Orange County (VA) Fire New Frequency

Orange County Fire is using a new frequency. 154.3100 [77.0] is known as Channel 3.

Weekend Events

A trio of events at the Verizon Center this weekend:

• Georgetown plays Saturday at noon.
• The Wizards play Saturday at 8:00 PM.
• Bon Jovi performs Sunday at 7:30 PM.

1850 Towers Crescent Plaza FCC App

1850 Towers Crescent Plaza, an office building in Tysons Corner, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 464.7125.

Georgetown University FCC App

Georgetown University has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for three simplex frequencies. These will probably be used at Georgetown's location at 3300 Whitehaven St., NW, although the app puts the location in Laurel, MD. (The Center for Intercultural Education and Development is located at 3300 Whitehaven.)

451.1875

451.2875

451.5125

Stafford Hospital Center New Frequency

Stafford Hospital Center was monitored on a second frequency tonight. 463.9000 [ d627] had communications between a helicopter and hospital security. The helo was advising security that it was undertaking three practice runs on the hospital's helipad.

Previously, Stafford Hospital had only been monitored on 452.4000 (MOTOTRBO), which is used by security. Both of these frequencies are listed on the license.

Weekend Events

Two notable events at the Convention Center this weekend:

• The American Association for the Advancement of Science holds their annual meeting from Friday through Monday.
• The Capitol Hill Classic Volleyball Tournament runs from Saturday through Monday.

National Association of Realtors FCC License

The National Association of Realtors licensed frequencies for use at their office building at 500 New Jersey Ave., NW on December 2.

452.3875R

456.7375S

457.0125S

457.3375S

457.4625S

457.6625S

Weekend Events

Another weekend of events in Chinatown:

• The Capitals play on Saturday at 12:30 PM at the Verizon Center.
• The Wizards play on Saturday at 8:00 PM at Verizon.
• Georgetown plays on Sunday at 1:00 PM at Verizon.

Major Update to RadioReference Fairfax County Page

The Fairfax County Public Safety trunked system page at RadioReference has been updated extensively. Many channel names and designations have changed.

Stafford Fire Switches to 700 MHz System

Stafford Fire made the switch to the 700 MHz Project 25 trunked system yesterday at 10 AM. Many of the transmissions are garbled; this is probably due to the simulcast digital distortion problem.

Chinese New Year Parade Talkgroups Found

The Chinese New Year Parade in DC was this past Sunday. DC Fire used talkgroup 2096 (Special Events 1) and Metropolitan Police used talkgroup 21232 (Citywide 2). I didn't see organizers using radios, but the parade is relatively small.

Washington Auto Show Frequencies Found

Following are frequencies found on the last day of this year's Washington Auto Show. All of them were used in simplex mode. Specific uses for the frequencies were not able to be determined.

451.2375 [ d152]
451.3375 [ d174]
451.4375 [ d205]
451.8125 [ d205]
462.5750 [ d315]
464.5000 [ d364]
464.5125 [107.2]

North-Central Virginia MOTOTRBO Update

Within the last few days, Orange County Sheriff has switched to MOTOTRBO digital on their dispatch frequency (155.3700). Sheriff Channel 2 (155.6850 [192.8]), which is used for Town of Orange Police and Town of Gordonsville Police, remains analog. Orange Fire also remains analog. The migration of the Sheriff's Office to MOTOTRBO means Orange County now has two agencies using the format (school buses use it on 154.0550).

Here's a rundown of other public-safety agencies in north-central Virginia that are using MOTOTRBO:

• Spotsylvania County Sheriff search & rescue (151.4525)
• King George County school buses (151.7750)
• Rappahannock Regional Jail (453.8125 and 453.9000)

Stafford County 700 MHz Trunked System Update

Stafford County's 700 MHz Project 25 trunked system has been in use for the Sheriff's Office since the end of December. All Sheriff talkgroups (at least those seen so far) are encrypted. Fire/Rescue was supposed to switch from the UHF-T channels to the 700 MHz system on Tuesday, February 1 at 10:00 AM, but the switch has been pushed back a week to Tuesday, February 8 at 10:00 AM to allow for additional training.

Sheriff talkgroups are in the 45xx series. Fire/Rescue talkgroups are in the 46xx series. Talkgroup 4791 was active yesterday (unencrypted) and may be for Aquia Harbor security.

Weekend Events

It's going to be a busy weekend, particularly on Sunday in the Gallery Place/Chinatown area:

• The Wizards play on Friday at 7 PM at Verizon Center.
• Georgetown plays on Saturday at noon at Verizon Center.
• The Wizards also play Saturday at 7 PM at Verizon Center.
• The Capitals play Sunday at 12:30 PM at Verizon Center.
• The Chinese New Year Parade is from 1:30-3:30 PM on Sunday in the Chinatown area.
• The Washington Auto Show concludes this weekend at the Convention Center.