Spotsylvania Fire Chief Funeral

The funeral for Spotsylvania Fire Chief Norman Brooks was February 26. Here are talkgroups that were in use that day:

6018 "transportation from logistics"
6019 Sheriff Escorts
6020 Audiovisual
6033 "pallbearers" "programs" "VIP area"
6034 "parking from logistics"
6081 (also used for setting up flag day before) (possibly Talkaround 4)
7041 "ceremonial branch"
7043
7045 "apparatus" "tow trucks" "bikes" (possibly Channel 5)

Spotsylvania Using Talkgroup for Election

Poll workers in Spotsylvania are using talkgroup 7039 on the county trunked system.

Spotsylvania Stars and Stripes Spectacular

Here's what I've found so far for the Spotsylvania Stars and Stripes Spectacular:

Spotsylvania trunked system talkgroups:
5016 Disaster Tac (Parks & Recreation organizers) (patched to RIOS 1)
5025 RIOS 1 (Parks & Recreation organizers) (patched to Disaster Tac)
7507 School Buses (shuttles)

Lake Anna Drill

Spotsylvania and Louisa are conducting a dive drill on Lake Anna. Spotsylvania Fire Interop 1 (6018) is patched to Spotsylvania Sheriff RIOS 1 (5025).

UPS (Spotsylvania County) FCC App

UPS has an application pending before the FCC for analog/DMR simplex on 456.9500, 463.8750, 464.0750, 468.8750, and 469.0750 for its location in Spotsylvania County.

VHF Federal Frequencies Monitored in Fredericksburg

Yesterday, 150.7125 and 150.7375 were monitored along the Route 3 corridor in Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania. The frequencies were using Project 25 encrypted voice. No NAC was obtained, because the BCD436HP does not display the NAC for P25 encrypted frequencies.

150.7375 was previously monitored in Fredericksburg, with some clear voice.

Spotsylvania Switches to P25

At eight o'clock yesterday morning, Spotsylvania County switched to a Harris P25 system. Most Sheriff's Office communications are encrypted; almost all other communications are not. Talkgroups are a mix of Phase I and Phase II P25. The EDACS system has been shut down. Discussion of the change is occurring on a RadioReference thread.

Spotsylvania Train Accident Drill

On Saturday, Spotsylvania County staged a drill involving a simulated VRE/Amtrak collision at the Spotsylvania VRE station. Talkgroup 00-106 (Fire Ch. 7) from the county's EDACS system was active.

RIOS Test

This morning, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania conducted a RIOS test. Spotsylvania talkgroup 00-104 was patched to Fredericksburg talkgroup 5701.

Spotsylvania Testing Talkgroups

This morning, radio techs were testing what may be emergency management talkgroups on the Spotsylvania P25 system.

Testing on Stafford Trunked System

Last Wednesday, techs were doing extensive testing on Stafford's trunked system. The testing was probably related to the imminent switchover of Fredericksburg to the Stafford system, or to check for proper integration with Spotsylvania's upcoming P25 system. Talkgroup 5716 was called channel 5B, and talkgroup 5717 was called channel 5C.

July 4 Monitoring Roundup

I didn't attend the fireworks in DC this year, but did have a chance to monitor many of the Fredericksburg-area July 4 events. Here are some talkgroups monitored:

Spotsylvania
00-022 Fire Admin (fireworks safety)
00-087 Disaster Tac (fire/medical)
02-023 Sheriff Tac 2 (traffic control)
04-121 Parks & Recreation (organizers)
05-007 School Buses (shuttles)

Stafford
4505 Stafford Sheriff Coordination
4607 Stafford Fire Incident 2 (river/barge safety)

Charles
16528 Traffic Control
17152 Traffic Control
17376
17408 "north side Fairgrounds"
17424

I've already posted about Culpeper and Rappahannock. And before that, I posted about Warrenton.

Spotsylvania P25 System Update

Spotsylvania is scheduled to transition to a P25 system in September, according to a reliable source. The new system will have ten sites, replacing a two-site EDACS system. The county was originally scheduled to migrate to the new system earlier, but work has been delayed on one of the sites.

Most of the Sheriff's Office talkgroups will be encrypted, with the exception of a search and rescue channel, and several interop channels. The primary dispatch channels (known as Patrol 1 and Patrol 2 on the EDACS system) may be unencrypted at a later time if in-progress incidents can be moved to Tac channels quickly. Fire talkgroups will not be encrypted, with the exception of the Fire Marshal channel. The Disaster Tac channel, which is often used for events in the county, will also not be encrypted.

Road to Recovery Ride

Last Wednesday, a "Road to Recovery" ride went through Spotsylvania County. Organizers used 462.5625 [ d023], and Spotsylvania Sheriff used talkgroup 02-024 (A Tac).

RIOS Testing

Sunday morning, a RIOS test was conducted among several agencies. Orange Fire used 155.8950 [192.8], Spotsylvania Fire used talkgroup 00-106, Fredericksburg Fire used 158.8350 [203.5], and STARS talkgroup 98 was active. RIOS tests are conducted periodically.

150.7375 [ $293] Active in Fredericksburg

150.7375 [ $293] was active today in Fredericksburg. A Close Call hit on the frequency was received in Central Park. Most of the users were encrypted, but one or two were in the clear. It was difficult to figure out what the users were talking about, but it may have been multiple vehicles traveling from Central Park west on Route 3 to Spotsylvania.

Spotsylvania P25 System Active

Spotsylvania has their Project 25 system on the air. The system is in testing; it's probably several months from seeing regular use. One talkgroup has been seen so far: 5950, which is a simulcast of Fire/Rescue Dispatch. All transmissions on the talkgroup use radio ID 4110913.

The EDACS system remains the primary system for the county for now.

More RIOS Testing

A few days ago, RIOS testing was monitored on STARS talkgroup 6129 (Comlinc 2) and Stafford talkgroup 4505 (Coordination). This follows previous testing of RIOS by Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania.

RIOS Test

Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania, and Prince William conducted a weekly RIOS test this morning. (RIOS is a system for combining radios and other communications methods.) Fredericksburg used Police Ch. 3 (156.1050 [ 69.3]), and Spotsylvania used Sheriff Tac 2 (talkgroup 02-023). It's unknown what channel Prince William used.

Spotsylvania P25 Phase II System FCC App

Spotsylvania County, which will be upgrading from an EDACS system to a Project 25 Phase II system, has an application before the FCC. The app calls for four eight-frequency repeater sites. (Two of the frequencies will be returned once the system becomes operational.)

The county seeks to build a ten-site system with six frequencies. Because the Phase II system will use two-slot TDMA, the system should have ten voice paths available at any given time. (One of the frequencies will be used as a control channel, and there are two voice slots on the remaining five frequencies.) The current EDACS system also has ten available voice frequencies.

The county also has an application pending to modify its existing license to add four sites.