Thursday, May 31, 2018

Helicopter Fairfax 1 on STARS

Helicopter Fairfax 1 was monitored on one of the VSP Fairfax talkgroups yesterday on STARS. Its radio ID was 43131.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

NHL License for Stanley Cup Finals

The NHL was recently licensed for twenty UHF simplex frequencies to be used at Capital One Arena for the Stanley Cup Finals.

Capital One Arena License Mod

Capital One Arena has an application pending to modify its license ahead of the Stanley Cup Finals, which move to Washington Saturday evening. The modification increases the number of mobile units from 300 to 500, and adds five repeaters to the existing three-repeater Capacity Plus system. (These five repeaters were already used as conventional DMR repeaters.)

Another BCD436HP/BCD536HP Firmware Update

Another Friday, another firmware update for the BCD436HP/BCD536HP scanners.

Monday, May 28, 2018

Holiday Inn Express Fort Belvoir FCC App

The Holiday Inn Express at Fort Belvoir has an application pending before the FCC for a DMR repeater on 461.5625, and DMR simplex on 451.3625, 452.1875, 456.3625, and 457.1875.

Northern Virginia Community College License

Northern Virginia Community College was recently licensed for P25 conventional repeaters on 773.40625 at the NVCC campuses. This is a Special Temporary license that expires August 23; it's unknown what the purpose of these frequencies is.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center FCC App

Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center has an application pending before the FCC for DMR simplex on 451.5375, 451.3625, 451.5875, 451.6375, and 451.6875.

Weekend Events

  • Rolling Thunder is Sunday.
  • The National Memorial Day Parade is Monday.

Monday, May 21, 2018

AirCare 2 Radio ID

AirCare 2 was monitored this morning with a radio ID of 3187306 on the Stafford/Fredericksburg trunked system. The 318xxxx radio IDs are used by Fairfax County units (AirCare 1 is based at Fairfax Hospital, and uses radio ID 3187305.) The helicopter was landing somewhere in Stafford, possibly for a demonstration at Colonial Forge High School.

Update 9/7/19: AirCare 2 monitored today with radio ID 3187310.

Uniden Releases Another Firmware Update for BCD436HP/BCD536HP

On Friday, Uniden released yet another firmware update for the BCD436HP/BCD536HP scanners. The firmware is updated in Uniden's programming software application, Sentinel.

Whistler Announces New Scanners

Last week, Whistler announced new scanner models that will handle simulcast systems properly. They will also include Bluetooth transceivers. The units, which will ship in the fourth quarter, will compete with Uniden's SDS100 scanner (which will ship in June).

Marine Corps Historic Half Finds

Here's what I found yesterday for the Marine Corps Historic Half:

Stafford/Fredericksburg trunked system talkgroups:
5745 Course Marshal? (125xxxx units)
5746 Course (125xxxx units)
5748 "water point" "drone flying over" (125xxxx units)
5751
5752 "rear pace" (125xxxx units)
5760 Traffic Posts
5761 Medical
5762 Medical/Fire units
5765 Medical Aid Stations (125xxxx units)

442.8500 [107.2] Amateur Radio Support

Saturday, May 19, 2018

655 New York Ave. FCC App

655 New York Avenue, an office building in DC, has an application pending before the FCC for a DMR repeater on 464.4625.

Friday, May 18, 2018

Weekend Events

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

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Psychiatric Institute of Washington FCC App

The Psychiatric Institute of Washington has an application pending before the FCC for simplex on 451.2375, 451.4125, 451.6875, 452.1875, and 452.8875.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Metro 700 MHz System FCC App

Metro has begun applying for 700 MHz frequencies for its new radio system. A new application was recently submitted to the FCC for sites in DC, Prince George's, and Howard.

Charles County Schools Adds Repeater

Charles County Schools has added another analog/DMR repeater to its license. 153.3125 will be used at Benjamin Stoddert Middle School.

Friday, May 11, 2018

Uniden Releases New Firmware for BCD436HP/BCD536HP

Today, Uniden again released new firmware for the BCD436HP and BCD536HP scanners. The firmware is updated in Uniden's programming software application, Sentinel.

Stafford Schools Switching to County Trunked System?

Stafford school buses appear to be transitioning to the county trunked system. Talkgroups 4796 and 4797 have been active the past few days with school bus traffic. The primary traffic remains on the UHF-T analog frequencies (488.6375/489.1125), however.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Westlight FCC App

Westlight, a condo building in DC, has an application pending before the FCC for DMR simplex on 451.3625, 452.1125, 456.3625, and 457.1125.

New CHM Newsletter/Meeting in Fredericksburg

The May edition of the Capitol Hill Monitor newsletter is now available. There is also a scanner meeting in Fredericksburg at the Four Seasons Family Restaurant (5201 Jefferson Davis Hwy.) at 7:00 PM tonight. This get-together is meant to establish a new "CHM South" group.

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

United States Institute of Peace Using DMR on 452.9750

The United States Institute of Peace is using DMR on 452.9750. The organization had switched to DMR on 451.8625 some time ago, but it was never confirmed that they were using DMR on 452.9750 until recently. The two groups monitored on 452.9750 may have been for a special event at the organization's headquarters.

451.8625 [         ] Security (DMR - Color Code 4, Slot 1, Group 101) (R)
451.8625 [         ] Engineering (DMR - Color Code 4, Slot 2, Group 102) (R)
452.9750 [         ] (DMR - Color Code 5, Slot 1, Group 103) (R)
452.9750 [         ] (DMR - Color Code 5, Slot 2, Group 104) (R)

Update: 464.7500

The unknown user on 464.7500 referenced in a previous post is the Presidential Building at 1111 Pennsylvania Ave. There was a call on the frequency for a stalled elevator, and security said they were calling DC Fire. On DC Fire's dispatch talkgroup, 1111 Pennsylvania Ave. was confirmed. Here are the groups monitored on the frequency:

464.7500 [         ] Security (DMR - Color Code 5, Slot 1, Group 1)
464.7500 [         ] (DMR - Color Code 5, Slot 2, Group 2)
464.7500 [         ] (DMR - Color Code 5, Slot 2, Group 3)
464.7500 [         ] (DMR - Color Code 5, Slot 2, Group 4)

Monday, May 7, 2018

Virginia Gold Cup Finds

Here are talkgroups from the Fauquier County trunked system monitored during Saturday's Virginia Gold Cup at Great Meadow:

24688 Sheriff Tac 4 (Medical)
24720 Sheriff Tac 5 (Traffic Control/Security)
30320 Aaron's Towing

Possible Georgetown University Frequencies

463.2750 [ d331] and 463.7750 [ d331] were recently monitored from Rosslyn. Both frequencies used an automated voice, and "Harris Building" was mentioned on the latter. Georgetown University has a Harris Building, but these two frequencies are not licensed to GU.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

1101 New York Ave. FCC App

1101 New York Ave., an office building in DC, has an application pending before the FCC for an analog/DMR repeater on 452.1500, and analog/DMR simplex on 452.2875, 452.4875, 452.8625, 457.2875, and 457.8625.

Police Week License

The National Law Enforcement Museum has licensed a couple of 800 MHz repeaters (858.7875 and 859.3875) in a DMR trunked configuration for upcoming Police Week events.

Friday, May 4, 2018

Weekend Events

  • The Nats play Friday at 7:05, Saturday at 4:05, and Sunday at 1:35 at Nationals Park.
  • The Virginia Gold Cup is Saturday at Great Meadow in Fauquier County.
  • The Caps play Saturday at 7:00 at Capital One Arena.

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

Madison County, VA Schools Switch to DMR

Madison County, Virginia Schools have switched from an LTR system to conventional DMR. Only one frequency has been monitored from Fredericksburg, but the school system is licensed for two more. They may be using the frequencies in a MOTOTRBO IP Site Connect configuration, and the other frequencies may not be receivable from Fredericksburg.

The Citizen at Shirlington Village FCC App

The Citizen at Shirlington Village has an application pending before the FCC for simplex on 451.9875, 456.9875, and 451.4375.

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

Uniden Releases Additional Firmware Updates for BCD436HP/BCD536HP

About a month after releasing firmware for the BCD436HP/BCD536HP scanners to allow for NXDN decoding, Uniden has released a couple of other firmware updates to refine NXDN performance and improve several other issues. The scanner's firmware is updated in Uniden's programming software application, Sentinel.

National Museum of the Marine Corps Using DMR

The National Museum of the Marine Corps is using at least one of the DMR frequencies that were recently licensed:

461.9000 [         ] Security (DMR - Color Code 5, Group 5) (S)

Alaska Airlines Using DMR at DCA

Alaska Airlines recently converted their analog repeater to DMR at Reagan National Airport:

461.9625 [         ] (DMR - Color Code 6, Slot 2, Group 101)

Renaissance Washington Hotel Modifies Radio Usage

The Renaissance Washington Hotel has simplified their DMR repeater usage, and also appears to be using higher-output transmitters. Here's the latest line-up:

452.6500 [         ] Security (DMR - Color Code 4, Slot 1, Group 11)
464.5250 [         ] Housekeeping (DMR - Color Code 5, Slot 1, Group 13)
463.3250 [         ] Engineering? (DMR - Color Code 6, Slot 1, Group 15)
464.7750 [         ] Banquets? (DMR - Color Code 7, Slot 1, Group 17)

Interestingly, 464.7750 is used with the same color code as part of the Omni Shoreham Hotel's Capacity Plus system.

Georgetown University Switches to Capacity Plus

Georgetown University recently switched from conventional DMR repeaters to a multi-site Capacity Plus system. Only one site has been identified, but that site indicates the presence of three other sites. In brief monitoring, numerous talkgroups appeared, but only a couple have been identified so far.