Definitely not, also on FIRST or Central Maryland Area Regional Communications Committee (CMARC) Trunking System, Various, Maryland
Here's some history.
Central Maryland Area Regional Communications Committee (CMARC) - The RadioReference Wiki
First Responders Interoperable Radio System Team (FIRST) Trunking System, Various, Multi-State
First Responders Interoperable Radio System Team (FIRST) Trunking System Profile
www.radioreference.com
CMARC devolved into more or less a Harford Co TRS. FIRST overlays Harford Co.
That's the short version,
BWI emergency resources have radios that can communicate on their trunking system, the Anne Arundel trunking system, and FIRST.
CMARC was developed using federal interoperability grants, but was not designed for robust on-street coverage for routine use. Harford County enhanced their CMARC site by adding their 800MHz channel resources and tower sites to create a portable on-street system, transforming it for everyday public safety use. Note that FIRST and CMARC share some tower resources in Harford County, but are entirely seperate systems (although they may share some backhaul resources.)Here's some history.
You could say CMARC came first, with great expectations for future expansion that didn't happen.Central Maryland Area Regional Communications Committee (CMARC) - The RadioReference Wiki
wiki.radioreference.com
FIRST came later and won the war.First Responders Interoperable Radio System Team (FIRST) Trunking System, Various, Multi-State
First Responders Interoperable Radio System Team (FIRST) Trunking System Profilewww.radioreference.com
CMARC devolved into more or less a Harford Co TRS. FIRST overlays Harford Co.
That's the short version,
During the summers from 1966 - 1976, I spent much of the time helping my Dad, who was asst mgr of Buttonwood beach (along the Elk river) cutting grass & collecting trash from the campers & listening to my Realistic Pro 2 & Astronaut 6, Regency 10ch mobile scanner, and CB radio. Here are some freqs I monitored:
046.180 Cecil Co fire dispatch
046.140 FD F3
046.260 FD East
046.400 FD West
046.540 FD F2
154.280 Elkton FD
039.900 Elkton Sheriff
155.790 Elkton PD
151.415 Elk Neck State Park
039.100 MD State Police - Statewide
039.840 MD State Police - NE barracks "F"(80's +)
039.340 MD State Police - NE barracks "F" (60's/70's)
033.980 Kent Co (Galena ambulance response to Cecil Co)
156.800 CG station Still Pond CH16
156.650 WUB33 Marine CH13 C&D canal ops
I hope they did a path study, cause that's rough territory out there!
Issues with third party communication applications was identified as a cybersecurity threat vector to the FIRST system back in September. An interim policy has been published than essentially forbids their use:
"MD FiRST Interim Policy for Use of Third-Party Communications Interconnection Technologies
There has been a proliferation of third-party communications interconnection technologies that
allows radio users to connect with cell phones or other radio networks. The unauthorized use of
third-party communications interconnection technology systems on Maryland FiRST can have
a disproportionate impact to the capacity of the Maryland FiRST system and presents a
potential cyber security vulnerability that has not been evaluated.
As an action item from the September 20, 2023, meeting of the Statewide Interoperability
Radio Control Board, the following interim policy is issued concerning the use of third-party
Communications Interconnection Technologies with the Maryland FiRST public safety radio
system:
No third-party communications interconnection technology systems, except for the current
Smart Connect/Critical Connect pilots, may be connected to, or otherwise configured to
operate with the Maryland FiRST public safety radio system.
This interim policy applies to all primary, limited primary and interoperability users of the
Maryland FiRST statewide public safety communications system.
Third-party interconnection technologies are defined as: A product whose purpose is to allow
connections to Maryland FiRST RF or network resources; originating outside of the MD FiRST
network, or otherwise not originating from a subscriber radio. Examples include: FirstNet
“mission critical” push to talk, Wave (standalone/not a part of MD FiRST CC Pilot), Cisco Instant
Connect, Tango-Tango, Verizon PTT+, Active 911, ESChat, etc. Should there be any questions as
to what qualifies as a third-party interconnection technology, please contact the Maryland
FiRST team for resolution.
This interim policy remains in effect until the Statewide Interoperability Radio Control Board
approves a formal Standard Operating Policy (SOP). When approved, the SOP will contain a
process for the review, evaluation, and approval of third-party interconnection technologies on
Maryland FiRST. Also, the MD FiRST team is conducting two pilots with Smart Connect and
Critical Connect that will provide an enterprise-wide capability for communications
interconnections. Any user agencies that would like to participate in these pilots please contact
the Maryland FiRST team.
Please ensure this interim policy is passed down to all MD FiRST user agencies within your
jurisdiction.
Very respectfully,
Norm Farley
Director of the Statewide Interoperability Radio Control Board"
"MD FiRST Interim Policy for Use of Third-Party Communications Interconnection Technologies
There has been a proliferation of third-party communications interconnection technologies that
allows radio users to connect with cell phones or other radio networks. The unauthorized use of
third-party communications interconnection technology systems on Maryland FiRST can have
a disproportionate impact to the capacity of the Maryland FiRST system and presents a
potential cyber security vulnerability that has not been evaluated.
As an action item from the September 20, 2023, meeting of the Statewide Interoperability
Radio Control Board, the following interim policy is issued concerning the use of third-party
Communications Interconnection Technologies with the Maryland FiRST public safety radio
system:
No third-party communications interconnection technology systems, except for the current
Smart Connect/Critical Connect pilots, may be connected to, or otherwise configured to
operate with the Maryland FiRST public safety radio system.
This interim policy applies to all primary, limited primary and interoperability users of the
Maryland FiRST statewide public safety communications system.
Third-party interconnection technologies are defined as: A product whose purpose is to allow
connections to Maryland FiRST RF or network resources; originating outside of the MD FiRST
network, or otherwise not originating from a subscriber radio. Examples include: FirstNet
“mission critical” push to talk, Wave (standalone/not a part of MD FiRST CC Pilot), Cisco Instant
Connect, Tango-Tango, Verizon PTT+, Active 911, ESChat, etc. Should there be any questions as
to what qualifies as a third-party interconnection technology, please contact the Maryland
FiRST team for resolution.
This interim policy remains in effect until the Statewide Interoperability Radio Control Board
approves a formal Standard Operating Policy (SOP). When approved, the SOP will contain a
process for the review, evaluation, and approval of third-party interconnection technologies on
Maryland FiRST. Also, the MD FiRST team is conducting two pilots with Smart Connect and
Critical Connect that will provide an enterprise-wide capability for communications
interconnections. Any user agencies that would like to participate in these pilots please contact
the Maryland FiRST team.
Please ensure this interim policy is passed down to all MD FiRST user agencies within your
jurisdiction.
Very respectfully,
Norm Farley
Director of the Statewide Interoperability Radio Control Board"
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2017
- Messages
- 56
One of their newer products:
Introducing ActiveComms - Active911
ActiveComms lets users listen and respond to radio chatter over your Agency radio from the ActiveAlert app wherever they have cellular service.
active911.com
Probably this: ActiveComms - Active911
Notes from yesterday's RCB Meeting:
Limited Primary User Applications:
- US DHHS: 2 tgs for coordination of its disaster response mission set. 100 SUs. Approved.
- US DHS CISA: 1 tg for COOP / PACE resiliency (enc of course; this is CISA, lol)). CISA already has access to all NCR radio systems. Stated that IWIN doesn't work very well. 20 SUs. Approved.
- WSSC: 1 tg for coordination, but I got the impression that they want to operate on this tg primarily, rather than their 2 separate tgs on the MC and PG systems (which apparently are patched together). It seems to make sense as they operate in MC, PG and HoCo. 25 SUs. Approved.
- NCRCIG: The Communications Interoperability Group maintains a regional cache of 1,200 radios, portable BDAs and several SOWs that are available upon request to support contingencies in Region 20. FIRST will be testing one of the SOWs this spring. Requesting 1 tg for their techs, 100 SUs. Approved.
---
MoM - Manager of Managers software initiative. The FIRST system leverages infrastructure from jurisdictions and agencies throughout Maryland, and also owns its own equipment. The MoM will be a software "dashboard" that combines data from different management software packages used by all the players into a single view that can be accessed from a browser or front-end.
---
The current sole-source system maintenance contract with Motorola ends in November 2025, coinciding with the implementation of the MPLS backhaul network conversion. The state intends to have a new mx contract(s) in place by spring of that year. Note that there may be multiple contracts with multiple vendors - awaiting the inevitable responsibility finger-pointing...
---
Likely will be adding channel capacity at several sites as there has been a large increase in PPTs as a consequence of Zone 5 going live. 116K RIDs authorized on the system.
---
Staging for the MPLS backhaul equipment was completed in a warehouse in NC, and is being shipped to a FIRST warehouse in Baltimore County. This is where all the equipment was hooked together and tested for performance and compatibility (minus real-world paths). The NC warehouse lacked the electrical power to run Zones 1 and 3 at the same time, thus the Zones were tested seperately.
---
MSP has completed 2 of 6 barracks console installs needed to move their operations completely to FIRST. The completed barracks are LaPlata and Leonardtown. I'm guessing that Rockville, College Park, Forestville (or perhaps another barrack), and Prince Frederick remain, to be completed in early 2024.
---
Coverage improvement Program. FY2023: Sang Run scheduled to complete January 2024; Davidsonville and Greenbriar State Park in December 2023 - before Christmas. The Elmer School Road site has been dropped for now. A new Oakland site will be developed instead, also on an existing tower site.
FY2024: Patapsco State Park (greenfield) - planning phase. Queenstown SHA (greenfield) - planning phase, but may need to be re-sited. Looking for alternate real estate. Cumberland (greenfield) - planning phase. Located a site adjacent to I-68 that has a good "view" of the city. DC ASR is funded by a MWCOG Grant, working with DC peeps to get access for installation, hopefully to be completed by next Inaguration.
FY2025: Barton (Allegany); New Germany State Park - West (Garrett); Fire Station 30 (Cabin John VFD); St. Michaels (Talbot).
FY2026: Bretton Woods (Montgomery), Burtonsville (Montgomery), Accident (Garrett).
FY2027: Ourisman (Car dealer?, lol), New Germany State Park - East (Allegany), Harvey Gummel (Carroll).
Future / TBD: Charles, St. Mary's Dorchester, Flintstone (I already though there was a site here?), Montgomery County - West (replaces Elmer School Road.)
BDAs: FY2024: Talbot / Cordova ES. Two fire stations in Kent County that are having issues with simulcast distortion.
Geo-redundant Prime Sites. FY2024: Baltimore County. FY2025: Anne Arundel County.
Fiber. Ideally there should be two network paths to each tower site for resiliency. Some of these redundant paths were not constructed to save money, to be added at a later date when funding became available. FY2024: Cherrytown from MD97; Assateague to Ocean City; Denton to Federalsburg. FY2025: Sudlersville to Massey to Galena. Carole Highlands. Kent EOC to Still Pond. Mt. Savage.
---
FIRST infrastructure uses lots of batteries and lots of batteries need replacement.
___
The Dundalk MPA site is experiencing interference from an unknown source at tower top level, but is not observed at ground level. The FCC brought out their fancy monitoring truck but could not pinpoint the source. FIRST is considering a tower climber to go up with test equipment. In the meantime, some adjustments to site equipment were made to mitigate affects on the system. They will also replace site antennas to rule them out as a cause. Antennas are designed to last 15 - 20 years; these are about 12 years old.
---
Coverage issue in Baltimore. Apparently back in early fall there was an coverage issue with the Baltimore cell and MTA tunnels - the tunnels have BDAs that use leaky cables to distribute RF. There were reports of pockets of simulcast distortion that started above ground and later extended into the tunnels. The issue was traced to a bad TRAK GPS at one of the subsites that caused a timing issue. The GPS unit's status indicators did not show a fault nor did it trip an alarm. Motorola is investigating.
---
St. Michalels interference. The FCC did observe the interference and is soliciting more data / reports from those who experience the issue. The initial cause was traced to a BWC that transmits data over cellular data in a band space adjacent to the PS 700 band.
Limited Primary User Applications:
- US DHHS: 2 tgs for coordination of its disaster response mission set. 100 SUs. Approved.
- US DHS CISA: 1 tg for COOP / PACE resiliency (enc of course; this is CISA, lol)). CISA already has access to all NCR radio systems. Stated that IWIN doesn't work very well. 20 SUs. Approved.
- WSSC: 1 tg for coordination, but I got the impression that they want to operate on this tg primarily, rather than their 2 separate tgs on the MC and PG systems (which apparently are patched together). It seems to make sense as they operate in MC, PG and HoCo. 25 SUs. Approved.
- NCRCIG: The Communications Interoperability Group maintains a regional cache of 1,200 radios, portable BDAs and several SOWs that are available upon request to support contingencies in Region 20. FIRST will be testing one of the SOWs this spring. Requesting 1 tg for their techs, 100 SUs. Approved.
---
MoM - Manager of Managers software initiative. The FIRST system leverages infrastructure from jurisdictions and agencies throughout Maryland, and also owns its own equipment. The MoM will be a software "dashboard" that combines data from different management software packages used by all the players into a single view that can be accessed from a browser or front-end.
---
The current sole-source system maintenance contract with Motorola ends in November 2025, coinciding with the implementation of the MPLS backhaul network conversion. The state intends to have a new mx contract(s) in place by spring of that year. Note that there may be multiple contracts with multiple vendors - awaiting the inevitable responsibility finger-pointing...
---
Likely will be adding channel capacity at several sites as there has been a large increase in PPTs as a consequence of Zone 5 going live. 116K RIDs authorized on the system.
---
Staging for the MPLS backhaul equipment was completed in a warehouse in NC, and is being shipped to a FIRST warehouse in Baltimore County. This is where all the equipment was hooked together and tested for performance and compatibility (minus real-world paths). The NC warehouse lacked the electrical power to run Zones 1 and 3 at the same time, thus the Zones were tested seperately.
---
MSP has completed 2 of 6 barracks console installs needed to move their operations completely to FIRST. The completed barracks are LaPlata and Leonardtown. I'm guessing that Rockville, College Park, Forestville (or perhaps another barrack), and Prince Frederick remain, to be completed in early 2024.
---
Coverage improvement Program. FY2023: Sang Run scheduled to complete January 2024; Davidsonville and Greenbriar State Park in December 2023 - before Christmas. The Elmer School Road site has been dropped for now. A new Oakland site will be developed instead, also on an existing tower site.
FY2024: Patapsco State Park (greenfield) - planning phase. Queenstown SHA (greenfield) - planning phase, but may need to be re-sited. Looking for alternate real estate. Cumberland (greenfield) - planning phase. Located a site adjacent to I-68 that has a good "view" of the city. DC ASR is funded by a MWCOG Grant, working with DC peeps to get access for installation, hopefully to be completed by next Inaguration.
FY2025: Barton (Allegany); New Germany State Park - West (Garrett); Fire Station 30 (Cabin John VFD); St. Michaels (Talbot).
FY2026: Bretton Woods (Montgomery), Burtonsville (Montgomery), Accident (Garrett).
FY2027: Ourisman (Car dealer?, lol), New Germany State Park - East (Allegany), Harvey Gummel (Carroll).
Future / TBD: Charles, St. Mary's Dorchester, Flintstone (I already though there was a site here?), Montgomery County - West (replaces Elmer School Road.)
BDAs: FY2024: Talbot / Cordova ES. Two fire stations in Kent County that are having issues with simulcast distortion.
Geo-redundant Prime Sites. FY2024: Baltimore County. FY2025: Anne Arundel County.
Fiber. Ideally there should be two network paths to each tower site for resiliency. Some of these redundant paths were not constructed to save money, to be added at a later date when funding became available. FY2024: Cherrytown from MD97; Assateague to Ocean City; Denton to Federalsburg. FY2025: Sudlersville to Massey to Galena. Carole Highlands. Kent EOC to Still Pond. Mt. Savage.
---
FIRST infrastructure uses lots of batteries and lots of batteries need replacement.
___
The Dundalk MPA site is experiencing interference from an unknown source at tower top level, but is not observed at ground level. The FCC brought out their fancy monitoring truck but could not pinpoint the source. FIRST is considering a tower climber to go up with test equipment. In the meantime, some adjustments to site equipment were made to mitigate affects on the system. They will also replace site antennas to rule them out as a cause. Antennas are designed to last 15 - 20 years; these are about 12 years old.
---
Coverage issue in Baltimore. Apparently back in early fall there was an coverage issue with the Baltimore cell and MTA tunnels - the tunnels have BDAs that use leaky cables to distribute RF. There were reports of pockets of simulcast distortion that started above ground and later extended into the tunnels. The issue was traced to a bad TRAK GPS at one of the subsites that caused a timing issue. The GPS unit's status indicators did not show a fault nor did it trip an alarm. Motorola is investigating.
---
St. Michalels interference. The FCC did observe the interference and is soliciting more data / reports from those who experience the issue. The initial cause was traced to a BWC that transmits data over cellular data in a band space adjacent to the PS 700 band.
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Thank you for the update. Sounds like they do have their hands full with some issues that are popping up. I wonder who is the one that assigns the P25 ID for federal agencies that want access to it. That is one system I would not mind doing some volunteer work for.
The FIRST Worcester / Somerset simulcast site must have lost a subsite yesterday morning sometime between 9am and 10am. I'm not sure if it was scheduled or not, but I lost useful connectivity with the site, although I could see a faint trace at the control channel frequency. That suggests to me that the Berlin subsite went down for a time as that site is closest to my office. All went back to normal before 10am.
Hmm just how many offices do you have??? Right now it is 32 outside and for the past couple of days, I have heard MSP BK N Rockville on the montgomery first site system as well as montgomery at the time. I guess somewhere there is a patch in play..
