Tuesday, August 18, 2009

"Axe Men" Production - 168.050


While searching the federal bands at home in northwest Oregon, I recently came across some unusual radio traffic on 168.0500 MHz. It sounded like someone in a helicopter (I could hear the turbine whine in the background), talking with someone on the ground (unheard by me). The conversation seemed to be from a producer with the "Axe Men" TV reality show, working on shooting and getting some particular topics on the audio track. I believe it is the "Axe Men" show based on some of the logging company names that were heard on the radio traffic, companies that were featured in the past shows.

The frequency of 168.0500 MHz is often used by the US Forest Service and National Interagency Fire Center as a tactical channel. Why these folks were using it at this time is unknown. Perhaps there were working with the Forest Service and had a USFS helicopter, and that frequency was handy to talk to the folks on the ground.

The "Axe Men" TV show airs on The History Channel and is produced by Original Productions, http://www.origprod.com/.

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