ISSUE 61

JUL-AUG-SEP 2012

ARRL Field Day Philadelphia Metro Area Sponsored by the Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club Held on June 23 & 24, 2012 On the fourth full weekend each June, radio amateurs from all over the US and Canada, and in other parts of the world as well, take their equipment into the great outdoors to operate away from power mains. The idea is to practice setting up and operating under emergency conditions. Participants set up efficient temporary stations and contact as many other Field Day participants as possible. Although it is a practice effort for future emergency operations, Field Day is, above all, fun; you can't help but enjoy the challenge of working cooperatively with your group to compete against perhaps 100,000 other hams who are also braving the elements to attain the same goal. Phil-Mont participates in Field Day every year from Fort Washington State Park in Fort Washington, PA. Our operating location is in the group tenting area of the park. Everyone is invited to visit the Field Day site at any time during the activity.

ARRL Field Day Phil-Mont Mobile Radio Club in Action in the Philadelphia Area Monitoring the USS San Antonio by Dan Myers K3NXX Amateur Radio Emergency Training by Robert Gulley AK3Q Special Events in New York City by Phil Lichtenberger Military Monitor Don Edwards has Died New Iowa Column by Jim Lawrence New Western PA Column Editor Frank Speicher K3FS
GENERAL EDITOR Jeff Newton ScannerDigest@gmail.com

ARRL Field Day Overview ARRL Field Day is the single most popular on-the-air event held annually in the US and Canada. Each year over 35,000 amateurs gather with their clubs, friends or simply by themselves to operate. ARRL Field Day is not a fully adjudicated contest, which explains much of its popularity. It is a time where many aspects of Amateur Radio come together to highlight our many roles. While some will treat it as a contest, most groups use the opportunity to practice their emergency response capabilities. It is an excellent opportunity to demonstrate Amateur Radio to local elected community leaders, key individuals with the organizations that Amateur Radio might serve in an emergency, as well as the general public. For many clubs, ARRL Field Day is one of the highlights of their annual calendar.

Power supply, radios and a computer make up one of the stations here at Field Day.

LP fuel source to power generators used for radio & computer equipment on Field Day.

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Al Tribble W3STW does a final inspection of a satellite communication set-up. A guyed antenna mast supporting several HF beam antennas are pictured here.

Amateur radio operator Bill Popovic W3AOK is here operating the Phil-Mont ARC VHF station. Listed here in the newsletter are just a few of the available photos that were taken on Field Day. The remainder of photos can be viewed at the Phil-Mont website. http://www.phil-mont.org/fd2012

Ham operators Jeff WN3A, Chris N3CB and Ed KB3IV are preparing to set up in the early morning hours at the start of this years Field Day event. Each year the ARRL makes available a link which shows locations of various Field Day events through the USA. This link shows the various areas for 2012. http://www.arrl.org/field-day-locator

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A Great Friend and Military Monitor has Passed Away

by Dan Myers On June 28, 2012 Don Edwards of Northville, NY lost his six month battle with throat cancer. I met Don about twenty-five years ago at a New England air show. Like so many other friends I have met along the way, we were attracted to each other by our shared scanner-radio interest and military monitoring. Don lived in upstate New York and I in eastern Pennsylvania. We would often converse on the phone and by email letting each other know when a military flight was heading in each others respective direction. Don was also a musician, avid aviation photographer and held a Tech Class Amateur Radio License, K2NUM. Don was co-editor of the Eastern NY column for the Northeast Scanning News (forerunner to SDN) from 1987 to 1994. Don was also an active contributor to several of the on-line Military Monitoring lists. His unselfish kindness and dedication to the hobby touched many lives. Some of those on the lists expressed their thanks and sorrow. I will miss seeing Don at air shows and our fun conversations. Rest in Peace my friend. Dan Myers, K3NXX On-Line Tributes: Don was a good friend and wonderful guy. He and I shared an interest in older model scanners as well as military aviation photography. Don was a very generous friend. On several occasions when I sent him a photo he wanted, that I had taken, he would respond by sending me a CD full of his wonderful photography. He was generous with his advice as well and always encouraging and complimentary. RIP, Don; you are missed and remembered. AL STERN Satellite Beach FL This is sad news indeed. Don has been posting his great photos over on the radio reference web site under the aviation photograph forum. He took some wonderful images. He will be missed. myteaquinn, west of Cleveland Wow sorry to hear about this. I had just exchanged some info with Don the other day. Great guy who had helped me out with freqs and info. I had just chatted with him the other day and he gave me some great info like he always had in the past. We will miss him in here. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. Chrism, Western NY Don was a very good friend of mine for the past twenty years. We shared many great times together at his house and attending airshows in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Some of our best times were in Virginia Beach over the years for the Oceana airshow. We would often meet back

at the hotel, share some good conversation, frequencies, photos, and have a beer while looking out to the ocean on his balcony with the sweet sound of many military comms coming out of the scanners that Don would have set up in his room. I will share everyone's fine comments with his wife when I see her. She will know that he was well liked by many people for his great kindness in always offering help to anyone who needed it. Ed Langworthy Gray, ME It is the deepest of saddest that I announce the passing of a good friend - Don Edwards, N2NUM. Don's wife Nancy connected me this morning to let me know that he passed away after a short battle with cancer. Nancy wrote: "He loved monitoring everything on the scanners and HF and loved sending the pictures of the same to Monitoring Times." Larry Van Horn Like many others in the list, I deeply mourn the passing of Don. I simply am lost for words when it comes to saying good things about him; there are not enough positive adjectives in the English language. And like many of you, I was blessed to know Don for decades. I was writing for Les Mattson's old NESN and had gotten to the point where I was losing interest in the hobby and was ready to give it up. While talking to Les one night on the phone, he suggested I call this guy Don Edwards in New York and ask him about monitoring the military. I did so and I was hooked! I credit Don, his enthusiasm, his friendliness and his willingness to share what he knew for the fact that I am still today passionately monitoring, searching for new frequencies and doing a tiny fraction of what Don excelled at; sharing what I know with others. I've thanked Don many times in person and via e-mail for what he did for me. He was a good friend and a good guy and I will miss him more than I can express. He was my guru. Let us take a moment to express our gratitude to those in our lives who bring us deeper understanding and share their passion and knowledge as Don did for many of us. People like Don, and those of you in this group who share so willingly, are true gifts in our lives. Best Wishes, Jim L., VT I was very shocked and sadden to hear about Dons passing. Over the many years when I attended air shows Don was always there with his camera and radios. As I type this and close my eyes, I can see him at the show line ready to get that great photo shot or scoop that discrete air to ground frequency in use. He always had the skill to ferret out the interesting frequencies whether it be military, federal, or even local usage and share with other monitoring hobbyists. I remember one time at an open house he was able to get a picture of a communication card on an aircraft by angling his camera with the telephoto lens a certain way from the ground looking up Wow!!! I offer my deepest condolences to his family. Ken Springfield, MA Monitoring Area

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It has still not sunk in that Don has passed away. I have known him for many years and he would always call me on the phone to ask aviation related questions. I was happy that Nancy remembered to contact me directly but very sad to hear the news of his passing. I purchased an Icom from him several years ago. It still has Don's programmed frequencies and identifiers in it. I won't be changing them in memory of a great friend. Terry Pavlick After seeing so many posts about Don, I wanted to add my thoughts. After seeing his regular posts I emailed him one day for some info. He sent me back a whole page of military frequencies that I did not have. I remember going home that night and right as I entered the last digit of a freq. @ Ft. Drum, I heard comms! I couldn't believe it! Needless to say, I contacted him more often after that. We got on the subject of me shooting air show videos and he asked me if I would travel up to Northville to shoot his incredible Christmas light display. The whole house and yard were equipped with lights that were synced up to TSO music and even BROADCAST on FM! The tape didn't turn out so well and I told him I would come back someday and shoot it with one of our studio cameras. That was two years ago. I was just in contact with him a couple of weeks ago and we exchanged emails about the air show at Pease. He said he wouldn't be going. When I was at his house, he gave me a tour of his monitoring station. I was very envious! He had quite the nice set-up! He encouraged me to keep up my search for a AT-197GR military discone. When I finally found one on ebay and won it on auction, he congratulated me. When I put it up, I will think of him. My condolences to his wife and family and we all know how much we will miss his input. Craig Watervliet, NY I have been friends with Don for 20 years and he is the one who got me hooked on scanning. I was strictly police and fire monitoring and sent a letter with police frequencies I was monitoring to his 1991 newsletter called Northeast Scanning News and he found my number in the phone book and called me and gave me hundreds of military frequencies. I quickly went out and bought a Pro2006 and enough said, I was hooked. I will truly miss my good friend and fellow scanning partner. There will now be dozens of frequencies I will not hear because he was always scanning for new stuff and was always quick to share what he found. You will be missed. Mark Kirker Glenville, NY

and more recently Steel Heart. He was also an accomplished Photographer with pictures published in Monitoring Times Magazine. He enjoyed listening to and taking photos of Military aircraft and he was a Licensed Ham Radio operator call sign N2NUM. Don worked at Coleco Industries for many years and at Universal Custom Mill Work. Don is survived by his wife, Nancy Louer Edwards; daughter Niki Stephanie Schaffer, son Shaun Stephen Edwards, two beloved grandchildren: Lily Ana Schaffer & Colin Edwards. A brother Harold Tabor and many nieces. Don was predeceased by his parents Lillian Miller Edwards & Donald Edwards Sr., and two sisters Donna & Audrey.

SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK Phil Lichtenberger c/o Monitor Long Island, Inc. PO Box 1642 North Massapequa, NY 11758 w2lie@w2lie.net The special events that happen in the New York City area is part of what makes New York great. There have been no shortages of those events over the summer and into the fall. I would like to take a look back at some of these events before I fast forward to a very important event full of very important people! To start, the US Tennis Center in Flushing Queens holds the largest tennis stadium in the world, Arthur Ashe Stadium. [1] The US Open takes place over two weeks, starting at the end of August, and usually concludes around the second Sunday of September. Since this is completely outdoors, weather plays a part in the conclusion of the tournament. I spent a few days at the US Tennis Stadium for work, and was fortunate enough to get myself into areas that were off limits to the public. Unfortunately, with the focus at the time on my job, scanner monitoring was out of the question. But a little note taking of who was there, and what radios were being used could lend a hand to someone who would like to listen to the event next year. There is a very heavy NYPD presence before you even make it to the park grounds. There are road blocks, guards, traffic control, K-9, and even PD perched from roof tops taking in the birds eye views. FDNY was also seen making the rounds at the stadium. There was also plenty of media coverage, from sports TV, to network news. But the most interesting thing to see was all the radios around the belts of the staff. A quick pass of the Radio Reference Database proved my suspicion, and pretty much finalized my decision not to carry a scanner into the park. The US Tennis Center has a new MOTOTRBO repeater operating in the UHF band at the park, operating

Life Legacy and Obituary

Donald G. Edwards Jr. of Northville, NY passed away suddenly at home after a short battle with cancer on June 28, 2012. Don was born on April 6, 1954. He was an avid musician playing in many local bands: Black River for 20+ years

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on the following frequencies: 461.18750 461.26250 461.21250 461.28750 461.23750 461.83750

The only talk groups in the Radio Reference Database are: 102 Command Center 119 Media 105 Tech Services Switching gears, the UN General Assembly just wrapped up in the city. An event like that brings in many high profile dignitaries from around the world. With the nation always on high alert for terrorist activities, or even protestors, there is plenty of activity on the federal bands to monitor. Keeping an ear on the MilAir part of the band is also advised as there is an active no fly zone over the UN. This no-fly zone was violated twice to my knowledge and fighter jets were scrambled to intercept the aircraft that didnt take notice to the restrictions. But, even more of an interest, at least for me, is the Presidential Debate that will be held at Hofstra University in Uniondale, NY. Hofstra University held the 2008 debate between Senators John McCain and Barack Obama. In 2010, the NYS Gubernatorial Debate was held at Hofstra. th This years Presidential Debate will be October 16 . Using my logs from 2008 http://bit.ly/SnZa9nn and 2010 http://bit.ly/R3c8u55, we can start our planning for 2012. Just like the UN General Assembly, one would want to seek out any federal activities on the VHF and UHF Federal bands, including the National InterOp frequencies. There will most likely be MilAir communications as well as Civil Air Patrol. In past years, Secret Service runs primary, with local police running support. This year will be different from 2008 because Nassau County Police now has a P25 system which is running encryption on their talk groups. This will be a great time to find any new or special talk groups on that system. Using Radio IDs, we can get our best guess as to what each new group might be. I am hopeful that Nassau Police will continue to simulcast their trunk system onto their previous UHF Frequencies, but there have been times in the past where they stop simulcasting due to security concerns. I would bet this would be one of those times they disable the simulcast. Nassau County also uses an EDACS System in the following LCN: 01 851.18750 02 851.33750 03 851.58750 04 851.73750 05 851.83750 06 851.90000 07 852.11250 08 852.17500 09 852.90000 10 853.17500 11 853.42500 12 853.57500 13 853.72500 14 853.65000 15 851.62500 16 852.15000 17 853.98750

The Talk Groups to watch are: 06-071 Nassau OEM 06-072 Nassau OEM Tac-1 06-074 Nassau OEM 06-141 Auxiliary Police 06-142 Auxiliary Police 06-154 Auxiliary Police Tac 08-062 Nassau County Police 14-034 Unknown 14-037 Unknown I will be running Unitrunker to watch for any additional talk groups that come up on the system, and will be posting them to my website. Any tips or updates you might find would be helpful. Some additional conventional frequencies to put in your scanner are: Nassau Police: NCPD Tac-2 NCPD F-4 NPCD Tac-10 NCPD 1/7th Pct NCPD 3/6th Pct NCPD Aviation 478.5625 pl 179.9 477.2375 pl 179.9 478.7375 pl 179.9 478.5375 pl 179.9 478.91250 pl 179.9 153.74000 pl 131.8

Hempstead Hempstead PS - 155.010 * Now using their own Mototrbo Trunk System Hempstead Vlg PD 154.710 pl 146.2 Hempstead Vlg PD 155.970 pl 146.2 Hempstead Vlg PD 155.955 Hofstra University Hofstra PS 464.525 dpl 466 (50 watts) Hofstra PS 469.525 (Repeater Input) (20 watts and 4 watts) Hofstra PS 467.450 (20 watts) * The following was from an FCC database dump 450.925 / 455.925 463.5625 (Physical Fitness Ctr) (2 watts only) 467.175 (Facilities Management) (4 watts only) 464.775 (Physical Plant) (40 watts) - DPL205 462.300 (unknown) (100 watts) 462.450 (Athletics) (20 watts) 464.500 (Office of Student Activities) (2 watts) 464.550 (Office of Student Activities) (2 watts) 467.850 (Office of Student Activities) (2 watts) As in 2008 and 2010, I will be setting up a live feed of the event on my website. Please monitor http://www.w2lie.net for updates. If there is anything you would like add to this months column, or future columns, I ask you submit them to me at w2lie@w2lie.net 73 Phil Lichtenberger / w2lie [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tennis_stadiums_by_ca pacity

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MILITARY

Daniel Myers KB3IBQ 823 Horsham Rd. Horsham, Pa 19044-1209 dan@domyers.com

USS San Antonio (LPD 17) After a 08:00 briefing and security screening at Martin State Airport, MD, thirty-five of us departed for a thirty minute flight aboard two MH-53 Sea Stallions (HM-14/HM15). We were scheduled to rendezvous with the USS San Antonio (LPD-17) in the Chesapeake Bay as she made her way to Baltimore. LPD-17 was one of forty ships from various countries participating in Operation Sail 2012 and the Star-Spangled Celebration.

Greg Baker and Command Master Chief CMDCM (SW/AW) Michael R. Hart. The Executive Officer will remain at his/her position for about eighteen months before moving on to Commanding Officer, a three year commission. The Command Master Chief is the highest ranking enlisted person onboard and acts as a liaison between the enlisted and the officers. The average age of an enlisted crew member is twenty one years old. During our briefing we learned, with a compliment of threehundred and eighty enlisted and officer crew, the ships mission is to put U.S Marines and their equipment ashore. Afterwards we made our way back to the open hanger and flight deck.

USS Fort McHenry The San Antonio is capable of recovering and launching every type of Navy and Marine Corps helicopter (CH-53, CH-46, H-60s AH-1, UH-1) as well as the MV-22 and AV8B. The ship is powered by four Colt-Pielstick diesel engines, turning two shafts, producing about 40,000HP, allowing a maximum speed of 25 knots. With the USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) following about a mile behind, we cruised along at 15 to 18 knots. The San Antonio has an obvious stealth design and where possible, most exterior equipment is recessed or flush-mounted, giving the ship a clean flat appearance. Most noticeable are no traditional yardarms but rather two large enclosed stealthy masts that contain most of the ships major antennas and sensor systems. We now exited through the hanger, passing under the landing platforms control tower and were escorted to the bridge deck. From the moment we came on board, the ships [380.00 Megahertz P-25] internalradio system was active. Making our way to the Bridge Deck, climbing steep ladders and traversing narrow passageways, it was easy to see why it takes a ships newbie about two weeks to find his/her way around. The bridge was crowded with officers giving orders and those instructions being repeated in confirmation. To an outsider, the process looked quite confusing.

USS San Antonio Bridge Commissioned in 2006, the USS San Antonio is the first in her class of twelve amphibious transport landing platform/dock ships and is the first United States Navy ship to be named for the city of San Antonio, TX. The 684 x 105 foot ship had departed Naval Station Norfolk twentyfour hours prior to our arrival for training maneuvers in the Atlantic Ocean. To accommodate the photographers, the helicopter crew had left open the top of the two front and rear doors. Even though we were required to wear lifejackets, helmets, ear protection and goggles, the wind blasting against our faces was like taking a constant beating to the head. The noise inside the Sea Stallions was deafening. Soon the ship came into sight and the helicopters were calling the landing-platform control tower [364.20] for instructions. It was smooth landing and we made our way into the closed hanger, escaping the roar of the departing MH-53s. We were invited to have breakfast with Carrier Strike Group Two (CVN-77 USS George H. W. Bush) Rear Admiral Gregory Norsel, the ships Commanding Officer (Captain) CDR Neil Koprowski, Executive Officer CDR

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A civilian (Baltimore) Port Pilot was guiding the ship through the channel. The Pilot relayed his navigation instructions to the Conning Officer, who in turn repeated the course instructions to the Helmsman, who with the help of the Assistance Helmsman steers the boat by way of computerized glass-cockpit-like controls. The Conning Officer is the only person permitted to instruct the Helmsman. Concurrently, the Navigation Officer is plotting the course. If the Navigation Officer feels the course is inappropriate, he/she may make a suggested course of action with a recording to the Navigators log. Keeping a constant watch on all of this activity is the Officer-of-theDeck and ships Captain. Meanwhile, outside on the port and starboard bridge wings and the ships aft there was a two two-person lookout and bearing-taker navigation team. The lookout uses high powered binoculars to maintain a visual watch for any boats or obstructions in the path of the ship. The bearing-taker is shooting bearings at known charted navigational aids. Via hard-wired headsets, he/she then relays this information to the Quartermaster, located on the bridge, who draws three lines of position. This visual positioning method along with GPS and radar ranges ensures the ship stays on track. From inside and out, there was obvious redundancy and confirmation.

H-60s As we entered Baltimore Harbor, the enlisted Sailors and Marines in dress uniform stood the rail. Passing first the Francis Scott Key buoy and then Fort McHenry, we were welcomed with cannon salutes. As we entered the innerharbor, we were met by three tug boats. The ship communicated with the tugs until we were close enough to our mooring position before being handed off to a radioequipped navy person on the dock. We docked on the port side allowing use of the ships crane. Completing our four hour trip, we made our way to the well deck where we saw how the mission is executed by the Gator NavyMarine Team. The ship is designed to land up to seven hundred Marines with their equipment and supplies by way of air cushion or conventional landing craft. The ship can also carry up to fourteen Expeditionary Fighting Vehicles in support of amphibious assaults, special ops, or expeditionary warfare missions. The San Antonio and its supporting Marines have also participated in humanitarian relief efforts whose motto is, "Never Retreat, Never Surrender".

Terrorist Warfare Officer Positioned at various points about the ship, armed observers had been posted with machine guns. We had entered restricted waters and the ship had a protection zone of one thousand yards. Any boat entering that protective ring must make contact with the warship. The observers kept close watch on any boats entering the zone and radioed [410.xxxx simplex] the Terrorist Warfare Officer determined the subject to be friend or foe. Any threatening boats coming within fifty yards of the ship will be fired upon. Additional security was provided by two escorting HSC-9 MH-60s, flying constant circles around us and the trailing Fort McHenry. If needed, the ship can also employ two 30mm Close-in-Guns for surface threats and two Rolling Airframe Missile Launchers for air defense.

MH-53s on the Deck

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FREQUENCIES: 157.025 Tug Boats, Navy Dock 412.xxxx simplex USS Fort McHenry (LSD 43) Terrorist Warfare Officer 311.450 HM-14 MH-53 Sea Stallion 270.700 HM-15 MH-53 Sea Stallion 275.400 HSC-9 MH-60 Seahawk

IOWA

Jim Lawrence c/o Scanner Digest ScannerDigest@gmail.com

Starting Over
Upon arriving in Iowa, my first order of business was to get the old radio room set up. Out came the scanners. The first one I set to work was my trusty old Uniden 9000XLT. I set it to the task of scanning and storing every single active federal LMR frequency it could find. Ill report on the results in a future column. However, one interesting thing I noticed right away was the large number of control channels there were in the VHF federal range. In every case, these turned out to be in use in Missouri, not for federal trunked systems but rather for the State of Missouris new VHF trunked system. Finding the local police, fire and EMS were relatively easy. I live just a few blocks from the main public safety building so simple signal stalking allowed me to find the inputs and outputs for those repeaterized systems. Some active frequencies for my area of Iowa are included at the end of this column. Another interest of mine is aviation; if it flies, I like to listen to it. Since moving here, Ive noticed the skies are almost always sunny and living not far off I-80, I was immediately impressed with the large amount of high altitude traffic overhead. I decided to spend a few days using FlightAware http://www.flightaware.com tracking aircraft in the vicinity of my local airport to see if I could figure out how the various air route traffic control centers used their frequencies. Iowa itself is split up between three centers: Chicago Center essentially covers the eastern and southeastern part of Iowa, Minneapolis Center covers the northern and northwestern portion and Kansas City covers southern and western Iowa. Des Moines seems to sit near the three-corners intersection of these centers. In a future issue, Ill list out what I learned about how Chicago center uses its frequencies in my area of Iowa and to which frequencies Chicago hands aircraft off that used by other centers. Finally, there are a large number of 800 Mhz trunked systems in Iowa. The power company runs one, and several are run by private firms serving both public safety and business users. Motorola and EDACS appear to be the primary protocols in use and Ill report separately on the trunked radio picture in Iowa in future issues as well. One thing someone immediately notices about living in the Midwest is how friendly and trusting the people are. Even though I was new in town, I never hesitated to attend various open houses and events put on by groups which I

Antenna arrays and stealth design

Man-Overboard Antennas

NEW HAMPSHIRE

John Bolduc N1QGS@yahoo.com ScannerDigest@gmail.com

No Column This Issue

MAINE

Loren Fields hornsmoke@gwi.net

No Column This Issue

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was interested in monitoring. For example, my eye was caught by an announcement in a local newspaper about a pancake breakfast fund raiser being put on by the Grinnell fire department. While there, I got into a conversation with the fire chief and he took me back to his office and printed off for me the following list of frequencies. The list was obviously an older one so some frequencies no longer in use have been removed. Grinnell Fire/Police Department Radio Frequencies Ch 1 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 12 13 14 15 16 Name Rx Grinnell FD 154.9650 Midwest Ambulance 155.2350 Poweshiek Co. Fire 154.2350 Poweshiek Co. FG 154.2350 Mutual Aid 155.4750 Jasper Co. 154.4150 Marshall Co. 154.3850 Sheriffs Office 151.3250 Mahaska Co. 154.3250 Tama Co. 154.2050 Iowa Co. 154.4450 Newton Fire 154.3550 Marshaltown Fire 154.4300 Tx 154.9650 155.2350 154.9500 154.2350 155.4750 154.4150 154.3850 158.9700 154.3250 154.2050 154.4450 154.3550 154.4300 SC D265 192.8 192.8

154.3550 (D432) Newton fire 154.4000 Benton Co. fire 154.4150 Jasper Co. fire 154.8150 Benton Co. sheriff 154.8300 (146.2) Meskwaki Nation police 154.8450 (192.8) Jasper Co. sheriff 155.2350 (192.8) Midwest ambulance, Poweshiek Co. 155.3400 (82.5) unided med helicopter to hospital 155.3700 CSQ Iowa State point-to-point 155.5650 (146.2) Iowa State Patrol dispatch 155.6400 (146.2) (167.9) (192.8) Iowa State Patrol from various locations using different CTCSSs 155.6550 (192.8) (167.9) Iowa State Patrol 156.1800 (123.0) Knoxville PD 156.2400 (192.8) Grinnell College security 158.7900 (179.9) Mahaska Co. sheriff 159.1200 (94.8) Tama Co. roads 159.1500 $293 Hardin Co. sheriff (P-25) 159.1500 (110.9) Marion Co. sheriff 159.2400 (203.5) Tama Co. fire 159.3225 (123.0) Newton fire/EMS 159.3900 (D546) Pella PD And thats it from sunny, warm Iowa for this issue where as I write this column in late October the temperature is 70 degrees. What are you listening to? Send me a short email to the address shown above and Ill publish your favorites here in Scanner Digest. Until next issue, happy listening! Quick hits from the area: While attending the airshow at Offutt AFB in Nebraska, I noticed that every single talk group on the Offutt trunked system was encrypted. Also while in Nebraska, I was able to monitor their new VHF P-25 trunked system using my Pro-106. Like Missouri's mentioned above, Nebraska's system uses some frequencies in the VHF federal LMR range.

141.3 192.8

AMATEUR RADIO On another instance, I attended an open house at one of the regional airports and a Medevac helicopter from Cedar Rapids was there. When I asked the crew about their radio usage, I was told that their dispatch frequency out of Cedar Rapids is 155.2200 (192.8) and that they usually work local fire or EMS frequencies when preparing to pick up a patient at a remote site. Finally, heres a short log of what Ive been able to pick up from my location in central Iowa. 151.2050 (131.8) 151.2650 (82.5) 151.3100 (167.9) 151.3250 (192.8) 151.4150 151.4750 Appanoose Co. sheriff Tama Co. sheriff Iowa Co. sheriff Poweshiek Co. sheriff Keokuk Co. sheriff Iowa state car-to-car

Robert Gulley AK3Q ak3q@ak3q.com

Emergency Training
I just finished an emergency communications course through the ARRL (Amateur radio Relay League) as something of a refresher. I had previously taken four of the DHS/FEMA online classes (http://training.fema.gov/is/nims.asp) on emergency response back in 2008 in preparation for joining our local ARES group (Amateur radio Emergency Service). The emphasis in these type of classes is training to understand how emergency response teams can work together under something called an Incident Command Structure. The idea is that emergency response should be consistent and scalable: consistent so that a command structure is clear to all parties involved and scalable so that as the needs

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increase the structure can adapt and grow proportional to the incident. For example, a fire at a downtown business may affect several buildings, requiring an organized response. There will be an incident commander who will control (or delegate) logistics and communications. If the fire spreads to encompass a building with hazardous materials which threaten air or water pollution and immediate danger to citizens, the incident has just expanded dramatically. This will require coordinating more groups, more resources, and greater communications. But because there is a scalable structure in place, the various agencies/individuals follow a common chain of command. Of course, I am speaking theoretically, but the concept is sound. Implementation still depends on flawed human beings, and even the concept is something of a work in progress for those involved. One of the obstacles for efficient training and coordination is a lack of hands-on experience (which paradoxically is a good thing, meaning fewer real emergencies). Katrina pointed out major deficiencies and needs in emergency response, and steps have been taken to bring various first responders under a common umbrella of command structure and coordinated response. In practical terms areas which do not have regular opportunities to implement these plans and structure must depend on training and simulations. This relatively new management system takes lessons gleaned from years of firefighter experiences, especially out west, where multi-county, state, and federal groups have had to deal with forest fires on a regular basis. Out of these experiences came FIRESCOPE, (Firefighting Resources of California Organized for Potential Emergencies), an attempt to deal with communication, logistical, and jurisdictional issues of the various groups involved. Out of this came the Incident Command System, designed as a tool for command, control, and coordination of resources and personnel at an emergency site. This structure has been adopted by most Federal agencies, and first responders on down to ARES groups like ours are learning how to implement this model. I notice more and more as I monitor police and fire operations the use of ICS language for even small events. As mentioned above, not every incident will require a fullblown call-out of resources, but an overview of the structure is useful to follow along with developing events should you find yourself listening to an ICS structured response. An incident commander would be responsible for oversight for any and all of these areas: Planning, Operations, Logistics, and Finance. Many incidents will stop at Operations (police, fire, public works) if the event is small. Larger events may require Planning between agencies, Logistics (such as coordinating shelters and relief

agencies), and Finance for getting needed supplies, heavy equipment etc., as needed. The FEMA site lists a number of strengths such a command system has, modeled on successful business structures: Standardization o Common terminology Command o Establishment and transfer of command o Chain of command and unity of command Planning/Organizational Structure o Management by objectives o Incident Action Plan (IAP) o Modular organization o Manageable span of control Facilities and Resources o Comprehensive resource management o Incident locations and facilities Communications/Information Management o Integrated communications o Information and intelligence management Professionalism o Accountability o Dispatch/Deployment

Natural and man-made disasters such as Katrina and the events of 9/11 make it clear we cannot continue the same old way weve always done things. While I believe it will be a long time before wrinkles are ironed out and a system like this can be truly effective across the nation, strides are being made and every advancement toward a unified command and interoperability structure gives hope for the future. A system like this is designed to make the best use of the resources available, and it puts command in the hands of people who know what they are doing in their respective fields, with the ability to expand resources as appropriate. Amateur Radio has always played a big role in Emergency communications, and while some folks will resist learning new ways of doing things, most folks are rather glad to see a more logical and effective approach to emergency management. As you monitor amateur and public service transmissions, especially during events involving multiple agencies or groups, you are likely to hear terms like Incident Command, logistics, and references to served agencies. Hopefully you will see the ICS being put to use both for its usefulness and as a means of maximizing resources and minimizing overlap. The old adage applies to emergency response: the goal should be to work smarter, not harder! Until next time, heres hoping your radios are always on and putting you in the center of everything! 73, Robert

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WASHINGTON DC REGIONAL David Schoenberger davidschoenberger@gmail.com For this issue, I thought Id review the status of the major public safety trunked systems in the Washington area. There have been many changes over the past few months, and the systems continue to evolve. Washington, DC - DC Fire and most other local government agencies use an 800 MHz Project 16 trunked system. The system has been rebanded. There is very little encryption on this system. Metropolitan Police uses a UHF Project 16 trunked system (which is linked to the 800 MHz system). Most of the talkgroups on this system are now encrypted, with the notable exception of the Citywide 1 talkgroup. Rebanding does not apply to this system. Arlington - Arlington uses an 800 MHz Project 25 Phase I trunked system. The system has been rebanded. There is little encryption on the system, with the exception of some sensitive police talkgroups. Alexandria - The city is transitioning from an 800 MHz Project 16 trunked system to an 800 MHz Project 25 Phase I trunked system. Both systems have been rebanded. Several of the police talkgroups on the new system are encrypted. Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority - MWAA operates an 800 MHz Project 16 trunked system. The system has been rebanded. The Airports Authority holds licenses for a 700 MHz trunked system, but its not active. Fairfax - Like Alexandria, the county is also rapidly transitioning from an 800 MHz Project 16 trunked system to an 800 MHz Project 25 Phase I trunked system. Both systems have been rebanded, and the police talkgroups are expected to use more encryption on the new system. The county also runs an analog-only 800 MHz Project 16 trunked system, which is for non-public safety users. This system has been rebanded. Prince William - The county uses an 800 MHz Project 16 trunked system, which has been rebanded. Some sensitive police talkgroups are encrypted. Prince William will eventually move to a Project 25 system. Loudoun - The county uses an 800 MHz Project 25 trunked system, with many TDMA talkgroups. The only scanner that can currently monitor this system is the GRE PSR-800. The system has been rebanded. Montgomery - The county uses an 800 MHz Project 16 trunked system, which was rebanded this summer. The county also recently updated many talkgroups. There are now several more encrypted talkgroups.

Prince Georges - The county uses a 700 MHz Project 25 trunked system, with many TDMA talkgroups. As with Loudoun, the only scanner that can currently monitor this system is the GRE PSR-800. Rebanding does not apply to this system. Frederick (MD) - The county is transitioning from an 800 MHz Project 16 trunked system to an 800 MHz Project 25 Phase I trunked system. Both systems have been rebanded. Charles - The county uses an 800 MHz Project 16 trunked system, which has been rebanded. There are a few police and fire talkgroups that are encrypted, but most are in-theclear. I hope this provides a good, if brief, overview of whats going on with the major trunked systems in the Washington area. Please see RadioReference for complete details on frequencies and talkgroups. Until next time. Dave Schoenberger PHILADELPHIA METRO Position Open

Chester County PA Some of you may know Chester County has been in the market of getting a new Radio System, a new Paging system and a New MDC Computer system. The new system will be a major upgrade from the current system that is currently in place. The Current Radio System is a 16 Site 800MHz Multi-Net 2 System. The New system will be a Full 700MHz P25 Digital Phase 2 Trunked system with a few Encrypted talkgroups. The New system will be Built without interrupting there current E.F. Johnson 800 MHz Multi-Net 2 system. More information will be coming soon. PRESENT SYSTEM The County's current voice radio system is an E.F. Johnson 800 MHz Multi-Net Fully Integrated Simulcasted, Trunked, Analog System with dual tone multi function (DTMF) capability for fire response acknowledgement. The voice system is a 16-channel system with 18 transmit sites and 3 satellite receiver sites. The County has a considerable investment in subscriber and infrastructure equipment with the current system. In addition to the 16 channels currently licensed to the County, the County has also obtained three additional Sprint Vacated Channels (SVCs). 800 MHz Conventional Repeater Supplementing the trunked 800 MHz system is a single channel conventional repeater service located at the 13 sites. The conventional repeater is not on a network but allows local emergency radio communication to occur between units operating in the effective range of the repeater. Field units must

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manually switch between the trunked system and the conventional repeater. 800 MHz Inter-op Repeater. Inter-op channels are present at 4 locations. These channels are used for interoperability between local services and when the trunked system is down for maintenance. Primary Microwave network Alcatel MDR-8000 radio units are the backbone of the reversible loop Microwave system used to provide connectivity and timing to the trunked 800MHz system. The reversible loop allows the network to function in the event of a Microwave site failure. Each of the 18 main sites house two MDR-8000 units with dish style antennas positioned in a line of site configuration with the towers immediately before and after in the loop sequence. SECOM Microwave system Several of the County sites also house Microwave equipment similar to that described above but with the intended use of supporting the SECOM activities in the region. Glenayre 160 MHz one-way paging Countywide 16 county sites house the Glenayre QT-1000 paging transmitter. This is primarily used to dispatch fire and EMS. Operating near 160 MHz, this transmitter sends tone and voice alerts throughout the county. Motorola MSF-5200 County-wide Mobile Data: The Motorola MSF-5200 is located in 12 county sites and provides mobile data computing capabilities primarily to law enforcement throughout the county. ARES/RACES Equipment Additionally several sites support ARES/RACES equipment. ARES/RACES are using GE Master 2 UHF radios. The Nottingham Park site is exclusively ARES/RACES. Other Operators Chester County either shares shelter space and or tower space with a variety of government and commercial interests. Primarily speaking, cellular interests such as AT&T wireless, Verizon Wireless and Sprint/Nextel are the predominant co-locates. Others include one-way paging operating in the 929 MHz and 931 MHz range, as well as some state and local government interests. To Be Continued......... Current Channel Assignments: Unit Frequencies 1 866.0625 MHz 2 866.2125 MHz 3 866.6125 MHz 4 866.8625 MHz 5 868.1125 MHz 6 866.7500 MHz 7. 867.3250 MHz 8 868.2625 MHz

ILLINOIS

Mike Dickerson ScannerDigest@gmail.com

No Column This Issue

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA

Steve Bower, Jr. Stevescan60@yahoo.com

No Column This Issue

MASSACHUSETTES

Peter Szerlag zerg90@gmail.com

Happy Holidays - Here are the items that Santa wants you to know about scanning in the Massachusetts area Radio channels for ambulance to hospital communications in Worcester County http://www.cmemsc.org/news/NarrowbandFinalNotice.pdf Heard Sept 2012 - 338.20 AM - some military aircraft maybe out around Gardner Mass August 2012 - new frequency reported for the USAF Thunderbirds - 141.175 AM - you will probably only hear action on this freq if the Thunderbirds are doing a show nearby, or if they are flying over Boston enroute to a show somewhere USS Constitution - frequency 164.1750 Mhz - PL 151.4 reported active in August 2012 Sept 2012 - some action on 348.70 AM - probably military jets talking to air traffic controllers over central New Hampshire 123.025 AM - maybe in Foxboro area - 5 helicopters talking after a Patriots football game 236 page feasibility report concerning a regional 911 center in the Sudbury Mass area <http://sudbury.ma.us/departments/Police/doc7642/FinalR egionalReportwithAddendum.pdf> Sept 2012 - At a Fall River working fire, the Incident Commander (IC) told the dispatcher to put all other radio traffic on Channel 2 (probably 453.85 R) - the units at the working fire stayed on the Fall River FD main channel (Ch 1 453.375 R)

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

860.4375 MHz 866.1250 MHz 866.3875 MHz 856.2375 MHz 857.2375 MHz 858.2375 MHz 859.2375 MHz 860.2375 MHz

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173.2875 - I get a very strong constant carrier on that channel - anyone else hear it? I think it is located in Arlington, and I think it has been there for 5 years or more - possibly is a defective water gauge 452.800 - PL 192.8 - radio call boxes at the General Electric Plant in Lynn - evacuees rally (meet up) at the callboxes, and advise Security of their status <https://docs.google.com/open?id=1xApYJWKdHqOBboic wusSlGLWrszNZsEYykv7RCb4vFFQbLaqbmR5kezEBQV 4> - 1993 USA / Canada agreement regarding use of 136 Mhz channels for air traffic control purposes <http://www.angelfire.com/ma4/emba/sep12.html> - fire department response listing for Boston's 4th alarm fire in the North End - Sept 5 2012 Traffic Advisory Stations - on I93 north of Boston - on 1.69 MHz <http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?lic Key=3407007> - ULS License - Public Safety Pool, Conventional License - WQPW795 - Massachusetts Dept of Transportation <http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?lic Key=1247706> - Winthrop PD license resissued Sept 5 2012 - repeater at the police station ULS License - Public Safety Pool, Conventional License - KAA931 -WINTHROP, TOWN OF <http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?lic Key=3406967> - new license for Boston Police on 460.20 - ULS License Public Safety Pool, Conventional License - WQPW771 BOSTON, CITY OF - POLICE If you heard someone say just "Med 1" on 462.95 in the Lawrence Mass area, you just heard the C-Med dispatcher telling a paramedic unit to switch to "Med Channel 1" (463.00) to talk to a hospital. Thats all for now - take care - Peter Sz

Frequencies carrying President-related traffic: 46.7100 Army National Guard helicopter on discrete; 164.8875 US Secret Service in P-25 encoded and encrypted; 165.3750 US Secret Service in P-25 encrypted; 166.5125 White House Communications Agency in P-25 encrypted; 167.5625 Unided, P-25 encrypted; 168.3500 State Police car-to-car; 170.7500 Unided, P-25 encrypted; 460.1750 South Burlington PD dispatch; 460.2875 Burlington PD; 460.5000 Statewide police car-to-car. Hartford PD goes P-25 April Fools, Hartford monitors! No, its not your scanner. Hartford PD threw the switch and went 100% P-25 encoded starting around April 1st. All voice traffic between Hartford PD units and Hartford Dispatch on 460.2500 is now P-25. No encryption usage has been noted. However, because Hartford Dispatch also serves Norwich PD on the same frequency, Hartford Dispatch reverts back to analog when talking to Norwich units. When units are responding mutual aid, Dispatch must intervene and translate between the two departments. I also strongly suspect that Hartford PD uses P-25 encrypted voice on 460.1000. This signal would not interfere significantly with nearby Woodstock PD which uses 460.1000 for dispatch in analog because of the high terrain between the two towns and the fact that Woodstock PD has a CTCSS of 118.8 on the frequency. In all my time monitoring in that area, I have never heard Woodstock PD while in the White River Jct. area. Any reports to the contrary from that area would be much appreciated! And thats it for this time around in Vermont. What are you listening to? Please send along your favorite frequencies and Ill include them in this column. Until next issue, happy listening! ----Chittenden County Report On a recent trip to Chittenden County, I monitored the following frequencies active: Frequency & Tone User 143.4250 Vermont ANG Security 154.2200 Essex Fire 154.3550 (162.2) Westford Fire department 408.2000 Federal Protective Service in P-25, some units encrypted 453.0500 Univ. of Vermont PD (100% P-25 encrypted) 453.1125 (114.8) Enosburgh & Montgomery Fire 453.1500 (118.8) Shelburne PD dispatch 453.2000 St. Michaels Rescue dispatch 453.2500 Franklin Co. Sheriff 453.4000 (110.9) New York State Dept. of Corrections PAGE 13

VERMONT

Jim Lawrence ScannerDigest@gmail.com

President Obama Visits Vermont President Obama dropped into Vermont for a couple of appearances in the Burlington area last March and heres a quick rundown of what I heard during the time leading up to Air Force 1s landing. Needless to say, security was very tight around the airport and at all the venues at which the President appeared. The President arrived in Burlington around 11:00am after a stop in Portland, Maine on his way up.

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453.4500 453.5000 453.6750 (D612) 453.7500 (D244) 453.7750 453.8125 453.8500 (118.8) 458.1125 458.3875 (100.0) 460.0250 (173.8) 460.1000 (D411) 460.1250 460.1750 (D654) 460.2000 (D065) 460.2250 (203.5) 460.2750 460.2875 (D125) 460.3250 (118.8) 460.4250 460.4500 (D114) 460.4875 460.6250 (D134) 465.5625 852.3625

New York State Dept. of Corrections New York State Dept. of Corrections South Burlington Fire Colchester PD New York State Dept. of Corrections data Williston PD Enosburgh & Montgomery Fire St. Albans & Fairfax Fire Vermont State Police St. Albans Essex PD Burlington PD dispatch , 100% P-25 encrypted South Burlington PD, occasionally P25 encrypted Winooski PD Vermont State Police Williston Vermont State Police New Haven Burlington PD secondary, analog State of Vermont Dept. of Corrections Vermont State Police Middlesex Chittenden Co. sheriff data, licensed to Essex Town Burlington Fire dispatch data, licensed to South Burlington Clinton Co. NY trunked system control channel

WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA

Frank Speicher K3FS k3fs@pghscanner.com http://www.pghscannner.com

First I would like to thank Dan Rhue for the job he has done for this column over the past few years. Dan has always been a source of good information, and always willing to help out. Thanks Dan. I have been interested in radio since around 1980. My first scanner was a Bearcat 210, a 10 channel programmable scanner. Since that time I have had several radios, both crystal, and programmable. I also started out on the 11meter band (CB) around that same time. My first 11 meter rig was a Realistic TRC 452 and then worked up to a President Madison base and an Avanti Sigma 500 5/8 wave antenna. Of course I had to have the D104 Silver Eagle. Licensed as a Tech in 1992 and my first call was N3MJU. Worked up to Tech plus code, General, and finally Extra. Current call is K3FS. I started volunteering with local EMS in 1992. First as advanced first aid, then EMT, and then paramedic. I am no longer active in EMS. I have been a member of my local VFD for the past 23 years. Not as active as I once was though. I live in the south hills of Pittsburgh, in Allegheny County. Allegheny County has been going through a lot changes over the past several years, since the implementation of 911. Allegheny County 911 dispatches a majority of the agencies in the county now, and there are still new agencies moving to 911 dispatch every year. Allegheny County 911 is referred to as County on the radio. Allegheny County 911 is divided up into five zones. South, West, North, East, and Central (City of Pittsburgh). West and South are technically the same zone, but they do not share any operating frequencies and for scanning purposes is a completely separate zone. The days of every agency having its own dispatcher, and frequency are gone. The county has been moving all agencies to UHF repeater frequencies. At one point, it was not unusual for departments to need two or three radios to talk to the neighboring agencies. Now most are on UHF repeaters, with a few on VHF high band still, and only a couple left on low band. Now there are countywide frequencies to be used for fireground, EMS tac, PD tac, landing zone, hazmat, and more. Radio usage has been greatly standardized and simplified. The East zone has undergone the biggest changes lately so we will look at the East Zone in detail now. The East Zone consists of the old Eastern PSAP area and the old Mon Valley PSAP area.

New Ground Control Frequency at Burlington International Airport Around the 10th of February, Burlington International Airport started using a new frequency for ground movements that arent on the active runways themselves. 119.1500 was put into service and announced on the ATIS frequency, 123.8000. The move appears to be a permanent change and may be due to some kind of interference on their old ground control frequency of 121.9000. One of the reasons I love monitoring aircraft is because the pilots and controllers often announce frequencies before the switch to them. This makes tracking new frequencies in use very easy. And that's it from Vermont for this edition.

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EAST ZONE - EAST East Police Channel 1 460.4000 (114.8) 465.4000 (114.8) McKeesport Police Versailles Police White Oak Police East Police Channel 2 472.5875 (167.9) 475.5875 (167.9) Penn Hills Police Plum Police East Police Channel 3 472.1625 (162.2) 475.1625 (162.2) Clairton Police Elizabeth Boro Police Elizabeth Twp. Police Forward Twp Police Glassport Police Liberty Borough Police Lincoln Borough Police Port Vue Police East Police - Channel 4 159.2700 (162.2) 153.7550 (162.2) Edgewood Police Rankin Police Swissvale Police Wilkinsburg Police East Police - Channel 5 154.9950 (162.2) 155.9850 (162.2) Braddock Police Braddock Hills Churchill Police East McKeesport Police Forest Hills Police North Braddock Police Wilkins Police East Fire - Dispatch Channel 1 470.3875 (123.0) 473.3875 (123.0) Braddock VFD Braddock Hills VFD Chalfont VFD Churchill VFD Clairton - EMS

Units 1100 1400 1400 Units 3300 4300 Units

5200 1600 1900 1800 5600 1300 4500 3500 Units 2700 3600 3700 4200 Units 2100 2200 2300 2500 2800 2400 4100 Station 113 114 120 122 550

Clairton - Fire Dravosburg - Dravosburg #1 VFD Duquesne Fire Department Edgewood VFD Elizabeth Boro VFD Elizabeth Twp - Blaine Hill VFD Elizabeth Twp - Elizabeth Twp #1 VFD Elizabeth Twp - Greenock VFD Elizabeth Twp - Victory VFD Elizabeth Twp - Central VFD Elizabeth Twp - Buena Vista VFD Forest Hills VFD Forward Township - Gallatin Sunnyside VFD Forward Twp - Forward VFD Forward Twp - Bunola VFD Glassport - Citizens Hose #1 VFD Homestead Liberty Boro VFD Lincoln Boro - EMS Lincoln Boro - Lincoln VFD McKeesport Fire North Braddock VFD North Versailles -Fire Department Of North Versailles North Versailles - West Wilmerding VFD North Versailles - Crestas Terrace VFD North Versailles - Fire Department Of North Versailles North Versailles - Fire Department Of North Versailles North Versailles -Fire Department Of North Versailles EMS Penn Hills - Lincoln Park VFD #1 Penn Hills - Rosedale VFD #2 Penn Hills - North Bessemer VFD #3 Penn Hills - Point Breeze VFD #4 Penn Hills - Thad Stevens VFD #5 Penn Hills - Universal VFD #6 Penn Hills - Penn VFD #7 227 Pitcairn #1 VFD Pitcairn #2 VFD Plum - Unity VFD Plum - Renton VFD Plum - Logans Ferry VFD Plum - Holiday Park VFD Plum - Fire Police Port Vue VFD

123 131 133 137 139 140-2 140-3 140-4 140-6 140-7 145 153 154 155 156 161 171 183 610 184 190 207 210 211 212 213 214 390 221 222 223 224 225 226 229 230 233 234 235 236 395 237

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Rankin VFD South Versailles - Coulter VFD Swissvale Fire Department Swissvale VFD United Fire And Rescue Versailles #1 VFD Verona VFD West Elizabeth VFD West Homestead VFD Whitaker VFD White Oak - White Oak #1 VFD White Oak - Rainbow VFD Wilkins - Wilkins #1 VFD Wilkins - Wilkins #3 VFD Wilkins - Wilkins #4 VFD East Fire - Operations Channel 2 470.3250 (131.8) 473.3250 (131.8) East Fire - Operations Channel 3 460.3500 (179.9) 465.3500 (179.9) East Fire - Fire Tac 3 453.3375 (91.5) 458.3375 (91.5) East Fire - Fire Tac 4 453.6625 (210.7) 458.6625 (210.7) East EMS 471.3125 (146.2) 474.3125 (146.2) Duquesne EMS Eastern Area Prehospital Services McKeesport EMS Penn Hills EMS Plum EMS Priority One EMS White Oak EMS Woodland Hills EMS East Public Safety 472.8375 (203.5) 475.8375 (203.5) Mon Valley Police - Mon Valley Tac 3 155.5350 (107.2) 155.5350 (107.2) Mon Valley Police Duquesne 155.6550 (107.2) 151.2500 (107.2) Duquesne Police Mon Valley Police - Steel Valley - Ch. 3

238 272 278 279 135 286 285 291 292 298 299 300 302 303 304

156.2100 (107.2) 154.4450 (D072) Homestead Police West Homestead Police Whitaker Police

5700 4800 5300

That will do it for this issue. I maintain a website that covers Allegheny County and more. It is http:www.pghscanner.com Feel free to email me at k3fs@pghscanner.com with any questions, corrections, and suggestions.

CONNECTICUT

Keith Victor Alarmroom@yahoo.com

No Column This Issue

SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY

Column Editor Wanted Position Open

No Column This Issue The following press release was submitted under the Southern Jersey heading. This material is being posted to provide some insight to the proposed radios system planned for Mercer County NJ. Station 565 310 625 380 485 320 645 340

Mercer County NJ Awards Contract to Cassidian Communications for Digital P25 Land Mobile Radio System
Cassidian Communications to provide Mercer County with state-of-the-art CORP25 Land Mobile Radio solution for public safety communications

FRISCO, Texas, Jul 16, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- --New digital CORP25 network to improve coverage, performance and reliability of communications --Open CORP25 network to support interoperability with other P25 networks in the area Cassidian Units 170 Units Communications, an EADS North America company, announces today that it has finalized an agreement with Mercer County, N.J., to provide a digital, trunked P25 Land Mobile Radio (LMR) system for public safety

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communications. Selected to replace the county's existing mission critical radio system, the simulcast CORP25 solution includes hardware, software, system engineering, installation, optimization and onsite maintenance. The standards-based CORP25 radio solution will provide full interoperability between the law enforcement, fire and emergency medical responders operating across 12 of the townships and boroughs in the 226-square-mile county. The new system also will greatly improve the coverage, performance and reliability of radio communications for first responders throughout the county. The industry's only true non-proprietary P25 solution, the CORP25 system has an open design that enables full interoperability and supports true choice, allowing agencies to select best-in-class components from a number of different vendors. This flexible approach enables competitive purchasing, and lets customers build their networks with the best equipment for the best price, ultimately lowering the total cost of network ownership. The IP-based CORP25 radio solution also enables easy network management and cost-effective migration to future applications and services. "We are excited to bring a fresh new business model and state-of-the-art P25 communications solution to Mercer County," said Rich Cagle, vice president of sales, Cassidian Communications Land Mobile Radio. "The combination of our experience in P25 LMR technology, with the flexibility of our open, standards-based CORP25 system, will provide the county with the interoperability, performance and freedom of choice needed to ensure the safety of its first responders and taxpayers. With a sense of urgency and immense responsibility, we are listening to the public safety community and delivering on their vision increase technology and decrease cost. Mercer County is a great example of this." Cassidian Communications continues to serve clients ranging from public safety operations to Fortune 1000 corporations to federal agencies. Collectively, the company has more than 40 years of experience deploying 9-1-1 call processing solutions, notification solutions and first-responder digital trunked radio networks. About Mercer County www.nj.gov/counties/mercer As New Jersey's capital county, Mercer County is a center for commerce and culture in the Garden State. Located midway between New York City and Philadelphia in New Jersey's center, Mercer County's 13 municipalities are home to more than 366,000 people in 226 square miles in the heart of the region with 10% of the population all within a 75-mile radius. Key corridors along the New Jersey Turnpike, located in Mercer County, are considered the most lucrative commerce centers in the state, and the excellent schools, universities, tourist destinations, and diverse, well-educated workforce make the County a great place to live, work and play.

About Cassidian Communications www.CassidianCommunications.com As one of the largest and most trusted sources of mission critical communications solutions, Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America company, is leading the way in standards-based NG9-1-1 call center applications, notification solutions and services, and P25 land mobile radio systems. Cassidian Communications is headquartered in Temecula, California. About EADS North America www.eadsnorthamerica.com EADS North America is the U.S.-based operation of EADS, a global leader in aerospace, defense and related services. EADS contributes more than $12 billion to the U.S. economy annually and supports over 220,000 American jobs through its network of suppliers. EADS North America, headquartered in Herndon, Va., offers a broad array of advanced solutions to meet U.S. military and commercial requirements, including fixed- and rotarywing aircraft, homeland security systems, public safety communications, defense electronics and avionics, and threat detection systems. SOURCE: Cassidian Communications, an EADS North America Company

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Were looking for photos!

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ScannerDigest Newsletter
Welcome to the Scanner Digest Newsletter! Were currently publishing quarterly e-magazine containing information for the scanner hobbyist. If it can be monitored on a scanner, well attempt to cover it from 30 to 1300 MHz and beyond! Our purpose is to produce a newsletter to facilitate the exchange of information pertaining to the various services covered by a typical scanner radio. Dedicated regional column editors make up the heart of this publication. The Scanner Digest Newsletter is not responsible for the accuracy or consequences incurred regarding the use of information listed in this publication. Since the purpose of this newsletter is to provide a platform for the submission and exchange of radio communication information, it thus becomes impossible to deem all contents as accurate. The very nature of radio licensing and usage makes it difficult to verify the accuracy of the information contained within. Generally information listed within the pages of the newsletter are derived from multiply sources including current FCC files, hobbyists and those directly involved with various public safety agencies. Scanner Digests policy has been not to limit or edit the individual columns submitted, unless we deem the information sensitive in nature which may jeopardize the safety of the parties involved. Only in this case will we edit out this type of input. (Example: We will not publish the frequencies used by a law enforcement surveillance team.) Naturally the comments of the various column editors are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Scanner Digest Newsletter. All materials, maps, information, photographs submitted to a regional column editor or to Scanner Digest directly, become sole property of the Scanner Digest Newsletter. We encourage and will make every effort to give proper credit to all submissions. All contents within are copyrighted. 2003-2012 Subscription Information Subscriptions are acknowledged via email. Currently Scanner Digest Newsletter produces four (4) issues per year. Newsletters will be emailed to subscribers to via an attachment. The attached document will be in the popular Adobe Acrobat PDF file. By accepting these terms you are made aware of the consequences of opening such attachments. We will scan each outgoing email with an anti-virus tool to minimize any possibility of transmitting an infectious message. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------

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