drivinflyin
Member
I finally got back from DC! Wheeew, what a crazy and fun trip it was. I drove down from Toledo, OH at 8pm Monday night and got to the Gaithersburg Metro station by 3:30am Tuesday. I got my first Fed freq (immigration) about 75 miles from DC and they began to get more frequent the closer I got to DC.
Everything went smoothly into DC, but it got a bit confusing. I ended up standing for 4 hours in a line to get through the metal detectors. This was cold and tedious, but a great time to listen to the scanner.
I don't have a Pro-106 yet, but I wish I had. I mostly used my Pro-96, but also used my Pro-95 as well. I heard so many comms, it's hard to go back a remember it all. Most of the primary SS freqs--Able, Baker, Charlie, Oscar, Sierra, Tango, November and Whiskey were busy, but 98% encrypted. There were plenty of open air coms on other SS freqs, mostly of generic nature relating to door and window closures and other generalized tactical coms.
I heard open air stuff from ICE, WHCA, SS, UDSS, FBI, Imigration, FCC, BATF, DEA, US Marshalls, Natl Parks and of course the MPD, DCFD. Many of the other fed freqs could have been used tactically by other agents. The media 450-455's were all filled with action. The best one was the ABC producer manically calling out what live action cameras to actually be seen during the inauguration. FRS were on overload, WMATA was busy. I never heard anything from the DOD trunked system, CIA, Pentagon.
Once past the metal detectors, I finally saw the parade route lined with police from everywhere across the US and all US military branches. The security was soooo tight. They locked the perimeter around the mall down and made little inner mazes to keep it very confusing and difficult to come and go. I ultimately went to the mall, where if I had done my homework first, I would have NOT had to spend 4 hours waiting to go through the security. It was still worth it and I got to see the parade route early, but I didn't want to wait from 9:30 am to 2:30 for the parade, so I wandered around the mall which was PACKED with people. There were plenty of loud speakers and large monitors to watch all the inauguration activities take place.
The overall vibe of the whole event was good. I ended up staying awake for 36 hours! The scanning was awesome. I did let a few people listen in just to hear what it sounded like. It would have been nice to have a fellow scanner geek come along to team up. We'll have to see what happens for the next innuaguration. Let's hope OpenSky and ProVoice have a scanner by then!
I wish I would have brought my digital recorder to record a bunch of it. The entire experience was very surreal and intense and the largest group of people I have ever been with. I can't wait to do it again!
Take care,
Scott
KB8QZG
Everything went smoothly into DC, but it got a bit confusing. I ended up standing for 4 hours in a line to get through the metal detectors. This was cold and tedious, but a great time to listen to the scanner.
I don't have a Pro-106 yet, but I wish I had. I mostly used my Pro-96, but also used my Pro-95 as well. I heard so many comms, it's hard to go back a remember it all. Most of the primary SS freqs--Able, Baker, Charlie, Oscar, Sierra, Tango, November and Whiskey were busy, but 98% encrypted. There were plenty of open air coms on other SS freqs, mostly of generic nature relating to door and window closures and other generalized tactical coms.
I heard open air stuff from ICE, WHCA, SS, UDSS, FBI, Imigration, FCC, BATF, DEA, US Marshalls, Natl Parks and of course the MPD, DCFD. Many of the other fed freqs could have been used tactically by other agents. The media 450-455's were all filled with action. The best one was the ABC producer manically calling out what live action cameras to actually be seen during the inauguration. FRS were on overload, WMATA was busy. I never heard anything from the DOD trunked system, CIA, Pentagon.
Once past the metal detectors, I finally saw the parade route lined with police from everywhere across the US and all US military branches. The security was soooo tight. They locked the perimeter around the mall down and made little inner mazes to keep it very confusing and difficult to come and go. I ultimately went to the mall, where if I had done my homework first, I would have NOT had to spend 4 hours waiting to go through the security. It was still worth it and I got to see the parade route early, but I didn't want to wait from 9:30 am to 2:30 for the parade, so I wandered around the mall which was PACKED with people. There were plenty of loud speakers and large monitors to watch all the inauguration activities take place.
The overall vibe of the whole event was good. I ended up staying awake for 36 hours! The scanning was awesome. I did let a few people listen in just to hear what it sounded like. It would have been nice to have a fellow scanner geek come along to team up. We'll have to see what happens for the next innuaguration. Let's hope OpenSky and ProVoice have a scanner by then!
I wish I would have brought my digital recorder to record a bunch of it. The entire experience was very surreal and intense and the largest group of people I have ever been with. I can't wait to do it again!
Take care,
Scott
KB8QZG
