Washington Auto Show

The Washington Auto Show begins tomorrow and runs through February 10 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Here's what was active last year:

462.6250 [ d073] Housekeeping
464.5000 [186.2] Brochure restock, etc.
464.9125 [ d263] Logistics/Engineering? (R)
464.9250 [ d546] "bottlenecking"
467.8125 [ d156] Admin/Command Center
469.1250 [ d026] Concessions
469.5000 [ d315] Private Security?
DC Fire used talkgroup 2096, and may have used 867.5125 [156.7].

The convention center itself uses several UHF frequencies:

453.1125 [156.7] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - Security and Operations (Channel 1)
453.1375 [ d606] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - Housekeeping (Channel 4)
453.8875 [ d023] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - Catering
453.9125 [156.7] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - Security and Operations (Channel 2)
453.9625 [ d364] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - Security Alternate (Channel 5)
461.5500 [ d116] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - Food/Concessions
461.5500 [  88.5] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - CES Security (private security for some events) (Channel 1)
463.5750 [  88.5] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - CES Security (private security for some events) (Channel 2)
464.5000 [ d703] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - Maintenance/Security Alternate? (Channel 3)
467.8500 [156.7] Walter E. Washington Convention Center
467.9000 [156.7] Walter E. Washington Convention Center
467.8750 [156.7] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - "cable"
467.9250 [ d343] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - Security Alternate
467.9250 [156.7] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - "line cord"
469.8875 [156.7] Walter E. Washington Convention Center - "engineering has control on lights"; (Channel 7)

The license lists a few other frequencies that have not been heard before: 453.7875, 453.9875, and 460.5625.

Bedford Court FCC App

Bedford Court, a senior living community in Silver Spring, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 463.9500, and simplex on 463.8125.

Holiday Inn Capitol FCC App

The Holiday Inn Capitol Hotel, located at 550 C St. SW in DC, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 464.1000, and simplex on 461.0250, 464.0000, and 464.0500. Note that the hotel has been using several of these frequencies (and others) for years:

461.0250 [ d734]
461.1750 [ d734]
461.7750 [ d734]
461.8750 [ d734] "called room service"
464.0000 [ d734] Housekeeping (Ch. 3) (B/M)
464.0500 [ d734] Engineering (Ch. 2) (B/M)
464.1000 [156.7] Security/Manager on Duty (Ch. 1) (R)

JetBlue at DCA Using 451.2875

JetBlue is using 451.2875 [225.7] for maintenance at Reagan National Airport. The primary frequency is 463.8625 [210.7].

CNN MOTOTRBO Frequencies

CNN is using MOTOTRBO on several frequencies. Here's what's been found so far:

452.7000 [         ] CNN (1st St.) - "have package in lobby" (MOTOTRBO - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 2)
452.7000 [         ] CNN (1st St.) - Security Ch. 2 (MOTOTRBO - Color Code 1, Slot 2, Group 3)
452.7000 [         ] CNN (1st St.) - Security (MOTOTRBO - Color Code 1, Slot 2, Group 4)
462.2750 [         ] CNN (1st St.) - Shuttle (MOTOTRBO - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 1)
462.2750 [         ] CNN (1st St.) - "stream box" (MOTOTRBO - Color Code 1, Slot 2, Group 5)
464.9625 [         ] CNN (Wisconsin Ave.) - Shuttle (MOTOTRBO - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 1)
464.9625 [         ] CNN (Wisconsin Ave.) - "have package in lobby" (MOTOTRBO - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 2)
464.9625 [         ] CNN (Wisconsin Ave.) - "stream box" (MOTOTRBO - Color Code 1, Slot 2, Group 5)

There may be additional groups in use - more monitoring is required. Some of the groups (1, 2, and 5) are simulcast between the two transmitter locations (1st St. is CNN's Washington Bureau, and Wisconsin Ave. is the Garfield House).

Georgetown University Switching to MOTOTRBO?

Joining George Washington University, Howard University, and Catholic University, it appears Georgetown University will be switching to MOTOTRBO. The University's license has recently been modified for additional frequencies, and all frequencies have the MOTOTRBO emission designator.

Capitol Using MOTOTRBO Capacity Plus

The Capitol Complex is using a MOTOTRBO Capacity Plus system on the old "Capitol Tours" frequencies of 406.3875, 408.5125, and 409.8375. 406.3875 is using color code 11, and 409.8375 is using color code 13. (The color code for 408.5125 is unknown, but it's probably 12.) One group ID has been seen on the system (13), but it's unknown who the user is.

Weekend Events

• The Wizards play Friday at 7 PM at Verizon Center.
• Georgetown plays Saturday at noon at Verizon Center.
• The Wizards play Saturday at 7 PM at Verizon Center.
• The Capitals play Sunday at 3 PM at Verizon Center.

1099 New York Avenue FCC App

1099 New York Avenue, an office building in DC, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 461.3000 and simplex on 461.3750.

1201 F Street FCC App

1201 F Street, an office building in DC, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 463.9000.

Fairland Sports and Aquatics Complex FCC App

Fairland Sports and Aquatics Complex, located in Laurel, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for simplex on 451.6625, 452.1625, and 456.6625.

Ballston Tower FCC App

Ballston Tower, an office building in Arlington, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 451.8250.

Montgomery County Schools FCC App

Montgomery County Schools has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 461.3250 at Northwest High, a repeater on 464.6875 at Poolesville High, and a repeater on 451.5250 at Walter Johnson High.

Richmond Scanner Meeting Today

It's quite a distance from DC, but there is a Richmond scanner club (Central Virginia Radio Enthusiasts) meeting today. It's from 1:30-4:00 PM at the LaPrade Library in Chesterfield County. The library is at 9000 Hull Street Road, Richmond, VA 23236.

Macy's - Westfield Montgomery FCC App

The Macy's store at Westfield Montgomery has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 452.4375 and simplex on 451.2875, 451.5125, 451.6125, 451.7625, and 456.2875.

Macy's - Ballston Common Mall FCC App

The Macy's store at Ballston Common Mall in Arlington has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for repeaters on 451.8875 and 452.4375, and simplex on 451.4875, 452.6375, 452.6625, 457.6375, and 457.6625.

1101 Pennsylvania Avenue FCC App

1101 Pennsylvania Avenue, an office building in DC, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 464.3750 and simplex on 451.3625 and 461.9250.

Westin Washington, DC City Center FCC App

The Westin Washington, DC City Center has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for repeaters on 452.2250 and 464.4250. These frequencies have previously been licensed and in use:

452.2250 [ d532] (R)
464.4250 [ d723] Security/Engineering/Banquets (R)

Communications Direct Inauguration License

Communications Direct has licensed a slew of frequencies for use by production crews setting up and coordinating the inaugural ceremony and parade. The first twelve frequencies on the license look like they could be used as repeater pairs, even though they are only listed as simplex frequencies. It would not be surprising to see these used as either an LTR or MOTOTRBO Capacity Plus trunked system. Communications Direct used an LTR system for similar purposes for the 2009 Inauguration.

This is the second special temporary authorization license seen for the inauguration. Blanchard Communications, a locally-based radio provider, has also licensed several dozen simplex frequencies.

PSR-800 Firmware Update Available

The firmware for the PSR-800 has been updated. This firmware essentially makes official the Project 25 Phase II TDMA talkgroup decoding that was added in the previous beta versions.

Capitol Tour Guides Frequencies Using MOTOTRBO

Three frequencies (406.3875, 408.5125, and 409.8375) that have been previously noted as being used for Capitol tour guides are now using MOTOTRBO.

Inauguration Rehearsal Talkgroup Finds

Here are some talkgroups monitored during yesterday morning's Inauguration rehearsal:

JNCR talkgroups:
367 "Dominator base"
442
443
447
450
451 "fuel point" "tent"
455
459 "cordon 6" "cordon 7"
465
22422 "Med Tac Ranger X-ray 6"; "arrived fitness center Ft. McNair"

DC talkgroup:
35536 Emergency Management Agency 1

Arlington talkgroup:
26 Mutual Aid Patch

Westfield Wheaton/Mall at Prince George's Update

Updates on two suburban Maryland malls:

• Westfield Wheaton security remains on 461.7250 [ d031]. The mall was thought to have switched to MOTOTRBO, but that was probably another TRBO user on the same frequency.
• The Mall at Prince George's is confirmed using 463.4375 [ d032]. The mall's license indicates analog and MOTOTRBO emission designators, but at least for now, the frequency is analog.

George Washington University Using MOTOTRBO Capacity Plus

In an earlier post, it was noted that George Washington University had switched to MOTOTRBO on 464.2000. From monitoring yesterday, it appears the university is actually using a three-channel MOTOTRBO Capacity Plus system.

DC 700/800 Trunked System Live in Metro System

The now-confirmed DC 700/800 MHz trunked system has broadcast capabilities in the Metro system (only DC stations). (The legacy 800 MHz system is also broadcast in the Metro system.)

Stonewall Golf Club at Lake Manassas FCC App

Stonewall Golf Club at Lake Manassas has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for simplex on 456.3750, 456.5750, and 456.6250.

Cathedral Park Condo FCC App

Cathedral Park Condo, located at 3100 Connecticut Ave. NW in DC, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for simplex on 456.6375, 462.4625, 462.4875, and 464.7250.

Capitol Hill Monitors Meeting Sunday

The Capitol Hill Monitors scanner group is having a get-together on Sunday at 2 PM at The Original Ledo Restaurant. The restaurant is located at 4509 Knox Rd. in downtown College Park, MD. It's a short distance from the College Park-University of Maryland Metro Station. This is the first meeting the group has had since March 2009.

Weekend Event

• The Wizards play Saturday at 7 PM at Verizon Center.

2099 Pennsylvania Avenue FCC App

2099 Pennsylvania Avenue, an office building, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a MOTOTRBO repeater on 453.0125.

Capitol Hill Monitor Inauguration Issue Available

The Capitol Hill Monitor (CHM) Inauguration Issue is available in PDF format. This newsletter is a wealth of information not only for the inauguration, but also for scanning the DC area in general.

King George Sheriff Switched to Project 25

King George (VA) Sheriff has switched to Project 25 voice on their dispatch frequency (159.0900). The NAC is 293. The license does not show an emission designator for P25, but this is not unusual. In my limited monitoring, I have not heard any encryption, but they may use it. Fire continues to be analog at this time.

Uniden BCD396XT Firmware Update Coming Monday

Uniden is releasing a firmware update for the BCD396XT on Monday. This update should improve reception on Project 25 systems operating in Linear Simulcast Mode (LSM).

Wyndham Vacation Resorts at National Harbor FCC App

Wyndham Vacation Resorts at National Harbor has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for simplex on 451.4375, 451.5875, 451.6125, 451.7375, 452.2875, and 452.4875.

Weekend Events

• The Wizards play Friday at 7 PM at Verizon Center.
• The Redskins play Sunday at 4:30 PM at FedEx Field.