Gallaudet University FCC App

Gallaudet University has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for a UHF simplex frequency of 467.8000. The frequency is to be used for the "university counseling center for the hearing impaired."

King George Schools Switch to MOTOTRBO

King George Schools has switched to MOTOTRBO on their school bus frequency of 151.7750. They were discussing the switch to TRBO on their old analog channel of 151.7750 [ d114]. They seemed to be doing lots of talking using the TRBO mode; I assume this was for radio testing of all the buses.

Windsor at Potomac Vista FCC App

Windsor at Potomac Vista, an apartment complex in Woodbridge, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for five UHF simplex frequencies.

451.3875

451.7375

452.0375

456.3875

456.7375

Smithsonian Folklife Festival Freqs Found

Here's what I found yesterday at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. This year, the organizers are using MOTOTRBO radios (in analog mode). The radios didn't have any kind of sticker on them which would indicate the rental company. It's also unknown how many channels they are using.

451.8000 [ d026] Tech
456.8125 [ d306] Park Police
461.0875 [ d606] Program Channel
461.1625 [ d116] Audio/Visual?
461.2375 [ d445] Security
461.3125 [ d054] Ice/Beverage
466.0375 [ d155] Talk (Ch. 10)
There is a "Stage Audio" channel.

Barbecue Battle Freqs/Talkgroups Found

Here's what I found yesterday at the Barbecue Battle. The event concludes today.

461.1250 [ d365] Production
461.5250 [ d546] Audio/Visual
463.7250 [ d306] Gates
464.2750 [ d445] Beverage
464.9250 [ d632] Safeway Tent
MPD used talkgroup 21232 (Citywide 2). DCFD used talkgroup 2128 (Special Events 3). Department of Health used talkgroup 34448.

The radios used by the organizers looked to have about ten channels printed on them. No radio rental provider was seen.

Weekend Events

There are two major events this weekend in DC: the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and the National Capital Barbecue Battle. Both events run Saturday and Sunday. The Folklife Festival is on the Mall, and the Barbecue Battle is on Pennsylvania Avenue between 9th and 14th Streets.

In previous years, the Folklife Festival has used a variety of rented UHF repeaters and simplex frequencies. In 2004, they even used talkgroups on the Smithsonian's LTR Passport system. Here are the frequencies used last year:

461.0750 [ d152] "Program" Channel (R)
461.1250 [ d172] Audio/Visual? (R)
461.2500 [192.8] Brief transmission monitored about weather update
464.9250 [141.3] Administration? (R)

Last weekend, I may have heard the Folklife Festival people setting up. If it was them, they were using some common UHF itinerant frequencies, such as 451.8000, 451.8125, 456.8000, 456.8125, etc.

The Barbecue Battle has also used a variety of rented UHF frequencies over the years. Here's what I found last year:

457.5125 [ d412]
459.4125 [ d743] Logistics?
460.6125 [ d223] Safeway Tent
461.21875 [ d371] Production (Channel 3)
462.3250 [141.3] Security/Medical
462.7125 [ 77.0] Stage Operations?
464.1625 [ d464]
465.8375 [167.9] Gate/Beverage Managers (Channel 2)
467.0125 [225.7]
468.0125 [ d664] Area Managers (Channel 10)

DC Trunked System Talkgroups:
2112 DC Fire Special Events 2
21232 MPD Citywide 2
34448 Department of Health
35536 Emergency Management Agency
35600 Traffic Management Center

In previous years, the event has used the common rental frequencies used by Bearcom Rentals and others (464.5/464.55/464.6/464.625/464.65/464.7/464.725/464.75 and their +5 MHz counterparts).

Special Operations Group FCC App

Special Operations Group, which provides private security in the DC area, has an application pending before the FCC. The app calls for three UHF simplex frequencies.

452.4875

452.8125

457.4875