Weekend Events

• Awesome Con DC is Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
• DC United plays Saturday at 7 PM at RFK Stadium.

Republic Square FCC App

Republic Square, an office building at 25 Massachusetts Ave. NW in DC, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for an analog/DMR repeater on 452.6250.

George Mason University FCC Apps

George Mason University has two applications pending before the FCC. There is not much information in the apps regarding what the frequencies will be used for.

0006818689

0006818690

Prince William Communications FCC App

Prince William Communications has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for an analog/NEXEDGE trunked system on 462.3250, 463.4500, 463.8250, and 464.7000. The transmitter location is in Fairfax County at Rt. 123 and Rt. 286.

Udvar-Hazy Center Using NXDN

The Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport has migrated to the DC Area Federal NXDN IDAS system. Three frequencies were found, and the site was showing as Site 4. All transmissions appeared to be scrambled.

Dulles Airport Update

Here are new/updated frequencies for Dulles Airport:

451.8500 [         ] Skycaps (Huntleigh) (DMR - Color Code 10, Slot 2, Group 3) (RAS)
464.9000 [         ] Skycaps (Huntleigh) (DMR - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 22151) (RAS)
452.2250 [         ] Alaska (DMR - Color Code 2, Slot 1, Group 101)
460.7875 [         ] Avianca/Taca (DMR - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 1)
460.7875 [         ] Avianca/Taca (DMR - Color Code 1, Slot 2)
460.7625 [         ] Southwest (DMR - Color Code 12, Slot 1, Group 101)
460.7625 [         ] Southwest (DMR - Color Code 12, Slot 2, Group 102)
460.8750 [         ] US Airways/American (DMR - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 1001)
463.3250 [         ] Hertz - Customer Service (DMR - Color Code 9, Slot 1, Group 11)
463.3250 [         ] Hertz - Buses (DMR - Color Code 9, Slot 2, Slot 12)
452.2750 [         ] Swissport (DMR - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 1) (RAS)
452.2750 [         ] Swissport (DMR - Color Code 1, Slot 2, Group 2) (RAS)

Many of the above frequencies were previously analog, and have switched to DMR. The Hertz frequency may actually be for Dollar/Thrifty, since Hertz already has a separate frequency at the airport.

The Aeronautical Radio trunked system was found to have at least one unencrypted group; other groups are using Enhanced Privacy.

The United Airlines trunked system remains Motorola Type II; it was suspected that the system may have been converted to Capacity Plus or Connect Plus, as United seems to be doing with some of their systems at hub airports (such as Chicago) in the United States.

National Memorial Day Parade

Monitored via the DC trunked system software-defined radio, here are a couple of talkgroups active during today's National Memorial Day Parade:

717 DCFD Special Events 2
2117 DC Emergency Management Agency

Tysons Corner Center License Modification

Tysons Corner Center recently modified its license. DMR emissions codes were added to the 464.9375 repeater, and the 464.3750 repeater was added as DMR/analog. 464.9375 has never been used by the mall (the property has used an unlicensed repeater on 461.9875 for security for years). 464.3750 has been used by the mall for housekeeping, but may have been added to this license because the current license for the frequency is expiring next month.

Capitol Crossing FCC App

Balfour Beatty Construction, which is constructing Capitol Crossing at 222 Massachusetts Ave. NW, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 463.2500, and simplex on 463.7250, 464.1750, 466.5000, 468.7250, and 469.1750.

Cyrus Networks FCC App

Cyrus Networks, which runs a data center in Sterling, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a DMR/analog repeater on 462.4250, and DMR/analog simplex on 463.8250, 464.1750, 464.4250, 469.1750, and 469.4250.

Weekend Events

• The Nats play Friday at 7:05, Saturday at 4:05, and Sunday at 1:35 at Nationals Park.
• The National Memorial Day Concert is Sunday at 8:00 on the West Lawn of the Capitol.
• The National Memorial Day Parade is Monday at 2:00 on Constitution Ave. from 7th to 17th Sts.

Washington Harbour Using DMR

Washington Harbour has been confirmed using DMR on 452.4375. Here are the two groups found:

452.4375 [         ] Security (DMR - Color Code 4, Slot 1, Group 1)
452.4375 [         ] (DMR - Color Code 4, Slot 2, Group 2)

No activity was monitored on the other frequency Washington Harbour is licensed for (464.3125).

Lt. Kevin McRae Funeral

The funeral and procession for DC firefighter Lt. Kevin McRae was on Friday. Three unencrypted talkgroups were active on the DC trunked system: DCFD Special Events 1 and 2, and the Emergency Management Agency talkgroup. Several other DCFD encrypted talkgroups were active that day; some of these were probably used in support of the funeral. Fire personnel from DC, Montgomery, Prince George's, and Charles were active on the Special Events talkgroups; the Montgomery units had 250xxxx radio IDs.

Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon

The Marine Corps Historic Half Marathon was yesterday morning in Fredericksburg. Here's what was monitored:

147.0150 [  88.5] Amateur Radio - K4TS
154.7250 [131.8] Fredericksburg Police 1 (patched to Spotsylvania talkgroup 02-041 and STARS talkgroup 98)
158.8350 [203.5] Fredericksburg Fire 3 (Medical Branch)
155.7150 [156.7] Fredericksburg Fire 7 (Celebrate Command)
Marines used temporary trunked system (388.5250 control, system ID 355, site 101, WACN BEE0A, NAC 350)

The Fredericksburg Police channel uses voice inversion, but the patched talkgroups allowed one to listen to all units. (The sound quality was poor on the STARS talkgroup.)

The trunked system that the Marines used is probably a mobile, low-power system. A similar system was used for the 2008 race. Due to the weakness of the signal, I was not able to determine if the talkgroups used were clear or encrypted.

851.8375 [141.3] was monitored shortly after the race; this frequency was probably used for car-to-car communications among visiting public safety units.

Hotel Monaco Alexandria License Modification

The Hotel Monaco Alexandria recently modified its license to add DMR simplex on 451.5125, 452.0375, 456.5125, and 457.0375. The hotel is already licensed for several VHF frequencies, so these frequencies may mean the hotel is switching to UHF.

Renaissance Mayflower FCC App

The Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in DC has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for one VHF frequency, and several UHF frequencies. The hotel's previous license expired in February. The new application makes some minor changes to the frequencies requested.

Weekend Events

• Opera in the Outfield is today at 7 PM at Nationals Park.

Arlington Trunked System Finds

A couple of new talkgroups found on the Arlington trunked system:

• 21 School Security
• 143 Wakefield High School

Having one of the high schools on the trunked system is a new development for Arlington (although it is done in some nearby jurisdictions, such as Alexandria). A couple of the other high schools are covered under a VHF license. Washington-Lee High uses 152.4050 [ d411]. Yorktown High is licensed for 152.3750, but has not been monitored. There doesn't appear to be a license for Arlington Mill High. The previously-mentioned license may cover that school as well as several others, as the license is for 300 mobiles.

Nationals Park - American Medical Response

American Medical Response, a company providing first aid services at Nationals Park, is using DMR on 452.2625. Here are the two channels found:

452.2625 [         ] (Ch. 1) (DMR - Color Code 3, Slot 1, Group 100)
452.2625 [         ] (Ch. 2) (DMR - Color Code 3, Slot 2, Group 101)

It's unknown if DC Fire is still using a frequency and/or talkgroup for ops at the stadium. Special Events 1/2 from the DC trunked system did not seem to be active for Friday evening's game.

Arsenal of Democracy Flyover Finds

Here's what I found at Friday's Arsenal of Democracy flyover:

118.9500 [ CSQ] Potomac Departure
134.3500 [ CSQ] DCA Tower - Helicopters (Airboss)
170.5125 [ $4C5] National Park Service - National Capital Parks Central

DC Trunked System talkgroup:
716 DCFD Special Events 1

Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Trunked System talkgroups:
1696 Reagan National Operations (emergency landing incident)
2640 Fire 3L Reagan Alert (emergency landing incident)

Alexandria Renew Enterprises FCC App

Alexandria Renew Enterprises, a local government agency which operates a water reclamation facility, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a DMR repeater on 453.6750.

Watkins Security Agency License Modification

The Watkins Security Agency was recently licensed for a repeater on 461.2250 for a location on Seventh St. SW, near the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Constitution Center (the building that was the former headquarters of the Department of Transportation).

Weekend Events

• The Nats play Saturday at 4:05 and Sunday at 1:35 at Nationals Park.
• The Wizards play Saturday at 5:00 PM at Verizon Center.
• DC United plays Saturday at 7:00 PM at RFK Stadium.
• The Caps play Sunday at 7:00 PM at Verizon Center.

Market Common Clarendon FCC App

Market Common Clarendon, a shopping area in Arlington, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for DMR simplex on 451.3875, 451.5375, 452.1625, 456.5375, and 457.1625.

Arsenal of Democracy Flyover

The Arsenal of Democracy Flyover is on Friday, beginning at about 12:10 PM. The planes will leave from Culpeper and Manassas Airports, fly down the Potomac River, and then traverse the National Mall from the Lincoln Memorial to the Capitol.

National Park Service and Park Police frequencies should be active:

170.5125 [ $4C5] National Park Service - Medical/First Aid (R)
172.4750 [ $4C5] National Park Service - National Mall & Memorial Parks (R)
172.7500 [ $4C5] National Park Service - National Mall & Memorial Parks (S)
166.7250 [127.3] Park Police - Special Events (Channel 1)
166.9250 [127.3] Park Police - Dispatch (Channel 2)
167.0750 [127.3] Park Police - Administrative (Channel 3)
166.8500 [127.3] Park Police - Tactical Operations (Channel 4) (S)

Frequencies for Reagan National Airport and surrounding airspace should be active. The AirNav page for DCA has many communications frequencies.

DC 16xx Talkgroups

Today, more radio testing was done on 16xx talkgroups on the DC trunked system. Several of the talkgroups were identified by channel name:

1617 - 0-1
1619 - 0-3
1620 - 0-4
1633 - 1-7
1634 - 1-8
1635 - 1-9
1636 - 2-0
1637 - 2-1
1638 - 2-2
1642 - 2-6

These talkgroups may be used by Metro in the future. Metro is supposed to migrate from its UHF-T system to the DC system. Previous testing on some of these talkgroups was done in January, February, and March.

DSD+ 1.071 Released

DSD+ version 1.071 was released this morning. There is a RadioReference forum post about the release.

The major addition to 1.071 seems to be a built-in frequency tuner/scanner, which eliminates the need for a program like SDR#. It also eliminates the need for a virtual audio cable program, such as VB-Cable or Virtual Audio Cable, to route the audio from SDR# to DSD+.

National Zoo Update

The National Zoo is using the DC Area Fed SMR IDAS system. This system has replaced the PassPort system. The zoo was found to be using at least five frequencies. (Only two were noted in use when the PassPort system was active.) The increased number of frequencies is probably due to all personnel at the zoo using the system. Previously, only police, maintenance, and keepers were using the trunked system. Parking, guest services, concessions, and others were using UHF business frequencies.

Unfortunately, it appears all communications are encrypted.

Virginia Gold Cup Talkgroups Found

Here are talkgroups from the Fauquier County trunked system in use for yesterday's Virginia Gold Cup:

24688 Sheriff Tac 4 (Parking)
26128 Event 2 (Medical)
26160 Event 3 (Medical)
30320 Wrecker Service

24688 appeared to only be used for exterior parking/law enforcement. Interior law enforcement may have been on a simplex channel. 30320 is a never-before-seen talkgroup, and was used to dispatch what sounded like a private wrecker service to disabled vehicles.

Weekend Events

• Dulles Airport conducts an emergency exercise Saturday morning.
• The Virginia Gold Cup is Saturday beginning at 12:30 PM at Great Meadow in The Plains, VA.
• DC United plays Saturday at 7:00 PM at RFK Stadium.

Cambria Suites Rockville FCC App

Cambria Suites Rockville, which opens next month, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for DMR simplex on 452.0375, 452.1875, 452.6875, 457.0375, and 457.6875.