Prince George's County Rebanded Frequencies

Prince George's County has been issued licenses for rebanded (radio service code GE) 800 MHz frequencies. See licenses WQKM472, WQKN273, WPBG215, WQKL948 and WQJS954. Some of these frequencies are for the new NPSPAC channels, some are for the COG RINS channels, and some may be for the rebanded legacy EDACS systems.

Mobile Relay Associates FCC License

Mobile Relay Associates, a California-based provider of business-band trunked systems, recently licensed a trunked system in the Washington area. The transmitters are located in Silver Spring (8744 Brookville Road) and Falls Church (8101 Lee Highway). Based on the emission designators on the license, this system will probably be NEXEDGE. No scanner can monitor this digital format.

EagleBank Bowl at RFK Today

The EagleBank Bowl is at RFK Stadium this afternoon at 4:30. Here's what I found last year:

151.6250 [179.9] Unknown
166.4625 [NAC 167] Unknown
461.3875 [ ] RFK Stadium Audio/Visual (MOTOTRBO digital)
461.3875 [ d152] CSC Event Staff (on-field ops)
461.5125 [ d152] CSC Event Staff (primary)
461.8125 [ d311] RFK Stadium Guest Services
464.3750 [110.9] RFK Stadium Operations
464.5000 [136.5] Audio/Visual
464.7500 [ d156] EagleBank Bowl Staff (radio rentals from Bearcom)
469.5500 [ d612] Audio/Visual?

DC Trunked System Talkgroups:
2096 DCFD Special Events 1
16656 MPD Special Operations Division
35536 33872 DC EMA (talkgroups patched)

Prince William 700 MHz Frequencies

Prince William County recently licensed several 700 MHz frequencies. All the frequencies are indicated for mobile use only (no repeaters). The radio service code is SG - Conventional Public Safety 700 MHz. It's assumed these frequencies will be used for interoperability with other DC-area jurisdictions that are installing 700 MHz equipment.

Major Gas Leak in Culpeper Yesterday

There was a major gas leak in Culpeper yesterday afternoon. Talkgroups 2256 (Culpeper Town Public Works), 42288 (Culpeper County Special Events 1 - used for police traffic control), and 43248 (Culpeper County Fire Ch. 12C) from the Fauquier/Culpeper/Rappahannock trunked system were active.

Loudoun County Project 25 Trunked System

Loudoun County's Project 25 trunked system is coming online. This system includes both Project 25 Phase I talkgroups (which can be monitored with current scanners) as well as TDMA talkgroups (which cannot be monitored with today's scanners). If any Phase I radio affiliates to a talkgroup, all transmissions on that talkgroup will be P25 Phase I. This means that scanner listeners still have some opportunity to monitor this system. See this RadioReference Forums thread for extensive discussion on the system.

Residences at Liberty Center FCC App

The Residences at Liberty Center, a condo development in Ballston, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for five UHF simplex frequencies:

452.7125

456.4875

456.6875

456.7125

456.7625

Prince George's County P25 System Active

The Prince George's County Project 25 system has some activity on it. I'm seeing talkgroups 13 and 25 on site 101. Unfortunately, the traffic appears to be TDMA, which means it's not monitorable with a scanner.

PCM Construction FCC App

PCM Construction has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a UHF repeater and five simplex frequencies. The location of the repeater is Inova Fairfax Hospital, so this will probably be used for construction at the hospital.

463.4375R

451.3875S

451.4125S

451.6375S

451.7625S

452.7625S

Maret School FCC App

The Maret School, a private school located near the Washington National Cathedral, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for mobiles on 462.5125 and 467.5125, but it appears that the school will set up a repeater on 462.5125.

Rappahannock Regional Jail Using MOTOTRBO

The Rappahannock Regional Jail in Stafford appears to be transitioning more operations to MOTOTRBO. They've been using TRBO on 453.8125, and today I also monitored TRBO on 453.9000.

Target Changing Frequency Plans

Target Stores appear to be changing frequency plans at some stores with "older" UHF frequencies. The Target in the Central Park shopping center in Fredericksburg has abandoned 461.0375, 466.2875, etc. The Target at Stafford Marketplace has abandoned 467.5125, 467.4875, etc. Both stores are now using the frequency plans of 467.7500, 467.7750, etc. This latter plan is the "newest" one Target has implemented in their stores. I assume they're pursuing nationwide consistency with their frequencies.

Potomac Mills Finds

Here are some frequency finds from Potomac Mills:

154.5700 [ 74.4] Gap

461.0375 [ 74.4] Foot Locker (across from Books-A-Million)

464.5500 [ 67.0] XXI Forever

464.5625 [203.5] Aeropostale

464.5750 [127.3] Neiman Marcus Last Call - Loss Prevention

464.9875 [ d464] Coach

467.8750 [ 94.8] Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th

467.9000 [ d632] Bath & Body Works

No change in the Security (463.6000 [ d723]) or Housekeeping (461.3000 [ d043]) frequencies.

Black Friday Mall Security Frequencies - Maryland

Here's a list of security frequencies for malls in suburban Maryland:

464.2750 [ d606] Chevy Chase Pavilion

463.7625 [203.5] Westfield Shoppingtown Montgomery

464.6250 [ d023] Westfield Shoppingtown Wheaton

464.8250 [151.4] White Flint Mall

152.9225 [ d074] Bowie Town Center

464.3750 [ d032] Mall at Prince George's

464.9250 [ d205] Francis Scott Key Mall

451.3625 [ d156] Arundel Mills Mall

464.8750 [ d315] Marley Station Mall

464.0125 [ d664] Westfield Shoppingtown Annapolis

461.1125 [162.2] Mall in Columbia

Black Friday Mall Security Frequencies - Virginia

Here's a list of security frequencies for malls in Northern Virginia:

461.9875 [ d054] Tysons Corner (may have changed - check 464.9375)

464.8250 [ 94.8] Tysons Galleria

464.1250 [ ] Fair Oaks Mall (MOTOTRBO digital)

464.3250 [ 77.0] Springfield Mall

464.9250 [100.0] Landmark Mall

461.8875 [203.5] Ballston Common

464.4375 [ d074] Fashion Center at Pentagon City

464.9250 [ d612] Pentagon Center

451.5250 [ d411] Dulles Town Center

462.4000 [110.9] Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets

463.6000 [ d723] Potomac Mills

461.0125 [100.0] Manassas Mall

464.8250 [ 71.9] Spotsylvania Towne Centre

Crowne Plaza Silver Spring FCC App

The Crowne Plaza Silver Spring hotel has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a VHF repeater on 151.5350. The emission designator is coded 7K60FXE, so this will almost certainly be MOTOTRBO.

Orange County Schools Using MOTOTRBO

Orange County, VA is probably outside the range of a good part of Metro DC, but those in the Northern Virginia/Fredericksburg area may be able to monitor it. The school buses are now using MOTOTRBO on 154.0550. Previously, they were on 155.5650 [179.9], but this appears to be silent now. The schools are licensed under WXT819.

Terra Cotta Warriors at National Geographic

The Terra Cotta Warriors are on display at the National Geographic Museum through March 31, 2010. National Geographic uses 464.9750 [ d152] for Security/Engineering. It's unknown if they will be using supplemental frequencies to handle the large crowds expected for this exhibit.

Help the Homeless Walkathon Tomorrow

The Help the Homeless Walkathon is tomorrow morning on the National Mall. Since at least 2004, the organizers have used rented UHF radios, with the usual "Bearcom rentals" frequencies. Park Police, MPD, and DCFD are also active. Here are frequency lists from the past three years:

2008

464.6500 [ d565] Primary
464.7500 [ d546]
Metropolitan Police used talkgroup 21232.
DC Fire used talkgroup 2096.
Park Police used 166.7250 [127.3].

2007

464.5500 [ d365] Primary Operations?
464.6000 [ d331]
464.7000 [ d311]
469.5500 [ d306] (Channel 2)
469.7000 [ d315]
Park Police used 166.7250 [127.3].
Metropolitan Police used talkgroup 16656.
DC Fire used talkgroup 2112.

2006

464.6250 [ d606] "start photo"
464.6500 [ d565] Primary
464.7500 [ d546]
469.6250 [ d503]
469.6500 [ d516]
469.7500 [ ] [ d371] used last year
Park Police used 166.7250 [127.3].
Metropolitan Police used talkgroup 16656.
DC Fire used talkgroup 2096.

Children's National Medical Center FCC App

Children's National Medical Center has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a base station on 462.4250, as well as two mobile units on the same frequency. The app also calls for 400 paging units on this frequency. Based on the number of paging units, it appears that this frequency will be primarily used for paging, as opposed to two-way radio.

Fredericksburg Weather Radio Operational

The Fredericksburg NOAA weather radio station is active. It's on 162.4250 and broadcasts from Mary Washington Hospital. The station rebroadcasts the Manassas station, which is on 162.5500 (KHB36).

Fairfax County Health Department

The Fairfax County Health Department is on talkgroup 35280 on the Fairfax Services trunked system. The talkgroup was in use Saturday.

Street Retail FCC App

Street Retail has an application pending before the FCC. The address for Street Retail is 4827 Bethesda Avenue, which is at the Bethesda Row retail area. It's unknown if these frequencies will be used for the retail area or for an office building. The app calls for five UHF simplex frequencies.

456.3375

456.4625

456.4875

457.2875

457.4875

Marine Corps Marathon Finds - Part 2

Here are more finds from the Marine Corps Marathon (DC, Metro, and conventional frequencies):

DC Trunked System Talkgroups:
2096 DCFD Special Events 1 (Primary)
2112 DCFD Special Events 2 (Transports)
2240 DCFD - "Arlington Liaison to DC Ops"
2304 DCFD - "casualty capacity count"
21232 MPD Citywide 2 (road closures/traffic control)

Metro Trunked System Talkgroups:
1840 Buses
50256 Transit Police Tac 8 (crowd control at various stations)

Conventional Frequencies:
145.1700 [107.2] Amateur Radio - Medical ("Arlington EMS")
146.6100 [ 77.0] Amateur Radio
159.1650 [167.9] Virginia State Police (WRA534) (R) (road closures/traffic control)
166.7250 [127.3] Park Police Ch. 1 (road closures/traffic control)
166.8500 [127.3] Park Police Ch. 4 (S)
168.8750 [NAC 653] DC Interop 2 (encrypted)
169.7750 [NAC 4C5] National Park Service - George Washington Parkway (units at Iwo Jima Memorial, etc.)
444.5500 [ CSQ] Amateur Radio
451.7750 [ d205] Crystal City Security
866.0125 [156.7] Mutual Aid (unknown agencies)
867.5125 [156.7] Mutual Aid (unknown agencies)
868.0125 [156.7] Mutual Aid (unknown agencies)

Marine Corps Marathon Finds - Part 1

Here are talkgroups that were in use at the Marine Corps Marathon from the Marine Corps trunked system and the Arlington County trunked systems:

Marine Corps Talkgroups (Site 403):
63019 Buses
63022 Unknown
63034 "family linkup"; "people jumping fence"
63035 Unknown
63036 "potential jam on 10K" scheduling?
63038 "COC"; Course
63039 Water
63041 Unknown
63044 Medical
63045 "pick up arches"
63046 Straggler Buses
63049 "pan out"; "calling out"; route
63053 Unknown
63054 "pumps for wheelchair"; "trash bags"; Logistics
63056 Unknown

Arlington County Project 25 Trunked System Talkgroups:
3 Police - Traffic Posts
4 Police - Traffic Posts
6 Police - "cone truck"
7 Police - "Traffic Command"; "Pentagon Parking 6"; also communication with helicopter
8 Police - "Division 3"; "Pentagon South Parking"
9 Police - "VSP Command"
10 Police - Rosslyn area?
11 Police - Special Operations Section
16 Police - Encrypted
17 Police - SWAT units
20 Police - "SAM 8"
21 Police - K9 units
36 Fire/EMS - Transports
37 Fire/EMS - EMS Ops/Med Ops
38 Fire/EMS - Division 1
39 Fire/EMS - Division 2
50 Fire/EMS - EOD Command
135 Coordination 1 - Coordination of some type of buses

Arlington County Analog Trunked System Talkgroups:
35536 Fire/EMS Mutual Aid (patched to digital trunked system)
35568 Fire/EMS Mutual Aid (patched to digital trunked system)
35632 Fire/EMS Mutual Aid (patched to digital trunked system)

DC Health Care Association FCC App

The District of Columbia Health Care Association has an application pending before the FCC. The app says the radios are to be used for "notification and emergency communication." The app calls for three UHF repeaters (one at each of three separate locations) and five simplex frequencies.

461.7625R

452.3625R

462.1375R

456.7375S

456.9750S

457.7625S

457.8375S

457.8625S

Crystal City Update

Here are some new frequencies for Crystal City:

464.5000 [ d311] Crowne Plaza National Airport - Engineering/Housekeeping (S)

464.9625 [ CSQ] Crystal City Marriott - Engineering (R) (input may use [ d114])

464.1000 [ 71.9] Hilton Crystal City - Housekeeping (S)

467.7625 [ 67.0] Chili's

More Marathon Ideas

Here are a few more frequencies to try out during the Marine Corps Marathon tomorrow:

• 123.0250 (AM) was active last year with helicopters. This is a common helo air-to-air frequency which is used nationwide.
• 145.1900 [151.4] and 449.9750 [107.2] were active last year with amateur radio operators. It's unknown if the same frequencies will be active this year, but there's probably a good chance of it.
• 154.6650 [ CSQ] was used last year by Virginia State Police doing traffic control on the 14th Street Bridge, I-395, exit ramps, etc.

Marine Corps Marathon

The Marine Corps Marathon is this Sunday morning. The marathon is one of Washington's biggest events of the year, and provides a wealth of scanning opportunities. Here's a preliminary list of what I'll be monitoring, in rough order of importance (I'll try to go into more detail in the coming days):

• Marine Corps P25 Trunked System - look for talkgroups in the 63xxx range. In previous years, this system has seen widely varying levels of encryption.
• Arlington County P25 Trunked System - numerous talkgroups will be active, especially on the police side.
• DC Trunked System - look for the SOD channel and/or Citywide 2 to be active with traffic control. The three DCFD Special Events channels should see heavy use.
• Metro Trunked System - expect Transit Police to be very busy with crowd control, especially at key stations like Arlington Cemetery, Rosslyn, and Pentagon. The Police Tac channels have been active in previous years.
• Park Police - expect to see 166.7250 [127.3] (R) in use.
• Crystal City Security - Crystal City hosts a big street festival during the marathon. Security active on 451.7750 [ d205] (R).

Notes from past years are on my Arlington County page.

STARS Coming Online in Northern Virginia

STARS, Virginia's statewide radio system, is slowly appearing in Northern Virginia. Yesterday, two new sites were online. Site 117, which appears to be transmitting from Fairfax, was using 152.2025 for a control channel. Site 119, which appears to be transmitting from Arlington, was using 152.5325 for a control channel. No voice traffic was heard on either in the late afternoon. Expect radio testing to continue for several weeks, at a minimum.

Washington International Horse Show

The Washington International Horse Show began yesterday and runs through Sunday. I had a chance to do some frequency-hunting yesterday; unfortunately, last night seemed somewhat slow, since it was the first day. Expect most of the best traffic on Friday and Saturday nights.

464.6250 [127.3] Inside Operations? (Channel 1) (R)
464.7250 [192.8] Outside Operations? (Channel 3?) (R)

Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center FCC App

The Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, which is scheduled to open in June 2010, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for two UHF repeaters (452.4375 and 463.5625). The frequencies are coded with emission designators for both analog and MOTOTRBO.

Capitol Radio Communications FCC App

Capitol Radio Communications, which provides commercial radio services, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for two repeaters and eight simplex frequencies. The repeaters are supposed to operate at 22000 America Online Way. This is the headquarters of America Online, and America Online has used the two repeaters (463.4500 and 464.9750) for some time now. It's possible that Capitol Radio Communications is taking over the maintenance of the frequencies.

Update on Spotsylvania Rebanding

Spotsylvania has added another frequency to their rebanded trunked system. It's 852.6750 and it's in position 8 of the channel order (LCN). Note that for whatever reason, sometimes all the frequencies aren't used. For example, yesterday 851.6125 was not being used. It's a good idea, however, to keep all the frequencies programmed, as one never knows when they will turn a frequency on or off.

Spotsylvania County Rebanded

Spotsylvania County has rebanded their EDACS trunked system. Here is the updated logical channel numbering (LCN):

856.4875 (1)

857.4875 (2)

858.4875 (3)

859.4875 (4)

851.6125 (6)

852.4000 (7)

852.1750 (9)

852.6250 (10)

853.1000 (11)

Note that positions 5 and 8 are unoccupied.

The site ID has also been changed from 1 to 10. The site ID for the Lake Wilderness tower (2) has not changed.

Richmond Folk Festival

Here's what I found yesterday at the Richmond Folk Festival:

464.3250 [ d546] RMC Events (S)
464.6000 [ d311] Operations (R)
464.6250 [ d265] First Aid (S)
464.6500 [ d025] Transportation (Channel 3) (R)
464.7000 [ d411] Unknown - brief use (R)
Richmond Police used talkgroup 33440. Richmond Fire used talkgroup 36784.

Tycon Tower FCC App

Tycon Tower, a major office building in Tysons Corner, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 464.7875.

Virginia State Fair Wrap-Up

Here's what I monitored at the Virginia State Fair, which concluded this weekend:

Virginia State Police used talkgroup 96 (Richmond 3) on STARS for traffic control/parking. VSP and medical teams primarily used talkgroup 6162 for internal operations. Talkgroup 6163 was also used, and was identified as "Channel 2." These talkgroups originated from the "STARS trailer" mobile system on-site. The control channel for this low-power system was 868.9250.

155.2200 [ d546] Caroline Fire/Rescue?
451.3375 [ d411] Parking
451.4375 [ d411] Engineering/Electrical
451.5375 [ d411] Administration
451.6375 [ d411] Guest Services Golf Carts
452.3125 [ d411] Parking Lot Trams
452.4125 [ d411] Beverages/Beer
464.3250 [ d546] RMC Events
464.9625 [131.8] (same frequency/tone used at 2009 Maryland State Fair for parking)

Weekend Events

Several sport-related weekend events:

• Maryland plays Clemson tomorrow at Byrd Stadium. See Prince George's County page for frequencies/talkgroups.
• The Washington Capitals have their home opener tomorrow night at the Verizon Center. Staff at Verizon Center use MOTOTRBO radios, but there are still a few things to monitor. See Washington page.
• DC United plays tomorrow night at RFK Stadium. See Washington page.
• The Army Ten-Miler is Sunday morning in Arlington and DC. The Arlington County trunked system and Ft. Myer trunked system will be very busy.
• The Redskins play Sunday afternoon at FedEx Field. See Prince George's County page.

700 MHz Trunked Systems

With the Prince George's 700 MHz Project 25 trunked system beginning to see some use, I thought a summary of the state of 700 MHz in the region might be in order:

• Prince George's County: system being used at least for events at FedEx Field (one Redskins game and U2 concert).
• Stafford County: system licensed (WQKD203 and WQKD204), but no control channel on-air. Appears to be a twelve-site simulcast system.
• Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority: system licensed (WQKR977), but no control channel believed to be active. Appears to be a three-site Smartzone system. See previous post.
• Loudoun County: According to post on RadioReference, Loudoun may be getting 700 MHz system. The county has no license for it, however.

U2 Concert Finds

Here are some finds from the U2 concert last night at FedEx Field:

461.1375 [ d152] CSC Event Staff (Supervisors?)
461.2375 [ d152] CSC Event Staff (Security around band/Backstage)
461.3875 [ d152] CSC Event Staff (Inside Stadium)
461.4375 [ d152] CSC Event Staff (Gates, Line Control)

461.2375 [ d311] U2 Production Staff
461.3375 [ d413] U2 Production Staff
466.0375 [ d532] U2 Production Staff
466.1375 [ d734] U2 Production Staff

461.0625 [ d343] Blackberry Promotional Display Staff
464.6000 [ 88.5] Private Medics?? (personnel on field)

Many FedEx Field frequencies were active (see Prince George's County page).

Police used 494.7375 [127.3] (inside) and 494.8875 [127.3] (outside/traffic).

Fire/EMS used talkgroup 2001 from the Prince George's County P25 trunked system. This talkgroup was seen on both site 101 and site 102 of the system. The "base" radio ID was i2528050.

MWAA Licenses 700 MHz Frequencies

Joining the increasing number of jurisdictions around the region moving to the 700 MHz band, the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) recently licensed frequencies in said band. These frequencies will probably be used for a Project 25 digital trunked system to replace the current Project 16 trunked system.

Based on the license, the new system will probably be configured as Smartzone, as opposed to the current system's simulcast configuration. This means that the mobile or portable radio will automatically select the strongest site (Dulles, Reagan National, Dulles Toll Road) based on where the radio user is located. One practical implication for scanner listeners: the majority of transmissions on a particular site will be from units that "belong" to that site. For example, most transmissions on the Dulles site will be from Dulles units. With the current system, a scanner listener simply needs to program one set of frequencies, and is able to hear transmissions from all units, whether they're at Dulles, Reagan National, or in-between.

The license indicates the system will support 1500 mobile units.

Here are the sites, and the frequencies to be used at each one:

Dulles

770.36875

771.19375

771.79375

772.08125

772.91875

773.14375

Reagan National

770.56875

771.53125

771.90625

772.01875

772.28125

772.80625

Dulles Toll Road

770.06875

771.06875

771.74375

773.40625

774.16875

774.90625

J&J Worldwide Services FCC App

J&J Worldwide Services, which provides facilities management services at Fort Belvoir, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a UHF repeater on 463.5875.

National Book Festival Finds

Here's what I found at Saturday's National Book Festival:

151.5125 [173.8] Pavilion Managers/Ushers (Channel 2?)
152.9150 [123.0] Base Command (Channel 1?)
155.9100 [146.2] Transportation Command/Golf Carts (Channel 3)
157.8150 [141.3] Electrical
158.0100 [156.7] Volunteers?/Line Captains
Radio rentals from USA Radio Rentals.

410.3375 [ d411] "LSOs"; OSEF units; Security
467.8750 [ d432] Borders Books (Book Sales Tent)
469.5000 [ d125] Audio/Visual

The VHF channels have been used in previous years at the Race for the Cure. The parent company of USA Radio Rentals is Blanchard Communications. I've never found a license for these frequencies.

The 410.3375 may be a Library of Congress frequency, since the LOC produces the Book Festival. This frequency was also active at the 2005 Festival.

Virginia State Fair

The Virginia State Fair began yesterday and runs through October 4. The Fair is now located in Caroline County, near Kings Dominion (previously, it was in Richmond). Virginia State Police are using STARS talkgroup 96 (which they call "Richmond 3") for communications. This talkgroup can be heard on the Thornburg tower.

Although I haven't monitored them personally, fair organizers will probably be using these eight simplex frequencies, which were licensed earlier this year:

451.2375

451.3375

451.4375

451.5375

451.6375

452.3125

452.4125

452.5125

Weekend Events

Here are a couple of major events this weekend:

The National Book Festival is tomorrow on the National Mall. The one time I attended in 2005, I was surprised at the number of frequencies in use. Here's the list:

464.5000 [ d131]
464.6000 [ d134]
464.6250 [ d516]
469.5000 [ d132]
469.7000 [ d155]

The University of Maryland plays Rutgers tomorrow at Byrd Stadium at 3:30. See the University of Maryland College Park section of the Prince George's County page for details on their trunked system and other frequencies.

Golden Triangle BID Using MOTOTRBO

The Golden Triangle Business Improvement District (BID) has switched to MOTOTRBO. They are using the digital format on 461.4375. Previously, they had used 463.4750 [ d205] and 461.4375 [ d263]. Their license does not indicate the switch to TRBO.

Website Down This Weekend

My website, davidschoenberger.net, was down yesterday and continues to be down today. The problem involves renewing the domain name. I've been assured by my web host that the problem is being fixed, and the website should be working by tonight at the latest.

STARS Site 108 Update

There's been some question on RadioReference as to whether STARS site 108 is really located at Independent Hill. One person speculated that it may be located at Hogback Mountain. There is a Hogback Mountain southwest of Leesburg, and another in Rappahannock County.

Site 108 wasn't on the air this morning. It seems to be "turned-on" only during the day on weekdays so far.

Oce Business Services FCC App

Oce Business Services, which engages in document process management, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for five UHF simplex frequencies.

451.3625

451.5125

451.5875

456.5875

456.6625

STARS Site 108 (Independent Hill) Active

STARS Site 108, which is located at Independent Hill in Prince William County, is active this morning. The control channel is 151.3925. I haven't seen any voice channels during my limited monitoring. Note that this site is the closest one to Northern Virginia's inner suburbs that's online.

(STARS is Virginia's statewide Project 25 radio system.)

Speech to Joint Session of Congress Tonight

President Obama addresses Congress tonight. Here are some ideas for monitoring:

Capitol Police:

169.2250 [110.9] (Channel 1)
165.5375 [146.2] (Channel 2)
170.1750 [156.7] (Channel 3)
162.2500 [173.8] (Channel 4)
162.6125 [127.3] (Channel 5)
173.5250 [167.9] Specialized Teams (R)
164.6250 [ d023] (S)
164.6250 [ d074] (S)

Other Capitol frequencies:

406.3875 [ d723] Capitol Tours (R)
408.5125 [ d632] Capitol Tours (R)
409.8375 [ 74.4] Capitol Tours (R)

406.9375 [ 77.0] Unknown
407.7875 [ d364] Unknown

Fort Myer Trunked System - talkgroups in the 400s (which are primarily for ceremonial units) should be active

DC Trunked System - check the MPD SOD talkgroups and DCFD Special Events talkgroups

Arlington P25 Trunked System - particularly for the National Medical Response Team talkgroups

RAND Corporation FCC License

RAND Corporation, a research think tank located in Pentagon City, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for five UHF simplex frequencies:

451.4375

456.4375

451.6375

456.6375

452.3125

Prince George's County Updates

A few new items for Prince George's County:

• Campus Recreational Services at the University of Maryland - College Park uses 452.3500 [ d466] (R).
• Six Flags America uses 468.9625 [ d261] for shows/concerts. 468.6250 [192.8] may be for special events. And 461.4125 [ d261] (R) is used for ride statuses, but also may be general guest services.

Baltimore City Updates

A couple changes/new items for Baltimore City:

• The Waterfront Partnership, which is a Business Improvement District (BID) for the Inner Harbor, is now using 461.0250 [ d043] (S).
• Johns Hopkins University (Homewood Campus) uses 464.2250 [ d226] (R). The specific user is unknown.

Hunt Valley Towne Centre/McCormick

Here are frequencies found for Hunt Valley Towne Centre, which is a shopping area in Baltimore County:

464.6750 [ d116] Security (R)

464.5500 [ 67.0] DSW
464.8250 [100.0] Regal Cinemas
467.9250 [ d506] Best Buy

McCormick, which produces spices, has its headquarters near Hunt Valley. Here are some frequencies:

451.8250 [ d023] (R)
452.2250 [ d023] (R)
464.9250 [ d047] (R)

Maryland State Fair - Finds

Here are frequencies found at the Maryland State Fair on Saturday:

151.6250 [ d172] General Operations/Security
151.6850 [ d172] Horse Racing Ops
151.9250 [131.8] Unknown
154.5700 [186.2] Engineering
464.9625 [131.8] Parking (S)

Maryland State Fair

The Maryland State Fair runs today through September 7 (Labor Day). I don't have notes from a previous year, but I do remember the radio usage by the fair organizers was fairly minimal for an event this big. I think they were using a VHF business channel in simplex mode. The Baltimore County Public Safety trunked system and the Baltimore County Services trunked system will probably have some active talkgroups.

Sen. Kennedy Events Tomorrow

Sen. Kennedy's body is scheduled to arrive tomorrow at 3 PM at Andrews AFB. The base P25 trunked system should be active. At 4:30, the motorcade will arrive at the Capitol. Here are the Capitol Police frequencies:

169.2250 [110.9] (Channel 1)
165.5375 [146.2] (Channel 2)
170.1750 [156.7] (Channel 3)
162.2500 [173.8] (Channel 4)
162.6125 [127.3] (Channel 5)
173.5250 [167.9] Specialized Teams

The burial is at 5:30 at Arlington National Cemetery. The Cemetery uses 165.1875 [156.7] (R). Also, the Joint National Capital Region - Fort Myer trunked system could very well see use by ceremonial units.

Chevy Chase Bank Building FCC App

The Chevy Chase Bank Building at 7501 Wisconsin Ave. in Bethesda has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 451.8250.

Arlington County New Encrypted Talkgroup

Arlington County is using a new encrypted talkgroup on their P25 trunked system. It's talkgroup 193, which is one above talkgroup 192, "Arlington Public Health 2."

Montgomery Trunked System Works in Metro

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but the Montgomery County trunked system works underground in the Metro (at least at the Bethesda station). This means that DC, Arlington County, and Montgomery all have underground Metro coverage.

Arlington and Montgomery County Fairs

The Arlington County Fair (closes today) is using talkgroup 11 for Police and talkgroup 105 for Parks & Recreation organizers from the Arlington P25 trunked system. Talkgroup 105 has never been seen in use before.

The Montgomery County Agricultural Fair (closed yesterday) used talkgroup 1776 for Fire/EMS from the Montgomery trunked system.

Boston Properties FCC App

Boston Properties has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a MOTOTRBO repeater on 462.4625. This frequency will be used for management of the Wisconsin Place office building at 5404 Wisconsin Ave. in Chevy Chase.

Loudoun County Miscellaneous Finds

Here are some recent business frequencies found in Loudoun County:

462.2250 [d143] Ashby Ponds (retirement community)

154.5700 [67.0] Blue Mount Nursery

463.5250 [d243] Lansdowne Resort - Banquets?

464.0750 [d223] Trump National Golf Club

Also found several new frequencies for Dulles Town Center and the Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets; see the Business / Retail section of the Loudoun County page.

Manassas Regional Airport Frequency

I stopped by the Manassas Regional Airport yesterday afternoon. I only found one non-aviation frequency in use: 464.6000 [ d423]. This was used by a Fixed Base Operator (FBO) at the airport, but I was unable to confirm if it was Volo Aviation or Dulles Aviation.

Volo recently licensed five UHF simplex frequencies, but I didn't hear anything on them.

Prince William County Fair

The Prince William County Fair began this weekend and continues through Saturday. Here's what I found yesterday:

462.6625 [ 67.0] Parking
469.1375 [192.8]
469.8375 [ 88.5]
Police used talkgroup 16496.

Downtown Silver Spring Update

Here's the latest list of frequencies for Downtown Silver Spring:

461.4000 [ d703] Information/Maintenance
462.5000 [ d703] Housekeeping
464.7750 [ d411] Security

464.5500 [ 67.0] AFI Silver Theater?
464.8250 [100.0] Regal Majestic 20 Theater
467.8500 [ 67.0] AFI Silver Theater
467.8500 [ 74.4] DSW
467.8750 [ 67.0] Borders Books
467.9000 [ d131] Office Depot
467.9000 [ d731] New York & Company
467.9000 [ 85.4] Red Lobster

Donovan House Hotel

Here's an updated list of frequencies for the Donovan House Hotel:

463.3625 [ d343] Housekeeping (S)
463.4375 [ d343] (S)
464.8125 [ d343] Engineering (R)
467.4625 [ d343] Valet

Legg Mason Tennis Classic Major Update

Here's an updated list of frequencies found yesterday. The tournament concludes this afternoon.

166.8500 [127.3] Park Police (Channel 4) (S)
451.4000 [ d423]
451.7750 [ d432]
451.8250 [218.1] Parking (Tournament radio)
451.8750 [225.7] Audio/Visual (Channel 13?)
461.2250 [ d624] Parking (parking company radio)
461.2375 [233.6] "what suites available?"
461.2625 [241.8] on-court promo
461.3375 [ d346] Legg Mason Tennis Classic Staff
461.3625 [ d351] Operations
461.4000 [ d125]
461.4375 [156.7] Housekeeping
461.4625 [ d364] Security/Park Police/First Aid
461.5500 [ 88.5] CES Security
461.9125 [ d411] Scorekeeping (IDS?) (Channel 6?)
462.5875 [ d365] Volunteers?
464.3250 [ d532] Design Cuisine? (primary)
464.5500 [123.0] "in booth"
464.5750 [ d532] Design Cuisine? (secondary)
467.5000 [229.1] "radar"
469.2625 [210.7] Ecology Solutions
Parking company radios possibly from Blanchard's/USA Radio Rentals.
Tournament radio rentals possibly from Bearcom.

Weekend Events

A few notable events this weekend:

The Legg Mason Tennis Classic continues through Sunday. Here's what I found from last Saturday (there are likely many more frequencies in use):

166.8500 [127.3] Park Police (Channel 4) (S)
461.2250 [ d624] Parking
461.3375 [ d346] Staff?
461.3625 [ d351] Operations?
461.4625 [ d364]
464.3250 [ d532] Food/Catering
469.2625 [210.7] "where dump dirty water?"

DC United plays Real Madrid at FedEx Field on Sunday at 3 PM. Over 60,000 tickets have already been sold, so this will be another major event at FedEx coming off of last Saturday's Paul McCartney concert. See the Prince George's County page for FedEx Field frequencies.

Redskins Training Camp wraps up tomorrow with an intra-squad scrimmage at 2 PM. I haven't been to Training Camp in several years, but here's what was in use in 2004:

461.7625 [ d047] Merchandise Sales
462.6875 [ 67.0] Parking
462.7125 [ 85.4] Staff looking for old video footage in office
462.7250 [ ] "players"
463.2375 [ ]
463.3125 [ d172] Repeater; coach-to-quarterback helmet communications; voice inversion
463.5000 [ d073] Media Contacts
466.7625 [ d413] Concessions

Paul McCartney Concert Frequencies Found

Here are some frequencies found for the August 1 Paul McCartney concert:

461.0375 [ d734]
461.0625 [ d703]
464.8875 [ d754]
466.0375 [ d732]

Many of the FedEx Field frequencies were also in use. 453.6125 [151.4] was used by Prince George's Fire/EMS; this may have replaced 500.1000 [127.3], which was not heard.

Women of Faith Frequencies Found

Here are frequencies found from the Women of Faith conference this past weekend. These frequencies won't be useful in Washington until next year, but the conference will be traveling around the country for the next few months, and I expect these same frequencies to be used.

451.8000 [ d116] Stage Managers?
456.8000 [ d165]
461.0375 [ d205] "Mandisa performing"
461.2625 [ d346] Admin?
461.3625 [ d612] "check on date"
462.6250 [ d754] Stage Personnel?
464.4875 [ d331] Groups?
464.5000 [ d712] Security?
466.1375 [ d413] Tech Support? (Channel 8?)
466.2625 [ d631] Volunteers?
466.3625 [ d174] Inventory?/Merchandise?

Legg Mason Tennis Classic Frequencies Found

Here are some frequencies in use at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, which continues through this Sunday. They apparently are not renting the radios from Valleywide Communications this year, as the frequencies are different from what they've used in the past. The rental company may be Blanchard's/USA Radio Rentals. I may get another chance to monitor the event, so look for an update.

166.8500 [127.3] Park Police (Channel 4) (S)
461.2250 [ d624] Parking
461.3375 [ d346] Staff?
461.3625 [ d351] Operations?
461.4625 [ d364]
464.3250 [ d532] Food/Catering
469.2625 [210.7] "where dump dirty water?"

FCC License for Valleywide Communications

I've found an FCC license for Valleywide Communications, the entity that may be providing rental radios for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic. The license lists sixteen UHF simplex frequencies, and many of them (though not all) have been used in previous years at the Legg Mason.

Weekend Events

Three major events this weekend:

The Women of Faith Conference is at Verizon Center today and tomorrow. The organization recently licensed fifteen UHF simplex frequencies for nationwide use.

Paul McCartney will be in concert at FedEx Field tomorrow night. The stadium has a ton of frequencies, many of which will probably be in use for the concert. They're listed on the Prince George's County page.

The Legg Mason Tennis Classic begins tomorrow and continues through next Sunday at the Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park. The tournament has rented UHF radios from Valleywide Communications in the past. Here are frequencies found from the 2007 tournament (no info from last year):

461.0500 [ d466] TV?
461.8125 [114.8]
463.5750 [ 88.5] CES Security (private security)
464.3250 [ d532] Food/Catering
464.5000 [114.8]
464.6875 [ d132] Volunteers
464.7875 [ 67.0] Scoring
469.1875 [ d023] Tournament Staff
469.2875 [ d032] General Operations
469.5875 [192.8] Security
469.8875 [ d606]

In previous years, Park Police has used 166.8500 [127.3].

Recent DC Finds

Here are a few frequencies found recently in DC:

173.6500 [NAC 293] Department of Labor - Headquarters Security

460.7000 [ d754] Georgetown University Law Center - Engineering (unknown if replaces 461.3750 [ d606])
463.2375 [123.0] Tishman Speyer (appears to be used for several properties near 1700 block of Pennsylvania Ave.)

DC Circulator Buses Using LTR PassPort System

The DC Circulator buses are using an LTR PassPort system now. Previously, they were using Nextel. The "home channel" appears to be 496.8125. This frequency is licensed to FleetTalk Partners. The transmitter is in Silver Spring. FleetTalk owns the LTR trunked system in Silver Spring that was formerly owned by Champion Communications.

JetBlue Airways (BWI) FCC App

JetBlue Airways, which will begin service from BWI Airport in September, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a UHF repeater on 451.6375.

Northern Virginia Electric Company FCC App

Northern Virginia Electric Company has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a four-site VHF MOTOTRBO trunking system. Here are the sites and frequencies:

Hamilton (Loudoun County)
153.3200

153.2450

Haymarket (Prince William County)

153.4550

Aden Rd./Keanon Ridge (Prince William County)

151.5800

153.0575

Stafford (Stafford County)

153.2000

153.0500

St. Mary's County Schools FCC App

St. Mary's County Public Schools have an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for one UHF repeater (461.5625) to be used at three locations, and for three simplex frequencies (462.1375, 463.5625, 464.6875). According to the app, the repeater will be used at the county's three high schools: Leonardtown, Great Mills, and Chopticon.

Prince George's Hospital Center Frequency

Prince George's Hospital Center has been confirmed on 464.2500 [ d654]. This repeater is used by security, and is unlicensed or has an expired license.

Center Plate at FedEx Field FCC App

Center Plate, which provides food/catering services at FedEx Field, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for five UHF simplex frequencies.

451.3875

451.4875

451.5625

451.6875

456.6875

DC Property Management Frequencies

Here are several downtown property management frequencies I've found recently:

451.3000 [ d263] 555 12th St. NW - Engineering (R)

495.5625 [ d114] Columbia Square (R)
463.7000 [ d223] International Square (R)
463.7000 [ d432] International Square (R)
464.6500 [ d132] International Square (R)
464.5750 [ 82.5] Lincoln Square - Security (S) (555 11th St. NW)
461.5125 [136.5] National Place - Engineering (R)
463.6875 [136.5] National Place

461.3875 [ d073] The Westory (R)

W Washington Hotel Frequencies Found

I was able to monitor the new W Washington Hotel for some time on Saturday. Here are the frequencies found:

461.3125 [233.6] Security/Engineering (S)
466.1125 [107.2] Housekeeping
469.2625 [ ]
469.3125 [241.8] Banquets/POV Bar?

The hotel has an FCC application pending for a repeater on 463.9875. This frequency was not active on Saturday.

Weekend Event

After several events last weekend, this weekend seems a bit quieter. The only major event I can find is the first-ever concert at Nationals Park, with Billy Joel and Elton John. Most of the frequencies normally used at Nats Park will probably be in use for the concert:

• MPD will probably use either talkgroup 16656 or 21232.
• DCFD will probably use either 2096, 2112, or 2128. They may patch the talkgroup to 867.4875 [156.7].
• Nationals Park staff will be using their MOTOTRBO frequencies (unmonitorable).
• CSC Event Staff, which provides crowd control/security at baseball games, could very well be working this concert. Look for them on 463.8000 [ d152] (R), 461.3875 [ d152] (S), and 461.1375 [ d152] (S).
• The people working the actual concert could use a wide variety of frequencies, probably simplex. I would look first between 461-470 MHz. Also check 451-453 and the VHF itinerants.

W Hotel FCC App

The W Washington Hotel, which opened yesterday, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a UHF repeater on 463.9875.

Many other W hotels around the country use MOTOTRBO radios, so it's interesting that this one is apparently using analog radios. Of course, they may use the TRBO radios, and not have indicated that on the license.

Two New DC Trunked System Talkgroups

Over the past couple of weeks, with the multitude of events in DC, I've noticed two talkgroups in use on the DC trunked system not seen before. 33584 is Department of Health Tac. 33904 is Emergency Management Agency Tac 2.

Courtyard Capitol Hill/Navy Yard - New Frequency

The Courtyard Hotel near Nationals Park and the Navy Yard is using 462.6125 [127.3] for housekeeping. The hotel was previously confirmed using 463.3125 [ d244] (unknown use). The hotel may also use 461.2125 [ d754].

Colonial Place - Confirmed Frequency

Colonial Place, a three-building office complex in the Courthouse area of Arlington, is confirmed using 461.2250 [ d723]. They are not to be confused with the Patriots Plaza complex in Southwest Washington, which uses 461.2250 [ d423].

July 4 Fireworks in Stafford County

For the Stafford County fireworks display, Sheriff used 489.3125 [156.7] (Secondary). Fire used 489.1125 [156.7] (Channel 3).

July 4 Events in Fairfax City

Here are some talkgroups that were in use for July 4 events in Fairfax City:

Fairfax County Public Safety Trunked System Talkgroup:
20688 Police/Fire Event Coordination

Fairfax County Services Trunked System Talkgroups:
24272 Organizers (Coordination A1)
40208 CUE Buses?

Fairfax County Parks

I've confirmed a couple of talkgroups on the Fairfax County Services trunked system that are used by specific parks. Talkgroup 32048 is Lake Accotink Park. Talkgroup 32112 is Lake Fairfax Park. Talkgroup 32080 is unknown, but may be Burke Lake Park. They've mentioned "getting off island," "marina lot," "breezeway," and "boat count."

AT&T National - Major Update

Here's a list of frequencies/talkgroups found at the AT&T National golf tournament on Saturday. The event concludes today (Sunday).

Montgomery County Trunked System Talkgroups:
1744 Special Events 1 (police)
1776 Special Events 2 (medical)

Organizers/Other:
451.1125 [ d271] "Finance" (R)
451.1375 [ d631] "interview" (R)
451.1625 [ d662] Garbage (R)
451.2125 [ d664] Beverage/Water (R)
451.2375 [ d546] Marshals (R)
456.3125 [ d245] Merchandise/Vendors?
456.5875 [ d174] Food or Merchandise?
457.8625 [ d343] Security
463.2250 [ d023]
464.6250 [ d071] Talking about parking lots/shuttles to "Ritz" (probably Ritz-Carlton Tysons)
464.8500 [ d032]
466.7000 [192.8]
468.7500 [ d072] Camera/Video Test Shots?
469.5000 [ d114]
469.7500 [ d116]

Congressional Country Club:
151.5200 [ d115] Clubhouse/Food & Beverage (R)
151.5200 [ d311] Golf (R)
151.8650 [ d115] Grounds (R)
152.4050 [ d115] Security (R)

National Independence Day Celebration

Here are a couple of frequencies found yesterday for the National Independence Day Celebration:

463.7125 [ d054] Stage Setup
467.5125 [ d412] Stage Setup

AT&T National Talkgroup Found

Medical personnel at the AT&T National are using talkgroup 1776 (Special Events 2) on the Montgomery County trunked system. From my monitoring location on the Mall yesterday, that's about all I could make out. The signal wasn't too good from this trunked system.

Update on Folklife Festival

Here is an updated list of frequencies for the Folklife Festival. The Tech channel is confirmed as Channel 1, and 456.8125 is confirmed as the Admin channel.

451.8000 [ d026] Tech (Channel 1)
456.8125 [ d306] Admin (First Aid, Park Police, etc.)
461.0875 [ d606] Program
461.1625 [ d116] Audio/Visual
461.2375 [ d445] Security
461.3125 [ d054] Ice/Beverage
466.0375 [ d155] Talk (Ch. 10)

Weekend Events

Lots of events this holiday weekend:

The Folklife Festival continues through Sunday. See earlier post for frequencies found. I may have another update sometime this weekend.

The AT&T National golf tournament continues through Sunday. See previous post.

The Nationals are in town tonight, Saturday, and Sunday. Best analog frequencies to monitor:

461.3875 [ d152] CSC Event Staff - On-field personnel (S)

463.8000 [ d152] CSC Event Staff - Command Post (R)

867.4875 [156.7] DC Fire First Aid/Medical (linked to talkgroup 2096)

Also monitor MPD on talkgroup 21232 (Citywide 2).

Finally, the fireworks and National Independence Day Celebration provide plenty to monitor. Here's what was used last year:

166.7250 [127.3] Park Police (Channel 1)
169.7750 [NAC 4C5] George Washington Parkway
170.1750 [156.7] Capitol Police (Channel 3)
172.4750 [NAC 4C5] National Capital Parks - Central
406.9375 [ 77.0] Unknown user at Capitol? (unknown if used)
409.0000 [NAC 293] Disaster Medical Assistance Team (some encryption)
462.3750 [ 88.5] Red Cross

DC Trunked System Talkgroups:
1952 DCFD "golf cart"; "safe zone"
2080 DCFD Inspectors
2096 DCFD Special Events 1
2112 DCFD Special Events 2 (primary?)
2128 DCFD Special Events 3 (patient transport reports)
2640 DCFD Fireboats
16656 MPD Special Operations Division
18288 MPD Special Operations Division Alternate
18320 MPD Harbor Patrol
34448 Department of Health
34544 Department of Public Works? (mentioned vehicles towed)
35536 Emergency Management Agency 1
35600 Traffic Management Center
36880 Hospital roll call (coordinated by Department of Health)

Arlington Trunked System Talkgroups:
7 Arlington Police District 1 (Channel 1G)
11 Arlington Police Special Operations Section (Channel 1K)
43 Arlington Fire Special Events (Channel A1F)

AT&T National at Congressional Country Club

The AT&T National golf tournament at Congressional Country Club began yesterday and continues through Sunday. Here are eight confirmed frequencies for the Club:

152.4050 [ d115] Security
151.8650 [ d115] Grounds (R)
151.5200 [ d115] Clubhouse/Food & Beverage
151.5200 [ d311] Golf
154.5150 [ d115] Athletics
151.9550 [ d311] Spare 1
151.7750 [ d311] Spare 2
152.4050 [ d311] Management

Montgomery County will probably use their Special Events talkgroups (1744, 1776, 1808), as they have in previous years.

Gallaudet University FCC App

Gallaudet University has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a UHF simplex frequency of 467.8000. The frequency is to be used for the "university counseling center for the hearing impaired."

King George Schools Switch to MOTOTRBO

King George Schools has switched to MOTOTRBO on their school bus frequency of 151.7750. They were discussing the switch to TRBO on their old analog channel of 151.7750 [ d114]. They seemed to be doing lots of talking using the TRBO mode; I assume this was for radio testing of all the buses.

Windsor at Potomac Vista FCC App

Windsor at Potomac Vista, an apartment complex in Woodbridge, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for five UHF simplex frequencies.

451.3875

451.7375

452.0375

456.3875

456.7375

Smithsonian Folklife Festival Freqs Found

Here's what I found yesterday at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This year, the organizers are using MOTOTRBO radios (in analog mode). The radios didn't have any kind of sticker on them which would indicate the rental company. It's also unknown how many channels they are using.

451.8000 [ d026] Tech
456.8125 [ d306] Park Police
461.0875 [ d606] Program Channel
461.1625 [ d116] Audio/Visual?
461.2375 [ d445] Security
461.3125 [ d054] Ice/Beverage
466.0375 [ d155] Talk (Ch. 10)
There is a "Stage Audio" channel.

Barbecue Battle Freqs/Talkgroups Found

Here's what I found yesterday at the Barbecue Battle. The event concludes today.

461.1250 [ d365] Production
461.5250 [ d546] Audio/Visual
463.7250 [ d306] Gates
464.2750 [ d445] Beverage
464.9250 [ d632] Safeway Tent
MPD used talkgroup 21232 (Citywide 2). DCFD used talkgroup 2128 (Special Events 3). Department of Health used talkgroup 34448.

The radios used by the organizers looked to have about ten channels printed on them. No radio rental provider was seen.

Weekend Events

There are two major events this weekend in DC: the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the National Capital Barbecue Battle. Both events run Saturday and Sunday. The Folklife Festival is on the Mall, and the Barbecue Battle is on Pennsylvania Avenue between 9th and 14th Streets.

In previous years, the Folklife Festival has used a variety of rented UHF repeaters and simplex frequencies. In 2004, they even used talkgroups on the Smithsonian's LTR Passport system. Here are the frequencies used last year:

461.0750 [ d152] "Program" Channel (R)
461.1250 [ d172] Audio/Visual? (R)
461.2500 [192.8] Brief transmission monitored about weather update
464.9250 [141.3] Administration? (R)

Last weekend, I may have heard the Folklife Festival people setting up. If it was them, they were using some common UHF itinerant frequencies, such as 451.8000, 451.8125, 456.8000, 456.8125, etc.

The Barbecue Battle has also used a variety of rented UHF frequencies over the years. Here's what I found last year:

457.5125 [ d412]
459.4125 [ d743] Logistics?
460.6125 [ d223] Safeway Tent
461.21875 [ d371] Production (Channel 3)
462.3250 [141.3] Security/Medical
462.7125 [ 77.0] Stage Operations?
464.1625 [ d464]
465.8375 [167.9] Gate/Beverage Managers (Channel 2)
467.0125 [225.7]
468.0125 [ d664] Area Managers (Channel 10)

DC Trunked System Talkgroups:
2112 DC Fire Special Events 2
21232 MPD Citywide 2
34448 Department of Health
35536 Emergency Management Agency
35600 Traffic Management Center

In previous years, the event has used the common rental frequencies used by Bearcom Rentals and others (464.5/464.55/464.6/464.625/464.65/464.7/464.725/464.75 and their +5 MHz counterparts).

Special Operations Group FCC App

Special Operations Group, which provides private security in the DC area, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for three UHF simplex frequencies.

452.4875

452.8125

457.4875

Nationals Park Update

I attended the Tuesday game against the Red Sox, and had a chance to do some monitoring. Here are some new finds:

461.1375 [d152] CSC Event Staff (S) (only a brief transmission heard; rarely-used frequency; may be for something special like VIP security since Red Sox were in town)

462.5500 [CSQ] mentioned an "order" and "didn't get beer"

467.9250 [67.0] Vendors

867.4875 [156.7] seems to be consistently patched to talkgroup 2096 on the DC trunked system. Previously, DCFD was using the simplex frequency for ops inside the stadium, and the talkgroup for outside operations. Now, inside and outside personnel are on the same frequency/talkgroup.

Metrorail Green Line personnel were using talkgroup 32944 for operations at the Navy Yard Station last night. Previously, Green Line Supervisors used talkgroup 33136. Transit Police were using Tac 8 (talkgroup 50256) last night; they've used Tac 6 and 7 before.

And a couple of frequencies monitored, but not related to Nats Park: 464.2500 [d654] is security for an unknown hospital; they mentioned an "upper helipad." That must mean they have at least one more helipad, which would probably imply a sizeable hospital. They've also mentioned a "pavilion" on this frequency before. And 461.2125 [d754] sounds like a hotel near Nats Park, possibly the Courtyard by Marriott. They mentioned an "eighth floor," which the Courtyard has.

Metro Train Collision

I got a chance to do some monitoring of the Metro trunked system and the DC trunked system (800 MHz) in the hours after Monday's tragic train collision. Neither of these systems comes in well in Fredericksburg, but the warm weather and nighttime hours probably helped reception somewhat. The scanner had trouble decoding the digital on 490.8875 (Metro trunked system) for some reason, so I was never able to hear a transmission on this frequency.

Metro Trunked System talkgroups:

1744 Buses
1840 returning shuttles to Virginia; "SOMs" (sometimes patched to 1904)
1904 Shuttles (sometimes patched to 1840)
1968 talking about keying up VHF radios
24688 Bus Supervisors
32784 Red Line Ops
32976 no voice; Red Line Supervisors?
50224 Metro Transit PD Tac 7

DC Trunked System talkgroups:
1648 DCFD 03 (primary operations)
1680 DCFD 05 (rescue/shoring/recovery)
1936 DCFD 013 ELO (EMS Liaison Officer) (EMS coordination/hospital status)
2720 DCFD 014 Stage-0 (coordinating Montgomery County fillers)
2752 Encrypted
9840 "rehab"
33840 Emergency Management Agency
33872 Emergency Management Agency
34448 Department of Health

Waterfront Festival Frequencies/Talkgroups Found

Here's what I found yesterday at the Alexandria Red Cross Waterfront Festival:

453.4750 [146.2] Gates
461.5500 [ 88.5] CES Security
462.4000 [ d226] Headquarters (Channel 1)
464.6000 [146.2] Engineering/Electrical
464.6250 [146.2] Beer/Beverages
464.7250 [146.2] "water truck"
467.9250 [ d025] "Jim Beam tent"

Alexandria Trunked System talkgroups:
48 Police (Channel 3)
400 Fire/EMS (Channel 2G)

DC Trunked System talkgroups:
2080 DCFD Inspectors (fireworks safety)
18320 MPD Harbor Patrol (fireworks safety)

Alexandria Red Cross Waterfront Festival

The Alexandria Red Cross Waterfront Festival is this weekend. Here are frequencies and talkgroups used last year:

458.4250 [ d754]
463.2500 [ d315]
464.6250 [ d431] Beer?
464.7500 [ d631] Logistics?
469.6000 [ d023] Gates/General Ops?
469.7000 [ d212] Security

Alexandria Trunked System Talkgroups:
48 Alexandria Police (Channel 3)
400 Alexandria Fire/EMS (Channel 2G)
1072 Citywide 1 (shuttle buses/other miscellaneous users)

In 2006, for fireworks safety/coordination, talkgroup 1696 on the Airports Authority trunked system and talkgroup 2080 on the DC trunked system were used.

Lake Anna State Park

Spent the afternoon yesterday at Lake Anna State Park in Spotsylvania. The park continues to use 151.4000 [CSQ] for operations and law enforcement. A Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) law enforcement officer who was patrolling on foot appeared to have a 700/800 STARS portable, but I never saw him use it. Most of the DCR vehicles I saw had older VHF radios installed, probably only capable of the legacy 151.2350 and 151.4000 channels.

As for STARS sites, I had a difficult time picking up any of them from the park. The Fork Mountain site seemed to be the strongest, sometimes reaching five bars on the signal strength meter, but moving the scanner even slightly caused the signal to drop significantly. The Louisa site was able to be monitored, but it was not as strong as Fork Mountain. The only DCR talkgroups monitored were 2005 and 2013, but there was very little traffic on either. Department of Game and Inland Fisheries talkgroup 3236 (Law 5) was somewhat active throughout the afternoon.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary (unit 868) was using Marine Channel 21A (157.0500) to communicate with "Lake Anna Station." Lake Anna Station must have been at another location on Lake Anna, as they were somewhat weak from the state park.

Louisa Sheriff (155.5500) and Louisa Fire (155.8050) were very strong at the park.

The Spotsylvania trunked system was able to be monitored, but usually had a lot of static (much weaker than the Louisa channels).

The North Anna Power Station trunked system came in fairly well. The only talkgroup active, as expected, was security on 9648.

Race for the Cure Frequencies Found

Here are frequencies and other information found at last Saturday's Global Race for the Cure:

461.1125 [ 71.9] "extension cord"; "what to do with dirty linen?"
461.2375 [ 67.0] "Capital Running gave winners"; finish line? route? command?
461.2625 [ 82.5] materials? "trash overflowing"; "stack water"
461.3375 [ 74.4] "point to Metro"
461.3625 [ 85.4]
461.4875 [ 79.7] "people take food"; "go without him"
461.8125 [ 69.3]
462.1125 [ 94.8] "extra table to spare"; communications at late T-shirt pick-up tent
462.2375 [ 88.5] stage scheduling? video?
Radio rentals from Metrotalk Rentals (800-268-4098).

Rental radio channels:
1 Command
2 Volunteer Ops
3 Site Management/Utility
4 Start/Finish/Information
5 Production Office/Communications
6 VIP Areas/Komen Village
7 Sponsors/Food/Marketing
8 Vehicles/Parking/Traffic
9 Stage Manager/Shows
10 Tent Crew/Stage/S&L
11 Event Kit Pick Up Ops
12 Route Staff
13 Medical
14 Komen/Admin
15 Security/Police
16 General Info/Chat

166.7250 [127.3] Park Police (Channel 1)
170.1750 [156.7] Capitol Police (Channel 3)
462.5500 [103.5] Video
462.5625 [100.0] "ice on route"; "command center"; citizen volunteers working route?
469.2625 [ d251] "hardware spare"; Video?

DC Trunked System talkgroups:
2096 DCFD Special Events 1
16656 MPD Special Operations Division
33872 DC Emergency Management Agency

Celebrate Fairfax Frequencies/Talkgroups Found

Here is what I found at Celebrate Fairfax last Saturday:

Fairfax Public Safety Trunked System talkgroups:
18192 (Major Incident EMS) Medical
21200 (Coordination D1) Police
21232 (Coordination D2) Police

Fairfax Services Trunked System talkgroups:
24272 (Coordination A1) Organizers - Primary
24304 (Coordination A2) Organizers - Alternate
24400 (Coordination A5) Coordination of voter parking at Government Center (unrelated event)
36560 Fairfax Connector Buses - Shuttles from Vienna Metro
36592 Fairfax Connector Buses - Shuttles from Fair Oaks Mall/Fair Lakes

151.6250 [100.0] Carnival
159.1050 [156.7] Government Center Operations? (R)
464.5000 [ d205] Private Security (Securitas)

Georgetown University FCC App

Georgetown University has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a UHF repeater on 452.3625, with 500 5-watt mobile units. The Office of University Safety is apparently coordinating this app.

Mount Vernon FCC App

Mount Vernon has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a UHF repeater on 452.3875 to be used for "maintenance and security activities." (Mount Vernon currently uses 464.5250 [ d073] for security, and 464.4750 [ d116] for maintenance.)

Weekend Events

Here are two events this weekend:

The Komen Global Race for the Cure is Saturday on the National Mall. This event usually attracts 50,000+ runners and walkers. In 2006 and 2007 (no data for 2008), organizers used VHF rental radios. Park Police will probably use 166.7250 [127.3]. MPD will probably use either talkgroup 16656 or 21232. DCFD will probably use one of the Special Event talkgroups (2096, 2112, 2128).

Celebrate Fairfax runs Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday. Organizers may use the analog coordination talkgroups on the Fairfax County Services trunked system. (The coordination talkgroups have been in use for other recent events in Fairfax County.) In previous years, organizers used UHF rental radios. County police/fire will probably use a few talkgroups on the Fairfax County Public Safety trunked system. (Last year, police used digital Coordination 2 and fire used digital Coordination 3.)

Market Common Clarendon

Spent some time in Clarendon on Saturday, and picked up a few more frequencies for Market Common. Here's the latest list:

151.7600 [ 67.0] Pottery Barn
154.6000 [ 67.0] Williams-Sonoma
461.2625 [ 74.4] Apple
464.5000 [186.2] The Container Store
466.0375 [ 94.8] Ann Taylor Loft
467.8500 [ 74.4] Crate & Barrel

Air Force Cycling Classic Clarendon Cup

Here are frequencies found for the Air Force Cycling Classic Clarendon Cup:

151.6250 [ 91.5] Pace cars/motorcycles

459.9375 [141.3] Specific cycling team?

469.7500 [ d371] Organizers

Arlington Police used talkgroup 11 (1K - Special Operations Section).

Washington Folk Festival

Here are frequencies used at the Washington Folk Festival this past weekend at Glen Echo Park:

169.7750 [NAC 4C5] National Park Service (S)

467.7500 [100.0] Organizers
469.5500 [ d506] Organizers

169.7750, when used as a repeater, is the frequency for the George Washington Memorial Parkway. The Park Service was using it in simplex mode at Glen Echo Park. (Glen Echo is administed by the Park Service as part of the GW Parkway.)

Herndon Festival

The Herndon Festival was this past weekend, and organizers used talkgroups 24272, 24304, and 24336 (Coordination A1, A2, and A3) from the Fairfax County Services trunked system. With more and more festivals in Fairfax County using these talkgroups, this may indicate that Celebrate Fairfax (June 5-7) may use them as well.

Arlington P25 Trunked System in Metro Tunnels

Arlington County has apparently installed the equipment to allow their Project 25 trunked system to broadcast in the Metrorail tunnels. It is up and running in at least the Clarendon, Court House, and Rosslyn stations and the tunnels in between. Previously, they had a single 800 MHz conventional repeater for fire (856.4875) and police (858.4875). These frequencies appear to still be in place.

Potomac Hospital FCC App

Potomac Hospital has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for two UHF repeaters (461.8500 and 462.2750) to be used for security and maintenance.

CSC Event Staff--New Repeater at Nats Park

CSC Event Staff, the organization that provides security/crowd control for the Washington Nationals on game days, has a new repeater at Nationals Park. They are using 463.8000 [ d152]. This appears to replace 461.5125 [ d152], which they were using before for the "Command Post." They are still using 461.3875 [ d152] in simplex mode for on-field personnel.

I happened to find this repeater accidentally at Saturday's game against the Orioles. They appear to have just licensed it earlier this month.

Scanner Master Review of BCD396XT Scanner

Scanner Master has an in-depth review of the BCD396XT scanner on its website. It's quite detailed for a commercial (as opposed to hobbyist) website, and includes criticisms as well as praises. It also does a good job comparing the scanner to the PSR-500/Pro-106, which is helpful for people trying to decide between them.

United Medical Center Switched to MOTOTRBO?

United Medical Center (formerly Greater Southeast Community Hospital) may have recently switched to MOTOTRBO. Their previous frequency of 464.8250 [186.2] was silent on Saturday, but a MOTOTRBO user of comparable strength and range was noted on 464.8250. (Georgetown Hospital continues to use the frequency with a tone of [192.8].)

NSWC Indian Head Trunked System Coming Alive

The 380 MHz trunked system at NSWC Indian Head is beginning to have some activity. Talkgroup 22613 is used by security/police. This may have replaced 140.5250. No other talkgroups have been monitored. The current control channel is 381.7000.

Sirius XM Satellite Radio FCC App

Sirius XM Satellite Radio has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for two UHF repeaters.  These frequencies will be used for "internal security operations" at their headquarters in Northeast Washington.

462.0125R

464.6125R

Hotel Palomar (DC) FCC App

The Hotel Palomar, located in DC just west of Dupont Circle, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for one UHF repeater and five simplex frequencies. The Palomar already has an expired license for the repeater and for most of the simplex frequencies.

451.8625R

451.1875S

451.5625S

452.0375S

452.1375S

452.6625S

Six Flags America Update

Spent a little time Sunday evening scanning Six Flags America. Here's an update on their frequencies:

151.8800 [  67.0] Food/Concessions
451.8500 [ d261] Engineering (Channel 3) (R)
452.1250 [ d261] Security (Channel 5) (R)
461.1125 [ d261] Merchandise/Restaurants Alternate (Channel 6) (S)
461.4125 [ d261] Rides (Channel 1) (R)
464.3250 [192.8] Train Operations (Channel 7) (S)
464.7750 [ d423] Rides Alternate (Channel 8) (S)
464.8750 [ d261] Merchandise/Restaurants (Channel 2) (R)
465.6500 [ d331] First Aid?
467.3875 [ d261]
467.8500 [ d261] Security Alternate (Channel 4) 
468.5375 [ d331] Cleaning (Channel 12)
468.6250 [192.8]
468.9625 [ d261] "backstage" (Channel 10?)

Weekend Events

There are quite a few events this weekend:

• The DC101 Chili Cook-Off is Saturday at RFK Stadium.  464.3750 [110.9] is used for general RFK operations.  461.8125 [ d311] is used for RFK Guest Services.  Try 461.5125 [ d152] for CSC Event Staff (security/crowd control).  Last year, the organizers used 461.4250 [103.5], but their frequency is not very consistent year-to-year.  DC Fire will probably be using one of the Special Events talkgroups (2096, 2112, 2128).  MPD may use talkgroup 21232 or 16656.
  
• The Joint Services Open House is Saturday and Sunday at Andrews AFB.  See the "Special Events" section of this page for a good run-down of what was used last year at the air show.
• The Preakness is Saturday at Pimlico in Baltimore.  451.9875 [ d223] and 461.5375 [179.9] were previously used at Pimlico, but appear to have been deleted from the current license.  Baltimore Police and Fire have many "special events" talkgroups available to them on their trunked system; they'll probably be on one/several of those.

Amtrak Police at Auto Train Terminal in Lorton

Amtrak Police are using 161.2950 [192.8] at the Auto Train Terminal in Lorton.  This is the same frequency they use in various locations in the Northeast Corridor (with varying CTCSS tones).

New Biz Freqs in DC

Here are a few business frequencies found in DC recently:

151.7450 [ d516] Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens

463.2500 [ d205] Environmental Protection Agency - Security

463.9000 [136.5] Shops at National Place - Security

464.8250 [ d243] AARP Headquarters - Security

Weekend Events

Here are some weekend events:

• The White House Correspondents Dinner is Saturday at eight at the Washington Hilton.  Frequencies for the hotel: 463.9250 [ d026] Housekeeping, 464.3250 [ d143] Security, 464.3750 [ d143] Engineering, 464.5125 [162.2] Banquets.

• The Capitals play the Penguins at Verizon Center on Saturday at seven.  Listen for MPD on their Special Operations Division talkgroup, 16656.  Suggested analog frequencies: 461.5125 [ d152] CSC Event Staff (also check 464.5000 [ d152]), 462.0125 [ d043] Suites, 463.5375 [ d125] Suites.

• National Train Day is Saturday from 10-3 at Union Station.  Here are some railroad and and business frequencies for Union Station: 160.2900 [114.8] Yardmaster, 160.3500 [114.8] Train Maintenance, 160.4400 [114.8] Station Services, 160.9200 [146.2] Amtrak Road - Northeast Corridor, 160.9950 [ d023] Amtrak (R), 161.2950 [192.8] Amtrak Police - Primary, 464.5250 [ d311] Security Alternate (referred to as "Channel 6" 12/08), 464.5750 [ d346] Security (R), 464.7750 [ d365] Engineering.

Prince George's County Project 25 System Online

Prince George's County has their new Project 25 (Phase II?) system on the air.  I'm getting a control channel of 774.68125 this morning in Fredericksburg.  The system ID is 2A8 and the WACN is BEE00.  No talkgroups seen.  This information has been added to RadioReference.

By the way, the tropospheric ducting has been good this morning, which is why I was able to receive this system.

Virginia Theological Seminary FCC App

Virginia Theological Seminary (campus in Alexandria) has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for a UHF repeater on 452.2375.  The frequency has emission designators for analog voice and for MOTOTRBO digital voice; it's unknown which will be used.

A Few Business Finds in DC

Harman Hall, one of two venues for the Shakespeare Theater Company, is using 452.6625 [ d503] and 457.7125 [ d503].  Both of these are simplex.

The new Courtyard Washington/U.S. Capitol, which opened earlier this month, is using 461.4875 [210.7] for security, engineering, and housekeeping.  It appears to be a simplex frequency.

The Red Roof Inn, near the Verizon Center, is using VHF portables.  The frequency has not been confirmed, but 154.6000 [  67.0] was heard in the area in the past.

World Bank/IMF Meeting--DC Talkgroups

For the World Bank/IMF Meeting, MPD is using talkgroup 16656 (Special Operations Division).  DC Emergency Management Agency is using 33872.  These were monitored last night.

Weekend Events

Here are a couple of weekend events with some scanning opportunities:

1. World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings: World Bank security uses 151.9550 [107.2] in a base/mobile configuration.  The base side can be heard from many locations in the DC area.  World Bank engineering uses a repeater on 463.7500 [ d606].  There is no radio information for the IMF.
2. Capitals Playoff Game: Best thing to listen to at the Verizon Center is probably CSC Event Staff on 461.5125 [ d152].  (They've also been heard on 464.5000 [ d152] at Verizon.)  Also check out Gallery Place security on 461.3250 [ d411].

Stafford County Trunked System FCC License

Stafford County was recently issued two licenses (WQKD203, WQKD204) for a 700 MHz public safety trunked system.

According to the licenses, the system will have ten frequencies, twelve sites, 1200 mobile units, and forty-two "base stations."

The frequencies have an emission designator of 8K60D7W, which probably indicates a Project 25 Phase II system.  (This is the same emission designator as the new Prince George's County system--which is supposed to be P25 Phase II.)

A quick search of the 700 MHz band did not turn up a control channel, so the system probably isn't active yet.

Chevy Chase Golf Club FCC License

Chevy Chase Golf Club was recently issued an FCC license.  The license shows a UHF repeater on 464.8375.  The frequency is to be used by maintenance personnel.

Fredericksburg Auto Auction FCC App

Fredericksburg Auto Auction has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for two UHF repeaters and four simplex frequencies.  Note that this business has already been using the two repeater frequencies for several years; I believe they were on a previous (now-expired) license.

452.4000R

464.2500R

461.3250S

462.3750S

463.2500S

464.3250S

Boston Properties (Springfield) New License

Boston Properties, a property-management company, was recently issued an FCC license for a repeater on 461.8750.  This will be used at a building at 7375 Boston Blvd. in Springfield.

DC Business Frequency Updates

Here are some recent DC business frequencies that I've found:

461.4375 [ d263] Golden Triangle Business Improvement District

153.0200 [ d265] Harbour Square

469.5000 [ d606] Ford's Theater

467.8750 [ d723] Guess (Downtown)

463.3375 [ d371] Grand Hyatt Hotel - Banquets

469.4875 [ 67.0] JW Marriott Hotel - Banquets

461.0625 [  94.8] Hard Rock Cafe

466.2875 [ d155] H&M

463.3500 [ d116] Washington Harbor - Security/Engineering

464.9000 [ d723] Armed Forces Retirement Home

463.8250 [107.2] Boston Properties (1330 Connecticut Ave.)

Weekend Events

Here are some notable weekend events in DC:

1. National Cherry Blossom Festival Parade (Saturday 10 AM-12 PM, Constitution between 7th and 17th): In 2006, organizers used several "Bearcom rentals" frequencies (464.6250, 464.7500, 469.6250, 469.6500).  In 2005, organizers used a talkgroup (0-17-169, home channel 496.8375) on a local Champion Communications LTR trunked system.
2. Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Festival (Saturday 11 AM-6 PM, 12th and Pennsylvania): In 2005 and 2006, organizers used Family Radio Service frequencies.
3. Nationals vs. Orioles Exhibition Game (Saturday 6:05 PM, Nationals Park): Other than the MOTOTRBO frequencies that Nationals personnel use, the best frequencies to monitor are 461.3875/461.5125 (CSC Event Staff), 867.4875/867.7625 (DC Fire First Aid/Medical), and talkgroups 2096 (DC Fire Special Events 1) and 21232 (MPD Citywide 2) from the DC trunked system.
4. Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run (Sunday 7:40 AM, Washington Monument grounds): In 2005, organizers used a repeater on 463.8000.  In a more recent year (2006 or 2007?), organizers may have used a repeater on 461.4000.

Stafford Schools FCC App

Stafford County, VA Schools has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for forty-seven total frequencies to be used at nineteen schools.  All frequencies are UHF simplex.

State Fair of Virginia FCC App

(This FCC app is outside the DC area, but thought it might be of interest, since this is a major event in the fall.)

The State Fair of Virginia has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for eight UHF simplex frequencies:

451.2375

451.3375

451.4375

451.5375

451.6375

452.3125

452.4125

452.5125

This year, the State Fair runs from September 24 through October 4 at its new location at The Meadow Event Park in Caroline County, VA.

Note that the app also requests the same eight frequencies for use in New Kent County, VA.  This is for the Strawberry Hill Races, which are at Colonial Downs.  This event is coming up on Saturday, April 11.

Country Club of Fairfax FCC App

The Country Club of Fairfax has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for two UHF frequencies to be used in a base/mobile configuration:

452.1625

452.7875

AirCare 2/Shannon Airport

AirCare 2 confirmed today using 460.1125 [  71.9] at Shannon Airport in Fredericksburg.  (See post from Monday, March 30 for information about this newly-licensed frequency.)

City of Alexandria FCC App

The City of Alexandria has an application pending before the FCC.  The app states that the frequencies are for the public school system, but it's uncertain if they'll be used at one particular school.  Here are the three UHF simplex frequencies:

456.1875

456.2875

456.5375

Pepsi Bottling Group New FCC License

Pepsi Bottling Group (Cheverly, MD) was recently issued an FCC license.  The plant will be using a single UHF repeater, and five simplex frequencies.

462.0875R

451.6625S

451.6875S

456.6125S

456.6625S

456.6875S

PHI Air Medical Group New License

PHI Air Medical Group, which operates multiple medical helicopters in the Northern Virginia area, was recently issued a license for several frequencies.  It appears PHI will have a UHF frequency for dispatch at each of the airports where their helos are based.

Fredericksburg (Shannon Airport): 460.1125

Leesburg (Leesburg Executive Airport): 462.9625

Winchester (Winchester Regional Airport): 460.1125

Weyers Cave (Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport): 460.1125

Baltimore (Martin State Airport): 453.4250

Manassas (Manassas Regional Airport): 462.9625

Airports Authority New Frequencies

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) was recently issued a new license for several 800 MHz frequencies.  The radio service code is YE, which indicates rebanded frequencies.  These frequencies may replace some of the current 866-869 MHz frequencies in the current MWAA trunked system.

854.0625

854.0875

854.3125

854.3625

854.4375

Saturday Events

There are a couple of events on Saturday in DC to kick off the National Cherry Blossom Festival.  The Smithsonian Kite Festival is on the grounds of the Washington Monument (rain may cause a problem for this event).  Last year, organizers used 462.6375 [  77.0].  The other event is the Opening Ceremony at the National Building Museum.  Here are three frequencies that were used last year:

462.6125 [  67.0] Appeared to be primary channel
462.6375 [  67.0]
462.6625 [  82.5]

These two frequencies are used by the National Building Museum itself:

462.6875 [  77.0] Staff
464.5000 [ d703] Security

National Marathon Saturday

The National Marathon is tomorrow.  This event begins and ends at RFK Stadium.  In previous years, most of the good listening was found on the DC trunked system and amateur radio.  Surprisingly, the race organizers have not used two-way radio since the marathon began in 2006.  Here are some notes from last year:

DC Trunked System talkgroups:

2096 DCFD Special Events 1 (primary)
2112 DCFD Special Events 2
2128 DCFD Special Events 3
2640 Fireboats (water display near South Capitol Street/Nationals Park)
16656 MPD Special Operations Division (street closures)
34448 Department of Health
35536 Emergency Management Agency

146.6100 [  77.0] Amateur Radio Repeater (course updates, etc.)

The following were not active last year, but may be in use:

166.7250 [127.3] Park Police (Ch. 1)

21232 MPD Citywide 2

33872 Emergency Management Agency

35600 Traffic Management Center

Shamrock Fest Frequencies Found

Here are some frequencies found from Saturday's Shamrock Fest at RFK Stadium:

461.5125 [ d152] CSC Event Staff (crowd control/gates)
463.5375 [ d311] Outside Parking/Security
464.3750 [110.9] RFK Stadium
464.5000 [ d132] Organizers
DC Fire used talkgroup 2096 (Special Events 1).

Major Changes to the Fairfax County Page

I've redesigned the Fairfax County page on my website.  Most notably, I've organized and consolidated the business listings.  I've put all the businesses into categories, such as "Hotels," "Retail," "Property Management," "Attractions," etc.  This shortens the length of the page considerably, and makes it easier to find similar frequencies.  No longer is there simply one long alphabetical list of every business.

I plan to slowly do this with more pages, but each one takes a considerable amount of time, so it may be a while before all pages are redesigned.

Volo Aviation FCC App

Volo Aviation, a Fixed Based Operator (FBO) at Manassas Regional Airport, has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for five UHF simplex frequencies.

451.3125

451.3625

451.5625

451.6625

452.1125

DC Scanner Enthusiasts Meeting on Saturday

It was announced in the March issue of the Capitol Hill Monitor (see previous post) that there will be a DC scanner enthusiasts meeting this Saturday (March 14) in Takoma Park.  The meeting is at 1 PM at the Savory Cafe (7071 Carroll Ave.).  The restaurant looks to be a little over half a mile from the Takoma Metro station.

New Capitol Hill Monitor Newsletter Released

The March Capitol Hill Monitor newsletter (PDF) has been released.  Topics covered:

Maryland EMS Categories/Priorities

Coast Guard Sector Baltimore

CSX Railroad in DC Area

Marine One Frequency Presets

Speech to Joint Session of Congress (Feb. 24)

Here are some finds from a few hours of monitoring before and during the speech:

159.1500 [NAC 653] encrypted
162.2500 [173.8] Capitol Police Ch. 4 (units in gallery) (R)
164.6250 [ d023] Capitol Police (S)
164.6250 [ d074] Capitol Police (S)
167.0375 [NAC 001] "Omaha"; mostly encrypted
167.4625 [NAC 167] vehicle tag check (unknown if related)
173.5250 [167.9] Capitol Police - Specialized Teams (R)
407.3375 [ d245] "2P North"; "6th floor south side"; "extension 4917"; engineering (probably not related)
407.7875 [ d364] "put in touch with special events"
Other Capitol Police channels active for motorcade coordination, etc.

Fort Myer Trunked System talkgroups:
415 "Defender Main"; "Noble Main"
439 "Guardian"; "RAOC"

DC Trunked System talkgroups:
2096 DCFD Special Events 1
2288 Hospital roll call--count of majors/minors (talkgroup normally Children's Hospital)
16656 MPD Special Operations Division (SOD)
18320 MPD Harbor Patrol

Arlington Trunked System talkgroup:
45 National Medical Response Team - A

Georgetown/George Mason/Springfield Finds

Here are some frequency finds from a trip to Northern Virginia/DC on Saturday:

Georgetown

464.5500 [100.0] Georgetown Inn

461.0250 [ d132] Georgetown Business Improvement District (S)

467.7125 [100.0] Latham Hotel

464.1750 [ d051] Melrose Hotel (S)

George Mason University

464.9750 [ d244] Athletics? (S)

461.5125 [ d152] Patriot Center (CSC Event Staff 2/28/09)
464.5000 [ d031] Patriot Center (microphone test 2/28/09)

463.2750 [  88.5] Patriot Center Operations (Ticket issues/talk about national anthem)

Springfield

464.5500 [  67.0] Comfort Inn Springfield (probably shared with Hampton Inn Springfield)

464.9750 [ d306] Hilton Springfield (S)

464.5250 [ d432] Mount Vernon Unknown ("Dessert Classics cookbooks to be signed")

Lorien Hotel & Spa FCC App

The Lorien Hotel & Spa, which recently opened in Old Town Alexandria, has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for five UHF simplex frequencies.

451.3875

451.4125

456.4875

456.5125

456.6875

Aloft National Harbor FCC App

The Aloft National Harbor Hotel, which appears to be opening either April 9 or April 20, has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for a UHF repeater on 452.2250.

BWI-Area Hotels FCC App

Hilton Garden Inn Arundel Mills/Homewood Suites Arundel Mills, which will probably open April 2, have an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for four UHF simplex frequencies.

451.5375/456.5375

451.6125/456.6125

Neiman Marcus Potomac Mills FCC App

Neiman Marcus Last Call - Potomac Mills, which will open on March 6, has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for ten UHF simplex frequencies.

451.3125/456.3125

451.3375/456.3375

464.5750

464.9250

464.2625/469.2625

464.3625/469.3625

Coastal International Security FCC App

Coastal International Security, which will be providing security for 811 Vermont Ave. NW, has an application pending before the FCC.  The app calls for a UHF repeater on 451.7250.

Lots of Brush Fires Today

Today's dry and windy conditions spawned many brush fires around north central Virginia.  Here's a few things that were active on the scanner:

• STARS talkgroup 3019 (Virginia Department of Forestry Ops 2)
• 159.3300 [100.0] (Virginia Department of Forestry Region 3)
• Fort AP Hill talkgroup 1018 (AP Hill Fire)
• Spotsylvania talkgroup 00-101 (Spotsylvania Fire Channel 2)

JNCR Dahlgren Site Activity Increasing

Recently, there has been an increase in activity on the JNCR Dahlgren trunked system.  Most of the traffic has been on talkgroup 22311.  The system is obviously still in the testing stages--the primary base radio traffic remains on the LTR system.  The switch to the new system may occur when public safety agencies on the base move into a new communications center.

Great Falls Park Monitoring

While at Great Falls Park on Sunday, I picked up a few frequency confirmations:

• 170.0500 [NAC 4C5] Great Falls Park
• 169.6875 [NAC 4C5] C&O Canal National Historical Park (This frequency was strong at Great Falls.  A reference to the "Monocacy Aqueduct" was monitored.  170.3625 [NAC 4C5] was active at same time, but much weaker.)
• 461.1625 [110.9] Madeira School (R)
  

University of MD Campus Rec Services FCC App

The University of Maryland Campus Rec Services has an application pending before the FCC.  The app requests two UHF repeaters: 451.9750 and 452.3500.

Park Service/Battlefields Update

The family and I took a trip up to the Manassas Battlefield Sunday afternoon before the Super Bowl.  Here are some updates to National Park Service frequencies:

172.7250 [NAC 47C] Manassas NBP

170.0500 [NAC 5C2] Monocacy NB (this frequency may be shared with Antietam NB)

170.3625 [NAC 4C5] this frequency was weak from Manassas, but has the characteristic Park Service NAC.  I couldn't make out who it was, but suspect it may be C&O Canal NHP.  A user on RadioReference has also reported hearing 169.6875 [NAC 4C5]; this may be another C&O repeater.

National Park Service--Filling in the Blanks

Anyone have information on some of these National Park Service parks in the Northern Virginia/DC area?

• Manassas National Battlefield Park: I have 163.120 [NAC 375], but suspect this may be incorrect.  The George Washington Birthplace National Monument uses this same frequency and NAC, so that's why I'm suspicious of it being used at Manassas.  I think I remember seeing an old listing for Manassas in the 170.xxxx range.
• C&O Canal National Historical Park: This park has supposedly switched from analog frequencies to digital ones.  It's unknown if their old ones are still in use (166.9500/168.3000).
• National Capital Parks - East: This group of parks was monitored briefly on 168.4250 [NAC 293].  This was the frequency they used before switching to digital.  They may change frequencies in the future.  Note that there is also another analog user on this frequency, who can be heard from the DC area and from Fredericksburg.  The user sounds like a security operation, and transmits CSQ.
• Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park: This park continues to use 166.9500 [127.3].  Unknown if they'll be switching to digital.
• Shenandoah National Park: I can hear five simulcast repeaters from my location in Fredericksburg.  The Park's digital radio system has been installed for several years.  The inputs to the various repeaters are not known.  Encryption is in use somewhat frequently, mostly by law enforcement units.