General + Weather
The front of the radio stays simple: national calling, then the NOAA weather channels you are most likely to use around the North Bay.
Memories 0-4
| Mem | Label | Frequency | Mode | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2M CALL | 146.520 | FM | National 2 meter simplex calling channel. |
| 1 | 70CM CA | 446.000 | FM | National 70 centimeter simplex calling channel. |
| 2 | WX NBay | 162.475 | FM | Best North Bay NOAA weather channel. |
| 3 | WX SFBA | 162.400 | FM | San Francisco Bay Area NOAA weather backup. |
| 4 | WX South | 162.550 | FM | Southern Bay Area weather backup. |
Ham + Travel
This block handles daily Sonoma use first, then layers in Bay Area travel repeaters that are handy heading toward San Francisco, Oakland, and the Peninsula.
Memories 5, 10-27, 36-40
| Mem | Label | Frequency | Access | What It Is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | N6ICW | 147.195 | +0.600 / 123.0 | N6ICW Sacramento Valley system — Mt. Vaca transmitter, reachable from Petaluma. |
| 10 | SOCO ACS | 146.730 | -0.600 / 88.5 | Sonoma County ACS repeater. |
| 11 | PET ACS | 146.910 | -0.600 / 88.5 | Petaluma area ACS repeater. |
| 12 | CEN ACS | 145.350 | -0.600 / 88.5 | Central Sonoma ACS repeater. |
| 13 | SON VLY | 146.205 | +0.600 / 88.5 | Sonoma Valley machine. |
| 14 | COAST | 147.825 | -0.600 / 103.5 | Sonoma Coast repeater. |
| 15 | BODEGA | 147.975 | -0.600 / 88.5 | Bodega area repeater. |
| 16 | RUS RVR | 145.190 | -0.600 / 88.5 | Russian River area repeater. |
| 17 | SCRA VHF | 147.315 | +0.600 / 88.5 | Sonoma County Radio Amateurs VHF. |
| 18 | SCRA UHF | 441.375 | +5.000 / 88.5 | Sonoma County Radio Amateurs UHF. |
| 19 | BOD ALT | 146.670 | -0.600 / 88.5 | Alternate local VHF repeater. |
| 20 | N CO SIM | 146.460 | Simplex | North County simplex. |
| 21 | SOCO TAC | 146.550 | Simplex | County tactical/simplex use. |
| 22 | PTMA RS | 147.495 | Simplex | Petaluma-area rally/simplex channel. |
| 23 | SOCO RS | 147.405 | Simplex | Sonoma-area simplex/rally channel. |
| 24 | PKT 1200 | 144.910 | Simplex | 1200 baud packet reference. |
| 25 | N6NFI | 145.230 | -0.600 / 100.0 | Palo Alto / southbound Bay travel repeater. |
| 26 | WW6BAY | 145.390 | -0.600 / 100.0 | Bay-Net VHF linked system. |
| 27 | WW6BAY | 443.225 | +5.000 / 100.0 | Bay-Net UHF linked system. |
| 36 | K6FB | 145.450 | -0.600 / 100.0 | Las Cumbres wide-area Bay repeater. |
| 37 | K6FB | 442.575 | +5.000 / 100.0 | Linked UHF side of the K6FB system. |
| 38 | LPRC | 146.640 | -0.600 / 162.2 | Loma Prieta coverage machine. |
| 39 | CARLA SF | 442.075 | +5.000 / 100.0 | CARLA San Francisco node. |
| 40 | CARLA OAK | 146.850 | -0.600 / 103.5 | CARLA East Bay / Oakland travel machine. |
ISS + APRS
These are the fun channels: ISS voice and packet references, the current downlink repeater memory, and standard APRS.
Memories 32-35
| Mem | Label | Frequency | Mode | Use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | ISS VCE | 145.800 | FM | ISS voice and SSTV downlink reference. |
| 33 | ISS PKT | 145.825 | FM | ISS packet / APRS digipeater reference. |
| 34 | ISS RPT | 437.800 | FM | Current ISS repeater downlink memory. |
| 35 | APRS | 144.390 | FM | North American APRS national frequency. |
Emergency + Countywide
The middle block is set up for practical monitoring: interoperability references first, then the fire and EMS channels that are more likely to stay active in Sonoma County.
Memories 28-31, 41-48
| Mem | Label | Frequency | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | CALCORD | 156.0750 | FM | California hospital and public safety coordination reference. |
| 29 | VFIRE21 | 154.2800 | FM | Common VHF fire mutual-aid channel. |
| 30 | VCALL10 | 155.7525 | FM | VHF interoperability calling channel. |
| 31 | CLEMARS | 154.9200 | FM | Mutual-aid law / interop reference memory. |
| 41 | REDCOM | 154.3100 | NFM | Sonoma County fire and EMS dispatch. |
| 42 | CTL 2 | 155.2650 | NFM | Incident command / west county fire activity. |
| 43 | COAST BLU | 154.1525 | NFM | Zone and command-mobile style coast channel. |
| 44 | CDF CMD6 | 151.2500 | NFM | CAL FIRE command channel reference. |
| 45 | MEDCOM | 155.1000 | NFM | Medical coordination channel. |
| 46 | CTL 4 | 154.1750 | NFM | Additional control / tactical fire use. |
| 47 | VIC 6 | 155.3775 | NFM | Interoperability / medical mutual aid reference. |
| 48 | SAR COM | 155.1600 | FM | Search and rescue coordination reference. |
MURS / FRS / GMRS / SEA
The back half is a utility deck with grouped service banks: FRS, GMRS, and marine VHF organized for quick scanning.
Memories 49-127
| Range | Bank | Coverage | Why It Is There |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49-70 | FRS 1-22 | 462 / 467 MHz | Full Family Radio Service block for simple receive or shared family/event reference. |
| 71-92 | GMRS 1-22 | 462 / 467 MHz | Simplex and shared GMRS channel bank matching the Lexus-style export. |
| 93-100 | GMRS RPTR | 462 MHz +5 | Extra GMRS repeater-pair memories: 55, 57, 60, 62, 65, 67, 70, 72. |
| 101-127 | SEA 01-27 | Marine VHF | Full SEA bank for marina, coastal, and Bay monitoring. Channel 16 stays especially useful. |
The current CSV does not have a separate MURS bank, so this utility section now starts directly with the full FRS block and then moves into GMRS and SEA.
Aviation
Local airport frequencies for Petaluma (PTMA), Gnoss Field/Novato (DVO), Sonoma County (STS), Napa County (APC), and Oakland Center. Useful for monitoring aircraft in the area or coordinating around local airspace.
Memories 128-142
| Mem | Name | Frequency | Mode | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 128 | PTMA CTAF | 122.700 | AM | Petaluma Municipal Airport traffic advisory frequency. |
| 129 | PTMA AWOS | 132.325 | AM | Petaluma automated weather observation. |
| 130 | DVO CTAF | 123.075 | AM | Gnoss Field (Novato) traffic advisory frequency. |
| 131 | DVO AWOS | 120.675 | AM | Gnoss Field automated weather observation. |
| 132 | STS TWR | 118.500 | AM | Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport tower. |
| 133 | STS GND | 121.900 | AM | Sonoma County Airport ground control. |
| 134 | STS ATIS | 120.550 | AM | Sonoma County Airport automated terminal info. |
| 135 | OAK CTR | 127.800 | AM | Oakland Center (NorCal TRACON) — area en-route control. |
| 136 | APC TWR | 118.700 | AM | Napa County Airport tower. |
| 137 | APC GND | 121.700 | AM | Napa County Airport ground control. |
| 138 | APC ATIS | 124.050 | AM | Napa County Airport automated terminal info. |
| 139 | APC CLR | 127.850 | AM | Napa County Airport clearance delivery. |
| 140 | AIR GUARD | 121.500 | AM | International air distress and guard frequency. |
| 141 | UNICOM | 122.950 | AM | General aviation UNICOM — uncontrolled field advisory. |
| 142 | VCV AWOS | 134.750 | AM | AWOS monitoring channel. |
Crib Notes
Quick reminders for the channels that are easy to forget or especially fun to revisit.
Field Notes
Best Everyday Memories
| Memory | Why |
|---|---|
| 2 / 3 / 4 | Fast weather sanity check anywhere in the Bay Area. |
| 10 / 11 / 12 | Primary Sonoma ACS coverage. |
| 17 / 18 | SCRA repeaters stay useful for local club traffic. |
| 25 / 26 / 36 / 38 | Best Bay travel bank when heading south. |
| 41 | REDCOM is the most likely emergency channel to stay interesting. |
| 34 | ISS repeater downlink for pass listening. |
| 116 | SEA 16 for marine distress and hailing. |
Good SDR Crossovers
The handheld file and the SDR setup complement each other well.
122.700 AM Petaluma CTAF
120.675 AM Gnoss AWOS
120.550 AM STS ATIS
162.475 FM NOAA
The Baofeng keeps the practical VHF/UHF deck with you. The SDR handles the fun receive-only stuff the handheld is not meant for, especially aviation AM.
References
Primary sources and repeaters used to build the current layout.
Research Links
| Source | What To Use It For | Link |
|---|---|---|
| South Sonoma County ACS | Local repeater and ACS context. | southcountyacs.org |
| Sonoma County ACS | County auxiliary communications references. | sonomacounty.gov ACS |
| SCRA | Sonoma County Radio Amateurs repeaters. | SCRA repeaters |
| RepeaterBook | Cross-check frequencies and access tones. | RepeaterBook California |
| SBARA | South Bay and Peninsula travel repeaters. | sbara.org |
| Bay-Net | Linked Bay Area travel repeaters. | bay-net.org |
| CARLA | Bay Area linked machine references. | carlaradio.net |
| ARISS | Current ISS status and frequencies. | ariss.org |
| NOAA Weather Radio | Official weather radio frequency references. | weather.gov |
| USCG Marine VHF | Marine channel reference and watchstanding context. | USCG broadcasts |
| Coastal Hills Radio | Sonoma County fire and emergency monitoring notes. | coastalhillsradio.net |