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Saturday, November 16, 2002
Wronged Side of the Tracks? 'Railfans' Complain of Police Scrutiny in Terror Era [Source: Washington Post; Photo:Freq Of Nature] By Don Phillips  On a balmy Sunday afternoon late last month, Richard Whitenight did what he often does on his days off: He went to a busy railroad junction in Fort Worth to watch the trains roll by.But as he sat making notes about passing freight trains, two police cruisers approached. Over the next five hours, Whitenight -- who works for the police department in nearby Arlington, Tex. -- identified himself to the officers. Then he identified himself to the officers' supervisor, then a detective from a terrorism task force, then the FBI. They seized his trainspotter's notebook and grilled him about every mark and note in it. They searched his car and took photos of it, inside and out. Finally, he had to sign a form agreeing never to return to the location known as Tower 55. Whitenight is one of thousands, perhaps millions, of people around the world who spend much of their time observing and photographing railroad operations out of a love for trains. In general, railroads have encouraged these "railfans" as long as they do not trespass or interfere with operations. Railroads even hold contests to use railfan photographs in calendars, and the Association of American Railroads has started a Web site to encourage the hobby. But after the FBI announced last month it had credible reports that al Qaeda might be targeting railroads, a growing minority of railfans have been questioned and sometimes searched. A handful have even been threatened with arrest, for pursuing a hobby they have embraced for years. Law enforcement officers and train crews have been told to be on the lookout for suspicious characters asking detailed questions about railroad operations, taking notes and taking pictures of trains. It appears the descriptions of "terrorist" and "railfan" are the same. More... Friday, November 15, 2002
Caltrans District 5 radio system [Source: Mathew Grant]  UPDATE - Caltrans District 5 trunked radio system and unit numbers as well as statewide HT frequencies.
Chesterton Incident [Source: Tracy Justus]  A residential structure fire started sometime around 8 pm on Thursday, November 14th in the 2200 block of Chesterton Street in Simi Valley. The fire was reported by at least two neighbors, one of whom was informed of the fire by the three children who live at the residence. When fire fighters arrived on scene the children were already out of the house, the parents were away for the evening, and the family pets were being rescued by a neighbor. Fire fighters worked quickly to knock down the fire, keeping it contained to the bedroom, where it's suspected to have started, and the attic. Even though the fire was quickly extinguished there was substantial damage to the home. The American Red Cross was called in to assist the family with comfort and shelter. UPDATE - Photos and Audio of a structure fire in Simi Valley on Thursday have been added to the web site. Thursday, November 14, 2002
Verdugo Radio Channel Plan Change [Source: Tim; SoCalScan] UPDATE - New Verdugo Fire Channel Plan Verdugo Fire realigned all of their radio channels (November 2002) for a number of internal reasons, mostly for better coverage and to provide additional channel capability for the nine cities they dispatch for. This was also an opportunity to change which channels to place their units on, to help with a needed reorganization. Old Red 4 is now New Red 1 or Dispatch Channel. Links of interest: Verdugo Radio Communication Center Live Internet Broadcast New Radio Channel Plan
New Ventura County fire dispatch center in the works [Source: Ventura County Star] By Andrea Cavanaugh The Ventura County Fire Department will ask the Board of Supervisors to approve plans for a $4 million communications center to be built on a parking lot next to the agency's administration building at Camarillo Airport. The department will take its plans to the board on Nov. 26 if the concept is approved by the airport's advisory board, said Abbe Berns, assistant director of fire services. If the plan is approved, the agency hopes to begin building the 15,000-square-foot facility within 12 months, Berns said. Construction will take about one year, she said. About $285,000 needed for architecture and design services is already included in the department's budget for 2002-03, Berns said. If the concept is approved, Fire Department officials will meet with the Board of Supervisors in January to discuss ways to finance the rest. The bulk of the money will probably come from short-term borrowing, she said. A new center is needed because call volumes have doubled as the area's population has grown and the agency began dispatching fire calls for the Ventura, Santa Paula, and Fillmore fire departments as well as two local ambulance companies, Berns said. Also, dispatchers now work 24-hour shifts and need living quarters similar to those provided to firefighters, Berns said. Offices in the current facility have been converted to bedrooms, and male and female dispatchers share the same shower. "There isn't a lot of space for them to have downtime," she said. The current building, a former Air Force parachute loft, has inadequate plumbing and doesn't meet earthquake standards, she said. The new facility would combine the dispatch area and telecommunications equipment under one roof. Currently, radio switches are located about a block away from the dispatch center, and communications equipment is housed in a separate building and connected by 1,000 feet of fiber-optic cable running under several streets. Fire dispatching could be disrupted if road work damages the cables, county officials said. Plans for the new facility call for a separate area to train new dispatchers, and a conference room and expanded dispatch center to handle major incidents, Berns said. "We need to make our system stronger so that if things go down, we can provide seamless service," she said.
California Speedway Fontana Allegedly Broadcasting Illegally on FM 104.7 [Source: FCC; Ed Tobiasz (SoCalScan)] The FCC has issued a forfeiture order against California Speedway Fontana for illegal transmissions on the FM broadcast frequency 104.7 MHz. According to the FCC Forfeiture Order (PDF) the 1 watt transmitter has been used during events at the location. Tuesday, November 12, 2002
Southern California Monitoring Association - November Meeting [Source: Southern California Monitoring Association] The Southern California Monitoring Association (SCMA) is the only professional scanner group in Southern California. The SCMA holds its meetings at 7:00 PM on the 2nd Wednesday of each month at a Grinder's Restaurant in the West Los Angeles area. Grinder's Restaurant 8521 Sepulveda Blvd. Westchester, CA Northwest Corner of Manchester and Sepulveda - One mile north of LAX. The parking lot is behind the Union 76 Gas Station. Enter the driveway on the north side of Manchester, west of Sepulveda. SCMA members and non-members alike are invited to attend. Meetings include a free exchange of information, handouts and updates of local frequencies, programs or guest speakers, and (sometimes!) doorprizes. The next general meeting of the SCMA will be on Wednesday, November 13th. Doorprizes and Handouts for those attending the meeting. Weekly radio net: Every Tuesday at 8:00 PM on the N6CIZ repeater 446.420 (transmit -5MHz, PL 100.0 Hz). Hams are welcome to check in. All others should monitor. Gene Hughes' Southern California Edition of Police Call will be available to SCMA members and friends at a discount once again. The 2003 edition is due out in November.
Helicopter dispatch fight may be easing [Source: Ventura County Star; Photos by Tracy Justus]     By Charles Levin County health officials and a private air ambulance company appeared to end their differences over a year-old dispatch policy for emergency helicopter rescue units to Ventura County's back country, according to a report going to the Board of Supervisors today. But an official for Mercy Air on Monday said the data used for that report was old and his company still believes it can provide more services to taxpayers at a lower cost than the Sheriff's Department, which also runs search-and-rescue-team helicopters. "We think we can provide a higher level of care," said Roy Cox, regional manager with Fontana-based Mercy Air. Supervisors requested the report in June after Aspen Helicopters owner Charles McLaughlin said his air ambulance company could save tax dollars and provide more services. Aspen leases a helicopter to Mercy Air, which staffs it with nurses, paramedics and medical equipment In June, Sheriff Bob Brooks said McLaughlin's request was motivated by profit and that the current policy didn't need any tweaking. During an Aug. 20 meeting, officials from Mercy Air and the county met and agreed to leave the policy in place. Patient care would not improve by using a "dual dispatch system," according to the report from county Public Health Director Paul Lorenz. Under the year-old policy, dispatchers send the sheriff's helicopters to areas that likely need search-and-rescue services, including Lockwood Valley, Point Mugu, the Santa Monica Mountains, Los Padres Forest and "any response areas where ground units can't respond," according to the report. Mercy's helicopters are recommended for areas where there's less of a need for search and rescue such as Piru Canyon, Lake Piru Marina, Lake Casitas Marina, and Highway 126, east of the state fish hatchery. Sending Mercy Air to an area where they can't land can waste up to 30 minutes of critical patient care time, said Barry Fisher, administrator with the county's Emergency Medical Services division. The sheriff's helicopters are better equipped to hover and hoist people from the ground, Fisher said. On the other hand, Mercy's helicopters carry nurses who can administer medications unavailable to paramedics, he said. Cox, however, said the report relied on dated statistics that showed Mercy's calls improving in June and July. Cox said that trend might have reversed, but noted that he could not comment further because he had not seen the county staff report yet. |