SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 55 PAGE 1

ISSUE 55 JAN-FEB-MAR 2011

♦ AMATEUR RADIO – CROSSING OVER by Robert Gulley AK3Q

♦ NEW GRECOM DIGITAL EZ SCAN ♦ UP CLOSE & PERSONAL

by Craig Leventhal ♦ WINTER SWL FEST – March 4 & 5

Plymouth Meeting, PA GENERAL EDITOR Jeff Newton

ScannerDigest@gmail.com Happy New Year everyone. I hope Santa was good to all of our subscribers and readers of the Scanner Digest Newsletter. We have seen some tremendous changes over the past year in our hobby and listening enjoyment. We saw Kenwood Communications Amateur Radio Division release the newly hyped Kenwood TH-D72 hand held portable Dual Band/APRS amateur radio just before the holidays went into full swing. I have been watching the mailing list on yahoogroups.com and many of the hams that have purchased the radio are impressed with its features and ability as an upgraded HT from the processor the Kenwood D7. We also saw the expansion of Radio Reference expanded their online audio feeds as well. Just about every state that expanded did so with additional listening coverage nationwide. Speaking of amateur radio, we also saw an increase of Android and iPhone applications as well. One of my favorite applications has been the Echolink version of the computer version of Echolink itself. I have been watching several videos over on YouTube and have noticed that not just the Andriod and iPhone applications have been a hit with hams, but also those with the IPAD as well. Now, I can't wait until my phone comes up for an upgrade in 2011 and I'll be able to take a test drive on the HTC Evo in the coming months and also some of the online scanner listening applications as well. Now - that's impressive. In closing - I hope everyone is having a great 2011 and that their scanner and listening pleasure is still in their own

making and enjoyable. If you have a story or article idea that you'd like for us to consider please feel free to get in touch with Lou or Myself about getting editorial approval for a future issue of the SDN. Our writer's and photographers get by-line and photographer credit for their articles and a photos published in our publication. Again, Lou and I thank our subscribers for keeping up and running in our subscriber and readership. Happy New Year to all. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW LOCATION for Winter SWL Fest 2011

WWW.SWLFEST.COM

March 4–5, 2011, Doubletree Guest Suites, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania

The Winter SWL Fest is a conference of radio hobbyists of all stripes, from DC to daylight. Every year scores of hobbyists descend on the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania suburbs for a weekend of camaraderie. The Fest is sponsored by NASWA, the North American Shortwave Association, but it covers much more than just shortwave; mediumwave (AM), scanning, satellite TV, and pirate broadcasting are among the other topics that the Fest covers. Whether you’ve been to every Fest (all 24, starting with the first year at the fabled Pink & Purple Room of the Fiesta Motor Inn) or this year’s will be your first, you’re sure to find a welcome from your fellow hobbyists. The Winter SWL Fest has two days of sessions where you can learn about the latest developments in the radio listening hobbies, but there’s so much more going on. There’s a silent auction that takes place over the two days of the Fest, where you’re bound to find something of interest. There’s the Hospitality Suite, where attendees partake of tuning oil and other treats and engage in spirited conversations. There is the closing Banquet, with after-dinner remarks by a luminary from the field, often one of the many broadcasters who attend the Fest, followed by the raffle, where you could win one or more of the dozens of prizes, ranging from pens from stations up to top-notch communications receivers. And of course, the infamous midnight ride of Pancho Villa that closes things out every year. Click the link below for a tentative literary of events http://www.swlfest.com/forums-events/

Where does The Fest happen?

View Map and Directions

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The Fest takes place at a Best Western hotel right off the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike about 30 miles north of Philadelphia. It’s easily accessible from the highway, and there are shuttles you can take from the Philadelphia airport if you’re coming from farther afield. Doubletree Guest Suites 640 West Germantown Pike Plymouth Meeting, PA 19463 Tel: +1 610 834-8300 Fax: +1 610 834-1751 Room reservations are your responsibility and are not included in the festival registration fees. At the end of the calendar year (usually December), call or fax the hotel directly and ask for the Winter SWL Fest rate, as it is not available through the 800 number reservation system. You can also reserve your hotel room at this special web site. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 6, 2011

GRE Introduces Next Generation Digital P25 Scanning Receiver GRE America introduces a number of firsts in radio scanners with the new GRECOM Digital EZ Scan scanner. This scanner: 1) Uses patented technology to permit programming by simply selecting what you want to hear, no need to be a radio system expert. 2) Works in areas supported by the vast majority of APCO P25 digital as well as analog and conventional public service radio systems. 3) It allows the user to listen to desired communications without PC or internet programming because everything is already in the scanner. The Digital EZ Scan scanner includes a 2GB SD card with the entire US database of trunked systems and popular conventional frequencies so customers can monitor popular local police/fire and emergency frequencies right out of the box. 4) This Radio scanning receiver comes ready to program by the consumer for any USA/Canada location. No longer must users become radio system experts to enjoy the scanning hobby. And this scanning receiver can be updated with the latest database at any time by a simple PC connection. In the past, scanning your local police, fire and emergency services required that you know the radio band used, radio system type and required an understanding of the programming protocol and programming method for your scanner. To further complicate things, programming

Methods varied not only between scanner brands, but sometimes even within a brand. Every scanner hobbyist had to become an expert to program his scanner. With introduction of the Digital EZ Scan scanning receiver, programming is as simple as selecting your state and county from lists, viewing the available services, checking boxes for the services you want to monitor and saving to a scanlist. Wayne Wilson, Executive VP for GRE says, "It is very much like programming an MP3 player, that is, if you could buy an MP3 player with every song already loaded. Our new scanner also permits you to enter any favorite frequencies that are not already in the database. Radio scanning has never been so easy!" About GRE: Established in 1961, GRE Inc. designs, manufactures and markets the GRECOM line of analog and digital scanning receivers. Additionally, GRE is the world's #1 largest private label Original Equipment / Original Design Manufacturer of radio scanners. GRE also produces industrial and consumer communication and electronic products for a many of the world's leading electronic companies and governments. Contact Information: GRE America Inc. Wayne Wilson 650-591-1400 scanner-sales@greamerica.com http://greamerica.com NEW HAMPSHIRE John Bolduc

n1qgs@yahoo.com Hampstead Fire Department is dispatched by Derry Fire Alarm. Derry also dispatches Chester, Auburn, Windham, as well as themselves. Hampstead recently departed the primary dispatch frequency of 154.130 (PL114.8) in favor of their town channel 151.070 (136.5). Apparently things did not work out as expected as Hampstead has reverted back to 154.130. The switch only lasted one month. During that period a UHF link on 453.600 d125 was linked to 151.070. It is now linked back to 154.130. Cheshire County Sheriff is now using a repeater on 156.2175 mixed analog/P25 mode (d074 and NAC 117) off Pack Monadnock Mountain on the eastern border of the county. HIGHWAY - DPW - PLOW (Recently re-verified) Allenstown NH 159.090R 225.7 Alton NH 156.135S 151.4 Boscawen NH 156.165S D445

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Candia NH 461.075R 131.8 Claremont NH 151.100R D245 Crotched Mtn Rehab 151.595S 94.8 Derry NH 453.475R 103.5 Dover NH 150.9950 D244 Farmington NH 156.1125R D047 Goffstown NH 159.1050 136.5 Hampton NH 155.7450 D311 Henniker NH 151.070R 136.5 Hooksett NH 154.040S 136.5 Hudson NH 37.260S 136.5 Kingston NH 154.040S 136.5 Londonderry NH 156.165S 36.5 Manchester Airport 152.4200 D026 Manchester NH 800 TRS TG02-011 Pembroke NH 452.625R 136.5 Sanbornton NH 153.8600 173.8 Wolfeboro NH 158.820S 136.5 SCHOOLS Concord/Penacook Vlg NH Penacook Elementary School 462.6125S CSQ (FRS 3) Merrimack Valley Middle School 462.6375S CSQ (FRS 4) MVSD Washington St School 464.5500S 67.0 Londonderry NH High School 458.500S 114.8 Matthew Thornton Elem 154.570S csq Moose Hill Elementary 151.625S csq REGIONAL TRANSIT Concord Area Transit (CAT) 461.3750R 167.9 Greater Laconia Transit (GLTA) 453.2250R 179.9 BUSINESS Moose Hill Orchard Londonderry151.625S 107.2 NH Fishercats / MerhchantsAutoDotCom Statdium Operations / Management 467.2250S d054 Operations / Promotional 467.4250S d054 Food Services / Concessions 151.7150S d023 MAINE Loren Fields hornsmoke@gwi.net Greetings, and welcome to this edition of the Maine Scanner Digest column! Jumping right in, it is important to note that Harris Corporation is requesting an FCC Special Temporary Authorization (STA) for the short term operation of VHF High Band (VHF) Land Mobile Radio (LMR) trunked repeaters and associated mobile radio equipment from 3 sites located within the State of Maine. The reason for this operation is to conduct a 3-site simulation test of a Harris MASTR III Project 25 (P25) LMR system, critical to the success of a project that will ultimately result in the

implementation of a statewide P25 VHF narrowband radio system for the State of Maine and needed for serving the State’s various public safety agencies. I've included the rest of the document to give insight into what the state is looking at on the new communications horizon. Frequencies will then be listed from the FCC site. The 3-site simulation testing will include the making and receiving of digital voice calls while standing and/or driving within and between the mobile service areas identified in the accompanying FCC 601 Schedule D. Testing will additionally validate system functionality and performance emulating the final system configuration and station operation once fully licensed and deployed. Although applications for regular authorization of narrowband station operation on a number of VHF channel frequencies for this radio system project are currently ongoing, and for some site locations have been granted, it is not possible for the necessary validation testing to use the specific frequencies already granted license without causing harmful interference and disruption to the State of Maine’s current and various State agency VHF radio operations. Successful completion of the simulation testing in a timely manner will enable and facilitate the eventual consolidation of existing State agency operations onto the new common radio system, and allow a managed user migration from the separate and disparate existing 25 kHz wideband channel VHF system operations to the new mandated 12.5 kHz narrowband channel system. Simulation Testing Schedule Harris site equipment set-up and optimization: December 27, 2010 to January 15, 2011 Harris conducted testing1: January 17, 2011 to February 28, 2011 South of “Line A” Augusta RCC – Kennebec County, ME – 2 channels Granite Hill – Kennebec County, ME – 3 channels North of “Line A” Spruce Mountain – Oxford County, ME – 2 channels STA App Attachment 1 Page 1 of 2 Frequency Selection for System Simulation Testing Harris has performed ULS database frequency searches and analyses to identify and select candidate frequencies compatible for use in the 3-site simulation testing to be conducted. Interference analyses following standard industry approved or required methods were performed for all frequencies and station operating parameters identified in the accompanying FCC 601 Schedules D and H. The specified frequencies and their parameters of use have been determined to be suitable for test use at the defined fixed locations and areas of operation, and without being the cause of objectionable interference to other licensed station operations.

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Analyses have entailed sequentially evaluating and confirming, for each specified frequency, that the calculated interference contours for the proposed trunked station test operations, either fixed site or mobile as applicable, are clear of overlap to the service areas of any geographically surrounding and potentially affected station licensee as prescribed in FCC rules section 90.187. All potentially affected licensees operating on frequencies defined in section 90.187 were considered in the analyses. One of the radio sites (Spruce Mountain) to be used in the planned system simulation testing is located approximately 2.5 miles north of Line A and thus in an area of operation normally requiring coordination with Canada. The requested transmit powers for both fixed repeater and mobile stations to be operated from this site have been purposely limited to no greater than 5 Watts ERP. Engineering analysis based on Longley-Rice signal propagation model has been performed to demonstrate that use of this limited ERP suitably minimizes the possibility that Canadian base or mobile stations operating on the Canadian side of the US border with Canada and on affected frequencies will be subjected to receive signal strength greater than -148 dBW. No harmful interference to either current licensed Canadian or US radio system operations is anticipated due to the temporary station operation and system simulation testing to be conducted from this site. The entire link with additional graphics can be found by clicking on this hyperlink. Frequencies applied for are: Frequency Loc# Ant# FreqID StaClass Units PwrOut MaxERP 160.4100 1 1 1 FB8 1 110 147.9 160.5975 1 1 2 FB8 1 110 147.9 161.4300 2 1 1 MO8 10 50 100 161.5050 2 1 2 MO8 10 50 100 161.1375 3 1 1 FB8 1 110 177.8 161.2875 3 1 2 FB8 1 110 177.8 161.4675 3 1 3 FB8 1 110 177.8 160.2675 4 1 1 MO8 10 50 100 160.3425 4 1 2 MO8 10 50 100 160.3575 4 1 3 MO8 10 50 100 161.1975 5 1 1 FB8 1 10 5 161.5275 5 1 2 FB8 1 10 5 160.5225 6 1 1 MO8 10 8 5 160.5825 6 1 2 MO8 10 8 5 Corresponding locations to the above are: Action Location Transmitter Address Latitude, Performed Area of OPN Longitude Add 1 - Fixed Augusta RCC 44-21-58.9 N 45 Commerce Drive 69-47-59.7 W

Augusta ME Kennebec County

Add 2- Mob Other Add 3- Fixed Granite Hill 44-18-29.9 N

Hallowell ME 69-49-58.6 W Kennebec County

Action Location Transmitter Address Latitude, Performed Area of OPN Longitude Add 4- Mob. Other Add 5- Fixed Spruce Mountain 44-24-28.2 N Woodstock ME 70-35-04.2 W Oxford County Add 6- Mob 32.0km radius around a fixed location 5 All monitors in the vicinity are encouraged to "tune in" to the above freqs and report what you hear to the SCAN-ME List on Yahoo! Groups. Here's a recent link to the consolidation of the Bangor dispatch services: http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Greater-Bangor/Bangor-council-to-consolidate-dispatch,157050 Doug Augelli does an awesome job monitoring the Sugarloaf Mtn. area. Here's a copy of a post he made about a mass-casualty exercise conducted by Sugarloaf back in November '10. Ironically enough this was put to practical use when one of the ski lifts crashed a month later! First, here is Doug's posting to SCAN-Me (with a cool news link) then a link to the actual incident a month or so later. CARRABASSETT VALLEY - Sugarloaf Ski Patrol received the call at 9:16 a.m. Two chair lifts, the Snubber and the Sawdust, had both stopped functioning. The first Responder, checking for damage, reported a scene from a disaster movie. Moaning people, scattered between idling ATVs and ominously still forms, were scattered beneath the partially-unloaded lifts. The chair lifts had derailed after the support pole had been struck, and more than 25 people were injured. CONTINUED HERE: & some great photos from drill: http://www.dailybulldog.com/db/?p=6134 Freqs Doug heard were:

EMS 155.220 D311 Carrabasset PD 155.175 PL 100.0 Carrabasset FD 154.250 PL 100 State Fire 154.310 CSQ Maine LifeFlight 453.650 PL 103.5

And now, here is the link to THE REAL DEAL that occurred on 28 DEC '10 This proves why it is important to train, train and train some more. Ironically enough one young fellow I know had his new helmet cam trained on the derailment whilst on the next lift over...he sold his video to CNN for $300...you can see it online! Ya gotta love Capitalism, especially when our young adults benefit =;-)

The Central Maine newspapers did an article on the unique nature of the Carrabassett PD and its relationship with Sugarloaf Mountain. It is highly informative and worth the read. A "scanpedition" is when you pack serious commo assets and hunt down new frequencies and/or towers. Here are some shots from a recent trip in the Cumberland/Androscoggin county area... Here's an FAA site in New Gloucester. Note the long-wire antenna strung between two modified telephone poles, plus the beacon ground antenna:

For some reason the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) had this sign there:

Some more tower/antenna placement photos

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Now, these may seem mundane, "run of the mill" towers and antenna clusters. However, with every picture/site take a GPS reading and then conduct an FCC radius database either from your laptop w/ an airtime card or your PDA/Droid. One never know what is on a tower unless you were the one that installed it! For example, here are two shots of the Goff Hill antenna cluster in Auburn, recently sent my way:

Falmouth (ME) has a string of towers spread out along an extended ridgeline. This is one of the Blackstrap towers...the pictures do not do it justice.

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Under "Random:" Here is a quick primer as to the frequency ranges of cellular technology; This becomes pertinent as the argument for allowing cell blockers/jammers intensifies: SCDMA: 450-470MHz GSM: 925-965MHz CDMA:865-885MHz DCS: 1780-1856MHz PHS: 1900-1925MHz 3G: 2110-2170MHz Neato-keen informational links: Here is a short news clip about electronic pick pocketing...Interesting stuff. Office of Information Technology MSCommNet FAQ page From OIT...a great newsletter full of information and links A bona fide GPS tracking device for a vehicle, et. al. From the survivalist side of the house: colloidal silver An erudite explanation of LTR systems SINCGARS military radio options The quintessential schools for those practitioners of firearms, a.k.a. Front Sight That's all for this edition's Maine column. Please contact me (Loren Fields) if you are ever in the Augusta, Maine area and would like to talk communications. I also encourage you FaceBook denizens to visit my FaceBook page and say "hello!" Until next time, keep your hand on your wallet, your powder dry and your shot group tight. God Bless America, and obey Acts 2:38. Fields out. MILITARY Daniel Myers KB3IBQ 823 Horsham Rd.

Horsham, Pa 19044-1209 dan@domyers.com

No column this Issue

WASHINGTON DC REGIONAL David Schoenberger davidschoenberger@gmail.com

No column this issue EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA Steve Bower, Jr.

Stevescan60@yahoo.com http://lvcomm.proboards33.com/index.cgi

No column this Issue

VERMONT Jim Lawrence

ScannerDigest@gmail.com

No column this Issue SCANNING & THE INTERNET Brian Baldwin

c/o Scanner Digest ScannerDigest@gmail.com

No column this Issue

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SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK Frank B. O’Connor

So now, in order to effectively monitor the emergency medical services in Rockland, you’ll only need to listen to four channels: c/o Scanner Digest

policefireems@gmail.com My loyal readers, once again we have a little bit of something from every corner of my coverage territory, so let’s begin... Ulster County If you see a white trailer marked in red with the words “STATE FIRE” and “Highway Safety Emergency Response” in the Hudson Valley area, there’s one of two things going on nearby: highway safety training or a big emergency. The trailer has, among a huge load of traffic safety equipment (portable signs, cones, flags, vests, etc.), portable radios programmed as follows: F1 45.880 (csq) F2 45.560 (csq) F3 46.220 (csq) F4 46.300 (123.0) F5 46.400 (123.0) F6 46.460 (123.0) aboard to distribute to fire police officers working an event. The frequencies might look familiar.

F1 is the Intercounty Mutual Aid channel, therefore use of this frequency is restricted.

F4 is Orange and Putnam’s Fire F3, and, with the flip of the monitor switch, can be used in Nassau and on Suffolk’s F4 or to listen to Ulster’s F3 or Rockland’s F6

F5 is Orange’s F4. The monitor switch in csq mode would allow the radio to be used in Suffolk’s Division 5.

F6 is Orange’s F9 and, with the flip of the monitor switch, can be used to listen to Ulster’s F2.

An interesting assortment of channels. Orange County Monroe Volunteer Ambulance Corps updated its WPQF-566 license to allow for repeater operation on 155.6325 and 470.4375. Rockland County Monitoring the emergency medical services in North Rockland got a little bit easier, effective November 1. Haverstraw Ambulance finally changed their CTCSS tone to match Stony Point’s. Haverstraw, who used 155.175 (151.4) had to tolerate listening to Monmouth County (NJ)’s EMS 1, when conditions were right, since they use the same frequency/PL combo, and often stepped on their neighbors to the north (Stony Point Ambulance, who uses 155.175 (136.5)).

155.160 (151.4) Towns of Clarkstown and Orangetown 155.175 (136.5) Towns of Haverstraw and Stony Point 155.355 (151.4) Town of Ramapo 159.885R (DCS 074) Hatzolah Now if only New Windsor Ambulance, in Orange County, who uses 155.175 (136.5) as one of their tactical channels, could just figure out a way to change their tone to any of the dozens and dozens of unused ones in the area, a scannist situated to monitor both services would be set. The Town of Ramapo has added another Code Enforcement car, numbered 490. Crossing the river, we go to... Westchester County Tarrytown Police migrated to 482.650R (NAC 156) from 155.730R (156.7) for dispatch and operations. If one were to tell me that a reason why TPD left 155.730 was because of Middletown (Orange) Police and their use of the same frequency as a repeater output, I wouldn’t be surprised. Port Jervis Police left the same frequency – probably forced off by MPD’s strong repeater – to go to 158.8425R (DCS 606) a number of months ago. Putnam County Nothing to report. Dutchess County A recent visit to www.nf2g.com/scannist, to look something up about Dutchess’ emergency medical services, showed a headline that saddened me. Dave Stark is retiring the site, following a pending move out of the state. Dave, I feel your pain. My property taxes, the fees on my bills, the sales taxes, and the tolls I have to fork over are outrageous. This state is insane and Dave wouldn’t be the first person I know that ran away from the lunacy. I’ve always preferred locally based websites over the big, national online databases, but things are what they are. Dave, I wish you the best of luck where ever you go. I can guess that where ever that might be, our loss will be their scannists’ gain. New York City Has anyone else noticed the increased use of Tac J (465.1125, 203.5) lately? The NYPD has specific functions assigned to Tacs A, B, C, D, and E (designated for precinct use), F (designated for the Housing Bureau, the Yankee Stadium detail, and the Executive Protection Unit), G and H (Special Operations Division primary and secondary, respectively). There is no Tac I. Therefore, Tac J, being the first of the free-for-all Tacs going through to Tac T, seems to be the first stop for someone finding their assigned Tac busy and not wanting to step on

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someone else on another assigned Tac. As N2NOV (http://n2nov.net/) likes to remind listeners to his weekly Shortwave and Scanner Listeners’ Net, a serious NYPD scannist is equipped to monitor ALL the tac channels. Nassau County With a tip of the hat to “emfd57” for the find (via www.W2LIE.net), the Glen Cove Volunteer EMS Corps has changed their unit IDs to fall in line with the fire department’s (who is their dispatcher). Their ambulances are now 5281 and 5282. Suffolk County I’m being told that the West Sayville-Oakdale Fire District is now using 475.000 for their fireground channel. I have no further information in terms of a tone or channel number. AMATEUR RADIO Robert Gulley AK3Q

ak3q@ak3q.com Scanner Digest Amateur Radio: Crossing Over By the time you are reading this the holidays may just be a memory, but I hope any new toys you received are working well and adding greatly to your enjoyment of the radio hobby! If you are like me there is not much that doesn’t fascinate you about radio, and my limited hobby time is spent between a number of RF pursuits like ham radio, scanning, SWL and AM DXing to name a few. My poor wife is constantly putting up with my radio passions, and to her great credit, has even tried to learn a little bit about it all to better understand my ramblings. Bridging the Gap In this issue I want to spend some time talking equipment, particularly as it relates to amateur radio equipment being used for the dual purposes of scanning and amateur contacts. If you have been into scanning or amateur radio for a long time you probably come from the days where the two categories are separate—amateur radio equipment was used just for amateur contacts, while scanners were used just for scanning police and fire or military frequencies. Of course for some, bridging the gap between the two aspects of the hobby just gave one the opportunity to buy more toys. We’ve all seen those photos of cars decked out with a dozen radios and at least as many antennas, and we are all left wondering just how a person manages to actually drive the car! While scanners have for some time included amateur frequencies at least as scanning options, amateur equipment has only fairly recently started including wideband reception capabilities in transmitters. Both handhelds (HT’s) and mobile units may be purchased which not only cover the 2-meter and 440 bands, but they also have extended receive options and memory capacity to handle a lot of public service monitoring.

While I will discuss my own equipment a bit in this article, this is by no means a plug for these manufacturers; I will use my equipment as indicative of what is available now, but I will also list some makes and models later in the article from a number of manufacturers. Differing Goals First of all, I want to make sure there is no confusion here: ham radio equipment is not designed with the same goals in mind as a scanner, and neither are scanners designed with amateur uses in mind. Both are ancillary aspects of the respective equipment, but I think manufacturers are more than willing to “cross over” to broaden the appeal for their product. In the case of scanners, movement in the field made including amateur radio options easy, while in the case of ham equipment, advances were made to set one manufacturer apart from another. Wider and wider receivers have been included in newer amateur rigs, and this is very much market driven I believe. Who benefits? We do! There are now available a number of radios with coverage going from the upper HF bands all the way into microwave territory, with some radios even covering the whole HF spectrum, and doing it fairly well. Keep in mind, scanners are designed from the ground up to move very rapidly from one channel (or object/group/etc.) to another, with speeds often reaching 100 channels per second (cps) or more. Amateur equipment does not scan that rapidly, and this may be a source of concern for those who are used to scanners alone. Nor (as of now) are there amateur rigs capable of handling digital systems or trunking systems the way many scanners do. Amateur rigs excel at allowing you to program specific analog frequencies into memory, along with the needed PL tones, and then search these frequencies along with the local repeater frequencies you already have in your rig. Since many of these radios are dual band radios covering 2 meters and 440, there is usually a multiband antenna already connected to the radio which will work well for the police and fire frequencies. In addition, many radios allow for programming in frequency ranges for random scanning, allowing you to hear and identify new frequencies and then store them in memory for future use. Options Galore! Today our options are better than ever for combining two of our favorite hobbies together and for catching a lot of the action in our area. When mobile or in the house I can keep in touch with local hams, and I can listen to police, fire, marine, aircraft and military channels at the same time. I really appreciate this last aspect because frankly, our local repeaters are fairly quiet these days, even though I live fairly close to a large city. There is less and less traffic on the 2-meter and 440 bands, so having the ability to keep up with local public service traffic is a real treat. And being able to use one radio for both I avoid having to fight between radios when both have something on them.

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So what can you expect to get with wideband amateur equipment these days? Well, in the handheld department many HT’s have at least extended VHF coverage starting around 136 MHz up to 174 MHz, while dual-band HT’s often additionally cover 400-479 MHz. With wideband coverage, however, many dual-band radios now receive 108-520 MHz and 700-999.99 MHz (less cellular). And these are just the HT’s! Alinco makes a tri-band radio that covers 2 meter, 440, and 1200 MHz for transmit, with receive frequencies from 540 kHz to 1299 MHz. These modern wideband receivers from a number of manufacturers come with hundreds of memories, wide and narrow band options, and some even come with AM capability. Like the Alinco mentioned above, Kenwood makes a nice tri-band HT (2m, 220, and 440) which covers 100 kHz to 1300 MHz, with single side-band capability. Are these wideband receivers equally sensitive across all bands and imperious to overload? Nope! But each manufacturer has tried to find a good balance among features to give as good of a signal as they can within reasonable limitations. No radio is going to be able to handle these extremes equally well, but considering these reasonable limitations, they do a great job. In the mobile rig department I have two mobiles—a Kenwood V71A and an Alinco 590T. While the Alinco is representative of the older, less capable receive rigs, it still covers enough of the lower band VHF frequencies to allow me to listen to a lot of local analog police and fire channels, especially through search ranges. With its limited memory I can only have a few of the busiest frequencies stored since I need most of the room for local repeaters. My Kenwood, on the other hand, represents some of the best of the modern amateur rig capabilities by having 1000 memories, coverage from 118-1300 MHz, and multiple tuning spacing and band width capabilities. I listen to air traffic frequencies, police, fire, weather alert, towing and traffic information, as well as some military aviation frequencies. Oh yeah, I also listen amateur bands as well (grin)! This is typical of the newer more advanced rigs on the market today, with similar models from Alinco, Yaesu and Icom. Taking Advantage of The Newer Rigs While there is a lot to be gained by having multiple radios including scanners, mobile ham gear, and base stations, sometimes it is nice to be able to enjoy multiple options from one rig. With many radios having a dual receive option, one band can cover scanning the local repeaters while the other band scans public service frequencies. If you take the time to program up your radio effectively, chances are good you will hear a lot of great stuff out there! And even if you don’t want to do all that much programming, some of the amateur gear available today offer the equivalent of a signal stalker mode where they

will try to identify the CTCSS codes of unknown frequencies for ease of capture. With all of the great features available on the modern rigs, the possibilities for enjoyment are almost endless. Even if most of the police and fire dispatches are digital or trunked systems in your area, there are a lot of other systems still using analog systems such as railroad, marine, and aviation signals. Check out www.radioreference.com in the database section for listings of stations in your area—you might be amazed at what is still out there in the analog world. Radio Options Here, as promised, and in no particular order, is a listing of a number of wideband amateur rigs similar to those discussed above:

Alinco DR-635T (nothing above 480 MHz, but does cover aircraft AM and FM commercial bands)

Alinco DJ-G7T (low power HT with receive up to 1299 MHz)

ICOM IC-80AD (DStar capable HT and receive from 495 kHz to 999 MHz)

ICOM IC-91 and 92AD (same as above with added features)

ICOM IC-2820H (dual band mobile receive 118-999 MHz)

ICOM IC-880H (same as above added features) Kenwood TM-710A (Packet/APRS receive 118-1300

MHz) Kenwood TM-V71A (118-1300 MHz) Kenwood TH-F6A (HT receive 100 kHz-1300 MHz) Yaesu FT-60R (HT receive 108-999 MHz) Yaesu VX-3R (500 - 1800 kHz (AM Band), 1.8 - 30 MHz

(Shortwave), 30 - 76 MHz (VHF Lowband with 6M), 76 - 108 MHz (FM band), 108 - 137 MHz (Air Band), 137 - 174 MHz (VHF High band with 2M), 174 - 222 MHz, 222 - 420 MHz (VHF band with 220), 420 - 470 MHz (440), 470 - 800 MHz and 800 - 999 MHz)

Yaesu VX-6R (receive 504-998.9 MHz) Yaesu VX-7R, 8R (all similar to VX-3R above with

different features) Yaesu 7900/8800R (receive 108-999 MHz) Yaesu 8900 (adds 10 meters and 6 meters to above

receive) I hope this sparks an interest in you to see what your amateur rig can do, or to purchase one of the newer more capable rigs available today. If you are like me you can’t get enough scanning and amateur time in during a day, so anything which adds to the hobby is a welcome treat. Email me at the address below and let me know about your scanning and amateur adventures—I’d love to hear from you! Until next time, may the best signals be yours! Robert – AK3Q ak3q@ak3q.com

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 55 PAGE 13

MASSACHUSETTES Peter Szerlag zerg90@gmail.com I will start off this column with a quick overview of the existing public safety communications systems in Massachusetts. Massachusetts State Police (MSP) use a 800 MHz trunked radio system (TRS) that basically covers the eastern two thirds of Massachusetts. The mountainous one third of the state apparently is not covered very well. MSP is reported to be reconfiguring (aka rebanding) their channels, and implementing digital emissions (P25). The reconfiguring of channels involves moving channels from 866 MHz thru 869 MHz, to 851MHz thru 855 MHz. This movement of radio channels is due to interference caused by NEXTEL mobile phones. County and local emergency agencies predominantly are using UHF in eastern Massachusetts. Local public safety agencies in western Massachusetts primarily use VHF highband - except for Franklin County which uses UHF. Eastern Massachusetts - local police, fire, and ambulance agencys Barnstable County - 8 FD/EMS agencys have UHF channels - no PDs have UHF - presently all agencies primarily use the State 800 Mhz TRS in Barnstable County Bristol County - all FD/EMS use UHF except 1 (Attleboro) - all PDs are on UHF except 2 (Attleboro and Rehoboth) Dukes County - all agencys on VHF highband - this is an island out in the Atlantic Ocean Essex County (aka North Shore) - 14 FD are on UHF - 2 are moving up presently - the rest are on VHF high band except North Andover FD that is on 800 MHz - all local PDs are on UHF except Lawrence Auxiliary Police on 155.37R Middlesex County - all FDs are UHF except - Boxboro 46.50 – Cambridge 800 MHz with UHF - Carlisle 33.66 and UHF - Dracut 154.40 – Groton 155.9025R - Lowell 154.205R - Marlboro 800 Mhz - Natick 154.205R and UHF - Wilmington 154.2875R - all PDs are UHF except - Acton 154.815R - Ayer 158.895R - Boxboro 155.6475R - Dunstable 155.58R - Groton 155.58R - Littleton 155.85R - Marlboro 800 Mhz - Maynard 155.01R - Shirley 155.535R - Stow 155.595R - (the PDs on VHF highband are in the western portion of Middlesex County) Nantucket - FD/EMS on 154.43 - PD on 800 Mhz - this is a island in the Atlantic Ocean

Norfolk County - all agencies are on UHF now Plymouth County - all FD/EMS are UHF except - Brockton 154.31R - Hull 159.18R (moving up) - Hingham 154.265 (moving up soon) - Pembroke 33.68 (have a new UHF freq) - Scituate 151.175R - all PD are on UHF Suffolk County - all agencies are on UHF Worcester County - just Worcester City has their own 800 Mhz system - some very small western agencys use the State 800 Mhz TRS - 8 PDs are on low band still - 24 PDs are on VHF highband - 22 PDs are on UHF - approximately 26 FDs have UHF channels - most of the agencys in the north half of the county are UHF (or are moving to UHF) Most private ambulances in Massachusetts use VHF highband or UHF - some smaller private ambulance companies use 900 MHz commercial shared trunked systems Recent new licenses in Massachusetts include the following - National Grid in Westford - 452.20 T + 452.675 T (trunked) Waltham - 460.1875 R 280 Congress St highrise building - downtown Boston - 451.725 R - 452.725 R Boston CMED - new antenna site in Littleton with UHF med channels (regular and splinter) Douglas Police - 482.5875 R West Boylston Public Schools - portable radios - 452.8125 - 457.8125 Harvard University - at the medical area in Boston - 461.5625 R - 462.2500 R - digital and analog modes Recent Odds and Ends The Southampton railroad yard in South Boston seems to be using 160.980 Professional Ambulance ALS for the Concord area is using 472.2875 R PL 123.0 New England Baptist Hospital Security operates on 452.9875 R PL 88.5 - they frequently transport hospital workers to nearby subway stations Methuen DPW still uses 46.52 PL 136.5 - at least I think it

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 55 PAGE 14

is Methuen DPW - somebody was heard during the blizzard Swampscott FD and Nahant FD are using 482.85 R DPL 125 for fire calls - but they run their EMS calls on 470.175 R PL 88.5 Medford DPW still uses 45.72 PL 71.9 (or someone) I hope you have enjoyed this edition of the Massachusetts column. Until next time - Take care - Peter Sz CONNECTICUT Keith Victor Alarmroom@yahoo.com The CT State Police have begun to reband their entire system, listed below are the new low power conventional radio channels: LP97 853/808.9875 PL 156.7 NAC-515 NAC-727 LP98 853/808.9625 PL 156.7 NAC-515 NAC-727 LP10 853/808.9750 PL 156.7 NAC-515 NAC-727 LP103 853/808.9500 PL 156.7 NAC-515 NAC-727 LP105 853/808.9375 PL 156.7 NAC-515 NAC-727 NESP 853/808.9375 PL 118.8 CSPERN 858/813.2625 PL 156.7 Statewide Backup 859/814.2625 PL 156.7 Statewide Note: The low power channels are call LP97/A1R for Analog LP97/D5R for P25 NAC515 and LP97/D7R for P25 NAC 727 SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY CAMDEN -- Camden County freeholders have authorized a feasibility study to examine merging Camden City's police dispatch system into the county-wide system. City officials have expressed interest in the county taking over responsibility of the cash-strapped city's 911 calls, citing a possible $4.5 million in savings. City officials currently are working to close a $26-million budget deficit. "We are supportive of this study particularly because it is part of our mission to increase efficiencies and effectiveness while reducing costs," said city spokesman Robert Corrales. The county's 911 system is already used by 31 of the 37 municipalities in the county for police dispatch. All 37 municipalities use county dispatch for fire and EMS. "In these tough economic times, it makes sense to continue to look at merging these emergency communications operations under the county umbrella if all the data makes sense," said Freeholder Rodney A. Greco, in a prepared statement.

"Taxpayers expect us to find cost-efficient, high-quality solutions to ensure that we continue to provide essential public services." The goal of the study -- which is to be performed by the county -- is to determine if a merger with Camden is feasible and to identify what changes need to be made to facilitate the integration of Camden's 911 calls to the county system, according Robin Blaker, the county's acting director of public safety. Corrales said it is unclear at this point what a county takeover would mean for the city's 54 police dispatch employees. However, the city already stands to lose 20 of those positions as part of 383 positions approved for layoff. Camden police dispatchers are represented by Camden County Council 10. Neither Union President Karl Walko nor Police Chief Scott Thomson responded to a request for comment Thursday. In the past months, several South Jersey municipalities have merged into a county 911 dispatch system. Burlington County will begin handling Medford's 911 calls at the beginning of the year. In February, Voorhees will join Camden County's 911 system, which is set to receive a major upgrade. Reach George Mast at (856) 486-2465 at gmast@camden.gannett.com PHILADELPHIA METRO Column Editor Wanted More towns join police dispatch By: RICH PIETRAS The Intelligencer The list of municipalities resisting Montgomery County's push for a centralized police-dispatching center has gone from nine to five, with Horsham and Montgomery townships representing the local municipalities that have had a change of heart. Mark McCouch, president of Horsham Council, said Monday he felt the move was inevitable. "We started seeing municipalities fall one by one and believed it would happen eventually anyway," McCouch said, adding that since two of the township's six dispatchers recently resigned, the timing was also right. McCouch said the other four dispatchers will be reassigned somewhere in the department. Horsham dispatchers earn $43,000 a year. While police Chief Robert Ruxton was unavailable for comment, in July he said he preferred having township dispatchers because they were more familiar with Horsham. Montgomery County's Director of Public Safety Thomas Sullivan has contended that since the county communications center

already receives all 911 emergency calls, it is more efficient for it to handle police calls as well. Sullivan said Horsham agreed to the switch earlier this month and a transition team is being set up to work out the details.

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Horsham is one of 10 municipalities that dispatches it’s own police after the county communications center transfers 911 police calls to them. At issue for the municipalities who wanted to continue to handle their own dispatching was an estimated $40,000 county charge for the hardware and software used to keep each self-dispatching center operating. The county had estimated this year it will save the approximate $250,000 it spends on the equipment through the consolidation effort. Montgomery Township's supervisors voted to approve the switch in July, according to Deputy Chief Scott Bendig. Bendig said Monday the move remains in the transition stage but no decision has been made concerning the six full-time dispatchers who are currently on the job. Upper Moreland's police department agreed to make the switch this year. Five of its police dispatchers stayed on the payroll. Two dispatch vacancies were left unfilled, and the department accepted the voluntary resignation of a third dispatcher, said township police Chief Thomas Nestel. The five former dispatchers were designated community service representatives, members of a seven-person squad meant to handle community relations and free up police officers for other duties. Community service representatives are trained to do home security assessments, respond to non-emergency calls, help process evidence and investigate code violations, among other things. The dispatchers-turned-community service representatives work 40 hour weeks at $17.61 an hour, Nestel said. Staff writer Annie Tasker contributed to this story. Rich Pietras can be reached at 215-345-3119 or rpietras@phillyBurbs.com.

Up Close and Personal: August 10th, 2010 By Craig Leventhal N3TPM

Most of us involved with the communications hobby do our listening in relative safety, some distance from the action. We live out our heroic dreams, vicariously through others whose job it is to protect the public. But what happens when the action gets up close and personal? What is our first instinct? Do we duck and cover, run for the hills, or? On August 10th, 2010 the customers and employees of several businesses in Whitpain Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, were confronted with that dilemma. What follows are the answers, some of which may surprise you. The owner of the hair salon near the intersection of Dekalb (RT202) and Skippack (RT73) pikes, went to serve an eviction notice on the tenant living in the apartment above the salon. When she looked in the window she observed several firearms out in plain site. She also found that her spare key was no longer able to unlock the door. She then called 911 and reported an armed subject barricaded in the apartment. As you can well imagine that 911 call mobilized a number of groups within the Montgomery County public safety community. Whitpain PD was first on scene and secured the immediate area. They also closed Dekalb Pike between Skippack pike and Jolly road. Then they went door-to-door and told several businesses to close temporarily until the situation was resolved. Among the businesses affected were a Sprint retail store, an Italian bakery/ restaurant, and a veterinary clinic. Employees and patrons were told to stay clear of the windows and not to leave the buildings.

While the local police were setting up this safe zone, other county law enforcement agencies were responding to the incident. The Major Incident Response Team or MIRT acts as a central dispatch point for other units. They can be called up on an as-needed basis by radio or alpha-numeric pager. Among the units called out on August 10th was the county’s SWAT team. They brought with them an armored vehicle called the Bearcat just in case.

A hostage negotiator was brought on scene in the event the situation became a standoff. The officers donned their protective gear and were issued weapons. A command post was setup across the street about half a block south of the scene. Everyone gathered at the command post for a briefing and duty assignments.

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The tactical squad members paired off and took up their assigned positions around the outside of the hair salon and awaited further orders. The incident commander, using established guidelines, devised a method of approach that would not risk heightening a potentially tense situation.

▲ Photo courtesy 6ABC TV Philadelphia

▲ Photo courtesy 6ABC TV Philadelphia

Phone calls made to the apartment went unanswered for approximately twenty minutes. At this point SWAT team members were ordered to get eyes into the apartment through a window. After a few more minutes SWAT determined that the tenant was not in the residence. The team members entered the apartment and found that the firearms were not loaded and there was not any ammunition in the apartment. The firearms were legally registered and owned by the tenant. Since there were no threats made and no violations of any laws, the incident was closed. During the entire incident the hair salon staff huddled near the command post. The Italian restaurant and bakery shuttered their front windows, but continued serving those patrons already inside.

The staff of the Sprint retail store, which is directly adjacent to the hair salon and potentially in the line of fire, took a number of the display phones with cameras and began snapping pictures. They cautiously approached the windows from the side to limit their exposure while documenting the incident.

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Once the scene is declared secure by the tactical team, and the incident cleared, all team members again gathered at the command post for a debriefing and to stow their weapons and protective gear. The whole incident lasted just under two hours during which the scene looked like something from a movie or TV show. There was even a news helicopter hovering overhead providing a live video feed of events as they unfolded.

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▲ Photo courtesy 6ABC TV Philadelphia

After the command post was closed and the tactical squads departed, a police officer was posted at the apartment entrance in order to take a statement from the tenant when he arrived home from work. As of this writing there have been no further issues at the salon. As the incident was winding down patrons and staff from the other businesses slowly emerged with cameras in hand, snapping away as they went. The patrons and staff of the salon chose to duck and cover, while the restaurant and bakery simply shuttered their front facing windows. The staff at the Sprint retail store used the available technology to document the incident and allow the rest of us to be part of the action from a safe distance. So what would you have done?

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