Articles – Southern California Monitoring Association

Public Safety Communication

San Bernardino County Opens $125 Million Valley Communications Center to Strengthen Emergency Response
ByRich Sauer June 5, 2026June 11, 2026

San Bernardino County officials have opened the new Valley Communications Center in San Bernardino, a major public safety facility built to improve emergency communications, dispatch coordination and large-incident management across the county. The county celebrated the ribbon cutting on Tuesday, June 2, for the approximately 75,000-square-foot center, which brings together key emergency communications and emergency…

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Fire & Rescue

Martin Mars Flying Boat Video: A Look at One of Aviation’s Great Firefighting Giants
ByAdmin June 4, 2026

Video Spotlight The Martin Mars flying boat is one of those aircraft that almost seems too large, too unusual, and too specialized to be real — but it was very real, and for many years it served as one of the most impressive aerial firefighting aircraft in the world. The Mars began life as a…

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Military

Military Training Drills in Pasadena and Irvine Draw Attention Across Southern California
ByRich Sauer June 4, 2026June 11, 2026

A late-night U.S. military training exercise involving helicopters, simulated weapons fire and controlled explosions startled residents in northeast Pasadena Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, while a separate military exercise involving helicopter activity was also announced in Irvine. The Pasadena drill took place at the former St. Luke Medical Center property near East Washington Boulevard…

Read More Military Training Drills in Pasadena and Irvine Draw Attention Across Southern California
Technology

Chinese AI Firm Claims It Tracked B-2 Bomber Signals — and the Technology Has Lessons for Today’s Radio Monitors
ByRich Sauer June 1, 2026June 11, 2026

An unverified B-2 claim highlights a real shift in modern monitoring: radios, open-source data, and AI are now part of the same picture A Chinese defense-technology company says it used artificial intelligence to detect and analyze radio-signal activity associated with U.S. Air Force B-2 Spirit stealth bombers during recent American strikes on Iran. The claim…

Read More Chinese AI Firm Claims It Tracked B-2 Bomber Signals — and the Technology Has Lessons for Today’s Radio Monitors
FCC & Regulatory

FCC Warns Jack Gerritsen Over Alleged Unlicensed Ham Radio Operation in Los Angeles
ByRich Sauer June 1, 2026June 11, 2026

The Federal Communications Commission has issued a new warning to Jack Gerritsen, a longtime figure in Southern California amateur radio enforcement history, after FCC agents traced an alleged unlicensed amateur radio transmission to his Bell, California, location. In a Notice of Unlicensed Operation dated May 28, 2026, the FCC Enforcement Bureau said it received multiple…

Read More FCC Warns Jack Gerritsen Over Alleged Unlicensed Ham Radio Operation in Los Angeles
Military

U.S. Air Force Plans to Buy Thousands of New Survival Radios for Downed Aircrew
ByRich Sauer June 1, 2026June 11, 2026

The U.S. Air Force is preparing to buy thousands of new handheld survival radios designed to help locate and recover downed pilots and aircrew in hostile or remote areas. The new radio is the Next Generation Survival Radio, or NGSR. It is intended to replace the older Combat Survivor Evader Locator radio, commonly known as…

Read More U.S. Air Force Plans to Buy Thousands of New Survival Radios for Downed Aircrew
Fire & Rescue

New Rosenbauer PANTHER ARFF Trucks Heading to LAX
ByRich Sauer May 28, 2026June 1, 2026

Three New Rosenbauer PANTHERs for LAX Three new Rosenbauer PANTHER aircraft rescue and firefighting vehicles are on their way to Los Angeles International Airport, continuing a planned refresh of the airport’s specialized emergency response fleet. According to information released by Rosenbauer America, the trucks are being delivered to the Los Angeles Fire Department for use…

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Amateur Radio

Senator Ted Cruz Praises Amateur Radio Volunteers for Emergency Preparedness
ByAdmin May 25, 2026May 25, 2026

From ARRL.com Senator Ted Cruz, in a strong pre-Memorial Day message, publicly highlighted the critical role that Amateur Radio Service volunteers play during disasters, praising and thanking ham radio operators who provide essential communications when storms and emergencies knock out power and cellular networks and communities are cut off. Sen. Cruz observed that in these emergencies…

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Encryption

Garden Grove HazMat Incident Shows the Public Safety Problem With Encrypted Radio Systems
ByRich Sauer May 25, 2026June 1, 2026

When everything is encrypted, the public must trust that agencies will release enough information quickly enough. Sometimes they do. Sometimes they do not. Garden Grove HazMat Incident Highlights the Public Safety Problem With Encrypted Radio Systems When a major hazardous materials incident forces evacuations, closes roads, disrupts schools, and brings a large multi-agency response into…

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