ISSUE 59 JAN-FEB-MAR 2012 The D Block provisions end a … · 2014. 7. 8. · North Massapequa, NY 11758 . [email protected] . ... Memorial donations can be sent to the ... monitoring

ISSUE 59 JAN-FEB-MAR 2012

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 59 PAGE 1

♦ Federal Funding for 700 MHz D Block Allocated for Public Safety ♦ New Column Editor Southeastern NY ♦ 2011 Air Show Review – Upcoming & Look Ahead for 2012 ♦ Scanning FedEx Field – Wash DC ♦ Eastern PA - County Wrap up ♦ AMATEUR RADIO – SATELLITES & SCANNING PART 2 ♦ MASSACHUSETTES – Wrap Up ♦ ANNUAL ARMED FORCES DAY CROSSBAND MILITARY/AMATEUR RADIO COMMUNICATIONS TEST GENERAL EDITOR Jeff Newton

[email protected]

It's Official: Obama Signs Spectrum, Public Safety Bill President Barack Obama has signed a payroll tax cut extension bill that includes provisions allowing the FCC to auction off television spectrum and the long-awaited creation of a national mobile broadband network for public safety. Obama's signature made the highly anticipated legislation official this week after it passed the House and Senate last week. The bill includes a number of items pertaining to the wireless industry. It gives the FCC authority to conduct voluntary auctions of television broadcast spectrum and makes it easier to upgrade telecommunications equipment on existing towers, among other provisions. It also sets aside the 700 MHz D Block for public safety and provides $7 billion in federal funding for the construction of a nationwide, interoperable LTE network.

The D Block provisions end a decade-plus fight from the public safety community to get government support for a modern communications network. Communications failures during the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks cost hundreds of first responders their lives after they failed to receive orders to evacuate. Many public safety officials hoped to get legislation passed by the tenth anniversary of the attacks, lawmakers in the House and Senate were unable to come to an agreement in time. Yucel Ors, director of government relations for the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials (APCO) International, says the public safety community is pleased with the long-overdue legislation. "This will allow everybody to be operating on the same network - they will receive the same information and be able to be interoperable with police departments, fire departments and federal law enforcement," Ors says. "It's going to be critical." SOUTHEASTERN NEW YORK Phil Lichtenberger

c/o Monitor Long Island, Inc. PO Box 1642

North Massapequa, NY 11758 [email protected]

Welcome to the return of the Southeastern New York Scanning Column of Scanner Digest. It is with deep sorrow that I sit here and write this column. I’ve enjoyed reading Frank B. O’Connor’s column in Scanner Digest since its debut in Issue 34 in the last quarter of 2005 (http://bit.ly/A77mUw). Frank B. O’Connor, a.k.a. SCANdal, passed away in April 2011 after working at Ground Zero after the terror attacks on 9/11. Mr. O’Connor, in my point of view, was an “Elmer” in every sense of the word. He was a wealth of knowledge and was willing to teach those new to the scanning hobby. I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Frank personally. Those who did couldn’t speak highly enough of him. I would like to quote a posting by “e911god” that can be found both on my website’s forum area (http://bit.ly/zJvBwX) and the RadioReference.com New York Forum area (link)

Frank B. O'Connor (aka SCANdal) passed in his sleep on April 29, 2011, due to complications from the respiratory illnesses he suffered related to the months he spent working at Ground Zero after 9/11.

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Never without some sort of receiver within arms reach, Frank’s love for the hobby was well known among all who knew him. Close friends would often goof on him by calling out a town and department, to which he'd reply with their primary frequency and PL or DPL. They sometimes wouldn't know if he was right or not - but he almost always nailed it dead on. A backyard gardener, amateur chef (very amateur...I remember an eggplant dish that went so wrong that Frank almost had the honor of hearing his own address dispatched over his local fire channel), and avid cross country skier (before his health failed him), Frank's passing was marked with a very small church service and private cremation. Memorial donations can be sent to the New York Organ Donor Network at http://bit.ly/ztGuOa. While some may have noticed the drop off in his participation in the hobby lately, he kept a brave face on to those who know him in person, almost to the very end. “May those ultimately responsible for his untimely death, both domestically and abroad, suffer a fate ten times worse then he did.”

Looking back at Frank’s first column for Scanner Digest, it is no wonder why he was at Ground Zero. Frank was a volunteer Firefighter since his teenage years. He was a past Emergency Medical Technician, and also worked at a two way shop in the Mid Hudson Valley. At the time of his first article, Frank was a Hazardous Materials Technician. Mr. O’Connor was one of a kind. His alias of SCANdal was a staple of all the local scanning websites, and even publications such as Scannermaster’s New York Metro / Northern New Jersey Scanning Guides. http://bit.ly/xzwtAi His knowledge and willingness to share and teach those around him is a great loss to our community. Frank left some big shoes to fill. I feel like a child trying on his parent’s shoes and walking around the house writing this column. I don’t have the same resource and only a fraction of the years of experience Frank had in radio monitoring. I will certainly try my best to keep this column going, but submissions from the readers will be a big help. A little about me – I run W2LIE.net (http://www.w2lie.net) and own Monitor Long Island, Inc. I’ve been involved in Amateur Radio since my teenage years and I am now involved with both ARES and RACES, participate in

SKYWARN, and I am the Net Manager for the Nassau County VHF Traffic Net. I was licensed in the mid ‘90s after the no-code element was dropped from the Novice class. My father convinced my mom to get her license so they could keep up on the progress of my dad’s commute each night. Remember, this was “B.C” (before cell phones). My younger brother and I thought that if Mom could pass her exam, why couldn’t we do it too? The seed was planted and a few months later, we were all licensed hams. But my introduction to the radio hobby starts long before that. When I was a kid, my father worked at a two way and marine shop in Freeport, NY called Airex. Airex was the local place to go and get the crystals you needed for your “state of the art” scanners. My father was the go to guy to get frequency information not only by those who shopped at the two way shop, but also to family and friends. I grew up in a house that always had a scanner radio on in the background. I also have memories visiting my grandparents and hearing their old bearcat on a shelf in the kitchen, which was always on and always active. As a child, it was memorizing to watch the red LEDs race from left to right on the Bearcat III and stop for activity on 46.10 or Nassau County Police. Those old days of monitoring are long gone. No more crystals, scanners now need thousands of memory channels just to keep us satisfied, and conventional scanners have graduated to Trunking and now P25 capabilities. With all the new changes happening, I had a list of items I wanted to touch on in my first column. Nassau County Police’s new P25 Encrypted system, New York’s UHF DoITT System, Metro-21 Rumors, and updates to NYC Transit’s Subway Radio system. The New York Metro area is an exciting area to live in for monitoring. We have a very crowded RF Environment, and now more and more expansion into the 500 MHz and 700 MHz spectrum. Whatever your scanning interests may be, you’ll find it in our area. Federal, Aviation, Marine traffic. We have more than our share of special events such as Air Shows, Golf Tournaments, and past and future Presidential Debates. And that is just in my backyard of Nassau County, Long Island! One of the latest events I would like to touch on is monitoring during the New York Giant’s victory parade down the Canyon of Heroes in New York City earlier this month. One of the “go to” frequencies for me when there is an even in NYC, is NYPD Citywide-1 (470.6875 pl 100.0). This frequency was used for crowd control, and status updates of the lead and tail of the parade on the course. What was interesting to hear, was how much activity there was on the DoITT (NYC Department of Information

Technology and Telecommunications). This system is a UHF Motorola Type II trunk system.

482.08125 482.30625 483.04375 482.09375 482.31875 483.35625 482.11875 482.33125 483.36875 482.13125 482.34375 483.39375 * 482.14375 482.36875 483.48125 * 482.15625 482.95625 483.50625 * 482.28125 482.96875 483.51875 * 482.29375 482.99375

* Control Channel Base = 482.0000 Spacing = 6.25 Offset =380

Active Talk groups monitored during the event:

4816 – FDNY Special Event 1 3808 – Department of Sanitation Special Events 3600 – Department of Sanitation Manhattan

There may have been more active groups, but monitoring the radio was secondary at the time to my normal “9 to 5” job. If you have anything you would like to add to this or future columns, I ask you submit them to me at [email protected] I would also like to thank Lou Campagna for allowing me to continue this column. 73 Phil Lichtenberger / w2lie

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MILITARY Daniel Myers KB3IBQ 823 Horsham Rd.

Horsham, Pa 19044-1209 [email protected]

2011 Air Show Review and 2012 Look Ahead

2011 marked the Celebration of One Hundred Years of Naval Aviation (CONA). The Navy had more than two dozen aircraft specially painted to mark the occasion with a mission to travel the country, showing their colors. We were fortunate to see most, however, here in the east we experienced one of the wettest years on record, dampening the spirits of many air shows. Disappointingly, the Blue Angels new boss had some safety issues and was replaced early on, resulting in the cancelation of several team performances in late May and early June. Sadly, due to safety maintenance concerns, the F-22

Raptor Demo was also grounded for most of the year. Below is a review of five air shows I attended last year and look forward to this year. ANDREWS AFB, MD http://jsoh.org/ I have attended every year since 1984. With much anticipation, I very much look forward to this show and it never fails to please! The ramp is filled with the most static aircraft we see all year, along with open hangers loaded with military displays. Of special note, history was made when an F-35C Lightening-II made its first official air show appearance with a fly-by on Saturday. Each year this show alternates jet teams (USN Blue Angels/USAF Thunderbirds). It was rumored that 2011 would include both teams; however that was not to be. Always held on Armed Forces Day, 2011 was the Thunderbirds turn. 125.350- Air Boss 379.200- Air Boss 335.500- Potomac Final Approach 277.900- VFA-106 “Empire” a/a 320.525- F-35C “Lightening” Flight a/a 122.475- USAF Heritage Flight 122.825- Navy Legacy Flight USAF Thunderbirds 140.400(am) 141.075(am) 235.250 QUONSET POINT ANG BASE, RI http://www.riairshow.org/ An exciting show, that for the past two decades we have rarely missed. Located on scenic Narragansett Bay, the show is famous for its “Combined Arms Battle” Grand-Finale; a ramp packed with static displays and of course, New England clam chowder! Also a great place to catch show arrivals. 36.800- RI NG Army Helos a/a 233.15- RI NG Army Helos a/a 383.30- RI ANG C-130 a/a 135.40/244.875/380.25- KPVD Approach 142.2375- (fm) Aircraft Arrival/Ramp Control* 143.3875- (fm) Show Control* *[LMR has gone to a 12.5 kHz split] 135.675- Heritage Flight 126.350- Control Tower 136.675- Horseman Demo 252.900-Control Tower 123.150- Air show Discrete 275.800- Ground Control 134.500- Ground Control 307.900- ZBW THUNDER OVER MICHIGAN- Ypsilanti, MI http://www.yankeeairmuseum.org/airshow/

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The show was a first for me. An outstanding air show that annually features Warbirds representing World War II, Korea and Vietnam eras as well as a World War II battlefield reenactments with soldiers, tanks and artillery from both the European and Pacific theaters. This year’s show was headlined by the Blues Angels and included several CONA and many other modern military aircraft. The best part was monitoring the numerous Friday arrivals from the approach end of Willow Run Airport runways 23 and 27 on Ecorse Road. 118.175- Air Boss 469.2625- Larry Rudd Air Shows THUNDER OVER THE BOARDWALK- Atlantic City (Beach), NJ http://www.atlanticcitynj.com/acairshow.aspx One of the country’s premier flying, family fun and sun air shows that boasts and delivers non-stop action. In its ninth year, this impressive David Schultz Air Show continues to annually improve. The venue showcases local military, including a salute to veteran’s boardwalk parade, and is always headlined by the USAF Thunderbirds. What is also great about this show is its location for monitoring military traffic in particular; the NJ ANG “Jersey Devils” F-16s (177th FW), U.S. Coast Guard and the GIANT KILLER offshore warning areas. 135.650- Air Boss 238.150- Air Boss 123.150- announcer live feed 255.000- Giant Killer 249.800- Giant Killer 312.300- Giant Killer 345.000- USCG Ops (SAR demo) 238.150- Air Boss 130.300- Banner Towing a/c 122.475- A-10 Demo air-to-ground 252.800- KC-135 / KC-10 a/a 288.000- Aerial Refueling U.S. Coast Guard USAF Thunderbirds 21A- 157.050 139.800(am) 22A- 157.100 143.700(am) 23A- 157.150 235.250 81A- 157.075 82A- 157.125 83A- 157.175 USAF-ANG 177th FW 138.125- (ops / v-1) 138.200(am) 138.300(am) 138.425(am) 261.000(ops / u-1) 138.875(am) 139.300(am) 140.175(am) NAS OCEANA, VA http://www.oceanaairshow.com/ Almost every air show enthusiast in the world is familiar with this show. Practically every east coast Navy fighter squadron is based here. Located in the Tidewater area of

Virginia, there’s no lack of action for the military monitor. Nearby bases include; Langley AFB, NAS Norfolk, US Navy Dam Neck, USMC Little River Amphibious Base, Fort Story and the Giant Killer Fleet Surveillance and Control Facility. Constituting a mix of non-stop flying by civilian and military performers, the show features a Friday night show on base and a Saturday night event on the beach. Oceana is famous for its twelve-ship “Fleet Fly-By” composed of Classic F/A-18s and Super Hornets. The “Fleet” jets then break into smaller groups to execute battle and tactical demos with pyrotechnics. Monitoring the “Fleet” requires finding the common control frequency (usually a squadron frequency) among all aircraft along with individual squadron tactical frequencies used discretely between the sub-groups. This year there was an added challenge with the introduction of a NAS Norfolk H-3 communicating with ground forces while inserting troops into the battle. The challenge of monitoring the action and finding all involved frequencies require several scanners; some scanning, some searching. It is important to note which squadrons are participating and keep a record of those active frequencies, associating them with the squadrons. Discrete 467.6375 (233.6 KHz)-Richie’s Pyro 121.950-Beach Show DZ 122.475- Heritage Flight 446.000- Canadian Red Devils Show Control 121.750- Mini Boss 119.600- Mini Boss Ground 123.900- Show Control 127.075- Show Boss Published 120.875- Control Tower 323.050- Approach 363.600- Radar Approach 266.800- Approach 288.300- Approach 360.200-Control Tower 336.400- Ground Control Fleet Common LMR (nfm) 341.600- 2008 140.100- Crash and Rescue 245.650- 2009 140.200- Control Tower 265.750- 2010 141.000- Control Tower 246.700- 2011 141.200- Control Tower 2012 http://www.opsail.org/ This year marks the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the War of 1812. Operation Sail (OpSail) and the U.S. Navy will celebrate the bicentennial of the Star Spangled Banner with a parade of Class A Tall Ships and modern warships from countries around the world. Commencing April 17; The Star Spangled OpSail, accompanied by the USCGC Eagle, will journey to; New Orleans, New York, Norfolk,

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Baltimore, Boston and terminating in New London. The US Navy Blue Angels will perform at many of these historic waterfront locations along with many modern warships open for public viewing. You may want to monitor the Navy 406.000 to 410.000 MHz trunk frequencies. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds will be performing with the Blue Angels at Jones Beach, NY. The show aircraft will depart from nearby Republic Field (KFRG). Blue Angels 8- 237.800 (solos) 9- 275.350 (diamond) 10- 305.500 / 305.90 (C-130) 16- 284.250 (show center) 17- 255.200 (solos practice) 18- 346.500 (start-up/maintenance) A/R- 289.80 Blue Angels/hand-held (nfm) 142.6125 "Alpha" 139.8125 "Bravo" 141.5625 "Charlie" Canadian Forces Snowbirds 116.00 (start-up) 272.10 (primary) 242.60 (practice/arrival) 246.50 (practice/arrival) 333.30 (common/ transit) 299.50 (common/transit) Jones Beach 118.000- a/c retuning to KFRG 128.250- Air Boss 123.150- Show Discrete 122.875- Show Discrete 118.800- KFRG Tower 279.650- KFRG Tower Here are some web sites to check for the various Op Sail 2012 air show venues: New Orleans, LA: http://www.nawlinsairshow.com/ Virginia Beach: http://www.patrioticfestival.com/ Jones Beach, NY: http://www.jonesbeachairshow.com/ Baltimore, MD: http://www.starspangled200.com/events_list United States Air Force 2012 Unfortunately, budget cutbacks have forced the USAF Air Combat Command (ACC) to cancel all single-ship demo teams (F-15E/ A-10/F-16) except for the F-22 Raptor. The F-22 is expected to perform at up to twenty show sites.

The Heritage Flight Foundation will also continue to perform. http://www.acc.af.mil/aerialevents/heritageflight/index.asp 2011 ACC Demo Team air-to-ground (safety officer) http://www.acc.af.mil/aerialevents/f22a/ 376.025 F-15E / F-22 / A-10 East / F-16 West Demo 384.550 F-16 East Demo / A-10 West U.S. Army Golden Knights Air-to-Drop Zone http://armygk.com/2011/12/2012-golden-knights-schedule 123.450 123.475 123.500 Navy/USMC 2012 As of this writing, there has been no change to the Navy’s (Classic and Super Hornets) or USMC (Harrier) demo syllabus or Navy Legacy Flight. Check out the following web sites for more information about an air show near you. http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/show/ http://www.afthunderbirds.com/site/ http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/snowbirds/index-eng.asp http://www.aero-pix.com/schedule/schedule.htm http://www.airshows.aero/ Until next time, any and all reader reports are always greatly appreciated. NEW HAMPSHIRE John Bolduc [email protected] [email protected]

No Column This Issue

MAINE Loren Fields [email protected]

No Column This Issue

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WASHINGTON DC REGIONAL David Schoenberger [email protected] Scanning FedEx Field

FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland is the home of the Washington Redskins professional football team. The stadium seats the second-largest number of fans of any NFL stadium (82,000). Being such a major venue means that FedEx Field provides plenty to listen to on the scanner. Up until this past season, the stadium used several UHF repeaters and simplex frequencies. During the season, the Redskins decided to pool the repeaters and create an LTR trunked system. (The licenses for the frequencies had always indicted that the system type was supposed to be LTR, but the Redskins used the frequencies as conventional repeaters.) The LTR system, which can be monitored and tracked by many modern scanners, allows for much greater capacity than the conventional repeaters could provide. The system uses ten frequencies, and accommodates at least a few dozen talkgroups. Everyone from various Redskins officials to concessions staff to private security uses the system. Having so many groups on the same system allows for easy communication between them, should that be necessary. See this RadioReference page for the latest information on the system: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=7085 Not everyone is on the LTR system - there continue to be lots of UHF repeaters and simplex in use around the stadium, particularly by outside contractors. See my Prince George’s County page for information on those frequencies: http://www.davidschoenberger.net/scanning/maryland/princegeorges.htm Finally, Prince George’s County public safety has a major presence at every Redskins game and event at FedEx Field. PGPD and PGFD use talkgroups reserved for the

stadium when they are working an event there. These talkgroups (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011) are on the county’s 700 MHz Project 25 X2-TDMA trunked system. The only scanner that can monitor this system is the GRE PSR-800. (Note that this system will probably convert to Project 25 Phase II in the near future, and it’s unknown if GRE will provide updated firmware for the PSR-800.) Here is a link to the Prince George’s system on RadioReference: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=6341 As one can see, there is a lot to keep track of at the stadium, and it’s fascinating getting an inside look at what’s happening behind-the-scenes. There is much to listen to, so having a second scanner (and extra batteries) is always an asset. Until next issue... Dave Schoenberger AMATEUR RADIO Robert Gulley AK3Q

[email protected] Amateur radio: Satellites and Scanning Part 2 Last time around I introduced the topic of scanning and amateur radio satellite listening, noting that almost any scanner capable of covering the VHF/UHF bands could listen in on satellite transmissions, and with some rather basic equipment you could join in the fun. All you need is a handheld radio (or two!), a modest 2m/440 antenna and a prediction program to estimate the times for local flyovers. I have even listened in on the “birds” (as they are known) with a rubber duck antenna, but these are extremely imprecise and likely to be more aggravating than they are worth. (In case you missed that article, grab a copy of Scanner Digest Issue 58.) This time around I want to give you a bit more theory and also talk about some of the specialized antennas which can be purchased or made to enhance your chances of success. These antennas are designed to capture signals which are neither horizontally or vertically polarized, but rather elliptically polarized. If I have lost you, not to worry! I am going to discuss polarization in a moment, and it will make more sense. I will also include plans for building a basic 2-meter handheld antenna which can easily be used for tracking and satellite transmission. While I have not specifically tested a discone antenna, I would not be surprised if it did not make a half-way decent reception antenna just because its design is somewhat spherical when all the elements are added together. The same is true of antennas which are designed with both 2 meter and 440 elements held at 90 degrees from one another.

Polarization A big issue as it relates to antennas for satellite work is the issue of polarization. As I mentioned last time, an advantage to satellite work is the relatively direct line of sight between receiver and transmitter: antennas pointed toward space have a pretty clear path to the satellite orbiting above. There’s a bit of a downside however, because the signals are not bouncing along the atmosphere the way they do with HF signals, matching polarization becomes an issue. The receiving antenna should match the orientation of the transmitting antenna as closely as possible, or there is a significant likelihood of signal loss. Since we have no control over the antenna placement of the satellite, we want to use the proper polarization on our earth-bound antennas whenever possible. By way of quick review, generally speaking an antenna oriented parallel to the surface of the earth has horizontal polarization, while a vertical antenna has vertical polarization. As a satellite moves overhead and changes position relative to your location, fading is likely to occur because the signal polarization has changed. This is one of the bigger challenges faced by satellite chasers. Fortunately there are several solutions depending on your budget and the method of satellite tracking you use. One solution is to use a handheld antenna and change its position relative to the satellite as it moves across the sky. Because low power is sufficient to work most satellites, this is a very viable option, and it is the one I use most often. For those with the budget to do serious “bird” watching there are antennas designed to be rotated while at the same time changing elevation angles (this is going “first class” to be sure!). This setup allows for computer controlled tracking of a satellite and extremely accurate antenna placement in relationship to the satellite’s orbit. For our purposes here I’ll stick with less expensive methods of tracking a satellite, but just be aware satellite tracking can be as sophisticated as your budget allows! Circular Polarization Another solution to the problem of changing antenna polarization is to use what are known as circular polarized (or “eggbeater”) antennas, so-called because their shape resembles the eggbeaters you have in your kitchen.

These antennas are designed to deal with the problem of fading by having two loops at a 90° angle to one another. This somewhat replicates an antenna with both vertical and horizontal polarization, so fading is reduced. This is a good solution particularly if you are wanting to have a station with fixed antennas. Another interesting thing about circular polarized antennas is that recent research suggests more of our radio signals actually come in not as horizontally or vertically polarized signals, but as a mixture of the two. Helical/spherical antennas are gaining wider acceptance for a lot of different uses, and they are changing the way a lot of people think about propagation. These eggbeater antennas may be purchased commercially, or you can find plans on the Internet to build them yourself. You will want one for 2 meters and one for 440, along with some way of mounting them with a clear shot to the sky. I know one fellow who has them mounted in a spare bedroom on the second floor, and he makes contacts daily. (That requires an understanding spouse, of course!) Use what you have While most of my satellite work is done with a handheld antenna, I have listened to the ISS and the recent ARISSat transmissions with my regular 2 meter/440 log periodic antenna because I happen to have it angled at about 45° anyway, and this allows me to hear some of the flyovers if the space station or satellite elevation is high enough. Almost any dual-band antenna will work for at least a few moments, even the rubber duck of a handheld will hear for a couple of minutes if the signal is coming in from a high enough elevation. A higher gain antenna will hear much better and for longer periods of time, but don’t be afraid to give a listen with your HT for starters—any satellite you hear is a real thrill!

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Build it Yourself! A 3 Element Tape Measure Yagi As promised, here is a 2 meter antenna you can guild yourself which will allow you to hear the downlink transmissions and transmit on the 2-meter uplink frequencies. This antenna is based on the design by Joe Leggio, WB2HOL, and has been used by many, many folks as an excellent portable antenna for foxhunting, but it can also work with satellites. Joe’s complete project notes are located on his web page at: http://www.theleggios.net/wb2hol/projects/rdf/rdf.htm. Joe kindly gave me his permission to share his creation, including his excellent diagram below. The basic construction of this antenna is simple. The mounting material is made from light PVC pipe, and the antenna elements are made from tape measure metal. The tape measure width can be almost any size, but 1” width will probably work best with the PVC pipe. A few hose clamps, some PVC connectors, a short piece of wire, and some solder to connect the coax is all that is needed for the materials. The antenna uses a hairpin matching network designed to cancel the capacitive reactance by providing a small inductance to the network. It is light, easy to use, and very effective. The antenna over all should have less than a 2:1 VSWR over the 2-meter band, and shows a great deal of nulling in the front-to-back ratio.

Image source: Joe Leggio

Construction: - Cut 1 length of tape measure to 41 3/8” for the Reflector element - Cut 2 lengths of tape measure to 17 ¾” for the Driven element - Cut 1 length of tape measure to 35 1/8” for the Director - Once you have cut the tape measure to length, put vinyl tape on the cut ends to protect yourself from the sharp

edges. You will want to scrape or sand off the paint from one end of each of the driven element halves so you can make a good electrical connection to the feed line. - The RG58 coax feed line is connected directly to the driven element. No matter what method you use to attach the feed line, make sure you scrape or sand the paint off the tape measure element where the feed line is attached. Most tape measures have a very durable paint finish designed to stand up to heavy use. You do not want the paint to insulate your feed line connection. - If you are planning to solder the feed line to the driven elements it is best to tin the elements first before attaching them to the PVC cross. If you don’t, the PVC will melt as you apply heat to the element. - It would be a good idea to also take the time to form the wire used for the hairpin match into a “U” shape with the two legs of the “U” about 3/4 inch apart. Tin the ends of the hairpin if you plan on soldering it to the driven element. If you tin 1/4 inch of each end of the hairpin it will leave 4 1/2 inches to shape into the “U” (see photo below).

- Cut two lengths of PVC pipe to use as the boom: cut the first piece to 11 1/2 inches—it is used to form the boom between the Director and the Driven element. Cut the 2nd piece to 7 inches—it will be used between the Reflector and the Driven element. - You can pre-assemble the PVC boom, crosses and tee which will support the tape measure elements; the PVC pipe is secured in the fittings with a friction fit. - The hose clamps are about 1/2 inch wide and are adjustable from 11/16 inch to 1 1/2 inch diameter. Attach the tape measure elements to the PVC fittings as shown in the drawing. It is normal for the Reflector and Director elements to buckle a bit as it is tightened to the PVC Tee and Cross.

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Many thanks to Joe for sharing his great antenna with the world, and it has proven itself time and time again in real-world use. Many clubs have made this exact antenna as a construction project, and you may want to do just that if you belong to a club. If you are so inclined you can try variations on this theme such as adding more reflectors or incorporating a handle in the design for ease of use. As far as transporting the antenna the measuring tape metal is very flexible, but care should always be taken when handling the elements to ensure the metal does not snap. This really is an ingenious antenna and I hope you will build one just for the fun of it! Good luck with listening to the “birds”, and drop me a line to let me know how it all turns out! Until next time, keep your radios scanning and your antennas skyward! 73, Robert AK3Q

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Our friends at NYDXA SWL/Scanner Net sent in some interesting material for an upcoming event.

Thanks go to Charles Hargrove. Visit them at: http://www.nydxa.info/

ANNUAL ARMED FORCES DAY CROSSBAND MILITARY/AMATEUR RADIO

COMMUNICATIONS TEST TO BE CONDUCTED ON MAY 12, 2012

The Army, Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard are co-sponsoring the annual military/amateur radio communications tests in celebration of the 62nd Anniversary of Armed Forces Day (AFD). Although the actual Armed Forces Day is celebrated on Saturday, May 19, 2012, the AFD Military/Amateur Crossband

Communications Test will be conducted 12 May 2012 to prevent conflict with the Dayton Hamvention (18-20 May 2012), which is the same weekend as the actual Armed Forces Day. The annual celebration features traditional military to amateur cross band communications SSB voice and Morse Code tests. These tests give Amateur Radio operators and Short Wave Listeners (SWL) an opportunity to demonstrate their individual technical skills, and to receive recognition from the appropriate military radio station for their proven expertise. QSL cards will be provided to those stations making contact with the military stations. MILITARY-TO-AMATEUR CROSS BAND SSB & CW TEST CONTACTS Military-to-Amateur cross band operations will take place on the dates/times in ZULU (UTC), and frequencies listed below for each station. Voice contacts will include operations in single sideband voice (SSB). Some stations may not operate the entire period, depending on propagation and manning. Participating military stations will transmit on selected Military MARS frequencies and listen for amateur radio stations in the Amateur bands indicated below. The military station operator will announce the specific amateur band frequency being monitored. Duration of each voice contact should be limited to 1-2 minutes. The following stations will be transmitting on MARS frequencies listed below which are provided as "Window/Dial Frequency" in kHz. Some stations will use CW to provide the opportunity to check in by Morse Code. ARMY STATIONS STATION: AAZ (12 May 1400Z - 13 May 0300Z) Frequency Emission Amateur Band 4036.0 kHz USB 80M 6910.0 kHz USB 40M 14.402.0 kHz USB 20M 13.996.0 kHz USB 20M 18.211.0 kHz USB 17M 7577.0 kHz CW 40M 13.507.0 kHz CW 20M 7639.5 kHz RTTY 40M 13512.5 kHz MT-63 20M Location: Fort Huachuca, AZ Address: Commander NETCOM/9th ASC ATTN: NETCOM-OPE-M (MARS) (31) 2133 Cushing Street Ft. Huachuca, AZ 85616-7070 POC: Mr. Dewayne Smith DSN: 821-7324 Commercial: (520) 533-7324 STATION: AAC (12 May 1300Z - 13 May 0100Z) Frequency Emission Amateur Band 3347.0 kHz USB 80M 7360.0 kHz USB 40M

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13.910.5 kHz USB 20M 27.788.5 kHz USB 10M Location: Lexington, KY Address: HQ 3RD BDE, 95TH DIV (IT) MARS STATION Barrow Army Reserve Training Center 1051 Russell Cave Pike Lexington, KY 40505 POC: Barry Jackson, AAR4BZ Commercial: (859) 227-0137 STATION: ABH (12 May 1600Z - 13 May 2300Z) Frequency Emission Amateur Band 3347.0 kHz USB 80M 4438.5 kHz USB 80M 4789.5 kHz USB 80M 7357.0 kHz USB 40M 7718.5 kHz USB 40M 8037.0 kHz USB 40M 14402.0 kHz USB 20M 14438.5 kHz USB 20M 14487.0 kHz USB 20M 17443.0 kHz USB 17M 17592.5 kHz USB 17M 20976.0 kHz USB 15M 20558.5 kHz USB 15M Location: Schofield Barracks, HI Commander, 396th Signal Company 30th Signal Battalion, 96857 POC: Mr. Sonny Makalena Commercial: (808) 655-3089 STATION: WAR (12 May 1200Z - 2400Z) Frequency Emission Amateur Band 4018.0 kHz USB/CW 80M 7311.0 kHz USB/CW 40M 14438.5 kHz USB/CW 20M 27991.0 kH USB/CW10M Location: Pentagon, Washington, DC Address: Pentagon Amateur Radio Club ATTN: AFDCBT PO Box 2322 Arlington VA 22202 POC Mr. Gary Sessums Station telephone: Commercial: (703) 693-8423 DSN 223-8423 STATION: WUG-2B (12 May 1300Z - 13 May 0200Z) Frequency Emission Amateur Band 4030.0 kHz USB 80M 7.421.0 kHz USB 40M 6.823.0 kHz USB/CW 40M 14.486.0 kHz USB 20M 14.663.5 kHz USB/CW 20M 20.973.5 kHz USB/CW 15M Location: Memphis, TN Address: USACE Memphis District Office ATTN: Jim Pogue

Public Affairs Office Room B-202 167 N. Main St. Memphis, TN 38103-1894 POC: Mr. Jim Pogue Commercial: (901) 544-4109 AIR FORCE STATIONS STATION: AIR (12 May 1200Z - 2400Z) Frequency Emission Amateur Band 4517.1 kHz USB 80M 6996.1 kHz USB 40M 13985.1 kHz USB 20M 20737.6 kHz USB 15M Location: Joint Base Andrews Naval Air Facility Washington Address: 89 Communications Squadron Joint Base Andrews, MD 20762 POC: Mr. Bob Miskin Station Telephone: Commercial: 301-981-3109 DSN: 858-3109 STATION: AIR-2 (12 MAY 1200Z TO 2400Z) Frequency Emission Amateur Band 4590.1 KHZ USB 80M 7540.1 KHZ USB 40M 13993.1 KHZ USB 20M Location: Hancock Field Air National Guard Base Address: 174 Fighter Wing 6001 E. Molloy Rd. Syracuse, New York 13211 POC: Mr. Mike Carl Station Telephone: Commercial: (315) 233-2213 DSN: 243-2213 STATION: AGA4AR (12 MAY 1200Z TO 2400Z) Frequency Emission Amateur Band 3299.0 KHZ USB 80M 7457.0 KHZ USB 40M 13498.0 KHZ USB 20M Location: Arnold Air Force Base Address: 100 Kindel Drive A101B / MARS Arnold AFB, Tennessee 37389 POC: Mr. Michael Glennon Station Telephone: Commercial: (915) 454-5944 DSN: 340-5944 NAVY/MARINE CORPS STATIONS STATION: NBL (12 MAY 1200Z - 13 MAY 0400Z) NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, GROTON, CT FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND 4041.5 KHZ LSB 80M 7371.5 KHZ LSB 40M 14391.5 KHZ USB 20M 20623.5 KHZ USB 15M POC AND ADDRESS: ROBERT VETH, DIRECTOR REGION ONE 4 LANTERN LANE, CHELMSFORD MA 01824-1316 COMMERCIAL: (978) 256-5264 STATION: NNN0ASF (12 MAY 1200Z - 13 MAY 0400Z)

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NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, NNN0ASF FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND 4014.0 KHZ LSB 80M 7394.5 KHZ LSB 40M 1200-2359Z, 0200-0400Z 7394.5 KHZ LSB PSK31 40M 0000-0200Z 13974.0 KHZ USB 20M 1200-1800Z, 2000-0400Z 13974.0 KHZ USB PSK31 20M 1800-2000Z 20997.0 KHZ USB 15M POC AND ADDRESS: NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION NNN0ASF KEN KEEHNER, PO BOX 224, BENNINGTON KS 67422 COMMERCIAL: (785) 488-2241COMMERCIAL: (978) 256-5264 STATION: NNN0CQQ (12 MAY 1500Z - 13 MAY 0400Z) EX-USS MIDWAY MUSEUM SHIP MARS STATION FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND 4003.0 KHZ LSB 80M 7351.5 KHZ LSB 40M 14463.5 KHZ USB 20M 20936.0 KHZ USB 15M POC AND ADDRESS: JOSE GARZA, NNN0XBQ 9789 PASEO MONTRIL, SAN DIEGO CA 92129-3910 COMMERCIAL: (858) 484-0469 CELL: 858-254-0175 STATION: NUW (12 MAY 1500Z - 13 MAY 0400Z) NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, NAS WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND 4044.0 KHZ LSB 80M 7381.5 KHZ LSB 40M 13528.5 KHZ USB 20M 20952.5 KHZ USB 15M POC AND ADDRESS: NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION MR. DIGGER O'DELL, 260 W. PIONEER FSC BLDG. NAS WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA 98277 COMMERCIAL: (360) 675-2823 DSN: 820-8038 STATION: NWKJ (12 MAY 1200Z - 13 MAY 0400Z) FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND 4010.0 KHZ LSB 80M 7348.0 KHZ LSB 40M 14467.0 KHZ USB 20M 21758.5 KHZ USB 15M ADDRESS: EX-USS YORKTOWN (CV-10) PATRIOTS POINT MARITIME MUSEUM, SC C/O FRED HAMBRECHT/NNN0GBS 129 INDIAN TRACE COURT GILBERT, SC 29054 COMMERCIAL: (803) 657-3602 STATION: NWVC (12 MAY 1200Z - 13 MAY 0400Z) FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND 4O41.5 KHZ LSB 80M 7389.0 KHZ LSB 40M 13826.0 KHZ USB 20M 20678.5 KHZ USB 15M ADDRESS: USS LST 325 840 LST DRIVE

EVANSVILLE, IN 47713 POC: PERRY BALLINGER, NNN0VNO COMMERCIAL: 330-932-8612/330-705-8449 PART II SECRETARY OF DEFENSE MESSAGE TEST VIA DIGITAL MODES The Secretary of Defense message will be transmitted via digital modes including RTTY, PACTOR, AMTOR, PSK-31, MFSK and MT63 from the stations listed below, including frequencies, mode, and date/time in Zulu (UTC). All frequencies are listed “Window/Dial Frequency“ Sound cards modes will use standard factory settings (Note: Not all stations may necessarily operate on all the frequencies listed, depending on propagation and available equipment.) Army Stations STATION: AAZ (HQ Army MARS and Western Area Gateway, Fort Huachuca, AZ) Frequency EMISSION Mode Broadcast Date/Time 6986.5 kHz USB RTTY 13 May/0110Z PACTOR FEC 13 May/0130Z MT63 13 May/0220Z PSK-31 13 May/0250Z 14402.0 kHz USB RTTY 13 May/0110Z PACTOR FEC 13 May/0130Z MT63 13 May/0220Z PSK-31 13 May0250Z STATION: WAR (Pentagon MARS Station, Washington, DC ) Frequency EMISSION Mode Broadcast Date/Time 6986.5 kHz USB Olivia 12 May/1700Z and 2300Z MT63 12 May/1715Z and 2315Z 14438.5 kHz USB PACTOR FEC 12 MAY/1730Z RTTY 12 MAY/1745Z 4018.0 kHz USB PACTOR FEC 12 MAY/2330Z RTTY 12 May/2345Z STATION: AAC Frequency EMISSION Mode Broadcast Date/Time 4036.0 kHz USB MT63 12 May/0030Z 7357.0 kHz USB RTTY 13 May/0100Z Navy/Marine Corps Stations STATION: NBL (NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, GROTON CT) FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME 7370.0 KHZ RTTY 12 MAY/2340Z AMTOR FEC 13 MAY/0010Z MT63 13 MAY/0040Z 14393.0 KHZ RTTY 12 MAY/2340Z AMTOR FEC 13 MAY/0010Z MT63 13 MAY/0040Z STATION: NNN0ASF (NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, BENNINGTON KS) FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME 7393.0 KHZ RTTY 12 MAY/2340Z AMTOR FEC 13 MAY/0010Z

MT63 13 MAY/0040Z

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13975.5 KHZ RTTY 12 MAY/2340Z AMTOR FEC 13 MAY/0010Z MT63 13 MAY/0040Z STATION: NNN0CQQ (EX-USS MIDWAY MUSEUM SHIP, SAN DIEGO CA) FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME 7350.0 KHZ RTTY 13 MAY/0240Z AMTOR FEC 13 MAY/0310Z MT63 13 MAY/0340Z 14465.0 KHZ RTTY 13 MAY/0240Z AMTOR FEC 13 MAY/0310Z MT63 13 MAY/0340Z STATION: NUW NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, NAS WHIDBEY ISLAND WA) FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME 7380.0 KHZ RTTY 13 MAY/0240Z AMTOR FEC 13 MAY/0310Z MT63 13 MAY/0340Z 13530.0 KHZ RTTY 13 MAY/0240Z AMTOR FEC 13 MAY/0310Z MT63 13 MAY/0340Z STATION: NWKJ (EX-USS YORKTOWN, PATRIOTS POINT MARITIME MUSEUM SC) FREQUENCY MODE BROADCAST DATE/TIME 7346.5 KHZ RTTY 13 MAY/0240Z AMTOR FEC 13 MAY/0310Z MT63 13 MAY/0340Z 14468.5 KHZ RTTY 13 MAY/0240Z AMTOR FEC 13 MAY/0310Z MT63 13 MAY/0340Z Air Force Stations STATION: AIR-2 (Hancock Field Air National Guard Base) Frequency Mode Broadcast Date/Time 7831.1 kHz RTTY 12 May/1930Z MT63 12 May/2030Z MFSK 12 May/2100Z 14877.1 kHz RTTY 12 May/2130Z MT63 12 May/2230Z MFSK 12 May/2300Z SUBMISSION OF SECRETARY OF DEFENSE TEST MESSAGE ENTRIES. Transcripts of the RTTY, PACTOR, AMTOR, PSK-31, MFSK and MT63 receiving test should be submitted "as received". No attempt should be made to correct possible transmission errors. Provide time, frequency and call sign of the military station copied, including name, call sign, and address (including ZIP code) of individual submitting the entry. Ensure this information is placed on the paper containing the test message. Each year a large number of acceptable entries are received with insufficient information, or necessary information was not attached to the transcriptions and was separated, thereby precluding issuance of a certificate. Entries must be sent to the appropriate military address as follows:

a. Stations copying Secretary of Defense message transmitted from AAZ/WAR/AAV send entries to: Armed Forces Day Celebration Commander NETCOM/9th ASC Armed Forces Day Celebrati Attn: NETC-OPE-MA (MARS) (31) Fort Huachuca, AZ 85613-5000 b. Stations copying Secretary of Defense message transmitted from NBL, NNN0ASF, NNN0CQQ, NUW or NWKJ send entries to: ARMED FORCES DAY CELEBRATION CHIEF, NAVY-MARINE CORPS MARS CHEATHAM ANNEX BLDG 117 108 SANDA AVE WILLIAMSBURG, VA 23185-5830 c. Stations copying Secretary of Defense message transmitted from AIR-2 send entries to: Armed Forces Day Celebration AFCA / Chief, AF MARS 203W Losey St Scott AFB, IL 62225 -- 73 http://www.nydxa.info/ Charles Hargrove - N2NOV/WPC2NOV Robert Kozlarek - WA2SQQ/WPC2QDX

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SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 59 PAGE 13

PHILADELPHIA METRO Position Open

This is the city of Philadelphia's new Project-25 x2-TDMA trunked radio system which will replace the current 3600 Baud Motorola SmartZone system that has been in use since the late 1990's. As this system begins to take shape, expect to see many changes in the way radio traffic is handled in the city. It is also anticipated that there will be a wide-spread use of encryption throughout the public-safety agencies... This system is being installed on the 7.11 platform, with the ability for x2-TDMA; however, until all radios have been replaced throughout the city, it is likely this system will remain a standard Project-25 FDMA system, at least for the immediate future. Current radios being used throughout the city are Motorola ASTRO XTS3000's; however, many of these have or are being replaced with Motorola XTS5000 series radios in order to support 9600 Baud trunking and the 700/800MHz. bands.

Current System Frequencies are: 853.58750, 853.78750, 853.81250c, 853.53750c, 853.83750, 851.10000, 853.31250, 853.33750, 853.56250 Conventional Channels: 860.7375 Citywide-1 859.7375 Citywide-2 858.7375 Citywide-3 857.7375 Citywide-4 866.0750 PFD NORTH FG. 866.7125 PFD SOUTH FG. 867.2250 PFD N/S FG, SEC. 867.4125 PPD TAC-1 P25 867.4375 PPD TAC-2

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA Steve Bower, Jr.

[email protected] http://lvcomm.proboards33.com/index.cgi

LEHIGH COUNTY "9-1-1" is the three digit telephone number that has been designated as the "Universal Emergency Number," for public use throughout the United States to request emergency assistance. It is intended as a nationwide telephone number giving the public direct access to a Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) which will be responsible for taking the appropriate action. In the United States, the first catalyst for a nationwide emergency telephone number gained momentum in 1957 when the National Association of Fire Chiefs recommended use of a single number for reporting fires nationwide. In 1967, the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice recommended that a "single number should be established" nationwide for reporting emergency situations. The use of different telephone numbers for each type of emergency was determined to be contrary to the purpose of a single, universal number. Other Federal Government Agencies and various governmental officials also supported and encouraged the recommendation. As a result of the immense interest in this issue, the President's Commission on Civil Disorders turned to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for a solution. In November of 1967 the FCC met with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) to find a means of establishing a universal emergency number that could be implemented quickly. In 1968, AT&T announced that it would establish the digits 9-1-1 (nine-one-one) as emergency code throughout the United States. The code 9-1-1 was chose because it best fit the needs of all parties involved. First, and most important, it meets public requirements because it is brief, easily remembered, and can be dialed quickly. Second, because it is a unique number, never having been authorized as an office code, area code, or service code, it best meets the long range numbering plans and switching configurations of the telephone industry.

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Congress backed AT&T's proposal and passed legislation allowing use of only the numbers 9-1-1 when creating a single emergency calling service, thereby making 9-1-1 a standard emergency number nationwide. A bell System policy was established to absorb the cost of central office modifications and any additions necessary to accommodate the 9-1-1 code as part of the general rate base. The E9-1-1 subscriber is responsible for paying network trunking costs according to tariffed rates, and for

purchasing answering equipment from the vendor of their choice. On February 16,1968, Senator Rankin Fite completed the first 9-1-1 call to be made in the United States in Hallyville, Alabama. The serving telephone company was Alabama Telephone Company, which later became Contel Corporation. This 9-1-1 system is still in operation today. BERKS COUNTY Unit Identification The following is an example of the numbering system accepted by the Berks County Fire Chiefs Association for the numbering of the fire apparatus using the Berks County Fire Services System. (## = Company Number) Engines: Engine ##, Engine ##-1,

Engine ##-2, Engine ##-3 Rescues: Rescue ##, Rescue ##-4 Brush: Brush ##, Brush ##-5,

Brush ##-6 Tankers: Tanker ##, Tanker ##-7,

Tanker ##-8 Squads: Squad ##, Squad ##-9 Aerials: Truck ##, Ladder ##,

Aerial ##, Tower ## Cars: Car ##, Car ##-1, etc. Officers (Fire company appointed/elected):

Chief: ##-10 Assistant Chief: ##-11, Assistant Chief: ##-12, Assistant Chief: ##-13 Other Officers: ##-14, Other Officers: ##-15, Other Officers: ##-16, Other Officers: ##17

Fire Marshal: ##-18 Officers (Municipal appointed): Chief: Chief – (municipal #) Coordinator: FC- (municipal #) Fire Marshal FM – (municipal #) Fire Police: Fire Frequencies (Fire police captain/lieutenant only): ##-19, ##-20 Fire Police System: (Municipal #)-201; (Municipal#)-202; etc. Fire Police Captains and Lieutenants ONLY will be permitted to use the Fire Services System on FIRE

POLICE RESPONSES ONLY. The Fire Police Captain or Lieutenant whose jurisdiction the call is in may report “responding.” From that point on, no other fire police officers should contact the Communications Center to respond. Fire Police officers will be identified using the municipal numbers outlined below: MUNICIPALITY # + 201, 231, 261 (Captain) MUNICIPALITY # + 202, 232, 262 (Lieutenant) EX: 38-201 (West Reading Fire Police Captain) EX: 65-232 (Rehrersburg Fire Police Lieutenant) Additionally, four specific identifiers have been assigned for use by appointed municipal officials who may use the Fire Services System. These identifiers must be followed with the municipality number. EX: CHIEF 39 (Wyomissing Boro Fire Chief) FC 43 (Spring Twp. Fire Coordinator/Marshal) FM 25 (Exeter Twp. Fire Marshal) EMA 26 (Amity Twp. EMA Coordinator) Call Numbers A unit’s identification is also its “call number.” The word ‘dash’ must be included whenever a numerical suffix follows a company number ending with a zero (10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70): EX: BRUSH 70-dash-5 The assigned numbers will always be used when communicating with the Berks County Communications Center or any other unit on the system. Portions of numbers used to send or receive transmissions are considered to be a violation of the system policy.

BERKS COUNTY, PA Frequencies 33.9400 MHz The main communications frequency used by the Fire Services using the low-band communications system is 33.94 MHz. It is required that all companies affiliated with the Communications Center using low-band frequencies have the capability of being alerted and maintaining status on this frequency.

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33.6800 MHz A tactical frequency has been developed as an integral part of the Fire Services Communications System in an effort to relieve congestion on 33.940 MHz and allow for (relatively) interference-free communications on the fire grounds. As such, all affiliated companies must have the capability of using this frequency. 33.680 MHz can be used at the direction of the Communications Center or an incident OIC. It should be noted, however, that simultaneous incidents or other similar conditions may require the Center to disallow use of 33.680 MHz for a given incident. Further, it should be noted that use of 33.680 MHz in some areas of poor reception may prevent effective monitoring or tape recording of radio traffic by the Center; the County will not be responsible for any communications errors or oversights in records maintenance caused by the use of 33.680 MHz. Finally, it is the responsibility of an incident OIC who is using 33.680 MHz to ensure that at least one unit at the scene is monitoring 33.94 MHz at all times. 33.8000 MHz The County has licensed 33.800 MHz as a second tactical frequency, and it may be used by any company affiliated with the Communications Center on an as-needed basis. This frequency is to be used in the same fashion as outlined in Section 3.15.2 (33.680 MHz). 154.310 MHz (F-1) The primary communications frequency used by the members of Zone-4 is 154.310 MHz. Facilities exist to use this frequency as both a simplex channel or as the output of a repeater (input frequency 153.890 MHz). Alerting of all companies and unit status maintenance is done on this frequency. 154.400 MHz (F-2) This frequency may be used at the discretion of the Center, or if units do not have a need to converse with the Center, at any time mobile-to-mobile communications are required. Requests to use this frequency must be initiated through F-1. It must be understood, however, that the Center may not necessarily be able to converse on or monitor F-2 at any given time. 154.160 MHz (F-3) This frequency may be used at the discretion of the Center, or, if units do not have a need to converse with the Center, at any time mobile-to-mobile communications is required. Requests to use this frequency must be initiated through F-1. It must be understood, however, that the Center may not necessary be able to converse on or monitor F-3 at any given time. Primary access to F-3 is given to the Tanker Task Force, secondary access is provided to the Critical Incident Support Team (CIST) and tertiary access is available for other units.

154.355 MHz (F-5) This frequency may be used at the discretion of the Center, or, if units do not have a need to converse with the Center, at any time mobile-to-mobile communications are required. Requests to use this frequency must be initiated through F-1. It must be understood, however, that the Center may not necessarily be able to converse on or monitor F-5 at any given time. Berks County Fire Services Fire Company Numbers 1 Mt. Penn 2 Reiffton 3 Stonersville 4 Lower Alsace 5 Oley 6 Monocacy 7 Birdsboro 8 Alsace Manor 45 Fleetwood 10 Goodwill of Hyde Park 46 Kutztown 11 Temple 47 Womelsdorf 12 Blandon 48 Wernersville State

Hospital 13 Central of Laureldale 49 Amity 14 Bally 50 Strausstown 15 Friendship of Boyertown 51 Sinking Spring 16 Keystone of Boyertown 53 Frystown 17 New Berlinville 54 Bethel 19 Earl Township 55 Greenfields 20 Bechtelsville 56 Gouglersville 21 Topton 57 Mohnton 22 Barto 58 Hereford 23 Gibraltar 60 Fritztown 24 Geigertown 61 Hamburg 26 Robesonia 62 Hamburg Center 27 Reheresburg 64 West Reading 28 Mt. Aetna 67 Shillington 29 Bernville 69 Kenhorst 30 Mt. Pleasant 70 Grill 31 Wernersville 72 Brecknock 32 Walnuttown 74 Car Tech 33 Virginville 75 Lucent 34 Ruscumbmanor 76 Reading Airport 35 Lyons 77 Port Clinton 36 Kulptown 78 Cryovac 37 Leesport 79 Wyomissing 38 Central Berks 81 Berks Emerg Strike Team, Inc. 39 Seisholtzville 40 Shoemakersville 85 Spring Twp. Fire 41 Shartlesville 86 Spring Twp. West Lawn 42 Cedar Top 87 Spring Twp. West Wyomissing 43 Lower Heidelberg 88 Spring Twp.: Lincoln Park 44 Kempton 89 Spring Twp.: Vinemont The Monroe County Control Center dates back to as early as 1959, when 1 dispatcher per shift handled police and fire calls for Stroudsburg Borough. Ambulance calls were handled by the 'General Hospital', now Pocono Medical Center.

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The Stroudsburg dispatcher had a very interesting system to contact the police department, before radios were installed in the police car. There were red lights on a small pole, on top of the few traffic lights on Main Street in Stroudsburg. When the dispatcher received a police call, he would flip the light switch. This caused the red lights to illuminate. When the officer saw that the red lights were on, he would return to police headquarters to pick up the information on the call! One light still remains on the corner of 8th & Main Streets, although it has not been used since radios were put in the police cars in the 1960's. To notify the fire department of a fire, the dispatcher would simply turn on the siren on top of the firehouse. The firefighters would respond to the firehouse, and the dispatcher would tell them at that time, where the fire was! The siren remains in use today, although all fire department members are also outfitted with pagers, and all fire trucks are outfitted with radios. In 1975, the Boroughs of East Stroudsburg and Stroudsburg and the Township of Stroud decided to merge their dispatch services to handle emergency police and fire calls. Calls for these 3 municipalities were handled by dispatchers located in the East Stroudsburg Acme Hose Co. building's 2nd floor. At the time of the merger, the municipalities set up the Board of Directors to oversee the operation of the Control Center. The Board configuration remains the same today, 2 representatives from each of the owner municipalities. The Board of Directors still oversees the operation of the Control Center and has appointed a Director of Communications and a Deputy Communications Director to oversee the day-to-day aspects of the emergency Public Safety Dispatch center. Around 1978, the Monroe County Control Center Board of Directors was approached by other townships and municipalities to contract dispatch services to them. The Board of Directors agreed to dispatch calls for other municipalities at that time. Around the same time, the General Hospital of Monroe County no longer dispatched ambulances from the hospital. A county-wide ambulance radio network was installed, and the Monroe County Control Center also began dispatching ambulances, in addition to fire and police services. As the call volume grew, additional dispatchers were added to the busier shifts, normally 2 per shift. In the year 2000 Stroud Township Supervisors decided to withdraw from the Control Center leaving the original Stroudsburg and East Stroudsburg Borough’s as owners. The Control Center Board configuration remains with two representatives from each of the owner municipalities responsible for the operation. In August, 1982 the Monroe County Control Center moved from its cramped headquarters above the firehouse to the basement of the Monroe County Courthouse in an effort to expand its working space to accommodate the ever-increasing call volume and additional dispatchers. Since 1982, when the Courthouse space seemed adequate, call volume has increased dramatically along with the county

population, and now barely contains the 6 dispatchers on a shift. Since about 1997 with the increase in call volume and the need for additional personnel space became a first priority on the list of “things that need to be addressed”. Because of the Control Center’s limited funding stream in 1999 the Control Center and the Monroe County Commissioners started talks about additional space to expand the communications center operation. The timing couldn’t have been better since the Commissioners were in the process of developing plans to build a new fire training facility. The County financed the new Monroe County Public Safety Center that houses the emergency services training facility and the Monroe County Office of Emergency Services with funds derived from a bond issue and $3.5million dollar federal grant from Congressman Joseph McDade. It wasn’t until the third quarter of the year 2000 was a lease and loan negotiated between the respective political entities which set the path for where and how the Control Center was going to go and more importantly, how were to get there. The building was designed with a second floor with approximately 7400 square feet that eventually was to become the space to house the Monroe County Control Center. The new Control Center facility integrates all of the dispatch and support staff functions, including for future expansion to Enhanced 9-1-1. The move was completed in June 2001.

Frequencies

Radio Frequency Purpose or Function Dispatch Frequencies 33.980 Fire Dispatching 155.280 EMS Dispatching (A-1) 453.750 UHF Fire and EMS Dispatching Fire Frequencies

33.5000 Monroe County Fire Police 453.7500 Central Monroe County Fire Operations 460.575 Western Monroe County Fire Operations 460.625 Eastern Monroe County Fire Operations 453.5875 Fire Grounds Operations Frequency #1 458.5875 Fire Grounds Operations Frequency #2 453.6375 Fire Grounds Operations Frequency #3 458.6375 Fire Grounds Operations Frequency #4 453.7125 Fire Grounds Operations Frequency #5 458.7125 Fire Grounds Operations Frequency #6 151.3850 DCNR (Forestry - used in brush fire

season) EMS Frequencies 155.340 Monroe County EMS Regional Med (A-2) 155.355 Ambulance-to-Hospital Patching (A-3) 155.400 Monroe County EMS Tactical (A-4) 155.265 Monroe County EMS (A-5)

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462.950 Medical Command (Med-9) 462.975 Medical Command (Med-10) Police Frequencies 460.400 Northern Area Police (Pocono Township,

Barrett Township) 460.500 Southern Area Police (Stroudsburg

Borough, Stroud Township., East Stroudsburg Borough, Delaware Water Gap Borough, ESU)

460.150 Regional Police (Pocono Mountain Regional)

460.425 County-Wide Police (Monroe Co. Sheriff's Dept., PA Fish Commission, PA Game Commission, Monroe County Law Enforcement Agencies)

155.580 PA State Police Base-to-Base 155.670 PA State Police Base-to-Car 155.910 PA State Police Car-to-Base Other Frequencies 45.2800 Monroe County Local Governments

(Road Crews, Municipal Services, etc. for all Townships & Boroughs)

162.400 National Weather Service Broadcasts 453.525 Monroe County Office of Emergency

Services 453.425 Monroe County Incident Command (for

llarge-scale incidents and to allow all services to talk to each other - fire-to-police, EMS-to-fire, etc.)

WAYNE COUNTY Wayne County Communications Center

Wayne County is located in the upper northeast corner of Pennsylvania. It is bordered in New York State by the Counties of Broome, Delaware and Sullivan. Wayne County shares borders with Pike County, Susquehanna County, Lackawanna County and Monroe County. Wayne County is a sixth (6th) class county comprised of twenty-two (22) townships and six (6) boroughs. Wayne County has many summer camps and vacation homes and is part of the Northern Region of the Poconos. The land area served by the Wayne County 911 Communication Center is 985 square miles with the population being 88% rural. Wayne County is serviced by fourteen (14) ambulance corps, twenty-three (23) fire companies, and six (6) police departments. The staff of Wayne County 911 consists of nine (9) full-time call-taker/dispatchers, four (4) part-time call-taker/dispatchers, one (1) Director, one (1) supervisor, one (1) 911 Coordinator, one (1) 911 Data Manager. Along with answering the call for emergencies the Wayne County 911/Communication Center handles a number of other calls for assistance.

The Communication Center operates twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven days a week. The Director and Supervisor's office operates from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The 911 Coordinator and the 911 Data Managers offices' operate from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Wayne County is in the business of providing fast, competent and professional public safety communications. This is the important link between the public and the public safety agencies. LACKAWANNA COUNTY About 9-1-1 The Lackawanna County EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS CENTER (ECC) is the designated 9-1-1 Center for dispatching emergency medical services within Lackawanna County, as approved by the Lackawanna County Commissioners. The Lackawanna County Department of Emergency Services (LCDES) is operated and maintained by the Lackawanna County Board of Commissioners. Staffed by professional Public Safety Telecommunicator/Emergency Medical Dispatchers (PST's), the LCDES provides emergency dispatch and communication services for police, fire, rescue and emergency medical services throughout Lackawanna County, as well as for County and Municipal Emergency Management Agency (EMA) operations. ILLINOIS Mike Dickerson

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No Column This Issue VERMONT Jim Lawrence

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No Column This Issue CONNECTICUT Keith Victor [email protected]

No Column This Issue

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 59 PAGE 18

MASSACHUSETTES Peter Szerlag [email protected] Here we go with another installment of "As the Massachusetts Scanner Scans" (not to be confused with "As The World Turns" - that's a different avocation) MetroFire has been having some problems with its 483.2875R channel recently. One day, 50% of the fire departments on the 10 AM roll-call were unreadable. Following some repair work, it seems that everyone is loud and clear except, Lincoln (who might be trying to transmit 20 miles to the repeater just using a portable radio in the dispatch office - it doesn't work too well). Some recently heard radio IDs from the Boston Fire Department (BFD) include – Ladder 14 Open Up – Ladder 14 Roof – Engine 5 Chauffeur Per the Town of Bedford 2011 Annual Report, the new Squad 1 (which is a mini pumper) is used to respond to EMS and service calls. Squad 1 is staffed by firefighters from Ladder 1 when needed. Bedford also has reclassified their Fire Prevention Lieutenant to a Operations and Training Captain. Intel Massachusetts at 75 Reed Road in Hudson is licensed for 462.45 R - this is probably used by their security and maintenance staff - Intel manufactures electronic components at this Hudson facility (if I read their FCC license correctly) 451.95 R - PL 225.7 - a very loud repeater - infrequent traffic - "Control testing with CBD units" - "Control to 801" - paged out 3 alarms to you - Quaker Lane - Congress St (or Square) entrance – this might be Fidelity Investments in downtown Boston (and elsewhere perhaps) - two or three "500" series units were heard testing at 715PM on a Sunday night 461.20 - both Action Ambulance Service and MGH Chelsea both try to use this channel - they seem to do a pretty good job of blowing each other off the air - Action does have 463.475 R as their primary channel - and a Action unit in Winthrop was recently heard coming thru the repeater loud and clear - so we know that the repeater does have wide area coverage 453.775 R - Boston EMS just announced (as I am typing up this column) that PIO Chris was retiring - I didn't catch his last name - I suspect that this was an "all channels" message 154.37 - the Marblehead FD dispatcher is still heard on 154.37 – but the field units are only heard on the new UHF repeater

Medway FD has 1 Central Fire Station and 1 sub fire station – staffing is - 1 fulltime Chief plus 4 fulltime firefighter / EMTs plus 37 paid on call staff (firefighters and/or EMTs) From Scan New England - New Bedford Police Channel 4 is 463.7125 DPL 243 which is the new New Bedford City Ambulance Service channel – New Bedford Police Channel 5 is 452.45 DPL 243 which is the City of New Bedford Interops (or EMA) channel - I suspect that both of these channels are repeaterized 462.95 R PL 151.4 - "HOC" was heard talking to a Boston EMS dispatcher - HOC is the Highways Operations Center - they have cameras to watch all the highway tunnels in downtown Boston - they also dispatch the State Police units and highway assist units that service the downtown tunnels Some new licenses on the pending list are - Cascade Trucking in Hudson for 152.4425 R - Haverhill Country Club on 461.7875 466.7875 462.2625 467.2625 - Liberty Car Services in Lawrence on 151.73 and 159.8925 (a Spanish speaking can dispatcher was recently heard on the latter) – Massachusetts State Veterans Cemetery on 453.45 R in Agawam and on 453.925 R in Winchendon - Methuen FD on 484.925 R Mount Auburn Hospital on 451.35 R (I think this has been their longtime security channel actually) - Sandisfield DPW on 158.9775 - Quality Oil in Acushnet on 463.225 R (a shared repeater) - Topsfield Water Department on 159.585 - National Express in Fall River on 464.25 R (this is school buses from Durham School Services per a recent post to the sme2 list) - Nestle Waters in Framingham on 462.4125 RangeCast scanner feeds have come online for many communities in and around Boston. These live scanner audio / police internet scanner feeds are being provided on the WickedLocal newspaper websites. Each feed has the ability to review recent messages. The feeds typically include the home community, and all of the adjacent communities. Police and fire departments are scanned. The feeds can be locked on 1 specific agency at the listeners discretion. Scanner Master is providing the feeds for WickedLocal (per a post at Radio Reference). A little bit of Internet research seems to indicate that the Mass State Police have activated 50% of their new P25 trunking sites in western Massachusetts as of February 2012. Possibly there will be changes made to the eastern Massachusetts segment of the MSP TRS as rebanding and the expected conversion to P25 continues.

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 59 PAGE 19

Methuen FD and Lawrence PD seems to have worked out an agreement regarding a new UHF channel for the Methuen FD. Lawrence let their license on their main police channel expire and neighboring Methuen grabbed it so their FD could leave 154.01. At this point, it seems that Lawrence PD will stay on their main PD freq, but give up their secondary PD freq for use by Methuen FD. Newton PD recently had a report of a missing autistic child at 9 PM on a Saturday night - 4 units were on the scene within 4 minutes – and the first unit found the boy within 30 seconds - 470.8375 R was the radio channel Speaking of Newton - 482.9625 might be going into fulltime use as a Newton FD channel soon Watertown FD Engine 100 just had a open microphone - sounded like space invaders were on the channel - Engine 1 + Ladder 1 + Rescue 1 + Paramedic 4 + C2 are rsponding to a reported motor vehcile crash with reported injuries - 483.7125R - the action never stops in Beantown and the burbs Take care - Peter Sz SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY Column Editor Wanted

Position Open Before Gloucester County freeholders authorize an estimated $16 million radio frequency upgrade project, the board will launch an exploratory committee to investigate costs and other issues associated with the infrastructure upgrade. Radio interference — which has lead to some “no comm” events, or radio black outs for police and fire departments — sparked the freeholder board to create the committee to research the costs and logistics of upgrading its public safety communication system. “It makes for such a hazardous situation,” said Freeholder Director Robert Damminger Monday. “If you have someone on foot pursuit or a domestic dispute situation, and they can’t communicate with each other or back to base, it’s just a disastrous situation.” Last year county dispatchers recorded 13 days in which “no comm” incidents occurred, according to Tom Butts, the county’s Emergency Management Office director. “We had a situation where an officer in Mantua Township was out on foot pursuit, and we didn’t know he was out of the car. We’ve had one in Monroe on a felony car stop, and we didn’t know he (the police officer) was out of the car,” Butts said. “It’s a very serious situation and the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) put us in a bind.” Gloucester, and many other counties across the country, have been operating public safety radios on 500 MHz frequency systems. But since television went digital in

2009, some stations have been crossing over into the county’s public safety frequency space, according to Butts. “It does cause severe interference, and there is nothing they (FCC) can do because the digital TV stations are acting within the (parameter) of their license,” he said. The phenomena isn’t isolated in Gloucester County. Ocean and Camden counties were experiencing issues before Gloucester, and Camden is now in the thick of a conversion project that would update its infrastructure to handle a 700 MHz system. The first phase of the project there is expected to cost $14.6 million. “They (the FCC) have been gradually nudging us to go to 700 MHz, and now we’re at the point where we don’t have much choice,” said Butts, adding that the county did get use the 500 MHz system to the end of its life. “As this evolves, I’m feeling more confident that we will get 15 to 20 years out of it, but we still have some questions we need answered.” Once of the looming questions is whether the FCC will allow other entities — like digital TV — to buy space on the frequency spectrum. The county would need a guarantee that the hefty infrastructure upgrade would last for decades without the same problems it is facing now. “When we heard recently — in the past couple weeks — there is no guarantee this 700 MHz system is going to be just for us, why would we invest $16 million of Gloucester County money for guarantee?” asked Chad Bruner, county administrator. The exploratory committee — which is expected to be made of fire, police, emergency medical service personnel, mayors and county representatives — is charged with nailing down the answer to that question. The group must also flesh out the full infrastructure and radio equipment costs for moving to the 700 MHz system. Preliminary estimates have the project estimated at $16 million to add sites with radio towers, and a self-healing microwave ring, Butts said. About $2.5 to $3 million of the full project cost could be allocated for portable and mobile radio units. But the cost for municipalities and fire departments to equip their troops could be crushing. “In Monroe Township, if we give them a couple radios, they are still looking at $300,000 to replace the rest. That’s a heck of a cost,” said Butts, who expects radio units to cost as much as $5,000 each. The committee’s goal for this year is to report back by the end of 2012 with cost estimates and answers to the county’s outstanding questions. “This isn’t something we can drag our feet on for two to three years,” Damminger said. Waiting until the end of 2012 will give the county time to get the project in its capital plan for the following year, and

will buy municipalities time to prepare for the cost of equipping its police and fire stations.

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 59 PAGE 20

The Gloucester County Freeholder Board will vote at 7:30 p.m. tonight to form the exploratory committee. The meeting will be held in the Ceremonial Courtroom of the Old Court House in Woodbury.

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