It is possible that it is only used for mutual aid events with Allegany County, i.e. not full time.
ThePhotoGuy
Member
I heard it a few weeks ago (Mid-late Nov) on the Howard Site.
ThePhotoGuy
Member
Mentions of Route 124 and Route 115. Thinking it is the SHA Gaithersburg Shop.
Question
While monitoring the Montgomery Simulcast site or sites via Unitrunker 2.1.0.106. I noticed some Queen Anne and Cecil stuff that showed up under the “patches” tab. Can anyone explain to me what this program means by “patches” as well as why this site would be seeing/showing distant agencies ?
Thank you in advance
While monitoring the Montgomery Simulcast site or sites via Unitrunker 2.1.0.106. I noticed some Queen Anne and Cecil stuff that showed up under the “patches” tab. Can anyone explain to me what this program means by “patches” as well as why this site would be seeing/showing distant agencies ?
Thank you in advance
Attachments
TG 13595 for Washington County FD Dispatch is still active. Monitor it regularly on my G4.
It's showing that several tgs are patched together at the dispatch console level, and a user of one of the tgs is affiliated on the Montgomery site.
I submitted some info for the DC ASR this morning. I was in NE DC for a short period of time yesterday and was able to receive the site around Fort Lincoln (ALT US1 and US50 area). There will be a few more traffic channels yet to be observed as this is a typical six-pack installation. It is unique in that the site's channels have an ERP of 499W, which is much more powerful than most other FIRST sites.
Notes from the 12/11/24 RCB meeting held in the former Annapolis Post Office a few days ago.
New Partners:
- VA Dept of Emergency Management: 225 TDMA subs. Approved
- PA Game Commission: 120 TDMA subs for interop with MDDNR and other law enforcement agencies. Will need to negotiate tg sharing agreements with those agencies. Approved.
- NJ SWIC: 100 TDMA subs for support of NSSEs (National Special Security Events, aka DC demonstrations, riots, Inaugurations, etc.) and mutual aid for natural disasters. Approved.
- NC Dept of Emergency Management: 200 TDMA subs for interop during NSSEs. Approved.
- DOI Bureau of Land Management: 10 subs for a new LE unit to police Douglas Point Special Recreational Management Area in Charles County. Limited primary asking for 2-4 tgs and interop with other LEOs. Approved.
- Montgomery County MD: increasing tgs from8 to 12 to include DFRS users for backup and training for failure scenarios. 4500 TDMA subs. Approved.
- USDHS Federal Air Marshals Service: 4 tgs to support operations for the Baltimore and DC field offices. They mainly use their own system, but need coverage when away from airports (presumably) - they have other authories and responsibilities besides jet-setting around the globe apparently. 12 subs. Approved.
- St. Johns College Special Police: 2 tgs and interop with other LEOs. Their officers have state commissions therefore are considered eligible to operate on the FIRST system. There have been incidents on the Annapolis Complex recently in which they could have participated but were unable due to incompatibilites with their DMR system. 12 subs. Approved.
**Note: Nobody mentioned this specifically, but I'm guessing they will need some capacity/channel expansion for the DC ASR at some point.
New SOP concerning proper disposal of decommissioned subscriber radios.
Virtualized Prime Site Controllers will need to be deployed by 2027 to support system software 2026.x
EOL of GTR8000 base station radios and MCC7500 consoles: Motorola informed the state that in the 2030-2032 timeframe, these components will not be supported in future system software upgrades. The system has 1064 base station radios and 200 consoles supporting 9 agencies at 52 locations. While the details are still being fleshed out, the state told Motorola that they will not be replacing these components enmasse. The state is developing a 15 year component replacement plan to be finalized at some point. Antennas will be scheduled to be replaced at 20 year intervals, and subscribers in FY27 - FY32. New D-series site components linked below:
view.motorolasolutions.com
The MPLS ethernet conversion project has accelerated and 96% of the equipment installations are complete. 83% of MW paths are ready, the remainig have some complexity that needs to be addressed. Due for completion in late Spring 2025.
Cutover to Virtual Prime Site Controllers will require the site to be down for several minutes, so coordination with users will be required.
Current system software level is 2021.1, version 2024.1 is required for the vSite conversion.
Coverage Improvement Program: the next two tower sites due to come online are: Oakland (Garrett 1-025) - 2/6/25; and Bretton Woods (Montgomery 5-001) - 2025. They are easier/faster to bring on line as they leverage existing infrastruture. The others are mostly greenfield sites that require extensive site acquisition and design work. Actual constrution of these sites has not commenced, although geo-testing has occured at some.
The Cambridge tower site will require replacement as the property has been sold. County officials are working on a replacement.
DC ASR went operation the day before Election Day.
BDAs in several Kent County fire stations are now operational. It was discovered that when the apparatus doors were closed, their radios not longer worked adequately. The BDAs resolved this issue. The BDA in the Cordova area school in Talbot County is also operational. An RFP for the BDA at the Supreme Court building in Annapolis has been issued.
2-channel (4 talkpaths) expansions using D-series equipment are scheduled for Anne Arundel, Howard and Harford counties. Unclear if all existing ESS site equipment will be replaced with D-series equipment.
Various fiber connectivity projects underway between nodes to provide redundancy. The state tries to leverage any new fiber contruction by state and local partners to enhance system resiliency.
Commercial HEMS: The first HEMS workgroups meeting was held and indentified 5 areas of concern and how comms could be improved. Four of those areas had solutions that could be implemented outside of the FIRST system; the fifth related to on-scene communications at emergencies (an uncommon scenario in Maryland). It was felt that access to FIRST in this circumstance was justified, however implementing it would be complex as there are different procedures across the state.
There are 23 AVTACs, one for each county. The state police ESD created the tacs to simplify communications between 911 centers and helicopter crews. The idea was to "patch" the avtacs to the operational tgs at incidents. This process works well for jurisdictions that use FIRST as their primary system; it is not typically used by counties who operate their own communications systems. Those counties prefer the helo crews to communicate using their system on the tg / channel assigned to the incident. This creates radio capability / programming issues for individual aircraft, and particularly for private operators. FIRST admins are (gentley) encouraging jurisdictions who operate their own systems to install consolettes to integrate AVTAC capabilities.
New Partners:
- VA Dept of Emergency Management: 225 TDMA subs. Approved
- PA Game Commission: 120 TDMA subs for interop with MDDNR and other law enforcement agencies. Will need to negotiate tg sharing agreements with those agencies. Approved.
- NJ SWIC: 100 TDMA subs for support of NSSEs (National Special Security Events, aka DC demonstrations, riots, Inaugurations, etc.) and mutual aid for natural disasters. Approved.
- NC Dept of Emergency Management: 200 TDMA subs for interop during NSSEs. Approved.
- DOI Bureau of Land Management: 10 subs for a new LE unit to police Douglas Point Special Recreational Management Area in Charles County. Limited primary asking for 2-4 tgs and interop with other LEOs. Approved.
- Montgomery County MD: increasing tgs from8 to 12 to include DFRS users for backup and training for failure scenarios. 4500 TDMA subs. Approved.
- USDHS Federal Air Marshals Service: 4 tgs to support operations for the Baltimore and DC field offices. They mainly use their own system, but need coverage when away from airports (presumably) - they have other authories and responsibilities besides jet-setting around the globe apparently. 12 subs. Approved.
- St. Johns College Special Police: 2 tgs and interop with other LEOs. Their officers have state commissions therefore are considered eligible to operate on the FIRST system. There have been incidents on the Annapolis Complex recently in which they could have participated but were unable due to incompatibilites with their DMR system. 12 subs. Approved.
**Note: Nobody mentioned this specifically, but I'm guessing they will need some capacity/channel expansion for the DC ASR at some point.
New SOP concerning proper disposal of decommissioned subscriber radios.
Virtualized Prime Site Controllers will need to be deployed by 2027 to support system software 2026.x
EOL of GTR8000 base station radios and MCC7500 consoles: Motorola informed the state that in the 2030-2032 timeframe, these components will not be supported in future system software upgrades. The system has 1064 base station radios and 200 consoles supporting 9 agencies at 52 locations. While the details are still being fleshed out, the state told Motorola that they will not be replacing these components enmasse. The state is developing a 15 year component replacement plan to be finalized at some point. Antennas will be scheduled to be replaced at 20 year intervals, and subscribers in FY27 - FY32. New D-series site components linked below:
Motorola Solutions | D-Series Product Tour
The MPLS ethernet conversion project has accelerated and 96% of the equipment installations are complete. 83% of MW paths are ready, the remainig have some complexity that needs to be addressed. Due for completion in late Spring 2025.
Cutover to Virtual Prime Site Controllers will require the site to be down for several minutes, so coordination with users will be required.
Current system software level is 2021.1, version 2024.1 is required for the vSite conversion.
Coverage Improvement Program: the next two tower sites due to come online are: Oakland (Garrett 1-025) - 2/6/25; and Bretton Woods (Montgomery 5-001) - 2025. They are easier/faster to bring on line as they leverage existing infrastruture. The others are mostly greenfield sites that require extensive site acquisition and design work. Actual constrution of these sites has not commenced, although geo-testing has occured at some.
The Cambridge tower site will require replacement as the property has been sold. County officials are working on a replacement.
DC ASR went operation the day before Election Day.
BDAs in several Kent County fire stations are now operational. It was discovered that when the apparatus doors were closed, their radios not longer worked adequately. The BDAs resolved this issue. The BDA in the Cordova area school in Talbot County is also operational. An RFP for the BDA at the Supreme Court building in Annapolis has been issued.
2-channel (4 talkpaths) expansions using D-series equipment are scheduled for Anne Arundel, Howard and Harford counties. Unclear if all existing ESS site equipment will be replaced with D-series equipment.
Various fiber connectivity projects underway between nodes to provide redundancy. The state tries to leverage any new fiber contruction by state and local partners to enhance system resiliency.
Commercial HEMS: The first HEMS workgroups meeting was held and indentified 5 areas of concern and how comms could be improved. Four of those areas had solutions that could be implemented outside of the FIRST system; the fifth related to on-scene communications at emergencies (an uncommon scenario in Maryland). It was felt that access to FIRST in this circumstance was justified, however implementing it would be complex as there are different procedures across the state.
There are 23 AVTACs, one for each county. The state police ESD created the tacs to simplify communications between 911 centers and helicopter crews. The idea was to "patch" the avtacs to the operational tgs at incidents. This process works well for jurisdictions that use FIRST as their primary system; it is not typically used by counties who operate their own communications systems. Those counties prefer the helo crews to communicate using their system on the tg / channel assigned to the incident. This creates radio capability / programming issues for individual aircraft, and particularly for private operators. FIRST admins are (gentley) encouraging jurisdictions who operate their own systems to install consolettes to integrate AVTAC capabilities.
ThePhotoGuy
Member
Always look forward to reading your updates, thanks!Notes from the 12/11/24 RCB meeting held in the former Annapolis Post Office a few days ago.
New Partners:
- VA Dept of Emergency Management: 225 TDMA subs. Approved
- PA Game Commission: 120 TDMA subs for interop with MDDNR and other law enforcement agencies. Will need to negotiate tg sharing agreements with those agencies. Approved.
- NJ SWIC: 100 TDMA subs for support of NSSEs (National Special Security Events, aka DC demonstrations, riots, Inaugurations, etc.) and mutual aid for natural disasters. Approved.
- NC Dept of Emergency Management: 200 TDMA subs for interop during NSSEs. Approved.
- DOI Bureau of Land Management: 10 subs for a new LE unit to police Douglas Point Special Recreational Management Area in Charles County. Limited primary asking for 2-4 tgs and interop with other LEOs. Approved.
- Montgomery County MD: increasing tgs from8 to 12 to include DFRS users for backup and training for failure scenarios. 4500 TDMA subs. Approved.
- USDHS Federal Air Marshals Service: 4 tgs to support operations for the Baltimore and DC field offices. They mainly use their own system, but need coverage when away from airports (presumably) - they have other authories and responsibilities besides jet-setting around the globe apparently. 12 subs. Approved.
- St. Johns College Special Police: 2 tgs and interop with other LEOs. Their officers have state commissions therefore are considered eligible to operate on the FIRST system. There have been incidents on the Annapolis Complex recently in which they could have participated but were unable due to incompatibilites with their DMR system. 12 subs. Approved.
**Note: Nobody mentioned this specifically, but I'm guessing they will need some capacity/channel expansion for the DC ASR at some point.
New SOP concerning proper disposal of decommissioned subscriber radios.
Virtualized Prime Site Controllers will need to be deployed by 2027 to support system software 2026.x
EOL of GTR8000 base station radios and MCC7500 consoles: Motorola informed the state that in the 2030-2032 timeframe, these components will not be supported in future system software upgrades. The system has 1064 base station radios and 200 consoles supporting 9 agencies at 52 locations. While the details are still being fleshed out, the state told Motorola that they will not be replacing these components enmasse. The state is developing a 15 year component replacement plan to be finalized at some point. Antennas will be scheduled to be replaced at 20 year intervals, and subscribers in FY27 - FY32. New D-series site components linked below:
Motorola Solutions | D-Series Product Tour
The MPLS ethernet conversion project has accelerated and 96% of the equipment installations are complete. 83% of MW paths are ready, the remainig have some complexity that needs to be addressed. Due for completion in late Spring 2025.
Cutover to Virtual Prime Site Controllers will require the site to be down for several minutes, so coordination with users will be required.
Current system software level is 2021.1, version 2024.1 is required for the vSite conversion.
Coverage Improvement Program: the next two tower sites due to come online are: Oakland (Garrett 1-025) - 2/6/25; and Bretton Woods (Montgomery 5-001) - 2025. They are easier/faster to bring on line as they leverage existing infrastruture. The others are mostly greenfield sites that require extensive site acquisition and design work. Actual constrution of these sites has not commenced, although geo-testing has occured at some.
The Cambridge tower site will require replacement as the property has been sold. County officials are working on a replacement.
DC ASR went operation the day before Election Day.
BDAs in several Kent County fire stations are now operational. It was discovered that when the apparatus doors were closed, their radios not longer worked adequately. The BDAs resolved this issue. The BDA in the Cordova area school in Talbot County is also operational. An RFP for the BDA at the Supreme Court building in Annapolis has been issued.
2-channel (4 talkpaths) expansions using D-series equipment are scheduled for Anne Arundel, Howard and Harford counties. Unclear if all existing ESS site equipment will be replaced with D-series equipment.
Various fiber connectivity projects underway between nodes to provide redundancy. The state tries to leverage any new fiber contruction by state and local partners to enhance system resiliency.
Commercial HEMS: The first HEMS workgroups meeting was held and indentified 5 areas of concern and how comms could be improved. Four of those areas had solutions that could be implemented outside of the FIRST system; the fifth related to on-scene communications at emergencies (an uncommon scenario in Maryland). It was felt that access to FIRST in this circumstance was justified, however implementing it would be complex as there are different procedures across the state.
There are 23 AVTACs, one for each county. The state police ESD created the tacs to simplify communications between 911 centers and helicopter crews. The idea was to "patch" the avtacs to the operational tgs at incidents. This process works well for jurisdictions that use FIRST as their primary system; it is not typically used by counties who operate their own communications systems. Those counties prefer the helo crews to communicate using their system on the tg / channel assigned to the incident. This creates radio capability / programming issues for individual aircraft, and particularly for private operators. FIRST admins are (gentley) encouraging jurisdictions who operate their own systems to install consolettes to integrate AVTAC capabilities.
