[Scan-DC] Inauguration Milcom

Tue Dec 30 10:35:51 EST 2008

Need to ask a stupid question--- does anybody know of a site that i could listen to some of the comm that is going on -  1/20? 

here from Hopkins 

73's 

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michael Rumberg" <michael.rumberg at verizon.net> 
To: Scan-DC at mailman.qth.net 
Sent: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 10:28:22 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: Re: [Scan-DC] Inauguration Milcom 

I think one might want to add Davison Army Airfield and Manassas Regional Airport to the lists as many military and paramilitary government agencies use these fields extensively.  

Dec 30, 2008 09:00:35 AM, ka3jjz at netscape.com wrote: 

The upcoming Inauguration is unusual in many respects, not the least of which is the way President elect Obama and Vice President elect Biden will arrive in DC. They will take a train into Baltimore, make a stop then travel on to DC. With that, one can easily surmise that there will be an opportunity here to pick up on the military coverage that will no doubt occur with this event. How extensive it will be is anyone's guess of course. 

A few years ago, there weren't all that many computer addressible scanners that could do milcom. Now there's a whole host of them - and perhaps some of you got them for Xmas (lucky devils!). There's a pretty fair chance that there will be at least some chance to hear milcom as they protect the President and Vice President elects. 

I am preparing several files that can either be loaded directly, or imported, built from the RadioReference database, the RadioReference wiki and various log over the last several weeks in the Maryland milcom thread on RadioReference. They currently contain the following; 

- Washington ARTCC (UHF) 
- Potomac TRACON/Guard Dog (mostly UHF) 
- Andrews AFB 
- Martin state/MD ANG 
- Eglin AFB (ARROW units from Combat Air Patrols) 
- Mtn Home AFB (CLAW units from Combat Air Patrols) 
- common Huntress frequencies 
- DC ANG 
- NJ ANG units (COSMIC, DEVIL) 
- Langley Interflight (often used for chit chat, regardless of the unit) 

If there are other groups that should be included, NOW is the time to speak up. I would like to have these files firmed up by the end of the week. 

The files that will be prepared in the following formats: 

- csv (Comma Seperated Values - importable to many programs) 
- Scan Control for the BC895 (This program is generally considered to be the best for the 895, and it can upgrade this file for the PRO-2052) 
- Scan Control for the BC898 (Scan Control can upgrade this file for the BC250/296/785/796) 
- RadioMax (works with the 895, and several older Icom and AOR receivers) 
- FreeScan (will work with the BR330, BCT15 and BCD996 - initially set up for the BC396) 
- BCTool (set up for the 396, and should work with the 996) 

Websites for these packages: 

Scan Control: http://www.scannersoft.com/ 
RadioMax: http://www.datadeliverydevices.com/RadioMax.htm 
FreeScan: http://scannow.org/ 
BCTool: http://www.bctool.org/ (be sure to get the beta version) 

I have spoken with Al Henney and we will be putting a temporary page up on the Capitol Hill Monitors website to host these files. However, this list only scratches the surface of the scanners and software that are milcom-capable. I currently have nothing for the new GRE scanners, ARC250, ProScan (arguably the 2 most popular packages for the non-DMA Uniden digitals), ARC433 (the PRO-433 is milcom capable, the 528 and 2051 aren't), and Win97 just to name a few. It would be helpful if someone could step up and create files for these and other software packages. 

If you are interested in supporting this project, please email me at ka3jjz at NOSPAM.netscape.com (remove the NOSPAM) with 'Inaugration Milcom' in the subject line. I will get back to you as quickly as possible. Remember we only have about 3 weeks or so! 

A couple of caveats are in order; 

- The PRO-96 and PRO-2096 cannot cover the UHF milair (225-380 mhz) range out of the box. Even with modifications using Win96, the sensitivity can and often does vary widely from unit to unit. One unit might hear OK, another stone deaf. It was never designed to cover this band. However, it DOES cover the 138-144 mhz range, and this is where you will find a lot of ANG units. You might consider using the web service to pull down the VHF Air freqs for the Washington ARTCC, Potomac 
TRACON, Andrews, Martin state and the various ANG units. There will be a lot of commercial traffic - it's unavoidable - but at times, tankers have been known to check in on the ARTCC and Potomac VHF frequencies. If someone were to prepare a file 
for these, that would also be helpful. 

- The BC895 and 2052 have something of the opposite problem - they cannot hear the 138-144 mhz range in the AM mode. So the Scan Control file for them does not have these frequencies. They DO cover 225-400 mhz pretty well, however. 

Remember this is a game where the antenna is just as important as the radio. The better the antenna (and coax), along with the radio, the better the results. Don't forget to report what you hear (and keep an eye on) Scan-DC and various forums on RadioReference. 

Thanks to everyone who contributes, and good hunting! 73 Mike 

links editor,Capitol Hill Monitors 
Utility Monitoring Central 
Wiki Administrator, HF Forum moderator, Radioreference.Com 

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