[ScanIndiana] Police Tac Radios In Marion County
Tom Wall
[email protected]
Wed, 13 Mar 2002 02:00:45 -0500
Some or most of you already know about tac radios in Marion county. For
those of you who aren't familiar with tac radios they are mostly modified
2-meter ham radios being used on frequencies the police are not licensed to
use (there are some rare exceptions regarding legality). A memo was sent
out Monday to Marion county sheriff's deputies stating that all tac radio
traffic will cease immediately and that all tac radios will be removed from
vehicles by the 18th of this month followed by an inspection on the
following day. Many officers are understandably upset after shelling out
around $200 out of their own pocket. Based on tac traffic the last day or
two the prevailing attitude from anyone with a tac radio appears to be "No
victim, no crime." and/or "We're not bothering anyone." I'm under the
impression some or most are likening this situation to nothing worse than
jay-walking. The law enforcement community must be made to understand that
this is not the case. The blame for the crackdown appears to be currently
resting on the shoulders of one individual in the amateur radio community.
Once again this is not the case and the law enforcement community must be
made to understand this.
I've known about tac radios since at least 1992 so some might ask why I've
never lodged a complaint with anyone. For a long time I enjoyed listening
to tac traffic. It could be very interesting, especially when most officers
were under the false impression that no one knew about their channels.
Recent tac traffic points to foul language as the straw that broke the
camel's back. I believe this is partially true. I believe the straw came
on the February 26 of this year when I heard the following exchange on
151.745:
There were some IPD north district first shift officers complaining about
Adam's Mark hotel interfering with them. Clearly the impression I got was
that the police thought they were the primary users. About that time a
gentleman identifying himself as KZE448 came on and asked the police to
identify themselves. Naturally the police were uncooperative. The
gentleman identifying himself as KZE448 then stated he was very displeased
with some of the language he had been hearing on his channel and that it
should stop. The cops simply blew him off and said something to the effect
of "leave us alone, you're interfering with official police business".
While I agree with the officers that things like instant communication
between agencies is and has been beneficial, there are some bad apples that
have spoiled the whole bunch. There was a time when selection of
frequencies stayed within a set pattern: only frequencies exclusive to
public safety (prior to FCC "refarming" of the VHF public safety pool). In
addition to that they were not licensed in Marion county or the eight
surrounding counties (to reasonably ensure the prevention of interference to
licensed users). I'm guessing this was the work of one or maybe two
individuals. Problems began to arise when officers began to pick their own
frequencies. To compound the problem many officers had little or no idea
they have been breaking the law. Now that the bunch has been spoiled we
cannot condemn some and exempt others. It is all or nothing.
On the bright side there are many alternatives: CB, FRS, MURS, Nextel,
cellphones, obtaining a commercial license, as well as others. These are
less desirable but better than nothing.
I ask everyone to join me in a petition. Not to prosecute current abusers
but simply to ensure that all radio abuse by all police agencies stop and
stay that way. If abuses continue after a reasonable amount of time has
passed we WILL seek action from the FCC.
If I've come across as preachy or self-righteous let me assure you this is
not the case. I only propose a simple solution to a growing problem.
The following is a list I've been compiling for quite some time. I will
continue to search for new frequencies and post them to the mailing list as
I find them.
148.715 OG STATE POLICE (CONFIRMED 01/28/2002 22:15) NEW TO ME AS OF
04/25/2001 21:48
149.280 OG WHOSE CHANNEL? (COUNTY NORTHEAST?) NEW TO ME AS OF
12/30/2001 21:35
150.285 OG IPD DOWNTOWN? - NEW TO ME AS OF 01/13/2002 23:30
150.500 OG WHOSE CHANNEL? - NEW TO ME AS OF 01/14/2002
150.815 LA WAS IPD SOUTH (VARIOUS SHIFTS?), NOW SEEMS TO BE USED
PRIMARILY BY SPEEDWAY
150.920 LA STILL IPD SOUTH? - AAA HOOSIER MOTOR CLUB HAS BEEN LICENSED
TO USE THIS BUT DID NOT START USING IT UNTIL 02/04/2000
151.310 PO COUNTY SOUTHWEST 3RD SHIFT
151.385 PO IPD NORTH (HEARD THIS MENTIONED ON 158.490 BUT HAD NOT
CONFIRMED IT TILL 01/18/2002 13:55
151.430 PO WHOSE CHANNEL? - NEW TO ME AS OF 01/23/2002 10:57
151.450 NS WHOSE CHANNEL? (NEW TO ME AS OF 08/01/2001) WASHINGTON
TOWNSHIP FIRE IN MARTINSVILLE IS ON 151.445, DON'T GET CONFUSED
151.460 PO <TAC 12> WAS COUNTY SOUTHEAST AND/OR IPD SOUTH, NOW IT
APPEARS TO BE COUNTY SOUTHWEST (STILL USED BUT COUNTY SOUTHWEST SEEMS TO
HAVE ABANDONED THIS SOMETIME IN THE FALL OF 2001)
151.475 PO <SD-1> IPD SOUTH
151.600 NS IPD EAST? - NEW TO ME AS OF 11/21/2001 21:42 (LEGITIMATE
BUSINESS USERS ON 151.595 MOSTLY DURING THE DAY, DON'T GET CONFUSED)
151.685 IB STILL IPD WEST? (BUSINESS FOR SURE)
151.730 ? IPD NORTH DISTRICT 2ND SHIFT - FIRST HEARD 02/15/2002 19:30
NOT CONFIRMED UNTIL 02/16/2002 14:45
151.745 IB IPD NORTH <CHANNEL 1> (AIRPORT ADAM'S MARK (77.0 PL) IS
PRIMARY LICENSED USER)
151.805 IB WHOSE CHANNEL? I'M BEGINNING TO THINK THIS IS A "COMMON"
POLSIMP CHANNEL (MOSTLY 3RD SHIFT - IB USE DURING DAY)
151.835 IB COUNTY NORTHWEST (BUSINESS USE DURING DAY)
151.840 NS NEW CHANNEL OR THE GUYS FROM 5kHZ LOWER? (03/03/2002 12:06)
151.865 IB STILL POLICE? (IPD WEST - BUSINESS USE FOR SURE)
152.195 ? WHOSE CHANNEL? (COUNTY SOUTHEAST? - THINK SOME ARE ON
152.195 AND SOME ARE ON 152.190)
152.815 NS COUNTY NORTHWEST (VARIOUS SHIFTS?)
153.005 IS COUNTY SOUTHWEST 1ST SHIFT (BUSINESS REPEATER ON 153.0125,
DON'T GET CONFUSED - I THINK THIS MAY HAVE BEEN ABANDONED BY THE POLICE
BECAUSE OF THE REPEATER OUTPUT)
153.100 NS WHOSE CHANNEL? IPD? (AIRPORT IB REPEATER ON 153.095, DON'T
GET CONFUSED - I THINK THIS MAY HAVE BEEN ABANDONED BY THE POLICE BECAUSE OF
THE REPEATER OUTPUT)
153.200 IF-IP-IX WHOSE CHANNEL? STILL POLSIMP? (NEW IB REPEATER 01/12/2000,
DON'T GET CONFUSED - I THINK THIS MAY HAVE BEEN ABANDONED BY THE POLICE
BECAUSE OF THE REPEATER OUTPUT)
153.315 NS COUNTY NORTHWEST 2ND SHIFT (NEW TO ME AS OF 01/30/2002
19:05)
153.410 IW COUNTY SOUTHWEST (VARIOUS SHIFTS?)
153.415 NS 5 KHz OFF ON PURPOSE OR CRAPPY RADIO?
153.440 IP-IW STILL IPD WEST 3RD SHIFT? I THINK THIS MAY HAVE BEEN
ABANDONED AS THERE IS A REPEATER HERE NOW. 02/01/2002 15:00 IPD WEST 2ND
SHIFT ACTIVITY (REPEATER ID'S BUT I'VE YET TO HEAR ANYONE USING IT)
153.500 IP-IW <SD-2> IPD SOUTH
153.745 NS COUNTY SOUTHWEST 2ND SHIFT
153.815 PL COUNTY NORTHWEST 2ND SHIFT
153.875 PL WHOSE CHANNEL? (COUNTY WEST?)
153.955 NS WHOSE CHANNEL? (NEW TO ME AS OF 03/28/2001)
153.965 PL COUNTY SOUTHWEST 2ND SHIFT
153.980 PL COUNTY SOUTHWEST 3RD SHIFT (SPEEDWAY ALSO - 02/02/2002
01:30 CONFIRMED ONE OF THE USERS OF THIS FREQUENCY IS KB9UZD)
153.985 NS 5 KHz OFF ON PURPOSE?
154.150 NS STILL SPEEDWAY? (K9? 154.145 WAS STILL USED FOR SPEEDWAY
FIRE INITIAL DISPATCH UNTIL RECENTLY (SOMETIME NEAR THE END OF 2001)
154.505 ?? IPD NORTH 3RD SHIFT (NEW TO ME AS OF 11/13/2001 23:50)
154.515 IB STILL IPD WEST 3RD SHIFT? (BUSINESS USE DURING DAY)
154.540 IB <OLD, OLD WEST> MOSTLY BUSINESS - STILL POLICE SOMETIMES
(09/28/2001 23:35 HAVEN'T HEARD ANY POLICE ACTIVITY HERE IN AGES TILL
TONIGHT, SOUNDS LIKE IPD NORTH DISTRICT)
154.800 PP U.C. POLICE WIRELESS MIC (UNITED DRUG TASK FORCE? SPEEDWAY
NARCOTICS FOR SURE)
154.900 NS 5 KHz OFF ON PURPOSE?
154.905 PP <TAC 6> CLEREMONT (CONFIRMED ON 09/29/2000 - USED TO BE
COUNTY SOUTHWEST, AND WAS EVEN THE PADDY WAGON CHANNEL FOR A WHILE)
154.920 PP POLICE SIMPLEX (LEGALLY?) HEARD VERY BRIEF ACTIVITY HERE
PREVIOUSLY BUT ONLY CONFIRMED IT AS OF 01/28/2002 18:10
154.935 PP WHOSE CHANNEL? (IPD EAST?)
155.000 NS WHOSE CHANNEL? - NEW TO ME AS OF 01/31/2002 10:53
155.040 PL JOHNSON COUNTY SHERIFFS, MAYBE GREENWOOD - NEW TO ME AS OF
01/25/2002 02:10 (LICENSED TO JOHNSON COUNTY CIVIL DEFENSE AND CITY OF
GREENWOOD)
155.190 PP LAWRENCE - SKIP ALSO (OLD LAWRENCE POLICE PRIMARY)
155.250 PP STILL PADDY WAGON CHANNEL? (SEYMOUR POLICE SKIP)
155.460 PP WHOSE CHANNEL? - SOUNDS LIKE SURVEILLANCE, POLICE SKIP FOR
SURE
155.485 NS 5 KHz OFF ON PURPOSE?
155.490 PP COUNTY NORTHWEST 3RD SHIFT (OLD CARMEL POLICE PRIMARY)
155.500 NS WHOSE CHANNEL? - NEW TO ME AS OF 01/14/2002 11:17
155.505 PP U.C. POLICE WIRELESS MICROPHONE (VARIOUS AGENCIES?)
155.685 PP BEECH GROVE - MIGHT HAVE HEARD THEM HERE BEFORE BUT ONLY
IDENTIFIED THEM 08/17/2001 22:50, JOHNSON COUNTY IS A LICENSED USER SO
YOU'LL PROBABLY HEAR THEM HERE TOO
155.700 PP STILL SPEEDWAY? I THINK IS NEW BOONE COUNTY POLICE SIMPLEX
AS OF JULY 2000 (OLD SPEEDWAY POLICE PRIMARY)
155.715 PL <IPD WEST-1> <CHANNEL 2> (SPEEDWAY ALSO)
156.085 NS <R> COUNTY NORTHWEST - NEW TO ME AS OF 02/25/2001)
156.120 PH <ADMIN> SPEEDWAY'S NEW MAIN CHANNEL AS OF 10/2000.
156.210 PP IUPUI POLICE (ALSO HEARD OLD IUPUI BASE - MOBILE SIMPLEX
BACK ON THE AIR ON 12/21/1999 AND PATCHED TO A MECA CHANNEL)
156.225 PH WHOSE CHANNEL?
156.330 NS WHOSE CHANNEL? (EAST SIDE? - NEW TO ME AS OF 01/24/2001)
156.340 NS WHOSE CHANNEL? (SOUNDS LIKE PARK RANGERS - NEW TO ME AS OF
09/24/2000 - HAVEN'T FOUND ANY NEW CHANNELS IN A WHILE!)
156.350 M <MARINE CHANNEL 07> WHOSE CHANNEL? (COUNTY?)
156.380 NS COUNTY SOUTHWEST 3RD SHIFT
156.400 M <MARINE CHANNEL 08> 12/16/2001 15:15 INFORMED BY A FRIEND
THIS IS A ZIONSVILLE POLICE SIMPLEX FREQUENCY, HAVE NOT CONFIRMED IT YET
156.425 M <MARINE CHANNEL 68> WHOSE CHANNEL? (COUNTY?)
156.475 M <MARINE CHANNEL 69> COUNTY WEST (VARIOUS SHIFTS?)
156.500 M <MARINE CHANNEL 10> WHOSE CHANNEL? - NEW TO ME AS OF
01/28/2002 14:20 (HAD THIS IN THE SCANNER PRIOR TO HEARING ACTIVITY HERE
BECAUSE IT SHOWED UP IN A POLSIMP CLONING SESSION)
156.525 M <MARINE CHANNEL 70> COUNTY NORTHWEST (VARIOUS SHIFTS?)
156.575 M <MARINE CHANNEL 71> JUST PARK RANGERS?
156.725 M <MARINE CHANNEL 74> <TAC 3> COUNTY SOUTHWEST (VARIOUS
SHIFTS?)
156.775 M <MARINE CHANNEL 75> WHOSE CHANNEL?
156.840 NS PARK RANGERS
156.905 NS <LED?> COUNTY SOUTHWEST
157.025 M <MARINE CHANNEL 80> WHOSE CHANNEL? COUNTY WEST 3RD SHIFT?
157.995 ? WHOSE CHANNEL? NEW TO ME AS OF 01/16/2002 21:27
158.445 IP JOHNSON COUNTY POLICE (NEW TO ME AS OF 02/19/2002 11:39)
158.490 RC IPD NORTH <CHANNEL 4> (151.745, 154.505, AND 154.540 ARE
MOST LIKELY 1, 2, AND 3)
158.540 NS WHOSE CHANNEL? SOUNDS LIKE IPD WEST (NEW TO ME AS OF
02/28/2002 23:43)
158.970 PP PLAINFIELD (OLD 155.310 REPEATER INPUT, THEY'RE NOW ON
MECA - THEY STILL USE THE REPEATER, THEY MIGHT VERY WELL TALK SIMPLEX ON THE
OUTPUT (155.310) ALSO BUT I HAVEN'T HEARD THEM)
159.135 PH <TAC 2> WAS SPEEDWAY'S MAIN CHANNEL, STILL USED
OCCASIONALLY, MAIN CHANNEL IS NOW 156.120 AS OF 10/2000.
160.200 LJ UNDERCOVER WIRELESS MIC SPEEDWAY NARCOTICS - NEW TO ME AS
OF 08/16/2001
161.760 BA <NEW 2> SPEEDWAY - RARELY USED SO DON'T LET THAT THROW YOU,
SOUNDS LIKE THERE'S ONLY 3 GUYS THAT HAVE THIS CHANNEL
169.570 OG JOHNSON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPUTIES (FOUND THIS ON INDYSCAN
BUT I HAVE VERIFIED IT)
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THE FOLLOWING ARE POSSIBLES. # INDICATES A STRONGER THAN AVERAGE
PROBABILITY.
149.200 OG # USED FOR WIRELESS CLONING 01/21/2002 ABOUT 22:30 -
DEFINITELY POLICE BASED ON THE DECODED RESULTS
150.200 OG HEARD THIRD HAND ABOUT THIS BEING MENTIONED ON 2 METERS
151.040 PH HEARD TWO IPD OFFICERS MENTION THIS ONCE
151.520 IS FARMING?
151.715 IB MULTIPLE BUSINESS USE DURING DAY
151.725 NS JUST HEARD A PEEP HERE SUMMER OF 2000, THIS ONE IS
PROBABLY A LOST CAUSE SINCE THE ADVENT OF 151.730
152.225 ? SOUNDS LIKE BUSINESS BUT IS LICENSED TO NO ONE
152.915 IS # MARION COUNTY POLICE NORTHEAST 3RD SHIFT?
152.930 IM-IS AMERICAN AGGREGATES CORP. - POLICE SIMPLEX ALSO?
153.035 IF-IP-IX FARMING?
154.085 PL MARION COUNTY LOCAL GOVERNMENT? (SURVEYOR?)
154.250 PF OLD WAYNE TOWNSHIP FIRE DISPATCH - RUMORED TO BE NEW
POLSIMP - LAST TIME I CHECKED LEBANON\BOONE COUNTY FIRE WERE STILL PROMINENT
HERE WHICH MIGHT HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THIS NEVER BECOMING A POLSIMP
154.710 PP # OLD MARION COUNTY POLICE REPEATER FREQUENCY
154.995 PL BLOOMINGTON FIRE SKIP FOR SURE
155.115 PL MARION COUNTY LOCAL GOVERNMENT?
155.385 PM 11/06/2001 19:40 HEARING SOME SIMPLEX CHIT-CHAT WITH 94XX
UNIT NUMBERS - LICENSED TO STAT AMBULANCE IN EDINBURGH
155.430 PP RICHMOND POLICE SKIP FOR SURE
155.460 PP POLICE SKIP FOR SURE (151.4 PL)
155.790 PP NO LONGER LICENSED TO PLAINFIELD POLICE, OPERATING
ILLEGALLY OR POLSIMP?
156.045 PH LICENSED TO BROOKLYN STREET DEPARTMENT
156.150 PP LICENSED TO HAMILTON COUNTY AND FRANKLIN POLICE - HEARD
WHAT SOUNDED LIKE AN OPEN MIC IN A MOBILE A COUPLE OF TIMES DURING SUMMER
2001
156.180 PH # REPEATER INPUT FOR PLAINFIELD FIRE REPEATER ON 154.160,
PLAINFIELD IS ON MECA NOW - THEY VERY WELL MAY STILL USE THE REPEATER BUT
THE TRAFFIC I HEARD ON 01/03/2002 13:48 SURE SOUNDED LIKE POLSIMP
156.255 IP BUSINESS?
156.700 M <MARINE CHANNEL 14> PERSONAL USE? NOT POLICE?
156.825 M <MARINE CHANNEL 76> (VOICE)
157.420 NS HEARD TWO MARION COUNTY DEPUTIES MENTION THIS ONCE
157.530 LX RAINBOW CAB CO.? (RAINBOW'S LICENSE HAS EXPIRED, NONE
PENDING)
158.445 IP # 02/19/2002 11:39 I STRONGLY BELIEVE THIS IS JOHNSON
COUNTY
159.045 PH MADISON COUNTY ROAD CREW REPEATER INPUT?
160.125 LJ BUSINESS? (LONG DEAD KEY ON 01/09/2000)