New Frequency Found for AutoTrain Terminal

173.2250 [ 79.7] was recently identified as a frequency for the AutoTrain Terminal in Lorton. 160.3650, 160.8450, and 161.2950 are also licensed to Amtrak at Lorton.

Nationals Park Update

I've identified several groups on the Nationals Park Capacity Plus system in the past few weeks. As far as I can tell, this system appears to have replaced all Nats Park staff communications.

Washington National Cathedral Update

Here is the latest line-up of frequencies for Washington National Cathedral:

461.3000 [         ] Housekeeping?/National Cathedral School? (DMR - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 5)
461.6750 [         ] Police (DMR - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 6)
462.0250 [         ] Engineering (DMR - Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 4)

Johns Hopkins University Using DMR

The DC campus of Johns Hopkins University is using DMR on 463.7750 (Color Code 8, Slot 1, Group 61772).

Fairmont Hotel Using DMR

The Fairmont Hotel in DC is using DMR on 462.5000, 463.2375, and 464.5875. I was not able to obtain color code, slot, and group information.

Crowne Plaza Tysons Corner Hotel New License

The Crowne Plaza Tysons Corner Hotel was recently issued a license for simplex on 456.1875, 456.3875, 456.5375, 456.7375, and 457.4125.

Inova Ashburn Healthplex License

Inova Ashburn Healthplex was recently licensed for a DMR repeater on 461.5750.

McLean Bible Church Modifies License

McLean Bible Church recently modified its license. Multiple frequencies and locations were added.

Scanners Prohibited at Andrews Air Show

Scanners are on the list of prohibited items for the Joint Base Andrews Air Show on Saturday, September 19. At previous air shows at Andrews, hobbyists have reported mixed results in bringing scanners onto the base.

Weekend Events

• The Nats play Friday at 7:05, Saturday at 7:05, and Sunday at 1:35 at Nationals Park.

Arlington County Encrypted Talkgroup

Yesterday, encrypted talkgroup 71 was monitored on the Arlington County trunked system. This falls near encrypted talkgroups 61 and 70, which have been monitored previously.

Falls Church Schools Change Frequency on License

Falls Church City Schools have changed a frequency on their license. The schools had added an analog/DMR repeater on 152.9900; this frequency has now been changed to 154.4975.

German School Modifies License

The German School, located in Potomac, recently modified its license to add DMR emission designators to its four UHF simplex frequencies.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel New License

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in DC recently licensed frequencies again, after letting its previous license lapse for over a year. The frequencies are about the same as before, except that a repeater on 452.7375 was not relicensed.

AU Adds More Frequencies to Trunked System

American University has added another two frequencies (452.5125 and 452.8875) to its license for its Linked Capacity Plus system. The frequencies have a transmitter location at the Washington College of Law. The university recently licensed another frequency for use at that location.

Weekend Events

• The Nationals play Friday at 7:05, Saturday at 7:05, and Sunday at 1:35 at Nationals Park.
• DC United plays Saturday at 7:00 at RFK Stadium.

601 Massachusetts Avenue FCC App

601 Massachusetts Avenue, an office building in DC, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a DMR repeater on 464.3000, and DMR simplex on 451.4125, 451.4875, 451.5375, 456.4875, and 456.5375.

Northrup Grumman Adds Frequency

Northrup Grumman has added a DMR repeater on 463.7000 to its license. The transmitter location is 2340 Dulles Corner Blvd. in Herndon.

Falls Church Schools Adds Frequency

Falls Church City Schools have modified their license to add an analog/DMR repeater on 152.9900. Buses have previously been confirmed using DMR on 152.2700.

American University Adds Site to Capacity Plus System

American University has modified its license to add another site to its Linked Capacity Plus system. The new site will be at the Washington College of Law (separate from the main campus), and will use a single frequency (453.1875).

Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company License

Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company was recently licensed for an analog/DMR repeater on 152.8700 in Prince William County.

GEICO Adds Frequency to License

GEICO, which has an office in Chevy Chase, has added a repeater on 464.0125 to its license.

Hope Village FCC App

Hope Village, a halfway house in DC, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a repeater on 451.5000, and simplex on 464.9250 and 469.9250.

Hope Village has previously been monitored on 451.9875 [ d431], but the license for that frequency is expired.

Leisure World of Maryland Using DMR

Leisure World of Maryland is using DMR on 496.0375 (Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 1). Both security and buses share the group. The license for this frequency does not indicate DMR.

DC Property Management Update

Two recent property management finds for DC:

• L'Enfant Plaza is using DMR on 464.5250 (Color Code 7, Slot 1, All Call and Color Code 7, Slot 2, Group 11). The license for this frequency expired last year.
• 55 M Street SE, an office building near Nationals Park, is using DMR on 462.5250 (Color Code 5, Slot 1, Group 555407). This frequency is licensed.

Marriott Marquis Switches to Capacity Plus

The Marriott Marquis Hotel in DC has at least partially switched to a Capacity Plus system. The three frequencies used for this system are able to be monitored from many points in DC and the surrounding area. The hotel is licensed for several other frequencies, which are only able to be monitored in the vicinity of the hotel. These have previously been confirmed to be DMR conventional, and it's not known if these frequencies were switched to Capacity Plus as well. It's possible the hotel has set up a Linked Capacity Plus system. (The hotel needs multiple frequencies to carry the same traffic because it has several below-ground levels.)

The Capacity Plus system has Restricted Access to System (RAS) enabled, which means a DMR radio cannot be programmed to monitor the system. The system can be monitored with a program such as DSD+, however.

Citi Open Finds

Here's what was monitored at the Citi Open yesterday:

461.0375 1-1004 "credentials"
461.0875 1-1006
461.1125 1-1007 "name pronunciations"
461.1375 1-1008
461.1625 1-1009
461.2375 1-1001 Tournament Officials
461.2625 1-1002 Operations
461.2625 1-1011 Tournament official talking to doctor
466.0375 1-1003 Security (Ch. 3)
466.0875 1-1013 Announcement Rehearsal
466.1125 1-1014

461.2375 1-3001 Parking

166.8500 [127.3] Park Police (S)
461.5500 [  88.5] CES Security (S)
464.3250 [ d532] Design Cuisine (S)
464.5000 [123.0] TV (S)

The tournament was using DMR simplex this year. In 2013 (last year monitored), officials used UHF analog simplex. For the top set of frequencies, the first number is the color code, and the second number is the group.

The tournament continues through Sunday.

Weekend Events

• The Nationals play Friday at 7:05, Saturday at 7:05, and Sunday at 1:35 at Nationals Park.
• The Citi Open continues through Sunday at the Fitzgerald Tennis Center in Rock Creek Park.

Nationals Park Switches to Capacity Plus

Nationals Park has switched from conventional DMR to a Capacity Plus system. The ballpark appears to only be using four of the six licensed repeaters, but this yields a capacity of eight talk-paths. During my limited time monitoring, a few groups were identified, but there are several others in use. (The "cash room" was mentioned to use Channel 8.)

The license has not been updated to account for the trunked system.

National Harbor Update

Here are some updates for National Harbor:

462.0875 [         ] Capital Wheel (DMR - Color Code 4, Group 7) (S)
464.8250 [ d351] AC Hotel - Housekeeping (S)
467.9250 [ d351] AC Hotel - Engineering
154.5700 [  67.0] Residence Inn by Marriott

The Capital Wheel has switched from repeater to simplex operation, and is using a different frequency and group. The AC Hotel is using one of the frequencies from its license. The Residence Inn is using the VHF frequency even though the hotel's license for UHF frequencies remains valid. The hotel may also be using 462.5875. The Hampton Inn is using digital (probably DMR) simplex UHF portables. The frequency was not found, and I did not see the brand of radios they were using.

I also updated a couple of groups for the Gaylord National Hotel system.

Unknown Capacity Plus System

I monitored an unknown Capacity Plus system yesterday from National Harbor. It appeared to use a single frequency, 462.0375. The color code was 3. One group was noted: 5. On this group, "kitchen," "third floor," "Springfield Mall area," and "admin office" were monitored.

None of the FCC licenses for the frequency seem to make sense for what I was hearing.

National Harbor Simplex Frequencies

While at National Harbor yesterday, I monitored several DMR simplex frequencies. I suspect these are in use for the construction of the MGM casino, which opens in the second half of 2016. (The first number after the frequency is the color code, the second the slot, and the third the group.)

451.4625 9-1-1
451.4875 10-1-1
451.5625 10-1-1
451.5875 11-1-1
451.6625 11-1-1
451.7625 12-1-1
452.1125 13-1-1
452.5125 15-1-1
452.6875 1-1-1
452.7125 1-1-1

Haymarket Medical Center Using DMR

Haymarket Medical Center security was recently confirmed using DMR on 452.45625 (Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 10). The hospital is actually licensed for NXDN on this frequency.

Stonewall Shops Square Frequencies Found

Here are frequencies found at Stonewall Shops Square in Gainesville, VA:

464.5000 [  67.0] Wegmans
467.8500 [ d532] Michaels
467.8750 [  94.8] Dick's Sporting Goods
467.9000 [225.7] Staples
467.9250 [  67.0] Bed Bath & Beyond

Out-of-Area Frequency Finds

Summer has brought road trips to several cities outside of the DC region. Here are notable pages that have been updated:

Charlottesville
Albemarle County
Richmond
Henrico County
Hanover County
Williamsburg
James City County
York County
Newport News
Hampton

I also have many updates for Hampton Roads (Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Virginia Beach), which will be posted to the website shortly.

Department of Agriculture Confirmed Frequency

Security for the Department of Agriculture headquarters building in DC was recently confirmed using DMR on 451.8125 (Color Code 9, Slot 1, Group 101). This appears to be an unlicensed frequency. A private security company still hold a license for the headquarters building; it's unknown if their frequencies are still in use.

NPR Confirmed Frequency

National Public Radio headquarters in DC was recently confirmed using 462.0250 [ d263] for security.

Trinity University Confirmed Frequency

Trinity University in DC was recently confirmed using 463.5000 [ d311] for security.

Varekai by Cirque du Soleil Finds

Here are frequencies found for the Varekai by Cirque du Soleil show, which was at the EagleBank Arena at George Mason University in late July:

451.8000 [ d032]
464.5500 [ d432]
469.5000 [ d116]

These frequencies are covered under a nationwide license.

George Mason University Update

Spent some time near George Mason University recently, and was able to update several frequencies. Here's the latest list:

855.4875 [107.2] Police Dispatch (Channel 1)
855.7125 [107.2] Police Secondary/Special Events (Channel 2)
451.4375 [ d454] Recreation (S)
451.4875 [ d454] Recreation (S)
460.4625 [114.8] Call Boxes?
464.9750 [ d244] Athletics? (S)
461.5125 [ d152] EagleBank Arena - CSC Event Staff (S)
463.2750 [  88.5] EagleBank Arena - Operations (Ticket issues/talk about national anthem)
463.9250 [  88.5] EagleBank Arena - Security/General Operations (Ticket Takers/Ushers/Housekeeping) (Ch. 1)
464.5750 [  88.5] EagleBank Arena - Guest Services
464.6000 [  88.5] EagleBank Arena - Parking
464.6750 [  88.5] EagleBank Arena - Concessions

The university's LTR system was also updated.

Alexandria Renew Enterprises Using DMR

Alexandria Renew Enterprises, which operates a wastewater reclamation facility, was recently confirmed using DMR on 453.6750 (Color Code 1, Slot 1, Group 1).

Southern Maryland Hospital New Frequency

Southern Maryland Hospital was recently confirmed using a new frequency: 452.8500 [ d546]. This frequency may replace the legacy 464.3750 [ d546], or simply be an additional frequency.

SMECO Confirmed Using Capacity Plus

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative was recently confirmed using a MOTOTRBO Capacity Plus system. Only one frequency was found for the La Plata site in Charles County. No groups were monitored.

Watergate Hotel FCC App

The Watergate Hotel, which reopens this fall, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for analog/DMR repeaters on 452.0000 and 452.8000, and analog/DMR simplex on 451.7625, 452.1375, 452.6875, 456.7625, and 457.1375.