Boston Area Quick Logs

  

Boston has a lot of federal monitoring action so be sure and bring a scanner if you visit there. Here is a quick rundown of what I logged during my stay, as well as some active frequencies that some good friends in the area shared with me during my time in the area:

 

162.2125         N293  

163.2625         N293   VA Medical Center

163.7000         N169   ICE NAT TAC 1

165.3750         N001   US Secret Service CHARLIE

165.7875         N001   US Secret Service BAKER

166.9500         N109   National Parks Boston Area

167.4375         N167   Boston FBI A-5 & BAPERN link

167.4625         N070   Boston FBI

167.4875         N167   Boston FBI Field Office A-2

167.5375         N167   FBI D-3

167.5625         N167   FBI D-4

167.7875         N167   Boston FBI Field Office A-3

167.9500         N109   National Parks USS Constitution

168.7625         N167   Boston FBI Field Office

169.6250         N167   Boston FBI Field Office A-4

170.7750         N319   CBP

171.4375         N167   FBI F-1

172.0750         N167   Boston FBI Field Office A-1

345.0000         AM      US Coast Guard Air Ops Primary

409.5250         N293   Department of State Diplomatic Security

418.7500         N156   DEA UHF F-3

 

As usual, the Boston area did not disappoint when it comes to radio monitoring!

Quick Chicago Logs

 

On a recent trip through the Chicago area, I had time to set up one of my radios and do some searching near O'Hare airport. Here is what I logged during a couple of hours of monitoring;

162.0875   N68F   NIFOG LE-01 input    

163.7500   NC02   CBP at ORD airport

165.8500   NC02   CBP at ORD airport

167.0875   N293   NIFOG LE-01

167.5375   N167   FBI Chicago D5/D6 

167.7500   N68F   NIFOG LE-03 

168.1125   N68F   NIFOG LE-04  

169.4125   N293   CBP AIR 11

170.5625   N156   DEA

171.6125   N167   FBI Chicago A7

All of the CBP frequencies that seem to be in use at ORD airport are still a mystery to me. You can near activity that is connected to international flights arriving. There seem to be multiple repeaters that have single inputs, but then they appear to be separate repeaters at other times. And some of these may be used for operations away from the airport proper.  

 

US Coast Guard Renames Districts

The US Coast Guard has officially renamed their operating districts.

The new geographic names, approved by the Department of Homeland Security, are as follows:  

District 1: USCG Northeast District 

District 5: USCG East District 

District 7: USCG Southeast District 

District 8: USCG Heartland District  

District 9: USCG Great Lakes District  

District 11: USCG Southwest District 

District 13: USCG Northwest District 

District 14: USCG Oceania District  

District 17: USCG Arctic District  

The Coast Guard had previously referred to their operating districts by regional numbers, but now will refer to these areas by geographical names. 

https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4234537/coast-guard-renames-geographic-operational-districts/ 

 

 

OCDETF To Be Ended

 

 

The current administration reportedly is shutting down a Department of Justice task force that has focused on dismantling transnational organized crime networks, drug cartels, and human trafficking rings. The task force was known as the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force, or OCDETF. Leaders of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces were given until Sept. 30 to shut down operations,

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces was established in 1982. The DOJ’s website says the task force has been the centerpiece of the attorney general’s strategy to combat transnational organized crime and to reduce the availability of illicit narcotics in the nation by using a prosecutor-led, multiagency approach to enforcement.

It is likely that this task force may be reorganized under the Department of Homeland Security in the future, but no details are currently available. 

Many scanner listeners will recall that the OCDETF had several radio frequencies assigned to them thru the Department of Justice allocations. They usually appeared in any Justice Department radio programing, but they were known to appear in some DHS agency radios as well. Here are the channels from the FBI D zone:

164.5500         N167   D01 OCDETF, repeater (168.8625 MHz in)
164.5500         N167   D02 OCDETF, simplex

 Super Bowl LIX 

NIFOG 2.02 Released

The latest version of the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG) has been released and is available for download at this link:

https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/2024-12/NIFOG%202.02_508%20FINAL%20VERSION%2012%2003%202024.pdf

This guide is extremely valuable to scanner listeners as it lists the standard interoperability frequencies that are used nationwide by local, state and federal agencies.

Whistler Group Out of Business

According to posts on social media from National Scanning Magazine, the Whistler Group, parent  company of Whistler scanners, has apparenlty shut down operations. You can read some of the details here: https://natcommag.substack.com/p/scanning-whistler-apparently-out-of-business

For many months now, Whistler scanner users have been complaining about being unable to update their scanners from the on-line Whistler server, and there has been little or no new scanner stock available for some time. 

The Whistler scanner  line was previously manufactured and sold by the GRE Corp, but some years ago, GRE sold their IP and scanner line to Whistler Group, out of Arkansas. 

It remains to be seen if there will be any scanner manufacturers other than Uniden in the market.

End of National Radio Quiet Zone?

Community leaders and citizens in Pendleton County, West Original are growing weary of the longtime restrictions on communications equipment due to regulations surrounding the National Radio Quiet Zone. There are discussions about lifting some of the restrictions or ending the quiet zone altogether:

 https://wvmetronews.com/2024/09/04/pendleton-county-leaders-want-an-end-to-radio-quiet-zone/

The area has strict limitations on the amount of power for transmitters of radio signals and RF frequencies. The restrictions have been in place for decades to protect the work of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank, West Virginia.

 

 

 

CBP Aerostats May Be Upgraded

 

The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense are working on plans to upgrade the surveillance blimps along the Southwest border regions.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/southwest/surveillance-blimps-on-southwest-border-could-be-upgraded-lawmaker-says/

The status of the aerostat blimps has been in some question since there have been several blimps damaged or destroyed recently. And the DHS has began upgrading the border areas with more ground-based electronic surveillance systems.

USCG Grounds Helicopters, Shortens Service Life

An interesting article recently appeared that states the Coast Guard is reducing the service life of their MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters from 20,000 hours to 19,000. It appears that maintenance issues have cropped up in older air frames and the reduction is in anticipation of a rebuild program with Sikorsky Aircraft, a division of Lockheed Martin. 

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/craighooper/2024/08/30/us-coast-guard-cuts-mh-60t-jayhawk-service-life-grounds-helicopters/

MYSTERY FREQUENCY 172.4000 MHz

Reports of activity on172.4000 MHz, N088 in the Long Island, NY region. No other information was provided. 

For what it's worth, the frequency of 172.4000 MHz is assigned to mostly US Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior agencies;
Animal/Plant Health Inspection Service
US Forest Service,
Bureau of Reclamation
International Boundary and Water Commission,
National Park Service
Soil Conservation Service

There are a few allocations to the US Army in New Mexico.

I have logged the N088 NAC a few times in Pennsylvania, and around the DC area out by Dulles airport, but not on this frequency.

MYSTERY FREQUENCY - 166.1125 MHz

 During a recent POTUS motorcade in Delaware, a listener caught a Close-Call hit on 166.1125 MHz, N001. This has not been noted previously as a Secret Service or White House Communications Agency frequency in the past. 

This frequency has no previous records to any federal agency in the NTIA data I have seen, so this may be a new assignment. As to who or what it is used for, remains to be seen.

MYSTERY FREQUENCY - 168.2250 MHz

I recently saw a report of activity noted on 168.2250 MHz, P25 with a NAC of N001 during an Executive Branch Secret Service motorcade. 

I have not logged that frequency as associated with the Secret Service or White House Communications  Agency before. But I have logged it on previous visits to New York City (FBI) and Pittsburgh (FBI), Nashville, TN (unknown with a NAC of N555) and around the Washington, DC area, where it was in analog with a PL tone of 151.4. 

My records have this frequency assigned to multiple federal agencies, including:

Air Force

Army

Bureau of Land Management

Department of Energy

Justice Department - FBI

US Fish and Wildlife

US Geological Survey

Interior Department (Nationwide)

National Park Service

US Post Office

State Department

Anyone hearing this frequency near you?

MYSTERY FREQUENCY - 406.2875 MHz

I have had reports over several years of activity noted on 406.2875 MHz. My records did not have this assigned to any specific federal agency, but monitoring notes from various locations do record some activity on this frequency.  

Treasury/IRS Philadelphia, PA DMR

Federal Bureau of Prisons, Butner NC - part of the prison trunked system

Florida - Unknown location using DMR, heard in Orlando

Texas - Unknown location using DMR, heard in San Antonio 

Houston, TX - Heard over several years in analog using DCS 205, possible National Guard 

Kansas City, MO - Unknown agency using P25 with a NAC of N293 

Anyone else hearing activity on this frequency? 

ICE Rebranding Itself

It appears that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is attempting to re-brand themselves to help in their investigations.

 https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/homeland-security-agency-ice-rebrands-aid-investigations/story?id=109510154

DEA Aviation Division

I found some information about the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Aviation Division and what aircraft are used as well as where they operate from.:

http://dcnewsroom.blogspot.com/2023/12/dea-contract-documents-provide-detailed.html

And some additional information on DEA leases for hanger space:

https://dcnewsroom.blogspot.com/2020/10/atlantic-aviation-hanger-lease-for-dea.html

The DEA air assets are often heard using the FLINT call sign. Some sources believe that FLINT stands for FLying INTelligence.

MultiCoupler Update

 

A few months ago, I mentioned in my column that I was using a powered RF multicoupler for some of my scanner setups while on the road. The unit I purchased was made and sold by Cross Country Wireless out of Manchester, England. I have been very happy with the build and performance of the unit and would recommend it.

However, I recently learned that Cross Country Wireless no longer appears to sell much on eBay, where I initially found the company. You can find them at the company web site, https://www.crosscountrywireless.net/ And they appear to have a channel on YouTube as well.

The multicouplers are still shown on the web site as being available, but they seem to refer buys to the eBay listing, even though it is shown as "Out of Stock" on eBay. 

I still would like to purchase additional items from Cross Country at some point, so I will have to see how they want to handle small quantity purchases outside the UK now. And if you have any information on anything you have purchased from Cross Country recently, please let me know!

FBI Washington HQ To Move

 

News reports have the Washington, DC headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) moving to a new site in Greenbelt, Maryland. This will involve a move of about 7,500 people from the FBI’s headquarters to the new Greenbelt facility, and the GSA is planning to keep up to 1,000 FBI employees in a federal facility in downtown Washington. 

 There is controversy in the move, of course. The cost appears to be headed north of $26 million just for the 60-acres of land acquisition and preparation.  You can read more about this proposed move in various on line news sites. Here is one that is not behind a paywall:

 https://www.fcnp.com/2023/11/09/fbi-headquarters-move-to-maryland-faces-new-headwinds-from-agency-and-congress/

US Marshals Upgrading JPATS Aircraft

 

The US Marshals Service JPATS program is soliciting bids for an upgraded Boeing 737 aircraft to be used for prisoner transports. 

http://dcnewsroom.blogspot.com/2023/08/us-marshals-service-to-purchase-boeing.html?m=1

https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/us-marshals-service-to-purchase-boeing-737-jet-for-prisoner-transport.462009/#post-3887037

http://www.usmarshals.gov/jpats/index.html

Usually "JUSTICE" call signs are monitored on typical Air Traffic Control VHF aeronautical frequencies where the aircraft are operating. I have not seen any reporting of any special aero or land mobile frequency being used for the JPATS aircraft. On the ground, the US Marshals units will probably be using radios to coordinate prisoner loading and unloading.

Gulf Islands National Seashore

 

 

 

I recently received some information regarding a controlled burn taking place at the Gulf Islands National Seashore, located along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and the Florida panhandle.

The communications used during this controlled burn were using 168.6125 MHz, in P-25 digital mode, using a Network Access Code (NAC) of N293.

For more frequencies used by the National Park Service, check out the NPS page on the blog site:

http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/p/national-park-service.html