Dave's Public Safety Frequency Page

• primary dispatch for Central - East - South (and West after approx 0130 hours)

• primary dispatch for West side units from 0700 until approximately 0130 hours daily
• digital audio signal sounds like "grunge" on most scanners

• (future) primary dispatch for South County Patrol
• (temporary) being used for car-to-car traffic by South County units (and others)
• digital audio signal sounds like "grunge" on most scanners

• tactical & car-to-car for units assigned to Frequency 1

• tactical & car-to-car for units assigned to Frequency 2

• tactical & car-to-car for units assigned to Frequency 3 (see note above).

• routine status-keeping (jail-to-jail, jail-to-court, jail-to-hospital, etc.)
• also used for for some Sheriff's patrol radio traffic

• car-to-car traffic, mostly south county units
• shared with agencies statewide, including County Parks

• public safety-to-public works agencies simplex coordination frequency
• shared with agencies statewide, including County Fire, County Parks and County Roads

Scanner listeners note: the "output" frequencies for the new "Frequency 1" and "Frequency 2" are the same as the previous "Frequency 1" and "Frequency 6." The difference is that scanner listeners can now hear all mobile and portable units on Frequency 1, as it is a multiple-site simulcast system. Subsequently Frequency 2 went "digital." Scanner listeners cannot hear anything intelligible on Frequency 2 (or Frequency 3) because the audio signals are digitally scrambled, unless you have a scanner capable of receiving APCO 25 digital signals. It is known that the Sheriff's Department is considering upgrading Frequency 1 to digital, but it is not known when that might occur.

Also heard on Sheriff's frequencies are 4A, 4K and 4U units (District Attorney's Office), Com 50 (University of California at Santa Cruz - Lick Observatory resident officer), AMTRAK Police units, and others.

Santa Clara County Department of Correction

• merged into the Sheriff's Department - see above

Santa Clara County Fire Department

• primary dispatch frequency for County Fire
• seven-site simulcast repeat (June 2000)
• includes Saratoga Fire (late 2001), a separate fire department, also
  dispatched by County Communications

• tactical communications (mobile and portable radios only)

• fireground communications (Campbell and Los Gatos areas) (Stations 3, 5, 6, 10, 11)
• remotely-controlled base station at Good Samaritan Hospital

• fireground communications (valley floor and Redwood area) (Stations 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9)
• three remotely-controlled base stations around the County

• fireground communications (Los Altos and Los Altos Hills areas) (Stations 14, 15, 16)
• three remotely-controlled base stations around the Los Altos area

• fireground communications (Morgan Hill and south county areas) (Stations 12, 13)
• remotely-controlled base station at Holiday Lake Estates, Morgan Hill

• fireground communications (Saratoga area)
• remotely-controlled base station at Saratoga Fire Station

• fireground communications (mobile and portable radios only)

• fireground communications (mobile, portable and base stations)
• also used for Auto-Aid from County Fire to Sunnyvale Fire

• public safety-to-public works agencies simplex coordination frequency
• shared with agencies statewide, including County Sheriff, County Parks and County Roads
• primarily used to coordinate with helicopters ("air ambulances") at landing zones
  • helicopters are not allowed to use Fire White I

Santa Clara County Emergency Medical Services

• A.L.S. (Advanced Life Support) units
  • four-site simulcast repeat system

• A.L.S. units
  • four-site simulcast repeat system

• B.L.S. (Basic Life Support) units
  • multiple-site repeater system
  • B.L.S. units can selectively call ("ring down") specific hospital emergency departments with patient condition reports
  • B.L.S. units can ring down County Communications
  • B.L.S. units can be dispatched to emergency calls by County Communications

Santa Clara County Communications - County-wide Mutual Aid coordination

• all fire dispatch centers in the County are equipped
• mutual aid requests between agencies during major fires
  • generally anything beyond a "second alarm"

• all law enforcement dispatch centers in the County are not yet equipped
• usage has not yet been determined

• used by those agencies with 480 MHz radio systems as a tactical or car-to-car frequency
  • Campbell PD, Los Altos PD, Los Gatos PD, Milpitas PD, Mountain View PD, Palo Alto PD, Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety.
• shared with agencies statewide

Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Department

• transmit and receive equipment located at:
  • Holiday Lake Estates, Morgan Hill
  • Copernicus Peak (Mt. Hamilton)
  • Rodoni (above Saratoga)
  • Mt. Madonna County Park (Hecker Pass Highway west of Gilroy)
  • Mt. Chual (Santa Cruz Mountains)
  • Motorcycle Park (Metcalf Road)
  • [perhaps others]

• simplex frequency (mobile and portable radios only)

• County Parks Rangers were authorized in June 1996 to use LMA.
• shared with agencies statewide, including County Sheriff

• public safety-to-public works agencies simplex coordination frequency
• shared with agencies statewide, including County Sheriff, County Fire and County Roads

Santa Clara County Roads and Airports

• three CTCSS tone-controlled repeaters cover the County
  • Tone One - Holiday Lake Estates, Morgan Hill
  • Tone Two - Copernicus Peak, Mount Hamilton
  • Tone Three (primary) - Rodoni (above Saratoga)

• base stations (other than Control 4 - County Communications)
  • West Yard - Lawrence Expressway
  • South Yard - San Martin
  • Operations (East Yard) - Oakland Road
  • Signal Center - Oakland Road
  • Materials Lab - West Yard

• used for such things as traffic control for paving projects

• public safety-to-public works agencies simplex coordination frequency
• shared with agencies statewide, including County Sheriff, County Fire and County Parks

California Highway Patrol

• The Golden Gate Communications Center is located in Vallejo

• The Monterey Communications Center is located in Salinas

• CHP officers statewide use car-mounted extenders for their portable radios