1722 Eye St. FCC App

1722 Eye St., an office building, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for simplex MOTOTRBO on 456.5375, 457.2875, 457.3125, and 457.4875.

One Franklin Square FCC App

One Franklin Square, an office building at 1301 K St. NW, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for simplex NEXEDGE on 457.0375, 457.0625, 457.4875, and 457.6875.

Hotel Sofitel FCC App

The Hotel Sofitel, at 806 15th St. NW in DC, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for four simplex NXDN frequencies (456.4125, 456.41875, 456.6625, and 457.0375). No scanner can monitor this digital format.

The hotel is licensed for several UHF low-power repeaters, although they haven't been noted in recent use.

Arlington County ECC Talkgroups

On Sunday, "new" Arlington County Emergency Communications Center talkgroups were monitored. They were talkgroups 154 and 156 on the Arlington P25 system. Arlington was conducting a fire training exercise on them.

CNN Using MOTOTRBO

CNN is using MOTOTRBO on several frequencies (450.1875, 450.6750, 450.7750, and 450.8875). These frequencies have been in use by CNN for years (in analog mode).

Fashion Centre at Pentagon City Update

Spent some time at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City yesterday. Here are updates to store frequencies:

467.7625 [  67.0] Sony Style
467.8500 [ d047] Williams-Sonoma
467.8500 [ d506] Hollister
467.8750 [ d031] Unknown (frequency counter hit outside Banana Republic - may be Abercrombie & Fitch, which is directly above)
467.8750 [241.8] Unknown athletic shoe store

See the Arlington County page for the full list.

Weekend Events

Just one notable event this weekend:

• The Capitals play Friday at 4 PM at the Verizon Center.

Tips on Scanning Malls

As a follow-on to the previous post about shopping mall frequencies, also check out "Tips on Scanning Malls."

Shopping Mall Frequencies

Here's the annual rundown of shopping mall frequencies. To keep this list manageable, I'm only including the security frequencies; complete lists of frequencies can be found on my website. As always, additions/corrections appreciated.

District of Columbia
452.9250 [141.3] DC USA (S)
461.3250 [ d411] Gallery Place (S)
463.9500 [ d612] Georgetown Park (R)
468.5625 [ d606] Mazza Gallerie (S)
464.5750 [ d346] Shops at Union Station (R)

Maryland
464.2750 [ d606] Chevy Chase Pavilion (R)
464.7750 [ d411] Downtown Silver Spring (R)
464.7000 [ d423] Lake Forest (R)
452.0000 [156.7] Washingtonian Center (R)
463.7625 [203.5] Westfield Shoppingtown Montgomery (R)
461.7250 [ d031] Westfield Shoppingtown Wheaton (R)
464.8250 [151.4] White Flint (R)
461.9750 [ CSQ] Boulevard at Capital Centre (S)
152.9225 [ d074] Bowie Town Center (R)
464.3750 [ d032] Mall at Prince George's (R)
451.3625 [ d156] Arundel Mills (R)
464.8750 [ d315] Marley Station (R)
464.0125 [ d664] Westfield Shoppingtown Annapolis (R)
461.1125 [162.2] Mall in Columbia (R)
936.6625 [ d023] St. Charles Towne Center (R)

Virginia
461.8875 [203.5] Ballston Common (R)
464.9250 [ d612] Pentagon Center (R)
464.4375 [ d074] Fashion Centre at Pentagon City (R)
464.9250 [100.0] Landmark (R)
464.1250 [         ] Fair Oaks (MOTOTRBO) (R)
462.2500 [  94.8] Galleria at Tysons II (R)
464.5000 [         ] Reston Town Center (MOTOTRBO) (S)
464.3250 [  77.0] Springfield (R)
461.9875 [ d054] Tysons Corner (R)
451.5250 [ d411] Dulles Town Center (R)
462.4000 [110.9] Leesburg Corner Premium Outlets (R)
461.0125 [100.0] Manassas (R)
463.6000 [ d723] Potomac Mills (R)

Weekend Events

A few events this weekend:

• Cirque du Soleil's Quidam runs through this weekend at the Verizon Center. Cirque has licensed several frequencies for nationwide use.
• The Help the Homeless Walkathon is Saturday at 9 AM on the National Mall between 9th and 12th Streets. In previous years, organizers have used UHF rental frequencies. Also keep an ear on Park Police on 166.7250 [127.3].
• The Redskins play Sunday at 1 PM at FedEx Field. See this post about recent changes to FedEx Field radio usage.

Rebanding in DC Area

Since Alexandria recently rebanded its trunked system, I thought I'd review whether or not other systems in the DC area have rebanded:

• Arlington: No
• Charles: No
• Fairfax: No
• Fauquier/Culpeper/Rappahannock: Yes
• Loudoun: No
• Manassas/Manassas Park: Yes
• Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority: No
• Montgomery: No
• Prince William: No
• Spotsylvania: Yes
• University of Maryland - College Park: Unknown
• Washington, DC: No

DC Trunked System Talkgroup 2400

Alan Henney on Scan-DC advises that talkgroup 2400 on the DC trunked system is used by the Children's National Medical Center facility at United Medical Center. (See previous post.)

Prince George's Fire Switched to 700 MHz

As noted in this RadioReference thread, Prince George's County Fire did switch to the 700 MHz system yesterday. The 490 MHz frequencies are no longer in use.

FedEx Field Major Update (Again)

FedEx Field has revamped their frequencies again. They've added six frequencies to the LTR system, bringing the total to ten. They've dramatically increased the number of IDs on the system as well.

FedEx has also started using four repeaters that they have an FCC application for (the app is still pending):

452.2750 [ d664]
461.5375 [ d664]
463.5250 [ d664] Parking
464.4750 [ d664] Security

The Prince George's 700 MHz trunked system was active at yesterday's Notre Dame-Maryland game. PGPD used talkgroup 2001 for outside units, and 2003 for inside units. PGFD used 2005 for first aid, and 2007 had hazmat units on it. I would imagine these talkgroups are used in a similar manner for Redskins games.

New Hospital Using DC Trunked System?

Talkgroup 2400 on the DC trunked system was monitored yesterday. This falls in the range of the hospitals talkgroups, but I didn't catch which hospital was using it. The talkgroup is listed as "0H9 Spare" in RadioReference.

New Talkgroup on Alexandria System

A new talkgroup (1168) was monitored yesterday on the Alexandria trunked system. This talkgroup was being used for the JROTC competition at T.C. Williams High School. It's unknown if this is a talkgroup for the school itself, or a special events talkgroup for all the schools.

Exercise in Alexandria Yesterday

Alexandria Fire was conducting some kind of exercise yesterday morning. Talkgroups 2J, 2K, and 2L from the trunked system were in use.

PG System Broadcast in Metro

Yesterday, I confirmed that the Prince George's 700 MHz system is broadcast in the underground portions of the Metro system in the county. See this post about other systems that broadcast in Metro.

Another Event Tomorrow

I neglected to mention a big event tomorrow at FedEx Field. Notre Dame plays Maryland at 7:30 PM. Expect the usual FedEx Field frequencies to be active (including the new LTR system), as well as the "FedEx Field" talkgroups on the Prince George's County system.

Weekend Events

The colder months shift the focus to the Verizon Center and other indoor venues:

• Georgetown plays Saturday at noon at the Verizon Center.
• The Capitals play Saturday at 7 PM at the Verizon Center.

Security Services Unlimited FCC App

Security Services Unlimited has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 452.4500. The frequency is coded for both analog and MOTOTRBO.

The transmitter will be located at 9727 Mount Pisgah Rd. in Silver Spring, which is the location of The Chateau (apartment building). Mobile units will operate in Montgomery and Prince George's.

The Hamilton FCC App

The Hamilton, a music/dining venue opening later this year at 600 14th St. NW in DC, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for three simplex frequencies: 456.3125, 456.6125, and 457.1375.

Alexandria Trunked System Rebanded

Alexandria has rebanded their Project 16 trunked system. The 866 MHz frequencies have shifted 15 MHz lower. 860.8375 has been replaced by 853.0125. (Interestingly, 853.0125 is supposed to be one of the NPSPAC tac channels.)

Alexandria will eventually transition to a Project 25 trunked system.

Metro Radio System Problems

This article, published yesterday in The Examiner, contends that there are problems with the Metro radio system.

In general, I've found reception of the Metro system to be good in most underground stations and in tunnels between stations, although the signal strength varies dramatically.

At least several months ago, the analog simulcast of Metro Transit Police dispatch on talkgroup 2224 was discontinued. Dispatch is only heard on digital talkgroup 49168 now.

Analog talkgroup 1968 on the Metro system is used by radio techs.

Several cities/counties broadcast their systems underground in those station which fall in their jurisdiction. Arlington does this for their digital 800 MHz system (they used to only simulcast police and fire dispatch on analog 800 MHz conventional frequencies). DC broadcasts their 800 MHz system, although not the 460 MHz system used by Metropolitan Police. Montgomery broadcasts their 800 MHz system. I am unsure about Alexandria and Prince George's.

PG Fire/EMS Switching to 700 MHz on Nov. 14?

Prince George's County Fire/EMS is reportedly switching to the 700 MHz system on November 14, according to this post on RadioReference. (They were originally scheduled to switch tomorrow.)

When they do switch, the 490 MHz frequencies will be turned off. Dispatch will continue to be simulcast on 155.6850 [156.7].

Montgomery County Schools FCC App

Montgomery County Schools has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for five simplex frequencies: 464.3750, 457.7625, 452.7625, 457.3125, and 452.3125. These frequencies are to be used at schools all over the county; the app calls for 5000 mobile units.

Georgetown University FCC App

Georgetown University has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 464.7000. The frequency is coded for both analog and MOTOTRBO.

Based on the application, it appears this frequency is for Classroom Educational Technology Services (CETS). This will probably replace 462.7250 [ d606] (R), a GMRS frequency that was never licensed.

Weekend Events

It's quiet this weekend:

• The Redskins play Sunday at 1 at FedEx Field.

Tourmobile Ceases Operations

On Monday, Tourmobile ceased operations on the National Mall. I removed the frequency (495.8125 [156.7]) from the Arlington County page.

Marine Corps Marathon Finds

Here's what I found on Sunday at the Marine Corps Marathon:

Marine Corps Trunked System Talkgroups (Site 403):
63033 Route
63034 "Division 5" "Division 4" "U-Haul"
63035 Straggler Buses
63036 Water Points
63037 Medical
63038 Medical Alternate?
63040 VIP escorts
63041 "Swing Gate" "8th and I"
63045 Shuttle Buses
63046 Information Technology
63049 Start Line/Finish Line

Arlington Trunked System Talkgroups:
3 Police - Traffic Control
4 Police - Traffic Control
6 Police - Parking
7 Police - "Traffic Command" "Division 4"
8 Police - Rosslyn units
9 Police - Rosslyn units?
11 Police - Motors
17 Police - SWAT units
20 Police - Surveillance/Plainclothes
21 Police - K9 sweeps
32 Fire - Unknown (brief traffic)
33 Fire - Division 1
34 Fire - Division 2
35 Fire - Division 6
36 Fire - Transports
39 Fire - Unknown (brief traffic)
43 Fire - Logistics
44 Fire - Command
47 National Medical Response Team - Command
135 Coordination 1 - "bus in place"

DC Trunked System Talkgroups:
2096 DCFD Special Events 1
2112 DCFD Special Events 2
2128 DCFD Special Events 3
2592 DCFD-MPD Interop

Fairfax Trunked System Talkgroup:
18048 Hospital Roll Call

STARS Trunked System Talkgroups:
32 VSP Tac Team 2
80 VSP Tac Team 7
6149 Interop LE 7 (traffic control)

Metro Trunked System Talkgroups:
50224 MTPD Tac 7 (crowd control)
50256 MTPD Tac 8 (crowd control)

123.0250 [ CSQ] Helicopters
162.2500 [173.8] Capitol Police
166.7250 [127.3] Park Police
169.7750 [NAC 4C5] George Washington Parkway
451.7750 [ d205] Crystal City Security
453.4750 [146.2] Red Cross - DC
462.4000 [ d226] Red Cross - Arlington

New Encrypted Talkgroup on Arlington System

Talkgroup 212 is a new encrypted talkgroup on the Arlington Project 25 trunked system. It was monitored during the Marine Corps Marathon on Sunday, but it's unknown if it was used for the race.

Monitoring Strategy for Marine Corps Marathon

I spent most of the day Sunday monitoring the Marine Corps Marathon from Crystal City. I brought two scanners: the Uniden BCD396XT and the GRE PSR-800. Having the two scanners was a big help in monitoring the race, as there was a huge amount of radio traffic. I set the PSR-800 to monitor three systems: Arlington, DC, and Metro. The BCD396XT handled everything else: the 380 MHz Project 25 system the race organizers were using, STARS, low power/itinerants, and federal.

I'll post the complete list of frequencies/talkgroups monitored soon.

FedEx Field FCC App

FedEx Field has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for four repeaters and nine simplex frequencies:

452.2750R, 461.5375R, 463.5250R, 464.4750R
451.8000S, 456.8000S, 462.7625S, 462.8375S, 462.9125S, 464.5000S, 464.5500S, 469.5000S, 469.5500S

(Note that the simplex frequencies are to be for nationwide use, but some of these have already been seen in use at FedEx Field.)

This app comes in the face of major changes to radio usage at FedEx Field. An LTR trunked system has been installed at the stadium, and several of the existing UHF repeaters have seen changes.