New DEA UHF - UPDATE!

I recently received some information on another new UHF channel associated with the DEA transition to P-25.

412.5750 MHz, N156 has been heard in use in Mississippi as a simplex air-to-ground channel.

UPDATE!

I just received information that there is a new DEA repeater on 406.6000 MHz, N156. It is located in southern Mississippi, specific location unknown as of now.

The DEA list on the top of the blog home page has been updated with this new information.

New York City FIO2

For a while now, I had confirmed that 171.1750 MHz, N653 was officially designated as NYC Federal Interop 2. However, I had never heard anyone using it.

But when I arrived in town this last week, I heard a couple of days of traffic from some group moving around the NYC area. They were a large enough group that they had to take separate ferries when they were using the Staten Island ferry. It sounded like some sort of escort. The only call sign I caught was "1A7", so no idea what agency it was. I did also hear "Topside" a couple of times, but not sure if it was a call sign or just telling someone where they were on the ferry!

Boston Area Mystery Aircraft

Many media outlets are carrying stories about Boston area residents being disturbed by low-altitude, "mysterious" aircraft at all hours. Here is one such story:

http://theaviationist.com/2013/05/12/fbi-planes-boston/

Officially, the FBI and Boston officials are not confirming anything about these flights, but anyone checking the aircraft N numbers, or paying attention to federal radio traffic in the area are pretty likely to figure this one out...

Dalai Lama Visit

The Dalai Lama is attending an environmental conference in Portland, Oregon this week. The Department of State Diplomatic Security Service was handling the motorcade & security for the visit and was heard using 409.5250 MHz, N293.

Arlington TX Logs

Spend a few days in the Arlington, Texas area and logged a bit of federal activity while there:

165.2125, N001 - US Secret Service MIKE - Bush (43) Protection Detail at Rangers game
165.3750, N001 - US Secret Service CHARLIE
167.2625, N167 - FBI
168.3375
170.6750, N167
170.9375, N167 - FBI
171.6125, N167 - FBI
172.9000, N001 - TSA at Dallas Love Field
173.6000, N156 - DEA VHF repeater
173.7000, N156 - DEA VHF repeater
173.7250, N156 - DEA VHF repeater
173.8125, N167 - FBI

I will be back in June and try for some more catches then...

More VHF DEA?

When in the Dallas - Ft. Worth area, I stumbled upon some additional VHF frequencies that might be DEA related.

While the DEA continues to utilize the UHF federal spectrum for it's primary communications, there have been some VHF federal channels that are utilizing the same P25 NAC of N156 that their UHF channels use. These frequencies have been noted in multiple areas of the country, but mostly in North Central Texas. The guess at the time is these are used for interoperability with other federal agencies, or perhaps a local task force. Confirmation is difficult, as all the communications have been encrypted. And so far, the only evidence that this activity is DEA related is the N156 NAC.

Previous reports have the following frequencies in use, all using the P25 NAC of N156:

173.6000, N156

173.7250, N156

173.8625, N156

In addition, I have heard 173.6750 & 173.7000 MHz used with the same NAC.

Here is a link to the current DEA frequency list:

http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/p/dea-frequency-updates.html

Southern Border Radio Traffic

A recent story on Fox News here linked to a web site that claimed to be posting recordings of clear Border Patrol radio traffic from along the southern United States.

The site, called "Secure Border Intelligence", http://secureborderintel.org/arizona_audio.html, shows links to daily compilations of clear radio traffic along the Arizona border area. My personal experience has shown that the Border Patrol traffic on the newer P-25 digital repeaters in the area is mostly encrypted. But some field units, particularly aviation units, are sometimes not using encryption while working the border.

The group apparently is aiming to show that illegel border crossing activity continues at a hefty pace, despite claims by some in the government that the border is more secure. The archived audio is presented much later than it occurred, so not much real time intelligence can be gleaned from it. But I'm sure this will fan the flames in the controversy over encrypting law enforcement radio traffic and the mobile computer apps that allow users to monitor police radio traffic.

ACY Coast Guard Activity

I had a couple of days to hang out at Atlantic City International (ACY) and caught some Coast Guard helicopter training activity.

On two consecutive days there were 2 HH-65C Dolphin helicopters running air intercept training. Both departed each day from the Coast Guard ramp at ACY. They did not identify themselves by their CG number, which is how I am used to hearing normal Coast Guard air units ID themselves. In this case, they used BOUNCER 1 & BOUNCER 2 as their flight call signs, and used 237.9 MHz and 345.0 MHz as an air-to-air tac channel. On the way back to base, I caught 164.3000 MHz, CSQ as the base aircraft maintenance channel. 412.9750 MHz, N293 (NET 409) was used for radio guard while the birds were in flight.