Weekend Events

It's a busy weekend, especially downtown and in Arlington:

• The Washington International Horse Show continues through Sunday at the Verizon Center.
• The Jon Stewart/Stephen Colbert rally is Saturday from 12-3 on the National Mall from 3rd to 7th St. Check for Park Police on the usual frequencies, 166.7250 and 166.8500. DC Fire will probably use one or more of the special events talkgroups (2096, 2112, 2128).
• Saturday is also Howard University's homecoming. University Police use MOTOTRBO, which is unmonitorable with scanners.
• The largest event is on Sunday, the Marine Corps Marathon. It begins at 8 AM, and traverses Arlington and the District. There is almost too much to monitor for this event. Arlington Police and Fire will be very active. The Marines will most likely use the 63xxx-series talkgroups on this 380 MHz trunked system (site 403). Most of these talkgroups were encrypted in 2007, but they were mostly in the clear in 2005, 2008, and 2009. Serveral DC talkgroups will see extensive use as well, particularly the DCFD Special Events channels, as well as MPD SOD and/or Citywide 2. Listen for Park Police on 166.7250 and 166.8500. Keep an ear to the Metro trunked system for updates about the transit system. Virginia State Police/VDOT will help with road closures, and they'll probably be on the Arlington site of STARS. Amateur radio operators have used several 2 meter frequencies in the past. See my Arlington page (under "Special Events") for a listing of frequencies monitored in previous years.