six Flags Hurricane Harbor - Operations (Arlington)
Added 461.7000 DCS532 Six Flags Over Texas - Maintenance & Rides (Arlington)
Added 462.2000 PL 67.0 Southwest Airlines - Operations (Dallas)
Added 462.3000 DCS311
Added 463.2250 PL 103.5
Added 463.3625 DCS244
Added 468.7500 PL 67.0 Possibly an apartment complex
Updated 463.6125 DCS243 Ritz Carlton Dallas - Security (Dallas)

DFW Range Search List-North Dallas

Updated 461.5375 DCS261 Sterling Plaza - Security (Dallas)

DFW Scanner Frequency List

Added 461.5375 DCS261 Sterling Plaza - Security (Dallas)
Added 462.2000 PL 67.0 Southwest Airlines - Operations (Dallas)
Added 463.6125 DCS243 Ritz Carlton Dallas - Security (Dallas)
Added 464.3250 PL 141.3 Dallas Market Hall - Maintenance (Dallas)
Updated 854.7125 DCS051 Southern Methodist University - Security (Dallas)

Dallas Market Center Scan

2008-07-05T16:14:00.003-05:00

I was down at the Dallas Market Center today for the Dallas Dog Show. I had my scanner with me and did a range search and store while I was down there.

450.1875 PL 114.8 KXAS TV - Dallas Operations (Fort Worth)
451.0750 PL 173.8 Dallas Water Utilities
452.5000 DCS346 Six Flags Hurricane Harbor - Operations (Arlington)
452.5000 PL 203.5 Yellow Checker Shuttle - Operations (Irving)
452.6000 PL 162.2
453.3875 PL 131.8
453.6625 PL 131.8
460.7250 PL 162.2
461.0500 DCS271 Hilton Anatole Hotel - Security (Dallas)
461.0750 DCS023
461.3250 DCS025 Hotel Crescent Court - Security (Dallas)
461.5750 PL 107.2 Six Flags Over Texas - Security (Arlington)
461.6250 DCS311
463.4500 DCS205 First Baptist Church Of Dallas - Operations (Dallas)
463.7250 PL 203.5 Dallas Museum Of Art - Security (Dallas)
464.2000 PL 141.3 Dallas Market Hall - Security (Dallas)
464.3750 PL 141.3 Dallas Market Hall - Maintenance (Dallas)
464.3750 PL 203.5
464.9250 PL 192.8 Trammell Crow Center - Security (Dallas)
467.6125 PL 250.3 Dallas Dog Show - Operations (Dallas)
469.2000 PL 141.3 Dallas Market Hall - Security (Dallas)

Web Page Updates

2008-07-01T23:22:00.002-05:00

DFW Retail Scan List

Added 461.0625 PL 67.0 Circuit City - Operations (Lakeport Towne Crossing-Lewisville)
Added 467.9250 DCS311 Old Navy - Operations (Vista Ridge Village-Lewisville)

DFW Scanner Frequency List

Added 154.6000 CSQ Walmart - Operations (Lewisville)
Added 461.0625 PL 67.0 Circuit City - Operations (Lakeport Towne Crossing-Lewisville)
Added 467.9250 DCS311 Old Navy - Operations (Vista Ridge Village-Lewisville)

New FCC Licenses

2008-06-30T15:59:00.002-05:00

There are two more new licenses that has been added to the FCC database in the past week. The first one is for the Eastlake Veterinary Hospital on 10101 East Northwest Highway in Dallas. They are licensed for 4 simplex itinerant LPU frequencies, 467.8500, 467.8750, 467.9000 & 467.9250 all for 2 watts of power. The last new license is for the Richardson First Baptist Church on 100 North Central Expressway in Richardson. They are licensed for maintenance and security on a single repeater, 461.8500 with 40 watts of power and 5 simplex frequencies, 451.2375, 452.2875, 452.3125, 452.4125 & 452.7875 all with 4 watts of power.

Web Page Updates

2008-06-30T00:08:00.003-05:00

DFW Scanner Frequency List

Added 461.6125 DCS073 Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World - Operations (Garland)

DFW Unitrunker Logs

Updated the Frisco Public Safety Trunk (New System ID)

There is still not much activity at all on the new Frisco P25 trunk. I am not sure what they are currently doing but the signal decode down here into West Plano is still horrible. Considering that I am only maybe 10 minutes from the southern border of Frisco I should be getting around 90-100% code but on a good night I might get a 15% decode rate. I guess we will have to see if any changes happen to this system as time progresses.

More Nationwide Retail Licenses

2008-06-26T19:08:00.003-05:00

Here are a few more nationwide retail licenses that I found.

WPLJ992 Meijer
WPCS468 Toys R Us
WPPG675 Toys R Us
KD38929 Value City