Currently, the physical sites that provide coverage in eastern Montgomery County are the ICC Georgia Ave site which is part of the Montgomery cell, and the College Park and Carole Highlands sites which are part of the Prince Georges cell. In the future, the DC ASR site will enhance the coverage at the close-in Maryland suburban areas, and there are plans to add more sites to the Montgomery cell. The HP-2 radio is not particularly good at receiving simulcast systems, so that is part of your reception issues. I suggest getting a professional grade receiver like a Unication G4/G5 which is superior to scanners in terms of simulcast reception.
ThePhotoGuy
Member
VRU North & Central went live overnight with users. It now moves Vehicle Recovery & Courtesy Patrols activities onto separate talkgroups from MDTAP Main Channels.
At about 1:47pm today, all lanes in both directions of the Lane (Bay) Bridge were closed due to a report of a ship out-of-control. This created a bit of a backup on Route 50. In the end, the ship made it under the bridge without colliding with it, lol. Unclear if the ship was actually out of control, but bridge traffic reopened a little after 2:00pm. I was in the backup just west of the Sandy Point overpass sitting on 50 eastbound. The audio of the incident was on the MDTA Lane Bridge tg and is available on openmhz and likely Broadcastify.
Some agencies are still using 44.74 and 47.66, heard them today transporting someone to Shock Trauma.
They are patched to the State system 24X7, you may only hear units when the 44.74 or 47.66 voter is steered to a tower near you! Again it is low band simplex so YMMV on where you can hear it and again if the site near you is voted or the unit is in the air near you!
MTA is a state agency under MDOT, Mobility goes out to the counties all the time. To this day I have no idea how they map out the TGs.
Notes from last week's RCB meeting:
New Interop Partner: Bedford County, PA. They have about 200 TDMA subscribers. This will benefit FMA responses into Allegany and Washington counties and specifically Hyndman VFC.
Caroline simulcast cell busies caused by Delaware fire company FDMA radios.
System usage up mainly due to MIEMSS increased usage of 700MHz talkgroups.
The T1 to Ethernet upgrade process in Phase 1 -4 counties includes replacing 326 pieces of equipment. 242 pieces have been replaced so far. 67 of 83 new MW paths have been completed. Upgrade scheduled to be completed by Q4/25.
Virtualized prime sites. Each cell has a prime site that is supported by several devices. A virtual site reduces the equipment count to essentially a computer server, which will save rack space and power, is more redundant, and makes channel expansion easier. It does require the Ethernet backbone upgrade.
System software upgrades. FIRST is currently running A2021.1. The current support contract with Motorola allows for 3 system software upgrades that included A2021.1 as the first. However the latest software upgrade will require conversion to Ethernet, so FIRST will skip an intermediate upgrade and install A2024.1 when the Ethernet upgrade is complete. Motorola will refund the costs associated with the skipped version upgrade.
Coverage Improvement Program. FY24: The Oakland site which was thought to be the easiest was delayed by a pesky osprey couple. It is now expected to be complete by Q1/25. The Patapsco greenfield site is in the design phase using results from geotechnical surveys. The Cumberland site is in the planning phase and will leverage existing infrastructure. The Queenstown greenfield site is in the design phase and will be located near the Outlet Mall on SHA property. FY25: The Barton site might be colocated on a cell tower. The Bretton Woods site leverages a existing site in Montgomery County and is the implementation phase. The site was constructed during MC's 800MHz upgrade, thus will require substantially less work than a greenfield site - probably similar to when FIRST colocated a site in Davidsonville using AACo's infrastructure. New Germany site in the planning phase. A new site near St. Michaels will enhance in-building coverage in downtown St. Michaels.
DC ASR: scheduled to go live in 11/24. Coverage in DC is already pretty good (using actual subscriber radios) but the new site will improve on-street coverage in downtown areas. Equipment has been installed and new antennas have been hoisted to the existing tower structure.
BDAs: FY24: Talbot will have a BDA installed in an elementary school, and Kent will have BDAs installed in two fire stations. FY25: FIRST is partnering with AACo to install a BDA in the Courts of Appeal building in Annapolis.
Capacity Improvement Program: 2-channel expansions are scheduled for the Howard, Harford and Anne Arundel cells. Frequency coordination and allocation for all counties to support future expansion has been completed.
New Zone: A need for a new zone has been identified and is being explored. This is a long term project and will be "expensive" to implement. It will likely subdivide Zone 1 into two zones as Zone 1 is nearing capacity in terms of adding new equipment and subscribers.
Resiliancy / Georedundant Prime Sites. This project will add an additional prime site to each site at a rate of one per year, prioritizing edge sites and large cells. FY24: Balimore City has been ordered; FY25: Anne Arundel, planned; FY26: Garrett, planned; FY27: Cecil, planned; FY28: Allegar (runs the mountain ridge between Allegany and Garrett counties), planned; FY29: Worcester/Somerset, planned. The technology will require the Ethernet upgrade.
Resiliancy / Fiber connections. Several sites will get a fiber connection to supplement existing MW.
Resiliancy / UPS. The FIRST system was spec'ed to run on 120v AC, which requires and consumes a *very* large number of compartively expensive UPS batteries. In contrast, the new Anne Arundel and VA State Police / STARS systems runs on 48V DC, and requires less frequent battery replacement.
Trax GPS. A new firmware version was released in August. FIRST is working with Motorola to perfect the firmware for deployment across all its systems nationwide.
SmartConnect (LTE) - the technology is currently being used by SROs in Garrett County to provide in-building coverage to schools in Oakland. It is expected that the new Oakland site will make this redundant.
CriticalConnect (Cellphone App) - Currently used by QAC, Kent, DGS Capital Police, DNR. FIRST pays for the system license and the agencies are responsible for the subscriber fees. Users are charged $8-20/month and it costs $2,400/year per 5 talkpaths.
Subscriber equipment: FIRST has tested Tait and BK subscriber radios on the system, and demos are available for loan-outs to agencies for further testing. The offical position of the RCB is they are agnostic to radio brands as long as they meet P25 standards. Some brands can be 1/2 the cost of Motorola subscribers. Tait subs in particular may be of interest to institutions that may have a police force that uses P25, and departments that use DMR (like universities.)
FY26 budget brequest submitted for review.
HEMS Working Group. An ASA has opined that a FIRST user must be a Federal, State, County or Municipal agency.
New Interop Partner: Bedford County, PA. They have about 200 TDMA subscribers. This will benefit FMA responses into Allegany and Washington counties and specifically Hyndman VFC.
Caroline simulcast cell busies caused by Delaware fire company FDMA radios.
System usage up mainly due to MIEMSS increased usage of 700MHz talkgroups.
The T1 to Ethernet upgrade process in Phase 1 -4 counties includes replacing 326 pieces of equipment. 242 pieces have been replaced so far. 67 of 83 new MW paths have been completed. Upgrade scheduled to be completed by Q4/25.
Virtualized prime sites. Each cell has a prime site that is supported by several devices. A virtual site reduces the equipment count to essentially a computer server, which will save rack space and power, is more redundant, and makes channel expansion easier. It does require the Ethernet backbone upgrade.
System software upgrades. FIRST is currently running A2021.1. The current support contract with Motorola allows for 3 system software upgrades that included A2021.1 as the first. However the latest software upgrade will require conversion to Ethernet, so FIRST will skip an intermediate upgrade and install A2024.1 when the Ethernet upgrade is complete. Motorola will refund the costs associated with the skipped version upgrade.
Coverage Improvement Program. FY24: The Oakland site which was thought to be the easiest was delayed by a pesky osprey couple. It is now expected to be complete by Q1/25. The Patapsco greenfield site is in the design phase using results from geotechnical surveys. The Cumberland site is in the planning phase and will leverage existing infrastructure. The Queenstown greenfield site is in the design phase and will be located near the Outlet Mall on SHA property. FY25: The Barton site might be colocated on a cell tower. The Bretton Woods site leverages a existing site in Montgomery County and is the implementation phase. The site was constructed during MC's 800MHz upgrade, thus will require substantially less work than a greenfield site - probably similar to when FIRST colocated a site in Davidsonville using AACo's infrastructure. New Germany site in the planning phase. A new site near St. Michaels will enhance in-building coverage in downtown St. Michaels.
DC ASR: scheduled to go live in 11/24. Coverage in DC is already pretty good (using actual subscriber radios) but the new site will improve on-street coverage in downtown areas. Equipment has been installed and new antennas have been hoisted to the existing tower structure.
BDAs: FY24: Talbot will have a BDA installed in an elementary school, and Kent will have BDAs installed in two fire stations. FY25: FIRST is partnering with AACo to install a BDA in the Courts of Appeal building in Annapolis.
Capacity Improvement Program: 2-channel expansions are scheduled for the Howard, Harford and Anne Arundel cells. Frequency coordination and allocation for all counties to support future expansion has been completed.
New Zone: A need for a new zone has been identified and is being explored. This is a long term project and will be "expensive" to implement. It will likely subdivide Zone 1 into two zones as Zone 1 is nearing capacity in terms of adding new equipment and subscribers.
Resiliancy / Georedundant Prime Sites. This project will add an additional prime site to each site at a rate of one per year, prioritizing edge sites and large cells. FY24: Balimore City has been ordered; FY25: Anne Arundel, planned; FY26: Garrett, planned; FY27: Cecil, planned; FY28: Allegar (runs the mountain ridge between Allegany and Garrett counties), planned; FY29: Worcester/Somerset, planned. The technology will require the Ethernet upgrade.
Resiliancy / Fiber connections. Several sites will get a fiber connection to supplement existing MW.
Resiliancy / UPS. The FIRST system was spec'ed to run on 120v AC, which requires and consumes a *very* large number of compartively expensive UPS batteries. In contrast, the new Anne Arundel and VA State Police / STARS systems runs on 48V DC, and requires less frequent battery replacement.
Trax GPS. A new firmware version was released in August. FIRST is working with Motorola to perfect the firmware for deployment across all its systems nationwide.
SmartConnect (LTE) - the technology is currently being used by SROs in Garrett County to provide in-building coverage to schools in Oakland. It is expected that the new Oakland site will make this redundant.
CriticalConnect (Cellphone App) - Currently used by QAC, Kent, DGS Capital Police, DNR. FIRST pays for the system license and the agencies are responsible for the subscriber fees. Users are charged $8-20/month and it costs $2,400/year per 5 talkpaths.
Subscriber equipment: FIRST has tested Tait and BK subscriber radios on the system, and demos are available for loan-outs to agencies for further testing. The offical position of the RCB is they are agnostic to radio brands as long as they meet P25 standards. Some brands can be 1/2 the cost of Motorola subscribers. Tait subs in particular may be of interest to institutions that may have a police force that uses P25, and departments that use DMR (like universities.)
FY26 budget brequest submitted for review.
HEMS Working Group. An ASA has opined that a FIRST user must be a Federal, State, County or Municipal agency.
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MD Tac 4 (Central/NCR) is patched with Frederick Counties (91 Delta) for a continued search in the Potomac River near the Rt.15 bridge that connects to Va for a person who jumped from the middle of it yesterday. I’m hearing Loudoun County units but I’m sure they are on the Frederick System.
Anyone know what agency / county has the SUID prefix of 225xxxx? Asking for a friend. I still have not imported my dataset to the newest version of Unitrunker, but a do have a history of 225xxxx users but not the talk groups that they use. For some reason I *think* it's Montgomery County.
225xxxx is Baltimore Co
ThePhotoGuy
Member
224xxxx & 225xxxx are Baltimore County
Montgomery is 250xxxx and 251xxxx.
Montgomery is 250xxxx and 251xxxx.
Forgot to add 225xxxx is portables
Mobiles for Baltimore County are 224xxxx
Mobiles for Baltimore County are 224xxxx
Heard some activity on Maryland Tac 5 overnight amd this morning.
Can't really pin down what it is being used for with the few brief transmissions. Dore anyone know who is using it?
Can't really pin down what it is being used for with the few brief transmissions. Dore anyone know who is using it?
ThePhotoGuy
Member
It has been patched to Morgan State University Police talk group. Likely do it being Homecoming weekend and increased law enforcement presence this year after the shooting last year.
Thanks for the information. I did just hear a reference to Cold Spring Lane.
With so much on Maryland First I don't monitor the college PDs.
Mostly just have MSP, SHA, Parks, and interop. When on the toll roads MDTA PD.
Seeing the Bay Bridge Ops TG (7151) popping up a lot on the Montgomery County Simulcast site or sites. Is this to do with them being patched in somewhere or perhaps someone taking work home with them 🤣
