WMATA Transit Police Channel

[villlythekid]

Crime isn't an approved telework gig

Even with a large amount of people home for coronavirus, there is still a staggering amount of activity around the area today.

MTPD-1 isn't showing traffic since like yesterday. Even with no one there you would expect something to be coming over the MTPD talkgroups. They are normally a very chatty bunch. Time to pull on the equipment today....

Here is the active traffic link. Seems like only the Tac 3 channel is really being used, so they definitely either switched systems or encrypted their main (MTPD-1) channel. Weird.

 

[Mr_Boh]

Is that the same system that I was talking about?

Yeah that is a talkgroup on the current WMATA system. Not listed in DB. Sounds like police activity. Encrypted traffic about 30% of the time.

Here is the active traffic link. Seems like only the Tac 3 channel is really being used, so they definitely either switched systems or encrypted their main (MTPD-1) channel. Weird.

I am seeing almost nothing on the MTPD-1 channel.




Meanwhile, the new unidentified talkgroup:

 

[freqhopping]

I've heard indicators for TG35024 being yellow line ops.
Huntington
Train 304

 

[villlythekid]

Yeah that is a talkgroup on the current WMATA system. Not listed in DB. Sounds like police activity. Encrypted traffic about 30% of the time.



I am seeing almost nothing on the MTPD-1 channel.

View attachment 81900


Meanwhile, the new unidentified talkgroup:

View attachment 81901

Ok, so would I make a whole new group for the 81901 and delete the 81900 or just keep it?

 

[Mr_Boh]

Ok, so would I make a whole new group for the 81901 and delete the 81900 or just keep it?

I would find the existing group with MTPD-1 and just add the talkgroup 51808 in your scanner. See what kind of activity is on it.

 

[villlythekid]

I would find the existing group with MTPD-1 and just add the talkgroup 51808 in your scanner. See what kind of activity is on it.

Is this the correct group?

 

[Mr_Boh]

You can add it to whatever group you want, but I would suggest putting it in there, writing back to scanner and seeing what you pick up. Your scanner should show "ENC" if the communication is encrypted.

 

[villlythekid]

You can add it to whatever group you want, but I would suggest putting it in there, writing back to scanner and seeing what you pick up. Your scanner should show "ENC" if the communication is encrypted.

Definitely somewhat encrypted, only parts of transmissions coming over the air, yet it's showing 5 bars. I've been listening for 5 minutes and have not understood a single word anyone is saying.

 

[cpetraglia]

TG 51808 is the MTPD dispatch. Seems as if all the users are encrypted and the dispatch is in the clear. No telling why dispatch hasn't flipped the switch also.

 

[villlythekid]

TG 51808 is the MTPD dispatch. Seems as if all the users are encrypted and the dispatch is in the clear. No telling why dispatch hasn't flipped the switch also.

For me, only 25% of the dispatch was coming through and none of the officers came through at all. I might be farther away from the tower than you are.

 

[cpetraglia]

Using an SDS200 with an outdoor antenna. My signal is 5 bars from Fairfax.

 

[villlythekid]

Using an SDS200 with an outdoor antenna. My signal is 5 bars from Fairfax.

5 bars for me as well. It was raining last night so maybe that affected something. I'll try again later today.

 

[maus92]

I just finished inputting the new 700 frequencies one by one in my SDS200. I am only 4 miles from the Burke Tower. I did not get any CCs or anything else. But you are right, the existing system is silent.

So if their not using the new and not using the old, what the heck are they using?

The 700 system has not been built out yet. Several years away. They may have new multiband subscribers though...

 

[cpetraglia]

So nobody's confused here. The new dispatch TG 51808 is on the original system. The mystery remains why they abandoned the original TGs.

Probably something to do with implementing the big E.

 

[reconrider8]

Wonder if it's a simulcast system. kinda sounds like it if your getting 5 bats of decode with garbled sounds

 

[maus92]

Wonder if it's a simulcast system. kinda sounds like it if your getting 5 bats of decode with garbled sounds

It is simulcast, and it *used* to be SmartNet, but other jurisdictions have be replacing their EOL cores with Astro25 equipment and bridging with SmartX site controllers to their legacy equipment as an interim step to moving to full on P25. Some operators start their transitions by replacing subscribers first; it might make sense for WMATA to do so since they operate on VHF, UHF and 700/800 systems with other jurisdictions in the area. Seems to me to be fairly easy to buy the encryption option prior to building out the infrastructure.

 

[Mr_Boh]

They are getting the subscribers out ahead of the system. In this case, they will probably do a different cutover since the new system is 7/800 and the old was UHF. Although they are retaining the UHF stuff for the actual transit users (like buses) PD could move to 7/800. They may have made a new talkgroup to be able to support encryption, but it wouldn't make much sense to do until they went to 7/800 unless they had some other reason like radio management already being setup and officers are getting comfortable with it. So who knows what the reason for the change is other than they are worried about showing up on Statter or something.

SmartX makes sense when you have to keep the same frequencies, but seems more of a hindrance if you have new freqs you can slowly transition users to and capacity is less of a concern.

I suspect it will be like the current system - single "site" simulcast that's carried into the tunnels since UHF will have to be its own site, but that's pure speculation. The nature of their ops doesn't make sense to have multiple sites, particularly single cell sites since the operations of say, a single line of the trains carries over a wide geographic area.

 

[villlythekid]

Using an SDS200 with an outdoor antenna. My signal is 5 bars from Fairfax.

If you check the recent traffic and scroll down to 2:47:03 PM today, you will see that an officer attempts to say something but then gets told to switch to "1A" which is on another system.