Boulder County (CO)
From The RadioReference Wiki
Contents
Introduction
Boulder County is located northwest of Denver, Colorado, on the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains and the Continental Divide. The elevation ranges from 5,000 to 14,000 feet. The county is 741 square miles. Within Boulder County are ten cities or towns. The County population is about 305,000.
Listening to Boulder County
Analog (VHF/UHF)
Most of Boulder County operates on conventional analog VHF channels. Longmont is the only city within the County to operate on the statewide Digital Trunked Radio System (DTRS).
City of Boulder
- Police is dispatched on Blue.
- Fire is dispatched on Red.
University of Colorado (CU)
- Police is dispatched on Silver.
All Other Towns and Cities
Erie, Jamestown, Louisville, Lafayette, Lyons, Nederland, Superior, Ward, and including the unincorporated areas of Allenspark, Eldorado Springs, Gunbarrel, and Niwot.
- Police/Sherrif dispatched on Green.
- Fire/Medical dispatched on Red 1. See below for a list of agencies and their unit numbers.
Both Green and Red 1 are served by three primary repeater sites: North (directional antenna at Mead), Central (Gunbarrel Hill), and South (Mount Thorodin).
For specific frequencies and more information see the Boulder County conventional radio database.
Statewide DTRS
The Colorado DTRS is not widely utilized in by local agencies in Boulder County. Its primary users are state agencies such as Colorado State Patrol (CSP), Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT). Longmont is the only city in Boulder County to use DTRS.
State Agencies
The CSP for Boulder County is covered by the 6C (6 Charlie) units. The main talk group for this dispatch is 2389. However, some of the time this dispatch is "patched" to one of the other talk groups such as 6A, 3A or 1D. Refer to the CSP section in the DTRS database.
CDOT patrol 1L (1 Lincoln) covers the state highways in the county. Talk group ID is 2499.
City of Longmont
- Police are dispatched Longmont PD Ch. 1 (TGID 9515)
- Fire is dispatched on Longmont Fire Ch. 1 (TGID 9522)
As of January, 2011, both dispatches are simulcast on their VHF channels.
County Fire Units
Some of the county fire departments dispatched on VHF Red 1 have tactical talk groups on the DTRS system. These are Coal Creek Fire (1501), Rocky Mountain Fire (9111), and Mountain View Fire (9113).
DTRS sites within the County limits
DTRS sites outside of County that provide additional coverage
- Bald North (3-061)(Larimer County)
- Dakota (1-024)(Gilpin County)
- Prospect Mtn (3-052)(Larimer County)
- Thorodin (1-005)(Gilpin County)
The majority of the eastern portion of the county is covered by Mead, Gunbarrel and Thorodin. The majority of the western mountainous portion is covered by Thorodin, and Dakota. Betasso only covers a small area in Boulder Canyon.
Please see the Boulder County DTRS Database for control channel frequencies and talk group IDs.
Police/Sheriff
Unit Numbers
- 100-299 (On Blue channel these are Boulder City officers, on Longmont's PD channel these are Longmont Officers, and LPD units will often use Paul XXX when on the radio)
- Levels/Radio Numbers
- 101 Chief
- 102-119 Commanders
- 120-150 Sergeants
- 151-199 Detectives/Community Services
- 200-299 Patrol Officers OTHER COUNTY UNITS
- 300-320 Boulder Police Traffic Investigators
- 321-339 Boulder Police Parking Control
- 340-349 Humane Society Officers
- 350-359 Boulder Police Environmental Control
- 360-399 Boulder Police
- 400-479 Louisville Police Department
- 480-489 Ward Marshal's Office
- 490-499 Nederland (obsolete)
- 500-699 Boulder County Sheriffs
- 700-749 Boulder County Sheriff's Reserves
- 750-790 Boulder County Sheriff's Jail Reserves
- 791-799 Boulder County Animal Control
- 800-899 University of Colorado Police Department
- 900-999 Boulder County Sheriff's Volunteers
- 1120-1125 Boulder County Coroner's Office
- 13XX Boulder County Jail Deputies
- 1400 Boulder County Jail Control
- 1720-1799 Boulder County Parks and Open Space
- 18XX Dispatchers/Mobile Command Centers
- 6CHARLIE XX CSP UNITS (will come on green to assist county units)
- Edward XXX Erie Police
- Lincoln XXX Lafayette Police
- Paul XXX Longmont Police
- Nora XX Nederland (Nora 1: Chief, Nora 2: Sergeant, 4-11: officers)
Police radio codes
Boulder County Sheriff's department uses plain English (no 10 codes) for radio communication. A limited number of codes are used.
| Code | Meaning | |
| 1 | Disabled Vehicle | |
| 2 | Traffic stop, usually followed by license plate and location | |
| 3 | Emergency operation | |
| 4 | No further help needed | |
| 5 | Suspect arrested | |
| 9 | Arrest Warrant | |
| Black | Fatality |
Boulder County Fire
| Frequency |
Input  |
License | Type | Tone | Alpha Tag | Description | Mode | Tag |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 154.32500 | WNKU409 | BM | 179.9 PL | BC Fire Dir | County Fire - Dispatch Direct | FMN | Fire Dispatch | |
| 155.53500 | 154.32500 | WNKU409 | RM | 141.3 PL | BC Fire N | County Fire - Dispatch North | FMN | Fire Dispatch |
| 154.22000 | 154.32500 | WNKU409 | RM | 141.3 PL | BC Fire C | County Fire - Dispatch Central | FMN | Fire Dispatch |
| 151.35500 | 154.32500 | WNGA818 | RM | 179.9 PL | BC Fire S | County Fire - Dispatch South | FMN | Fire Dispatch |
| 154.20500 | KNIE599 | M | 179.9 PL | BC FTAC 2 | County Fire - Tactical 2 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 154.41500 | KNIE599 | M | 179.9 PL | BC FTAC 3 | County Fire - Tactical 3 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 153.83000 | KB95650 | M | 179.9 PL | BC FTAC 4 | County Fire - Tactical 4 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 153.95000 | WPTQ628 | M | 167.9 PL | BC FTAC 5 | County Fire - Tactical 5 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 154.37000 | 153.77000 | WPTQ628 | RM | 131.8 PL | BC Fire 2 | County Fire - Ch 2 | FMN | Fire-Tac |
| 155.11500 | WQCS498 | BM | 179.9 PL | Lafayette FD | Lafayette Fire Department (2600) | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 154.16000 | WPFQ855 | BM | 179.9 PL | RckyMtn FD 1 | Rocky Mountain Fire Protection District 1 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 151.74500 | WPED458 | BM | 179.9 PL | RckyMtn FD 2 | Rocky Mountain Fire Protection District 2 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 153.89000 | KDQ277 | BM | 179.9 PL | BldrRuralFPD | Boulder Rural Fire Protection District (2300) | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 154.35500 | KWH536 | BM | 179.9 PL | Mtn View FD1 | Mountain View Fire Protection District 1 (2200) | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 151.20500 | 150.80500 | WQCF347 | RM | 179.9 PL | Mtn View FD2 | Mountain View Fire Protection District 2 (2200) | FMN | Fire-Tac |
| 154.25000 | WPLQ618 | BM | 179.9 PL | Sugarloaf FPD | Sugarloaf Fire Protection District (5500) | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 155.38500 | WPVJ279 | BM | 131.8 PL | Lousivile FD | Louisville Fire Protection District (2700) | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 155.85000 | WPXC395 | M | 203.5 PL | BC FTAC 7 | County Fire - Tactical 7 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 155.25000 | WPXC395 | RM | 110.9 PL | BC Red NW | Fire/EMS Mutual Aid - Linked to DTRS 2295 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 151.49750 | WQML905 | BM | 156.7 PL | Nederlnd FPD | Nederland Fire Protection District (5600) - Tactical | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 158.96250 | WQIL995 | BM | 179.9 PL | HygieneFDTac | Hygiene Fire Protection District (2800) - Tactical | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 151.43750 | 156.00750 | WQQK993 | RM | 141.3 PL | FourMile FPD | Four Mile Fire Protection District (4600) | FMN | Fire-Tac |
| 160.02000 | 150.90500 | WQCN488 | RM | 97.4 PL | BldrMtn FPD2 | Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District 2 (4300) | FMN | Fire-Tac |
| 155.40750 | WQVN597 | M | 186.2 PL | BC FTAC 6 | County Fire - Tactical 6 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 151.25750 | 158.97750 | WQVL642 | RM | 97.4 PL | BldrMtn FPD1 | Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District 1 (4300) | FMN | Fire-Tac |
| 155.59500 | WQSL623 | BM | 141.3 PL | Lefthand High | Lefthand Fire Protection District (4100) - High | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 154.02500 | WQSL623 | BM | 141.3 PL | Lefthand Low | Lefthand Fire Protection District (4100) - Low | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 153.79250 | WQKA904 | BM | 179.9 PL | Sunshine FPD T | Sunshine Fire Protection District (4500) - Tactical | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 151.27250 | 159.44250 | WQOK519 | RM | 179.9 PL | Sunshine FPD | Sunshine Fire Protection District (4500) | FMN | Fire-Tac |
| 154.10750 | WQVN597 | M | 192.8 PL | BC FTAC 8 | County Fire - Tactical 8 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 159.03000 | WQOX740 | M | 103.5 PL | BC FTAC 9 | County Fire - Tactical 9 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 155.67750 | 159.05250 | WRDH448 | RM | 210.7 PL | BldrMtn FPD TAC | Boulder Mountain Fire Protection District TAC (4300) | FMN | Fire-Tac |
| 150.79750 | WPPC571 | M | 162.2 PL | BC FTAC 10 | County Fire - Tactical 10 | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 159.45750 | 154.25000 | WPLQ618 | RM | 141.3 PL | Sugarloaf FPD | Sugarloaf Fire Protection District (5500) | FMN | Fire-Tac |
| 155.10000 | WNBE491 | BM | 179.9 PL | Lyons FPD TAC | Lyons Fire Protection District (4000) - Tactical | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 158.96250 | WQSL623 | RM | 141.3 PL | Lefthand Rptr | Lefthand Fire Protection District (4100) - Repeater | FMN | Fire-Tac | |
| 159.39000 | WQYJ333 | BM | 167.9 PL | Allenspark TAC | Allenspark Fire Protection District (5200) - Tactical | FMN | Fire-Tac |
Boulder County Fire Unit Designators
- 1900 Rocky Mountain Rescue
- 2100 City of Longmont Fire
- 2200 Mountain View Fire Protection District
- 2300 Boulder Rural Fire Protection District
- 2400 Rocky Mountain Fire
- 2500 Boulder Fire - Rescue (City)
- 2600 Lafayette Fire Department
- 2700 Louisville Fire Department
- 2800 Hygiene Fire Protection District
- 2900 Front Range Rescue Dogs
- 3000 Longmont Emergency Unit
- 3100 Boulder Emergency Squad
- 3200 Boulder County Haz-Mat Team
- 3900 Boulder Open Space / Mountain Parks (City)
- 4000 Lyons Fire Department
- 4100 Lefthand Fire Protection District
- 4200 Jamestown Fire Department
- 4300 Boulder Mountain Protection District
- 4500 Sunshine Protection District
- 4600 Four Mile Protection District
- 5000 Big Elk Meadows Protection District
- 5100 Pinewood Springs Protection District
- 5200 Allenspark Fire Department
- 5300 Indian Peaks Protection District
- 5400 Gold Hill Protection District
- 5500 Sugarloaf Protection District
- 5600 Nederland Fire Department
- 5700 Timberline Fire
- 5900 United States/Colorado State Forest Service
- Fire and Rescue Assignments
- XX01 - XX15 Engines
- XX16 - XX19 Ladders
- XX20 - XX29 Rescues/Squads/Meds/Dives
- XX30 - XX39 Brush/Scats
- XX40 - XX49 Tenders
- XX50 - XX59 Utilities/Urban Interface/Misc.
- XX60 - XX79 Command/Admin
- XX80 - XX99 Admin/Others
Map of Fire and Ambulance Districts
Fire Tone Out (FTO)
Units Dispatched on RED 1
Boulder County Fire Dispatch RED 1 uses mostly paging tones that correspond to the Plectron standard, although the timing differs. Some tones are Motorola Quick Call II. Some tones are neither. In any case, these tones will work with scanners that support fire tone out. See Fire_Tone_Out for more information.
Do not use a RED 1 repeater channel for monitoring tones higher than 1820 Hz, as the repeater won't rebroadcast it. In that case, you will have to monitor 154.325 MHz directly.
| Department | First Tone | Second Tone | |
| Allenspark Fire | 950 | 1232 | |
| Big Elk Meadows Fire | 1130 | 1232 | |
| Boulder Emergency Services | 871 | 533 | |
| Boulder Emergency Squad (Group 1) | 1036 | 1232 | |
| Boulder Emergency Squad (Group 2) | 1036 | 1985 | |
| Boulder Mountain Fire | 1232 | 765 | |
| Boulder Mountain Fire | 871 | 1344 | |
| Boulder Rural Fire | 950 | 1985 | |
| Coal Creek Fire | 1500 | 1985 | |
| Front Range Rescue Dogs | 1130 | (1 tone, 8 seconds) | |
| Fourmile Fire | 871 | 1820 | |
| Gold Hill Fire | 871 | 1743 | |
| Hygene Fire | 1036 | 871 | |
| Indian Peaks | 871 | 1232 | |
| Lafayette Fire | 950 | 1344 | |
| Lefthand Fire | 871 | 1901 | |
| Longmont Emergency Unit | 1036 | 1820 | |
| Louisville Fire | 1669 | 950 | |
| Louisville Fire | 1669 | 1082 | |
| Lyons Fire | 950 | 1743 | |
| Mountain View Fire Station 1 | 1500 | 871 | |
| Mountain View Fire Station 3 | 1985 | 871 | |
| Mountain View Fire Station 4 | 1669 | 871 | |
| Mountain View Fire Station 5 | 672 | 871 | |
| Mountain View Fire Station 6 | 1130 | 871 | |
| Mountain View Fire Station 7 | 1344 | 871 | |
| Mountain View Fire | 1598 | 871 | |
| Nederland Fire | 1130 | 950 | |
| Pinewood Springs Fire | 950 | 1820 | |
| Pridemark | 1403 | 1000 | |
| Rocky Mountain Fire | 1500 | 1901 | |
| Rocky Mountain Fire | 871 | 1130 | |
| Rocky Mountain Rescue | 669.9 | 1034.7 | |
| Sugarloaf Fire | 871 | 1036 | |
| Sunshine Fire | 950 | 1901 | |
| Timberline Fire | 1034.7 | 1006.9 | |
| U.S. Forest Service Fire | 765 | 1304 |
Longmont Fire
Uses Motorola Quick Call 2
| Station | First Tone | Second Tone | |
| Station 2 | 1063.2 | 296.5 | |
| Station 3 | 1063.2 | 304.7 | |
| Station 4 | 1063.2 | 313.0 | |
| Station 5 | 1063.2 | 953.7 | |
| Station 6 | 1063.2 | 288.5 | |
| Longmont Emergency Unit | 1036 | 1820 |
Railways
There are two railways still in use in Boulder County.
BNSF has a line running from Denver, CO to Cheyenne, WY, which passes through Broomfield, Boulder, and Longmont in eastern Boulder County. The primary frequency to hear these trains is 161.160 MHz (AAR channel 70). In the City of Boulder, the Valmont Switcher can often be heard exchanging coal cars at the Xcel Energy's Valmont Power plant.
Union Pacific (UP) has a line running from Denver, CO to Bond, CO, which passes through and along the southern county line, generally following the South Boulder Creek drainage. It is known as the Moffat Subdivision and carries coal, freight and passengers. The route between Rocky Flats and the Moffat Tunnel can be heard on 160.455 Mhz (AAR Channel 23).