SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 1

ISSUE 31 JAN-FEB-MAR 2005 ♦ SPECIAL FEATURE - TAC 9 PAGING ♦ PHOTO SUBMISSION ♦ BATTERY LESSON 101 PUBLISHER Lou Campagna, Publisher

POB 207 Jamison PA 18929

ScannerDigest@usa.com Welcome to another issue of the newsletter. We are encouraging our column editors as well as our readers to submit photos of scanning in action. With the popularity of digital cameras and those often found built in newer cell phones, the process of taking a photo and submitting it is easier than ever. What better way to start off by having the publisher and general editor lead by example.

Photo courtesy of Lou Campagna Pictured here is Thomas Jefferson University Hospital’s “JeffStat” ambulance parked on campus. This unit has performed inter-facility transfers of patients from NYC to Baltimore MD to the main campus in located in center city Philadelphia PA.

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital is one of the premier trauma centers in the Philadelphia vicinity. Situated in the heart of Philadelphia’s downtown section, TJUH is one of the regions only

neurological trauma center with state-of-the-art equipment and trained medical staff. Lou Campagna, Publisher GENERAL EDITOR Jeff Newton

Newton@efn.org As the publisher Lou Campagna stated, here are a couple of photos that were taken by me as the new Eugene Station #1 is presently under construction. Additional photos can be found under my Oregon Column.

Photo courtesy of Jeff Newton TAC 9 PAGING Many fire buffs now participate in paging systems. These notification systems are used with alphanumeric pagers. There are lots of different companies through out the United States and Canada. The fire paging companies use different commercial paging carriers to relay their medium. Tac 9 Paging is one of the many paging companies. It is the premier paging provider in New England. It was founded by Steve Hooke of Tac 9 Radio of Randolph, MA. Before paging systems were around, the fire buff would get on his 2 way radio and call in the incident to a central dispatcher who would then relay the information over the repeater for all the members to hear. Then they would decide whether or not to take the job in. Tac 9 Radio was similar in nature. With the advent of alphanumeric pagers people thought why not take this information and send it to a pager for those that do not have the luxury of listening to a scanner all day, or caring around a buff radio. Tac 9 Radio wanted to branch out and provide the alpha paging service to the Eastern Massachusetts area. No one knew that the new paging service would catch on so quickly and people started using the new paging technology. Tac 9 then started to move out and cover more of the state, and then Tac 9 grew by leaps and bounds providing coverage of Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, and Vermont.

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 2

As Tac 9 paging grew the customer base grew also. Not only does Tac 9 provide fire paging, they also page out police incidents, traffic incidents on major roadways, newsworthy incidents, weather alerts, amber alerts, and more. The customer base of Tac 9 consists not only of fire buffs, but also news media, firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical technicians. People from all walks of life use the paging services. Tac 9 paging uses Motorola pagers. The Motorola Elite is the pager of choice. The Motorola Elite is a flexible pager to use for news paging. It allows you to select a number of different paging groups from different areas and lets you, the pager owner decide when your pager will beep when you get a page with a mail drop option. You can have a selection of 15 mail drops in a pager. Pages can be sent to any wireless device with an e-mail address, as well as regular e-mail. There are many groups of fire/police/news information. The fire paging for Massachusetts is mostly broken down by region, or which there are 4 Mass fire groups, which cover fires, hazmat incidents, and medical helicopter calls. There are two police groups for the state, a north and south which cover armed robberies, stabbings, shootings, car chases. Then each other state has a fire/mva group. Tac 9 also provides groups for traffic alerts on state highways and interstates, 3rd alarm and greater, national incidents, New York State and city fire, NYPD incidents, as well as incidents in all areas of the United States through different reciprocal agreements with other fire/news paging providers. Tac 9 has reciprocal agreements with over 20 other paging companies throughout the United States. Through reciprocal agreements when there is a 2nd alarm fire or greater in the Tac 9 home paging area it is sent to the USA group. The USA group sends the page into the Tac 9 Paging computer and out to all reciprocal companies at once for re-page to their systems and customer base, likewise for the reciprocals sending pages to Tac 9. Tac 9 paging is able to provide premier paging services with the help of over 100 dispatchers that use a group on the alpha-numeric pagers, 2 way pagers, and Nextel Direct Connect for communication. Nextel Direct Connect has become the tool of choice lately over the fire buff radio. There are many pros to using Nextel for dispatch relays. Better coverage (in most cases), smaller and more lightweight than a portable radio, the Nextel can also double as a 2 way pager, but the biggest advantage is paging directly from the fire scene. With the buff radio you were limited as to coverage of a repeater, also having the latest frequencies in the radio. Where as long as you have Nextel coverage you could call in an incident. Through the years Tac 9 has built up a good rapport with local media outlets and traffic reporting agencies and as a result have access to Nextels in news rooms throughout the Boston and Providence areas to help tip off news media to breaking news, and to also help confirm incidents for paging. Tac 9 also uses two separate voice mail systems for incident reporting, one for Tac 9 dispatchers to call, and one for Tac 9 customers. Also a “tipster” line is also set up with an e-mail address and 800 phone number that will send the page to the dispatcher’s group for re-page. All voice mail calls are answered by live operators and not by leaving a message for a dispatcher to play back. The Tac 9 “super computer” sends pages out for Tac 9 and 7 other pager notification companies. The computer itself uses a T1 line to get pages out to the internet through the use of SNPP

paging, which basically is the internet paging protocol similar to the old dial up, only through the internet. Tac 9 also handles paging for several local public safety agencies. With the help of setting up different group pages for local agencies they could have a full shift of off duty firefighters ready for action with one page. In addition to Tac 9 there are also 3 other divisions of Tac 9. There is Toronto Firenet, VFN which is Tidewater, and Richmond areas of Virginia, and NEFNN, New England Fire and News Network was one of the first in Massachusetts. Tac 9 has taken over paging for NEFNN, changing old NEFNN dispatchers and customers over to Tac 9. For further information check out www.tac9.com please mention this article when contacting Tac 9 Paging. Paul Shea Tac 9 Paging Car 612 SCAN-PA.COM Hey everyone, hope your holiday season went well. I have started a website called scan-pa.com, and am now looking for some help. I need anyone who has PHP-Nuke knowledge. I need someone who can help design a theme or site logo that will work on the website. I need help with setting up the daily news story area, the forums, the mailing list, and any other things that you can suggest. Those that would like to help me admin the website, please contact me by email at pkirk@scan-pa.com I will need your full name, Nickname (used for log-in) contact email, if you have a password preference, please let me know. I will also need to know what you can contribute to the site as a administrator. If you’re not interested in being a administrator, then you can just go to the site and register normally. Does anybody know how to design a compatible site Logo that can replace the normal PHP-NUKE one? This board is for anything related to public service / Scanning and monitoring Public safety radio, local government, EMA, etc. News, Forums, Live Chat, Mailing list, Frequency Database, Scanner / PS related files, Photos etc..... My web host server is a Duel p4 2.8Ghz w/ duel cache of: 512 KB and Duel 1 Gig Men cards installed in a top of the line data center. w/ multi links & backbone connections to the WWW. Thanks for your time. If you have any suggestions or thoughts, please let me know. Peter pkirk@scan-pa.com COMPUTER – SOFTWARE Mike Agner KA3JJZ 112 Water Fountain Way #304 Glen Burnie, MD 21060-2309 ka3jjz@erols.com

Sorry, no column this issue.

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 3

BATTERY TYPES by Alan Cohen Nickel Cadmium. (NiCD) NiCd (NiCad or Nickel Cadmium) This type has been very popular in radio applications. It is the standard rechargeable battery used in scanners and 2-way radios. Even though you can recharge this type they are prone to what’s called the memory affect. They like to be fully drained before being recharged. When they’re charged often without being run down first, they develop a memory which in time lowers their charge capacity and ultimately reduces their overall life expectancy. They are slightly less expensive than NiMH batteries and can be stored for much longer periods of time on a shelf while maintaining a relatively high charge capacity. Nickel Metal Hydride. (NiMH) NiMH (Nickel Metal-Hydride) These batteries are not nearly as prone to the memory affect and can therefore be charged at any time. They do not get as many charge cycles in their lifetime however, but your long-term battery life might still be better if you typically use NiCD batteries and don't wait until the battery has been drained down before recharging. NiMH are generally significantly higher in capacity (up to 30% higher per charge than NiCd batteries of the same physical size), which means they will last longer per charge, but are not great being stored for periods of time longer than 3-4 weeks. We recommend using NiMH batteries when available for agencies that don't have the luxury of running a battery down before recharging (police, fire, EMS, etc.) but NOT as 'emergency backups' that are left on a shelf until they are needed. Lithium Ion. (LION) This is the newest rechargeable battery chemistry available. Lithium Ion is not affected by the 'Memory Effect'. It can deliver the same capacity and run time in a smaller, lighter pack. The chemistry is most popular in cellular and laptop products. Sealed Lead Acid (aka: Gel-Cell) These are primarily found in emergency lighting and burglar alarm applications. They are designed for steady, constant charging with an infrequent, yet heavy discharge.

EASTERN NEW YORK Howard Miller

c/o Scanner Digest POB 207

Jamison PA 18929-0207 ScannerDigest@usa.com

Sorry, no column this issue.

MASSACHUSETTS Peter Szerlag

c/o Scanner Digest POB 207 Jamison PA 18929

Zerg90@hotmail.com Not much new in the way of radio systems in Massachusetts these days. So here is a little info gleaned from monitoring in early February 2005. 06 Feb 2005 - listening from Arlington MA 151.475R - Hollis NH - Ambulance 1 responds with 1 person on a fall call - time out was 0757 - 13A1 signed on at 0758 and was at

the scene at 0759 - 13A1 asked that their Knox box be released - a DTMF train was heard opening up their key box / Knox box 483.5125R - Braintree FD box 3417 - South Shore Shopping Plaza / Mall - Pod 1 at 50 Pond St – Engine 1, Engine 3, Ladder 2, Car 2 - a malfunctioning smoke detector in the food court 460.575R - Walpole FD - 0900 radio ID - OKed by Sharon FD + Medfield FD + Norwood FD 154.205R - Lowell FD 0900 radio check of portable radios - Engine 1, 100, 1000, 2, 200, 2000, 3, 300, 3000, 4, 400, 4000, 6, 600, 5000, 7, 700, 7000, 10, 1000, 10000, 11, 1100, 11000 - Ladder 1, 100, 1000, 2 out of service, 3, 300, 3000, 4, 400, 4000 - Rescue 1, 100, 1000 - Car 2 out of servcie - car 3, Car 3 portable 2 154.13 - East Derry NH radio check by "Derry Fire Alarm" - Engine 81, Engine 81 portable 1, Engine 81 portable 2, Eng 82, Eng82 pump panel, Eng 82 port 1 (?82-1?), Tower 83, Tower 83 pump panel, Tower 83 portable 1, port 89, Tanker 86, Tanker portable 1, Car 2, Rescue 89, Rescue 89 portable 1 158.76R - Hooksett New Hampshire - adjacent to Manchester NH - 0934 AM (it must have been 0944 actually) - 3 tones sets for chimney fire at 6 Mason Ave - caller said she had flames coming out of the wall next to the chimney in her bedroom - make it a building fire - OK we will start the automatics - Engine 2, Engine 3, Truck 1 sign on - Bow tanker and Goffstown tanker en route also per dispatcher - Car 3 on 0949 - 0950 Engine 2 at the scene with heavy fire from the roof of 1 and a half story cape and heavy smoke from floor 2 - fillin the first box and cal for a 2nd alarm - or similar words - Bow tanker 3 is responding at 0951 - heavy fire in the attic at 0952 - Truck 1 and tanker 3 are at the scene at 0955 - 79A3 is responding at 0956 - Allenstown Engine 4 is on the air and responding and request directions - go Parker hill to South bow Rd - (? Goffstown ?) Engine 5 at scene - (Hooksett) Engine 5 responding with 1 man – Bow tanker 3 is staged - bunch of emergency honks - Car 2 at scene at 1003 - interior will become Ops and Car 2 will be Command - staging will be at South Bow and mason - under control at 1004 - 1005 79a3 at staging - most communications were on 158.76R - some comms were apparently on 158.76 direct and the dispatcher could hear those comms and reply to those units 483.3125R - Boston FD - Channel 4 - Car 3 to Fire Alarm - do the 'T radios' work in North Station (transportation nexus - commuter rail plus subway) - pause - Fire Alarm to Car 3, no - the "T radios" are the older 153.89 portable radios that are linked to the dispatcher via a 153.89 base station in each subway station 470.9875 - someone or something was throwing a carrier on this freq - on and off for a while - sounded like someone was throwing a un-modulated carrier into the input of a repeater - this might be the new BAPERN 2 Central police mutual aid repeater 462.075R - Babson College PD in Waltham - units 1722, 1742, 1743 462.075R - should be the Tufts University EMS freq also - but nothing heard yet Listening between 152.00 and 153.00 Mhz uncovers the following - 152.03 weak paging - 152.60 and 152.48 loud paging - 152.375R a security company - and taxi dispatchers on 152.27, 152.315, 152.405, 152.45, 152.315 - 152.0075 had a long pager

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 4

tome followed by 'Universal testing Codman switchboard' - maybe that was a radio repairman in some hospital building. Peter S I usually reply to all Emails. If you do not receive a reply from me, please try again.

CONNECTICUT Keith Victor

44 Suffolk Drive East Hartford CT 06118

alarmroom@juno.com Also you know that the book I edited with Richard Barnett is now out "Southern New England Communications Guide 10th Edition" is now available from Scanner Master. Just an update that Blue Hills Fire, in Bloomfield, has placed a DPL 025 on the 151.220 Mhz channel under call sign WNNI 513. Hebron Fire now transmits on 154.325 MHz PL 74.4 all traffic from 33.900 Mhz under call sign WPVI 840. Below are the new call signs assigned beginning with the WQ listings for Connecticut: Ansonia Fire- WQAZ 678 156.1875/154.0775 151.0625 151.0775 Bristol City- WQBA 338 855.7375 858.9625 859.9625 860.2625 WQBP 865 856.4125 857.3875 Burlington Highway- WQAD 237 159.9550 Cromwell Matt Dist-WQAX 912 453.3750 453.4875 Marlborough Fire- WQAQ 394 453.3125 Middlebury Fire- WQBP 303 158.8125/153.9125 Middlebury Police- WQBP 299 159.2175/154.7775 Milford Police- WQAD 885 866.0125 Naugatuck Fire- WQBT 813 154.235/151.160 153.8900 154.1750 154.2950 Old Saybrooke PD- WQAP 741 453.2375 453.7375 460.3250 460.4125 Portland Fire- WQAS 617 154.0475/155.7825 Ridgefield Fire- WQAS 473 159.045/154.385 159.0825 South Windsor FD- WQAN 958 33.9400 33.9600 154.2650 453.2375 458.3875 Southbury Town- WQAS 861 153.7925/159.1575 154.9875/155.5425 155.0325/158.8275 155.0625/154.0475 Southington Parks- WQBD 613 453.2500 Stafford Police- WQAY 754 154.7550 Vernon Town- WQAY 713 460.1625

460.3125 460.3375 460.3875 Westport Police- WQBD 672 866.9250 Woodbridge Fire- WQBT 699 453.2250 Ansonia Fire now on the air with 156.1875/154.0775 MHz. DPL 431 It is reported that very good reception here in the Hartford area. This is cross patched to the 46.200 MHz. CONNECTICUT STATEWIDE I-CALL REPEATER LOCATIONS COUNTY TOWN Fairfield Danbury Old Boston Post Rd Fairfield Greenwich** Perry Ridge Rd Fairfield Greenwich Butternut Hollow Rd Fairfield New Milford Chapin Rd Fairfield Redding Mountain Rd Fairfield Shelton Boot Hill Fairfield Stamford** Long Ridge Rd Fairfield Wilton Gilberts Corner Hartford Bloomfield-Avon Montevideo Rd Hartford Manchester-Glastonbury Birch Mt Rd Hartford Rocky Hill West St Hartford West Hartford-Avon** Deercliff Rd Hartford Wethersfield** Kelleher Court Hartford Windsor Locks-Bradley International Litchfield Canaan Route 7 Litchfield Colebrook North Rd Litchfield Cornwall Mohawk Mt Litchfield Norfolk Riggs Hill Litchfield Sharon Housatonic Forest Litchfield Torrington Soapstone Hill Rd Litchfield Winsted Wallens Hill Rd Middlesex Haddam Porkony Rd Middlesex Westbrooke I-95 New Haven Bethany Amity Rd New Haven Guilford Cooks Lane New Haven Middlebury I-84 West New Haven Southbury Training School New Haven Waterbury** Garden Circle New Haven West Haven Brookside Lane New Haven Wolcott East & Meriden Ave New London Colchester Windham Ave New London Franklin Dr Nott Rd New London Groton** Long Point Rd New London Ledyard Vinegar Hill Rd New London North Stonington Wintechog Hill Rd New London Old Lyme Pumphouse Rd Tolland Somers Gulf Rd Tolland Storrs N.Eagleville Rd Tolland Tolland Bald Hill Rd Tolland Union Bald Hill Windham North Grosvenordale Mountain Hill Rd Windham Sterling Eknock Hill ** These are individual communities repeaters

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 5

ON SCENE INTEROPERABILITY FREQUENCIES When labeling these interoperable frequencies do as follows: CTGP-1 STATEWIDE CTGP-2 STATEWIDE (except Fairfield County) CTGP-3 STATEWIDE (except Fairfield & New London counties) CTGP-4 FAIRFIELD COUNTY (800 MHZ) CTGP-5 FAIRFIELD & NEW LONDON COUNTY (800 MHZ) These will be utilized throughout the state of Connecticut. The utilization of frequencies is as follows: CTGP-1: 154.4525 458.4625 855.9875 CTGP-2: 158.7375 458.7125 855.7125 CTGP-3: 159.4725 458.8625 858.4625 CTGP-4: 158.7375 458.7125 860.2375 CTGP-5: 159.4725 458.8625 856.2625 All of the above will be portables use only, with 5-watts and a CTCSS of 156.7 (5A) Communities with VHF & UHF radio need only place the three (3) channels in their portables. Communities with 800 MHz need to place the five (5) channels in their portables. This system is for on-scene use only and will be assigned by Groups. This way when CTGP-1 is assigned units on VHF will use 154.4525 Mhz, UHF will use 458.4625 MHz and 800 MHz units will utilize 855.9875 MHz. State OEM will be the FCC license holder of these frequencies. Adopted by the Statewide Interoperability Committee 12/07/2004 MILITARY Daniel Myers KB3IBQ

823 Horsham Rd. Horsham, Pa 19044-1209

domyers@voicenet.com

Sorry no column this issue. For those interested in military scanning the Yahoo Group va_nc_milcom_group has expanded to include all of the US East Coast. This is a good place to discuss military comms as well as posting your daily logs. The new URL is: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eastcoast_milcom/

PHILADELPHIA METRO Justin Linn 1864 Wakeling Street

Philadelphia, PA 19124 cbsrus@yahoo.com

www.vipercomusa.cj.net In a future--if not the next issue--look forward to an in-depth look at the future of radio communications, and how things are changing for the better or worse. Philadelphia Police District Identifiers # + Command (or DC) : District Lt. # + A - G : District Sergeants # + CB + # : District Community Beat Units # + BD + # : District Burglary Units (plain-clothes) # + CPO : District Crime Prevention Officer # + Tom + # : District Tactical Teams # + LCB : District Liquor Control Board (rides J-band) # + CRO : District Community Relations Unit CO + # : District Captain Divisional Unit Identifiers William + 100 series : Northeast Warrant Units William + 200 series : Northwest Warrant Units William + 300 series : East Warrant Units William + 400 series : Central Warrant Units William + 500 series : South Warrant Units William + 600 series : Southwest Warrant Units Isaac-1 : Northeast Inspector Isaac-2 : Northwest Inspector Isaac-3 : East Inspector Isaac-4 : Central Inspector Isaac-5 : South Inspector Isaac-6 : Southwest Inspector Dan + 100 series : Northeast Detectives Dan + 200 series : Northwest Detectives Dan + 300 series : East Detectives Dan + 400 series : Central Detectives Dan + 500 series : South Detectives Dan + 600 series : Southwest Detectives Note: Some divisions have combined divisional units such as the detective units. West, Far-Northeast are some for example. City-Wide Identifiers Nathan + 100 series: Strike Force Sam Units: SWAT Units Live-Stop Codes 1501A Operating W/O License 1301A Driving Unregistered Vehicle 1371C Vehicle Registration Suspended 1543B Operator’s Privileges Suspended/Revoked Philadelphia Police Phonetics A – Andy N - Nathan B – Barney O - Oliver C – Charlie P - Pat D – Dan Q - Quebec E – Eddie R - Robert F - Frank S - Sam

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 6

G – George T - Tom H - Harry U - United I - Isaac V - Victor J - John W - William K - Kate X - X-ray L - Larry Y - Yesterday M - Mary Z - Zebra Police Simplex 867.4125: Tac-1 867.4375: Tac-2 Philadelphia Fire Department Car 1 - PFD Commissioner FM 1 - Top Fire Marshall HU 1 - Top HAZMAT Personnel FC 1 - Top Radio Personnel Proceed in and Reduced Speeds - Companies are advised to proceed in to the incident at reduced speeds. Some companies turn off their lights/siren, however some keep them on. Operating on the XXXX Fire and XXXXX Tac 1/2/3 - Units are assigned a TAC channel to operate on, along with a divisional channel. Can you give me the weather conditions? - A Battalion Chief (B/C) usually requests the weather condition to determine various things, and how the fire will react to wind/dew point/pressure/etc. Battalion XX's Aid - An assistant to the B/C. Tactical Box - (2) Pipelines/Engines/Squirts/Deluge's/ect, (1) B/C, (2) Ladder Trucks. North/South Fire./Medic Band - Units above Lehigh Ave operate on North Bands, while units below Lehigh Ave operate on the South Bands. Companies Stand-By While Hospital Notification - The actual dispatcher who says this, is the one who also notifies the hospital. This is done by 2-tone signaling. Before voice, you will hear BOOOOOOOOO BEEEEEEEEEEEE BOOOOOOOOO type tones -- these are tones to open up the radios at the hospitals. They use certain tones, and those tones will only allow the hospital they select to hear the page. These notifications are done on HASTE (47.540 FM) -- and can be heard in most parts of the city. So if you hurry up and tune your radios to HASTE, you'll be able to hear the notification. Basics things like the following will be heard: Age/Sex, Injuries Sustained From (Motor-Vehicle Accident, Assault, ect), Vital Signs (Stable/Unstable), ETA. Medic Classes: Class 1 - Needs HASTE because the person's vitals are not stable. Medic rushes to the hospital. Class 2 - Patient is still in bad conditions, however is not as serious as a Class 1. Class 3 - Common class, and is when there is only minor problems, like Broken Bones, ect. Class 4 - This is usually when they have a serious 302 that needs to be transported to the hospital. Most of the times, the police wagons handle 302's. This is terminology found under the State

of Pennsylvania statute that identifies those person(s) who mental incapacitated and cannot legally make decisions on their own. Class 5 - Rarely heard -- is when the person is not alive. Note: These seem to be widely used by surrounding agencies. Frequencies: North Analog - 866.8750 South Analog - 866.7125 Philadelphia Municipal Simplex 866.8500 : Tac-1 867.8500 : Tac-2 868.0750 : Tac-3 Although it's probably overdue, the Philadelphia Police Department's website has a new look and has been updated too! http://www.ppdonline.org/ It appears to be easier to navigate throughout the entire site and the graphics have been refreshed. The area that shows the various district borders and the ability to print sector maps is now much easier to do. Unfortunately under the "press release" page they fail to discuss problems from within (such as the problems with eradicating the 800 MHz radio system bugs). The local newspapers do a fine job of bringing us news as to the radio communication woes. The look is new and clean but the content is pretty much the same. A great reference to someone new to the city but for those already too familiar with Philly, it's the same ol' stuff.

THE DELAWARE VALLEY METRO RADIO SYSTEM The Delaware Valley Metro Radio System (MRS) is a fire/news buff/hobby organization that covers the greater Philadelphia area, including all of the surrounding counties in PA, NJ and DE. The organization has recently added several additional repeaters and performance/coverage has improved as a result, particularly in downtown Center City, South Jersey, and Delaware County. Currently the organization operates with the following channels: F-1 Metro North Ops Repeater Rx 451.900 Pl 167.9 (has end of transmission beep tone) F-2 Metro South Ops Repeater Rx 451.900 Pl 167.9 (does not have end of transmission beep tone) F-3 Metro Direct. F-4 Metro City Tac Repeater F-5 Metro Bucks Ops Repeater F-6 Metro North Tac Repeater F-7 Metro South Tac Repeater

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 7

The organization is supported though member dues and those members have privileges on multiple UHF radio channels, which includes multiple wide-area repeaters in the greater Philadelphia area and suburbs, as noted above. Access to the MRS web site, full details of frequencies used, and to their mail list, is only available through membership in MRS. However, the primary channels, known as F-1 and F-2, are both on 451.900 with a PL of 167.9 on the output (the "North" repeater has an end of transmission beep tone, while the "South" repeater does not). This is where all announcements of incidents occur. Multiple alarm fires are generally preceded with a several second tone alert to open up radios that are in stand-by/alert mode only. For further information on the Metro Radio System (MRS), please send email to: membershipinfo@dvmrs.com EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA Steve Bower Jr.

POB 942 Fogelsville PA 18051-0942

steveradio9@netzero.net Stevescan60@yahoo.com

Hello and Welcome to this edition of the Scanner Digest. Lou Campagna is doing a Great Job keeping the Digest alive and growing. I just wanted to remind everyone that scanning is “Hobby” and frequencies are considered “Public Information”. Most of us enjoy the challenge of figuring out radio systems, finding new frequencies or just monitoring certain areas. Most scanners now are capable of decoding PL/DPL tones and LTR radio systems for easier monitoring. Some people may consider this a threat however there is nothing wrong or illegal about posting what you find or hear. We normally do not post sensitive information such as “Drug Enforcement” or “Surveillance” type frequencies. Keep on Scanning and don’t be afraid to report what you find or hear, That is how our great networks like ABC, CBS, CNN, NBC, FOX and many other networks got to be where they are today. Listed above is a new e-mail address for now, eventually I will be switching to another service and forward the new address when available. We started a new forum board and would like you to check it out: Please sign up and start posting, Can’t wait to hear from you. Here are a few frequencies used my Monroe and Carbon Counties in the Pocono area: Carbon County 453.1000 Alerting Fire/ Ambulance 453.0250 Fireground - North 460.1750 Fireground – South 155.2050 Ambulance A-1 Response 155.3400 Ambulance A-2 Hospital 154.8000 Police – South 155.7300 Police – North 154.9650 Police Car to Car 155.5050 PA State Police CH C Base 155.8500 PA State Police CH C Car 155.6700 PA State Police CH B Base 155.9100 PA State Police CH B Car 452.7750 Carbon Transportation System

Monroe County 453.7500 Alerting Fire/ Ambulance 33.9800 Alerting Fire 460.5750 Fireground - West 460.6250 Fireground – East 453.0750 Fireground – Central 155.2800 Ambulance – Alerting A-1 155.3400 Ambulance – Regional A-2 155.3550 Ambulance – Hospital A-3 460.4250 Police/ Sheriff – Countywide 460.5000 Police/ Sheriff – South (Stroudsburg, E.

Stroudsburg, Stroudsburg Twp) 460.4000 Police/ Sheriff – North (Pocono, Barrett Twp) 460.1500 Police/ Sheriff – Regional (Coolbaugh,

Tobyhanna, Mount Pocono, Pocono Raceway) 460.3000 Constables Assn Police Stations: ALPHA: East Stroudsburg BRAVO: Barrett twp CHARLIE: Sheriff Office DELTA: Delaware Water Gap FOXTROT: Stroud twp GULF: Coolbaugh twp ROMEO: East Stroudsburg University SIERRA: Stroudsburg VICTOR: Tunkhannock twp X-Ray: Mount Pocono YANKEE: Tobyhanna twp ZEBRA: Pocono Twp Sorry for the short issue, but this took me a couple days to put together. Been busy taking advantage of the nice “spring/ winter” days we have been having. Let me know what you want to see, we column editors ask for your help all the time. I have the PO Box and e-mail always available, even if you just drop a Hello and a few ideas would be great. Until Next time Be Safe and Take Care!! 73’s Steve NEW HAMPSHIRE John Bolduc

c/o Scanner Digest POB 207 Jamison PA 18929

N1qgs@yahoo.com http://www.geocities.com/nhswna

Municipal Highway and Public Works Frequencies Note these frequencies may be shared with other agencies within the town Alstead H 453.475 136.5 shared with Amherst H 39.5000 ..... Bedford H 156.195 114.8 Bennington H 154.965 PD FD Boscawen L 156.165 d445 PD Brentwood H 158.775 136.5 PD Canaan H 154.965 ..... Chester H 153.995 136.5 also P25 Derry H 453.375 103.5 Dover H 150.995 Dublin H 151.115 ..... Dunbarton H 154.980 136.5 Durham H 158.745 118.8 Epsom H 153.920 ..... Francestown H 151.010 146.2 Hampstead H 463.200 .....

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 8

Hampton H 155.745 ..... Hanover H 155.805 141.3 Harrisville H 159.165 ..... Haverhill H 156.135 ..... Hillsboro H 156.120 ..... Henniker H 151.070 136.5 Hopkinton H 33.060 ..... Hudson H 37.260 136.5 Keene H 158.985 ..... Laconia H 156.180 ..... Litchfield H 159.195 136.5 Londonderry H 156.165 136.5 Lyndeborough H 39.500 ..... Mason H 39.080 ..... Mason H 39.500 ..... Mason H 155.9325 167.9 Merrimack H 153.875 ..... Merrimack H 151.025 ..... New Boston H 154.055 210.7 New Ipswich H 39.820 ..... New London H 154.995 136.5 PD Newmarket H 462.050 Nottingham H 156.135 151.4 Plaistow H 154.965 127.3 new PL, was 136.5 Rindge H 156.180 ..... Salem H 151.040 79.7 Sanbornton H 153.860 173.8 Tilton H 156.060 ..... Washington H 156.120 ..... Just over the border 155.7825 D565 Methuen MA New Hampshire Department of Transportation District 1 Lancaster - Northern Region Coos, Grafton, Carroll Counties 453.625 - 110.9 - 1a - Lancaster Prospect Mtn 453.275 - 123.0 - 1b - Sargents Purchase Mt. Washington 453.500 - 131.8 - 1c - Franconia Cannon Mtn 453.625 - 141.3 - 1d - Milan Milan Hill 453.625 - 103.5 - 1e - Stewartstown Holden Hill ? Signal Mtn Millsfield (near Errol) District 2 Lebanon - West Central Region Grafton, Sullivan, Merrimack Counties (Overnight: Enfield) 453.125 - 131.8 - 2a - Warner Mt. Kearsarge 453.125 - 110.9 - 2b - Orange Cardigan Mtn 453.775 - 141.3 - 2c - Mt. Ascutney (Windsor Vt) 453.125 - 103.5 - 2d - Hanover 453.700 - 123.0 - 2e - Gilford 453.700 - 203.5 - Car-to-Car District 3 Gilford - East Central Region Belknap, Carroll, Grafton, Merrimack Counties 453.100 - 103.5 - 3c - Franconia - Cannon Mtn 453.150 - 110.9 - 3g - Gilford 453.025 - 123.0 - 3h - Tamworth Mt. Whittier 453.150 - 203.5 - Car-to-Car ? Mt. Attitash Bartlett District 4 Swanzey - Southwest Region Cheshire, Hillsboro, Merrimack, Sullivan Counties 453.250 - 103.5 - 4a - Stoddard - Pitcher Mtn 453.525 - 110.9 - 4b - Westmoreland Hyland Hill 453.525 - 131.8 - 4c - Windsor VT - Mt. Ascutney

453.350 - d172 - 4d - Peterboro - Pack Monadnock Mtn 453.350 - 203.5 - Car-to-Car E Hinsdale - Wantastiquet Mtn District 5 Hooksett - South Central Region Hillsboro, Merrimack Rockingham Counties 453.675 - 103.5 - 5a - Mt. Kearsarge 10/15/03 453.675 - 110.9 - 5b - Bow - Hackett Hill Rd "B" 453.675 - 123.0 - 5c - Goffstown - Mt. Uncanoonuc 453.675 - 131.8 - 5d - Pack Monadnock Mtn 453.675 - 156.7 - 5e - Derry - Warner Hill 10/15/03 453.675 - 203.5 - Car-to-Car District 6 Durham - Southeast Region Strafford Rockingham Counties 453.625 - 103.5 - 6e - Kensington 453.625 - 192.8 - 6f - Farmington - Blue Job Mtn 453.625 - 203.5 - Car-to-Car Possible new District 6 frequencies 453.4000 - - 6g Saddleback Mtn, Deerfield 453.4375 - - 6g Saddleback Mtn, Deerfield 453.4375 - - 6h Blue Job Mtn, Farmington Turnpikes - Statewide - T Toll Roads and Turnpikes Hooksett 453.050 - 103.5 - A - Farmington 453.925 - 127.3 - B - Bow 453.925 - 167.9 - C - Mt. Uncanoonuc 453.225 - 131.8 - D - Kensington 453.050 - 203.5 - Car-to-Car Statewide - Traffic, Signs, Lights, Bridges, Admin, Eng Survey 453.975 - 186.2 - A - Warner 453.975 - 103.5 - B - Mt. Washington 453.975 - 110.9 - C - Franconia 453.975 - 82.5 - D - Pack Monadnock 453.975 - 94.8 - E - Colebrook 453.975 - 123.0 - F - Farmington 453.975 - 88.5 - G - Gilford 453.975 - 131.8 - H - Tamworth 453.125 - 167.9 - I - Mt. Ascutney (Windsor Vt) 453.975 - 203.5 - Car-to-Car Bridge Crew Locations 701 Bridge Crew Carroll 702 Bridge Crew Lancaster 703 Bridge Crew New Hampton 706 Bridge Crew Newfields 707 Bridge Crew Antrim 708 Bridge Crew Chichester 710 Bridge Crew Rumney 711 Bridge Crew Epping 712 Bridge Crew Newington 713 Bridge Crew Wilmont, Franklin 714 Bridge Crew Litchfield 715 Bridge Crew Newington 915.000 Highway Tolls EZ Pass transponders Southwest New Hampshire District Mutual Fire Aid on 154.430 (aka Keene Mutual Aid) is now dispatching for the Lyndeborough Fire Department. Their dispatch number is 82. They were formerly dispatched by Milford Area Communications Center on 33.640.

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 9

The Hinsdale Fire Department has now completed their move from low band (33.780) to high band radio operation (154.430). With the exception of a few Winchester pagers, this completes the migration of all Keene Mutual Aid dispatched departments to high band. Southwest NH Audio 154.430 is now on the internet at www.firemutualaid.com/live_audio/live_audio.asx Since we last met, another police more police departments have gone 100% APCO P-25 digital transmission format. Merrimack 155.550R and Salem 155.730 are two of the newest. There is talk that the Merrimack County Sheriff office may be discontinuing there dispatching operations this year. Currently they operate on 155.685R and 155.700. Boscawen Police, in the county, has switched their dispatching provider to Franklin 154.785 P25. Amherst Fire has switched PL tone on their 151.220 fire frequency from d251 to 136.5 and now finally settling on 103.5. Amherst now does their own fire dispatching, formerly dispatched by Milford Area Communications Center. MACC still dispatches for Milford, Wilton, and Mont Vernon. License applications of interest Portsmouth Emergency Management 155.6175 Salem NH Fire mobiles 453.9375, 458.9375 - 460.4625 base New Hampshire Hospital Concord 157.45 special emergency communications Allenstown NH has a license for the fire department 155.040 and 159.090. On the darker side, there is a local story about Citizens Band fisticuffs. A fight broke out recently at a McDonald's in Nashua NH when a CB'er tracked down and attacked a person he accused of instigating FCC actions against him. The victim suffered injuries costing in excess of $5,000 to treat at the time of this writing. The attacker, who was identified by name and by his CB handle of "Kykker", had also been documented of harassing FRS users on Christmas day. Other frequencies of interest Henniker - Pats Peak Ski Area Ch 1 - 154.540 136.5 - Ski School Ch 2 - 152.285R 85.4 - Mt Ops & Ski Patrol Ch 3 - 151.625 136.5 - Racing Program Ch 4 - 154.600 179.9 - Parking lots Ch 5 - 151.925 136.5 - IT / IS operations All units starting with: 3xx = Ski Patrol 5xx - Mountain Ops 636 - General Manager Francestown – Crotched Mountain Rehab 151.895 167.9 Derry NH - McDonald’s Drive-thru 464.3875/469.3875 97.4 By time you read this, they may have switched frequencies again, they often do! Manchester NH – Hillcrest Retirement Community 451.5625 Concord NH Area frequencies 37.9800 114.8 Concord Electric (Unitil) Repeater (152.315, 152.345, 153.440, 153.530, 153.620 & 153.695 used for Vehicle Extenders) 122.7000 AM Concord Airport Unicom 150.9500 151.4 AAA Northern

New England - Concord Area Ops 151.5650 110.9 Irving Oil Corp 151.6250 179.9 Target Store Ch-1 - Heights 151.7450 D-054 Waste Management Ch-2 (chit-chat channel, very lively) 151.9550 74.4 Old Navy Store - Steeplegate Mall Heights 151.9550 179.9 Target Store Ch-2 - Heights 151.9550 250.3 Shorty's Towing (also often on AAA 150.95) 152.3000 91.5 Waste Management Ch-1 (used all over Central/Southern NH) 153.0050 192.8 HR Clough Corp Repeater - Hopkinton (Webster Repeater) 153.6350 CSQ Concord Electric Unit-to-Unit 154.5150 162.2 Burger King - Heights (Wendy's may use also) 154.5700 CSQ Wal-Mart - Heights 155.0850 136.5 NH Hospital Security Primary 158.3850 91.5 Johnson & Dix Oil Company 159.0300 210.7 NH Hospital Security / Maintenance 160.3950 CSQ New England Southern Railroad 161.7000 CSQ FM 102.3 (Outlaw) Live Remote Audio Feed 452.4500 D-165 NH Health & Human Services Repeater 453.9000 203.5 Concord School District Busses 460.7500 136.5 Merrimack Valley School District Busses 461.0375 D-065 Irving Gas Station - Fisherville (maybe all) 461.0750 136.5 Steeplegate Mall Security / Maintenance - Heights 461.3750 167.9 Concord Area Transit (aka "The CAT") 463.3250 D-632 Wheelabrator Simplex (trash-to-energy facility Penacook) 464.2500 85.4 MBA Halmatro Rescue Tools 464.2500 141.3 Patsy's Towing (Repeater in Pittsfield) 464.5250 179.9 Concord Hospital Security / Maintenance 464.5500 D-244 Hillsboro-Deering School District Busses 464.6375 123.0 Concord Airport Unicom Cross-Band (Repeats 122.70) 464.9250 D-??? St. Pauls School Security 468.4875 88.5 Taco Bell/Long John Silvers – Concord Heights (combined Restaurant) 461.4250 114.8 Plowing Company (Very active w/what seems like every account in Concord) VERMONT Jim Lawrence

c/o Scanner Digest POB 207 Jamison PA 18929

ScannerDigest@usa.com Forests, Parks & Recreation Goes Digital The introduction of P25 digital radios in Vermont has taken an interesting turn since I last wrote you. On Election Night 2004, I caught some P25 digital voice on 151.4750, a frequency used by the state's Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation (FPR). I've heard similar traffic several times since then. It sounds like it's originating from mobile units, as the signal eventually fades as the conversation proceeds. I've also heard the repeater on Burke Mountain on 151.1600 in analog. FPR has three repeater sites in Vermont; Mansfield, Killington and Burke.

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 10

In addition, as I visited some of the state parks last summer, I noticed park personnel using new two-channel radios with 154.5700 and 154.6000 in them. These were analog only units from what I could tell. Hearing these FPR units in P25 digital made me wonder how much longer it will be until one of the larger police departments in Vermont turns on their P25 digital? I understand some departments have radios with the capability in them now but aren't utilizing it yet; except for Newport, of course, which is running encrypted P25 digital. If FPR can be taken as any indication, the day of widespread use of P25 digital voice is coming in Vermont. Another Air Refueling Frequency You'll remember in issue 29 I mentioned some air refueling frequencies used by aircraft as they fly over Vermont. You can add 341.7500 to the list which is used over northern New Hampshire and can be heard over most of northern Vermont east of the Green Mountains. Others in use that are quite busy are 238.9000, 295.8000, 324.6000 and 139.8750, all in AM mode. Random Round-Up from Southwestern Vermont Pownal, Stamford and Bennington town fire are dispatched on 154.3100. Pownal is dispatched by Berkshire Co., Mass. Readsboro, in the southeast corner of Bennington Co., has their fire dispatched by Southwest New Hampshire mutual aid on 154.4300. In some recent licensing information from the FCC, I noticed that the Vermont State Police have licensed 460.3375 to a location on top of Mt. Equinox. Those of you in that area may want to keep an eye on that frequency for any activity in that area. And that's it this time around from Vermont. As always, your contributions are greatly appreciated. Please write me at the address above with additions or corrections. NORTHCENTRAL OHIO Mike Fink

c/o Scanner Digest POB 207

Jamsion PA 18929 admin@ohioscan.com

www.ohioscan.com

Sorry no column this issue. MAINE Loren Fields

c/o Scanner Digest POB 207

Jamison PA 18929 hornsmoke@prexar.com

Greetings from Maine! China FD has a new narrowband repeater up and running: 155.6025R with a DPL of 114. Jay PD's repeater, 156.210R, has a DPL of 125. Anson's highway/PW repeater, 155.880R, has a DPL of 043.Solon PW is running a simplex of 151.025 with a DPL of 503. Kennebec SO, 159.090, changed their traditional 131.8 pl to a DPL of 606. This is because too many non-agency "yahoos" had the SO repeater channel programmed in to their radios. The problem of interference from "kerchunking" should abate for at least a little while.

Togus VA hospital, just outside of Augusta, has gone entirely digital, with their traditional 163.000R, and others, completely rebanded. Federal monitors should not be surprised to hear digital traffic whilst scanning from 162.600 to 174.000. Some of this is encrypted.... This recent article about fire fighting and response times comes to us from the Bangor Daily News: http://www.bangornews.com/news/templates/?a=109156 This next portion of the Maine section of the Scanner Digest deals with another boondoggle in the making. The term "digital canopy" is being used for a proposed digital restructuring of the radio landscape of Maine. Long-time readers of Scanner Digest will hearken back to the now defunct 800 MHz foolishness that Motorola tried to foist upon us several years ago. Motorola had duped several top officials in the catastrophic misconception that 800 MHz would work in the rural portions of Maine (which, dear reader, is the bulk of the state!) Below are several apropos thoughts on the "digital canopy" pie-in-the-sky topic. Here's the first news article: Bangor Daily News, NOV 22, 2004 NOV 22, 2004 AUGUSTA - A task force is recommending Maine build a new public safety communications system to meet federal requirements and replace an antiquated system that does not allow all first responders in the state to communicate in an emergency. (1.) "It's probably going to cost $40 million to $50 million, maybe a little more than $50 million,"(2.) said Richard Thompson, the state's chief information officer. The money won't have to be raised all at once, however, and completing the system will likely take several years, he said. The new system would require new communications towers to be erected around the state and some new equipment for inter-connections. It also would set a statewide standard for equipment and use computer- controlled "trunking" technology to maximize the efficient use of communication frequencies. The VHF narrow band system would allow use of some existing towers and some of the existing interconnections that can be upgraded. Public Safety Commissioner Michael Cantara said right now there are places in Maine where emergency personnel cannot reliably communicate with other first responders.(3.) He said the proposed system would have a number of frequencies available to allow critical communication in any emergency. "The equipment we have now is over 30 years old, and we can't even get replacement parts for some of it," he said. "We have to do this. It's like when a homeowner has their furnace go, you have no choice but to replace it." (4.) Thompson chaired the state of Maine Radio Network Board that Gov. John Baldacci created last year to recommend how to meet the state's need for an interoperable communications system for public safety and homeland security needs. "This proposal is a lot less expensive than some of the other proposals," Thompson said.

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 11

A study done in 2003 for the Maine State Police listed several options for communications systems, with the most expensive exceeding $207 million to build and equip. Cantara said the proposals were too expensive, and the state hired a second consultant to identify a different approach. (5.) "This is a lot of money, at a time when money is tight," Cantara said. The state is preparing to deal with a projected gap of more than $700 million between anticipated revenues and expenditures in the state's next two-year budget cycle that begins July 1, 2005. "However, I choose not to lose sight that [the proposed system] is [a] critical component of the state's communications infrastructure." Thompson said the proposal would allow all of the state's separate radio networks to be merged into a more reliable statewide public safety communications network. The new system would replace the separate systems currently operated by the Maine State Police, Maine Marine Patrol, Maine Fire Marshal's Office, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. (6.) "This is very important to our overall abilities to respond to whatever emergency faces us," said Maine Emergency Management Agency Director Art Cleaves. "This was one of the key priorities set at the summit in Bangor." The state's emergency plans were developed as the result of that three-day summit called by then Gov. Angus King in 2002. The blueprint drawn at that session, which stresses planning for a wide range of emergencies, has been used to set priorities for spending federal funds granted the state for homeland security uses. Cleaves said the equipment now used by MEMA would be able to use the frequencies that will be set aside for the new network. He said that many existing local police and fire departments have radios that can add the new frequencies to allow interoperability, and that part of the proposal calls for greater frequency sharing. (7.) State officials also plan to examine other ways to save money. "We knew we had to think outside of the box on this," Thompson said. "We are looking at maybe partnering with the private sector in some areas that will help everybody." An example, he said, could be co-locating a cell phone tower with a state communications tower. The sharing of tower construction and backup power systems would be a benefit to both the state and a cell phone company. (8.) One benefit of the proposed system, according to consultant Kenneth Lane, a professor at Husson College, would be radios that have the ability to use both digital and analog frequencies, similar to many cell phones. Such equipment would allow the phasing in of the system over several years and spreading of costs over several years. (9.) "The development of consolidated communications centers to support multiple State of Maine agencies provides a platform for extending call taking and dispatching services to local emergency responders," Lane wrote. "This approach provides relief for the burden carried by local responders in deployment of their own radio infrastructure. By sharing infrastructure, locally controlled FCC [Federal Communications Commission] channel licenses would become available to support the unified

infrastructure." (10.) Lane wrote that the economies of scale provided by a statewide network may very well allow the extension of improved services to all first responders at lower cost than the currently deployed systems. Software licensing and maintenance are two areas where substantial economies may be realized, he wrote. (11.) And now, a follow-up article: Local officials wary of statewide radio system Wednesday, January 12, 2005 - Bangor Daily News BANGOR - A proposed $50 million statewide public safety radio system should not come at the expense of communications improvements already under way locally, local and county officials said Tuesday. "A lot of great strides have been made in the last 21/2 years," Bob Higgins, director of the Somerset County Emergency Management Agency, said, telling a gathering of public safety and emergency management officials that they "still need to fix things." Higgins and others meeting in Bangor at a local events center said they were concerned that the statewide project to install a VHF narrow-band communications system, a project still in its infancy, would divert attention - and more importantly, funds - for much-needed projects to improve communications at the local, county or regional level. Spots remain in Somerset County where radio communications can't reach, Higgins said. Three weeks ago, a tanker truck hauling hazardous materials overturned in an area Higgins calls "death valley" in the Jackman area, and he had to travel nine miles from the scene in order to be able to communicate with the hospital and Department of Environmental Protection officials, the county official said after the meeting. (12.) In Waldo County, development of a new microwave communications system is in the works but still needs about $140,000 to be completed, said Owen Smith, communications director for the Waldo County Regional Communications Center. He said he's worried that future federal funding will be diverted away from this program, stalling it and the improved communications it would bring. Adding to their concerns and frustrations is that the flow of federal funding already has started to slow. Federal money for homeland security and law enforcement anti-terrorism is expected to drop by one-third from 2004 funding, going from about $22 million to about $15 million. State officials said they intend to include local and county officials in development of the new backbone system, which they said is imperative in light of the aging system. Built in the early 1970s, the current radio system was intended to have a 15-year shelf life and is now "on its last leg," said Lt. Ray Bessette, who is in charge of special projects for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Some parts for the system no longer are made and have to be made by cannibalizing other systems or cobbled together. State officials said the new system, pared down from an initial consultant's estimate of $200 million, would improve communications substantially, including in some existing dead spots, while making more efficient use of bandwidth and meeting requirements of the Federal Communications Commission. (13.)

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 12

Funding is intended to come through a mixture of state bonds and federal dollars. State officials said they also intend at least to look at public-private partnerships, pairing up with companies with equipment, such as towers, already in place or planned to be built. (14.) Bessette said the state already is doing this, noting that the Maine Department of Public Safety operates statewide, yet owns only two towers. Despite the need, such a system may be a tough sell in the Legislature against a backdrop of debates over tax reform, budget gaps and other bond referendums, acknowledged Dick Thompson, the state's chief information officer. He insisted, however, that the existing system is in serious need of upgrading. "We're running out of time," Thompson said after Tuesday's meeting. Commentary 1.) Important to note that the experience with a similar system in Pennsylvania has been to impair interoperability. Their $134M radio system (starting cost!) has "limited bandwidth" which precludes the inclusion of first responders and some county agencies. Without funding for local and county agencies, it appears likely that those agencies least able to upgrade their equipment will be left behind. (See article at the end of this document.) 2.) "It's probably going to cost $40 million to $50 million, maybe a little more than $50 million," This type of statement should scare those with experience deploying complex systems. 20%-25% is not a rounding error... it is serious money. Additionally, this is pared down from an initial $200M+ estimate. 3.) Interoperability has been the #1 concern since 9/11 and is part of the justification for a switch to a digital network. Interoperability exists today in Maine. Common law enforcement frequencies in Maine include: Statewide car to car Regional repeaters exist throughout the State for all law enforcement agencies to coordinate with each other Nationwide car to car and Many regional multi agency channels common fire frequencies include: Statewide fire, and three regional fire frequencies. In a state with almost zero population growth and the possibility of having fewer jurisdictions in 10 years than we have today, how is a digital radio system going to promote more "interoperability" than we have today? It would be helpful if the advocates for a digital network could articulate any existing interoperability problems in Maine. 4.) Even considering compliance with the FCC's mandate to migrate to a narrowband FM system, replacing existing equipment and maintaining basic system architecture could presumably be done for much less than $50M. Use of new technologies leverages existing system while providing cost effective redundancy and security. Case in point: MSP's cellular based connectivity platform that allows troopers to run their own

license checks and send secure messages while freeing up dispatchers. 5.) $50M is probably only a down payment. The delta between $200M and $50M is so great that, at the very least, the full cost of implementation should be understood before any deployment is undertaken and funded. Other states deploying these types of systems have typically run over budget by tens or hundreds of millions of dollars. (CT, PA, NH, MA,) and had years long delays 6.) Canterra overstates the benefits by saying that Maine State Police, Maine Marine Patrol, Maine Fire Marshal's Office, Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (a.k.a. Warden's Service) all have "separate" radio systems. In fact, they all use the state police system. Several of them have their "own" frequencies, but they are users of the MSP owned and maintained radio system. Other state agencies that own and maintain their own systems but would not be included in this proposal include DOT, Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA), and Department of Conservation (Forestry Service) 7.) If the state embarks on this digital adventure, the municipalities will have to upgrade their radios at considerable expense to maintain the interoperability they have today! MEMA's Art Cleaves is correct when he states that many existing local police and fire departments have radios that can add the new frequencies to allow interoperability, and that part of the proposal calls for greater frequency sharing, however, many municipalities do not. Presumably, the municipalities with the least capacity to upgrade would be the ones most adversely affected. Additionally, the rural areas are the ones most likely to be adversely affected by a move from analog to digital. 8.) While co-locating equipment with private operators is generally a good cost saving measure, it only works in those areas where the private sector finds demand adequate to justify the investment in infrastructure. Public safety agencies have a different mandate and must be able to communicate in areas even where there isn't enough population density to justify a new tower site. 9.) Not being able articulate the timeline for implementation or the costs does little to inspire confidence in the full plan. 10.) Turning local frequency licenses over to the state may be good for the state but one wonders what benefits there are for the municipalities. Further, if the state were truly interested in reducing the costs of providing emergency radio service, it would find a way to reduce the number of dispatch centers (PSAPs) from 49 to a more manageable number. (Hint: New Hampshire has two!) 12.) Somerset County has a major fire repeater on Boundary Bald Mountain in Western Somerset County. His radio should have been nailing it with full quieting (mobile) 13.) The current analog VHF system can easily be back-engineered to comply with the new FCC narrow-band requirements. A "digital canopy" is an endless money-sucking black hole that should be termed as it is: BOONDOGGLE. Consider this Maine's version of the "Big Dig". 14. State CIO Thompson also tries to put a happy face on the cost by saying that the state could permit cell phone antennas to be co-located on state towers. His rosy projection overlooks the fact that cell phone companies put their cells where subscribers

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 13

will use them... which is why there is no cell phone tower on Deboullie Mountain. To give a sense of the market, one Maine municipality recently signed a tower lease agreement with a cellular carrier for $1000 per year for 30 years. It would be helpful if Consultant Lane could articulate the assumptions that led him to conclude that enough towers to provide a ubiquitous digital canopy over the state of Maine could be built for $50M. Think about Maine's cellular industry, which, like the system referenced in the article, is a combination of digital and analog systems. Maine's cellular infrastructure is valued in the hundreds of million dollars and you still cannot reliably carry on a conversation traveling I-95. Even with 519,000 subscribers, the private sector has been unable to provide universal, or even reliable coverage along the most heavily traveled thoroughfares in the state. Forget about vast parts of Aroostook, Piscataquis, Somerset, Oxford, Hancock, Washington, N. Penobscot, and the mid-coast region. How many MORE cell towers than what we have now would be required to provide an acceptable level of performance (adequate for public safety purposes) in the rural areas of the state? Connecticut embarked on a similar adventure about 12 years ago. They decided to replace their "out-dated" low-band analog system with a state-of-the-art digital 800 MHz system. Even today, there are still many corners of that state where their trunked digital radio system doesn't work. Let’s see... Connecticut is about half the size of Aroostook County and has 3.5 million people. Their system was cost was up to $100M in 2001 and at that time they were still putting low band radios into their cruisers. I understand that the 2005 CSP cruisers will be the first ones to not have low band radios since the advent of mobile radio. One wonders if cellular usage will jump as VHF Low is phased out. In addition to the state expense for the digital canopy, don't forget the cost of new digital radios (portables and mobiles) for each of the state's user agencies. 2500 units might be a good number to work with here (times a nominal $1000 per unit). Then add each local PD, FD, and ambulance company in the state and you have a nice bill for the local property tax payers, too. This does NOT include the many First Responders and local, volunteer firefighters who would not be able to "comply" with the gilded "digital canopy." Public safety personnel now have a 95% coverage rate for radio communications throughout the State of Maine. Motorola could only guarantee a 75% coverage area. Hmmmmm. Mainers pride themselves in being independent and free-thinking. Hopefully, taxpayers will smell this catastrophically foolhardy concept for just what it is: A SKUNK. That's it for now, folks. The next issue will be more light-hearted, with a list of specifications for the "ideal dream scanner", as well as updates on frequencies and PL/DPL's. Everyone is encouraged to join the SCAN-ME list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ScanMe/join Best to all and God Bless America. Let us keep supporting our troops! Loren Fields, N1UMF

OREGON Jeff Newton

c/o Scanner Digest POB 207 Jamison PA 18929

newton@efn.org

Here is the remainder of the construction photos of Eugene Station 1. Photos courtesy Jeff Newton.

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 14

VIRGINIA Rob Turner

c/o Scanner Digest POB 207

Jamison PA 18929-0207 rctact@comcast.net

Sorry no column this issue.

SOUTHERN NEW JERSEY Wanted Column Editor Lower's Rambling Public Safety Center Dwarfs Police, Courts By: By JACK FICHTER ERMA — A report prepared for Lower Township called the 50,000-square-foot public safety building at the county airport, “under utilized, very expensive to maintain, poorly designed and very public unfriendly.” The report said 10,000 square feet would be sufficient to meet the needs of the police department rather than nearly 39,000 square feet the department currently uses. A space utilization report, prepared by VHE Group of Millville, recommended returning the police department to the township’s municipal complex on Bayshore Road, Villas. Prior to 1995, the police department occupied a 4,200-square-foot building next to township hall presently occupied by planning, zoning and construction offices. Former police areas remain intact in that building and could easily be utilized, according to the report. It notes the construction offices have excessive space which could be reduced to 1,000 feet or less. The report recommends connecting township hall and construction office, adding an addition to the building, and purchasing an adjacent lot for a total of about $5 million. Since the public safety building was purchased from the county for $100,000 in 1995, the township spent $4 million on the facility which included heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical repairs and the installation of a new roof, according to Township Manager Kathy McPherson. The report notes additional funds are contemplated to upgrade and maintain the building. The building also houses the municipal court, Emergency Medical Service and fire inspectors. According to Herald archives, the building was part of a World War II military base and once housed tanks and other weapons. The current arrangement of the building includes 10 interviews rooms, seven conference rooms with 16 additional conference rooms and offices and 12 restrooms. A total of 12 detective areas include “juvenile, interview and back entrances.” The report calls the building “unfriendly to the public,” with a lack of convenient parking and no direct public transportation. It questions how much a 14,750-square-foot, heated garage inside the building is utilized. “During several visits, we observed with the exception of one or two police cars and some recovered property, this area was empty and not being utilized for any specific purpose,” reads the report. Lack of professional planning is highlighted. “The township did not engage any outside professional individuals with expertise in public safety to offer an assessment of proper space utilization or design,” said the report. While 71 people are assigned to the police department, less than 20 can be expected to occupy the building at one time. McPherson said 20 employees was a “high number.” “A survey of county police departments found that no other department occupied this kind of space anywhere in the county,” reads the report.

In comparison, Ocean City, with a summer population of 200,000, has a police headquarters occupying 20,000 square feet less space. Lower Township Police Chief John Maher told the Herald the department’s location had little influence on its ability to do an “efficient and effective job.” “We’ll go where we are told to go,” he said. Maher said space in the previous building was small for a growing police department, “but then we went to someplace with more space than we know what to do with.” Electric bills in the public safety building run as high as $6,000 per month with an annual natural gas bill of $25,000. The report suggests reuses for the public safety building: • Both Lower Cape May Regional and Lower Township school boards move their administrative offices into the building and sell their current facilities with garage used for bus maintenance. • Alternative school site. • Use for a centralized county emergency dispatch communications center. • Reduce police use to 15,000 square- feet incorporating zone

heating and air conditioning. Establish and house a county SWAT Team in garage area. Unused space used to store records.

• Place building under state control or sell to private entity. McPherson said Lower Township and Lower Cape May Regional school district superintendents toured the building but have not offered comment. Moving all township offices to the public safety building is not an option, she said. Consolidating police into a portion of the building with zoned climate control and additional record storage in the facility was one workable solution, said McPherson. She said parts of the building will still be unused. Maher said security concerns could exist if the police department remained in the public safety building in a smaller space with other parts of the building used by other tenants.

NORTHERN NEW JERSEY Justin Mattes KC2GIK 10 Carnot Avenue

Woodcliff Lake NJ 07677 Jaymatt1978@excite.com www.bergenscanner.com

We start this month with some new interoperability frequencies. It seems with the recent focus on homeland security there has been a moved towards having different departments have the ability to communicate with each other. The FCC has designated a set of frequencies on the VHF and UHF bands to be used only when agencies are working together. 151.1375 VTAC 1 154.4525 VTAC 2 158.7375 VTAC 3 159.4725 VTAC 4 453.2125 U CALL 453.4625 UTAC 1 453.7125 UTAC 2 453.8625 UTAC 3 458.2125 U CALL INPUT 458.4625 UTAC 1 INPUT 458.7125 UTAC 2 INPUT 458.8625 UTAC 3 INPUT

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 15

USCG CHANGES As of 1 Jan 05, USCG communications will no longer be authorized on 381.8. The US Coast Guard freq setup will include the following: Ops Primary 345.000 Ops Secondary 237.900 Air-Ground Working, Primary 326.150 Air-Ground Working, Secondary 379.050 Republican National Convent at Madison Square Garden As you know this past summer the Republican National Convention was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City. I was fortunate enough to know someone who was working on the floor on Madison Square Garden. He was able to come up with these frequencies. The five frequencies are good for any events at the Garden, so pop them in the next time you go to- a sporting event! Freq Description PL

464.8250 Security D466

464.6750 Operations D466

464.4250 Catering(500's) D466

464.9750 Electrical Dept D466

464.5250 used inside MSG D466

457.9250 RNC Main Ops D754

451.2000 RNC "runteams" D754

456.2750 RNC "runteams" signs D743

New Jersey Scanner Enthusiasts http://www.scan-nj.com There’s a new monitoring group that covers the entire state of New Jersey from Sussex County down to Cape May County. Even though there are plenty of scanning e-mail groups and websites for the state, New Jersey lacked in the “scanner group” department, until now. Larry Morin from Middlesex County has gotten scanner buffs around the State together to meet once a month at various shopping malls to talk about scanning, frequencies and just meet some good folks. This month we met at Paramus Park where I got to show off my new Bearcat 246T! We also exchanged so good stories and had a few laughs. We travel across the state and are planning to be at the Readington Airshow this coming July. If you are interested in this group go to the website or drop me an e-mail at: jaymatt1978@optonline.net That just about does it from the Garden State, it’s after midnight and I have to get some sleep! Please drop me an e-mail of you would like to see something appear in this column! Until next time, Justin

www.Strongsignals.net

#1 SCANNING REFERENCE SITE

Welcome to the Internet's largest and most active web site

devoted to the hobby of radio monitoring! To the layman it would probably be better known as 'scanning' but around here we have

much broader horizons. This is the #1 informative web site pertaining to the ‘scanning’ hobby throughout the world.

http://www.strongsignals.net

PHILADELPHIA AREA COMMUNICATIONS GUIDE

The Philadelphia Area Communications Guide is a dynamic electronic book in Abobe Acrobat format. With this e-book you can view all chapters online,

download them to your computer, or print them out. Chapters will be continually updated to reflect the fast-changing world of public safety radio communications

in the Delaware Valley.

The guide is perfect for communications professionals, emergency management coordinators, volunteer

organizations, news gathering companies, and anyone else who strives for the best. Click on the link below to

view sample pages.

http://www.scannermaster.com/products/ books/dynamic/sample_pages.html

“The # 1 source for accurate scanner frequency

listings for the Philadelphia Metro area.” Lou Campagna, Publisher Scanner Digest Newsletter

WESTERN MARYLAND NEWS Jason Grabill

10524 Stull Road Frederick MD 21702

zebra305@earthlink.net

Sorry no column this issue.

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 16

PA-SitRep

PA-SitRep, formed in May, 2001, is a non-commercial project attempting to bring all forms of communications together to better inform the people of Pennsylvania of emergency communication and emergency situations in and about the Commonwealth of PA. In addition to providing Emergency Communications information for all the Counties throughout the State, PA-SitRep administers an Emergency Alert E-Mail System catering to the users of Cell Phones, Alpha-numeric Pagers and PDA's as well as regular e-mail. Our Emergency Alert System is NOT an incident reporting system. List volume is very low as posts to the list (of our over 600 subscribers) are strictly limited to MAJOR Emergency Situation Reports (sitreps) relating to Pennsylvania. PA-SitRep has formed a group of PA-SitRep Contacts, most of whom are Amateur Radio Operators and or Scanner Enthusiasts. PA-SitRep Contacts are asked to make available their contact information for the PA-SitRep Contact web page and monitor public service frequencies in their area. In the event of a MAJOR emergency situation, we attempt to contact PA-SitRep Contacts for emergency situation reports. PA-SitRep Contacts are also asked to post developing or major emergency situation reports to a secondary reporting e-mail list which, in addition to general discussion, is used for monitoring developing emergency situations. When warranted, specially authorized PA-SitRep Administrators move the Emergency Situation Reports to our main Emergency Alert list where the Situation Report is distributed to over 600 subscribers throughout the state of Pennsylvania. PA-SitRep Contacts are encouraged (but not required) to have secondary means of communications such as Amateur Radio (UHF/VHF, HF and or Echolink) or SMS (short message service via cell phone, PDA or 2 way pager). The ultimate goal with PA-SitRep is to build a significant enough network of Contacts throughout Pennsylvania to provide rapid emergency situation reporting service, free of charge, to any interested served agencies, much in the same way that the SKYWARN organization provides weather situation reports for the National Weather Service. The PA-SitRep project is still in it's early stages of development, but with now over 50 registered PA-SitRep Contacts and a fairly extensive website, things are starting to take shape as the organization moves forward. Any individuals, or groups, interested in volunteering as PA-SitRep Contacts are welcome to visit the www.PA-SitRep.com website for more information. Or you may contact me directly via e-mail at owner@pa-sitrep.com or by phone at 412-720-0210. -David Kleber, KB3FXI www.PA-SitRep.com

My name is Ken Sprouse and my amateur radio call sign is WA3FKG. If you are in the Pittsburgh area, please join us on Sunday evenings at 21:00 hours local time for the Pittsburgh Area Scanner Net. We are a group of ham radio operators that enjoy this aspect of the radio hobby and like to get together to on the air to discuss scanning and anything related to scanning. We meet on the North Hills Amateur Radio Club's 147.090 repeater. We discuss equipment, antennas, public safety and business radio systems, software, trunking and anything else that we deem related to the hobby. We have had several good nets talking about scanning railroad frequencies and I have learned a lot about the communications system used by the railroads. Many of the people that check in are also involved in firefighting or emergency medical services so we find ourselves talking about things like Code 3 Collectibles. If you are not licensed program 147.09 into your scanner and listen in. If you wish to participate you can send email to wa3fkg@arrl.net with questions or comments on the net. Feel free to suggest topics that you would like to hear discussed on the net. One of the reasons that I have made this a formal net that meets each week is that I have been contacted by a number of scanner listeners who are interested in getting their amateur radio license. Once they find out just how easy it is and that you no longer have to take a mores code test many have joined the ranks. At least three of the people that I started out communicating with by email now check into the net and I talk with them on the air. We also plan to organize some events this summer. We have had some round table sessions at a local King's restaurant on a few occasions and plan to have more. We had a table at the Wireless Association of South Hills club ham fest (The WASH Fest) and got to meet many scanner users. We will have a table at the upcoming Breeze Shooters ham fest in Butler PA on June 1st 2003. If you are in the area stop in and say "Hello". For more details on the hamfest check out this web page. http://www.breezeshooters.net/hamfest/hamfest.htm I would also like to have a "scanner" picnic sometime this summer where we can get the families together have some fun and bring our portable scanners. So come and join in on the fun. Drop me a note in the mail or better yet check in on the net. You can also get some details on the scanner net at: http://www.qsl.net/wa3fkg Hope to hear from you. ---- Ken/WA3FKG

SCANNER DIGEST NEWSLETTER – ISSUE 31 PAGE 17

ScannerDigest Newsletter

Welcome to the Scanner Digest Newsletter! We’re currently publishing a bi-monthly e-magazine containing information for the scanner hobbyist. If it can be monitored on a scanner, we’ll attempt to cover it from 30 to 1300 MHz and beyond! Our purpose is to produce a newsletter to facilitate the exchange of information pertaining to the various services covered by a typical scanner radio. Dedicated regional column editors make up the heart of this publication. The Scanner Digest Newsletter is not responsible for the accuracy or consequences incurred regarding the use of information listed in this publication. Since the purpose of this newsletter is to provide a platform for the submission and exchange of radio communication information, it thus becomes impossible to deem all contents as accurate. The very nature of radio licensing and usage makes it difficult to verify the accuracy of the information contained within. Generally information listed within the pages of the newsletter are derived from multiply sources including current FCC files, hobbyists and those directly involved with various public safety agencies. Scanner Digest’s policy has been not to limit or edit the individual columns submitted, unless we deem the information sensitive in nature which may jeopardize the safety of the parties involved. Only in this case will we edit out this type of input. (Example: We will not publish the frequencies used by a law enforcement surveillance team.) Naturally the comments of the various column editors are not necessarily the views and opinions of the Scanner Digest Newsletter. All materials, maps, information, photographs submitted to a regional column editor or to Scanner Digest directly, become sole property of the Scanner Digest Newsletter. We encourage and will make every effort to give proper credit to all submissions. All contents within are copyrighted. 2003

Subscription Information Subscriptions are acknowledged via email or standard USPS mail Currently Scanner Digest Newsletter produces six (6) issues per year but plan to be a monthly publication in the very near future. Newsletters will be emailed to subscribers to via an attachment. The attached document will be in the popular Adobe Acrobat PDF file. A free version of the Acrobat Reader is available from, www.adobe.com. By accepting these terms you are made aware of the consequences of opening such attachments. We will scan each outgoing email with an anti-virus tool to minimize any possibility of transmitting an infectious message. Email inquiries send to: ScannerDigest@usa.com For those who are not email or computer accessible we offer an alternative option in which we will print out a copy of the current issue of the newsletter and have it mailed via USPS (first-class). We will provide this service for a limited time only. We have the right to terminate this option at any time. For each issue requested please included $1.90 for laser printing and 60¢ for postage and send a $2.50 check or money order to the address listed below. Make check (U.S. $) payable to: “Lou Campagna” Mail to: ScannerDigest Newsletter

POB 207 Jamison PA 18929-0207