Super Bowl XLVI Monitoring Logs

In the May issue of Monitoring Times, the Fed Files column contains my scanning logs from Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis this past February. I figured I'd post it here and see if anyone had anything to add or identify some of the unknowns I picked up while in Indy!

123.0250    AM    Area helicopter multicom channel
123.0500    AM    Area helicopter multicom channel
136.3750    AM    CBF OAM VHF "COMPANY"

148.0000    CSQ     Unknown agency

162.3250        Unknown
162.5875        Unknown
162.7625    N293    Unknown agency
162.8750    N023    DHS Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), input to 170.1
162.8750    N293    Unknown agency
162.9125    N069    DHS ICE, input to 171.2500
162.9750    N293    Unknown agency
163.1000    N167    FBI
163.1125    N496    Unknown agency, input to 170.7875
163.1250    N301    CBP
163.1875    N167    FBI
163.2000    N023    Unknown agency
163.2375        Unknown
163.7000    N169    ICE TAC 1
163.7250    N169    ICE tactical channel
163.8625    N167    FBI, input to 167.5375
163.9000    N167    FBI, input to 170.9375
163.9375    N167    FBI A6 input
164.1000    N301    CBP VACIS Operations
164.3500    NE03    Possible Department of Energy
164.4500        Possible EPA using DES encryption?
164.6500    N001    USSS TANGO
164.7875    N169    ICE TAC 4
165.2375    100.0    CBP NET 1 analog
165.2375    N301    CBP VACIS Operations
165.2875    N650    BATFE NET 1
165.3750    N001    USSS CHARLIE
165.5125    N301    CBP
165.6875    N301    CBP VACIS Operations
165.7250    N293    Unknown agency
165.8000    CSQ    Unknown agency
166.4375    N325    CBP DNET 1 input
166.4625    103.5    Possible TSA use at stadium, analog
166.5125    P-25    WHCA ALPHA, reported weeks prior but nothing heard during.
166.5875    100.0    Unknown
166.5875    N301    CBP DNET 12
166.6750    141.3    Unknown
167.0000    N100    Unknown agency
167.0250    N169    Possible ICE tactical channel
167.2125    N167    FBI
167.2125    N167    FBI A1
167.2875    167.9    FBI
167.3125    167.9    FBI
167.3875    N167    FBI
167.4125    167.9    FBI
167.5375    N167    FBI D6
167.5625    N167    FBI
167.7625    N167    FBI
167.7625    N167    FBI A6   
168.0000    141.3    Related to the 166.675 MHz?
168.1125    N68F    Federal Interoperability LE-4
168.5875    N169    ICE TAC 2
168.8375    N293    CBP AIR 1
168.9625    N293    Unknown agency
169.2625    N293    Unknown agency
169.5500    N325    CBP DNET 12 input
169.5625        Unknown
169.7250    N167    FBI
170.1000    N023    DHS ICE
170.4375    N167    FBI
170.4875    N167    FBI
170.7500    N293    US Marshals Service, Indianapolis Federal Courthouse
170.7875    N496    Unknown agency
170.9125    N167    FBI
170.9375    N167    FBI, A5
171.2000    NE03    Possible Department of Energy use
171.2000    N293    Unknown agency
171.2500    N069    ICE NET 1, repeater
171.3875    CSQ    USPS Bulk Mail Center, Truck Operations
171.6875    N293    Unknown agency
171.7750    N167    FBI
171.9500    N293    Unknown agency
172.1750        Unknown, possible data bursts
172.9000    N001    TSA at Indianapolis International Airport (IND)

228.9000    AM    Combat Air Patrol
238.2000    AM    Combat Air Patrol, TAC channel
260.9000    AM    Combat Air Patrol
350.0250    AM    CBP OAM UHF "3"
380.7875    NFM    Possible DoD land mobile use
383.4750    NFM    Possible DoD land mobile use

406.1375    127.3    Possible US Postal Service
406.2000    N201    Federal Protective Service, Region V
407.7250    N482    USPS Postal Inspection Service
407.7750    N482    USPS Postal Inspection Service
407.8375    N174    VAMC Maintenance
408.0375    N263    VAMC Police
408.9375    D162    Unknown
409.0750    D364    Unknown
409.2750    127.3    Possible US Postal Service
410.2000    127.3    USPS Bulk Mail Center, downtown Indianapolis
410.3000    156.7    Unknown
410.8750    146.2    Unknown
411.5250    127.3    Probably USPS operations
411.5500    127.3    Probably USPS operations
414.7250        Unknown
414.7375    D074    Unknown
415.0750    91.5    Unknown
416.7250    N482    USPS Postal Inspection Service, input to 407.7250
416.8375    N174    VAMC, input to 407.8375
417.0375    N263    VAMC, input to 408.0375
418.5250        Unknown
418.6000    136.5    Unknown
418.7750    100.0    Unknown

Twin Cities Fed Scanning

I'm in the Minneapolis / St. Paul area for the next couple of weeks, so I thought I'd post a few things I've been hearing up here. Unfortunately the hotel I am staying at is in the middle of RF hell and it's tough to get much of anything there...

I'll be updating this list as my stay up here continues...

162.2250 – Fort Snelling National Cemetery, US Department of Veterans Affairs
164.1000 – USPS
164.3375, 167.9 pl – USPS
164.5500, 167.9 pl – OCDETF, FBI
164.9875, CSQ – USPS
165.2375, 100.0 pl – DHS CBP Customs NET 1 with OTAR
165.2875 - ATF
166.5125, P-25 - WHCA "SIERRA" - POTUS Advance Team for visit on 8/22/06
166.5875 - DHS CBP
167.2625, 167.9 pl – FBI
167.4375, 167.9 pl – FBI
167.5375, 167.9 pl – FBI
167.6125, 167.9 pl – FBI
167.6375, 167.9 pl – FBI
167.7125, 167.9 pl – FBI
167.7625, 167.9 pl – FBI
168.7875 - ?
169.4500, 100.0 pl – DHS CBP Customs
170.7500 – US Marshals, Federal Court Security
172.9000, P-25 – DHS TSA at MSP (input = 169.3000)
406.1125, P-25 – VA Medical Center Police
407.7250, P-25 – USPS Postal Inspectors (input = 416.7250)
414.7500, 82.5 pl – USPS Postal Inspectors (input = 407.7750)
415.2000, 131.8 pl – DHS Federal Protective Service (input = 413.9500)
416.4250, 100.0 pl - ?
418.6250, 156.7pl – DEA F1
418.6750, 156.7pl – DEA F4
418.9000, 156.7 pl – DEA
419.1500, 118.8 pl – USPS repeater

Chicago Federal Monitoring

While no means a complete list of federal activity in the Chicago metro area, here's what I've been hearing the last few days of my visit:

162.7875 P-25 US Marshals
164.1000 100.0 DHS CBP
165.1500 D546 USPS truck operations
165.2375 100.0 DHS CBP
165.2875 P-25 ATF NET 1
165.3750 P-25 USSS Chicago
165.7125 136.5 FAA @ ORD
166.1750 136.5 FAA @ ORD
166.3750 CSQ USPS Airside ops @ ORD
166.5875 100.0 DHS CBP Operations @ ORD
166.7125 127.3 North Chicago VAMC Police
167.0375 P-25 ?
167.7875 167.9 FBI Chicago FO
167.9250 156.7 DoE Fermi Labs
168.8250 100.0 DHS ICE/CBP Operations @ ORD
169.3000 P-25 DHS TSA repeater in
169.5500 100.0 DHS CBP TAC 19
169.8375 D223 ?
170.0000 D116 VAMC Operations
170.6250 167.9 FBI Chicago FO
172.1500 P-25 DHS TSA @ ORD
172.9000 P-25 DHS TSA @ ORD
411.3500 D114 VAMC Police
414.5125 103.5 USPS
414.7500 82.5 USPS Postal Inspectors NLECC
415.0500 82.5 USPS Postal Inspectors
415.2000 103.5 DHS FPS Chicago

Fed Files - January 2012 NYC Logs

In the January 2012 Fed Files column, I published a list of frequencies I logged during a recent trip to New York City for work. I included it in the column as a representation of the "raw" data I get from logs collected during my trips, but I started to identify some of the obvious frequencies and who they are used by.

Unfortunately, I included the list without finishing my identification tasks, and several sharp MT readers offered some suggestions. So here is the New York City list that was in the column, but with as many of the frequencies identified as I can. Keep in mind that these are simply what computer logged, and some of the P-25 NAC values may be incorrect. However, I usually disregard any NACs that appear only once. The NAC values listed appeared multiple times in the logs.

If you have any additional information on the unknown frequencies, please pass it along!

163.3750, D065 - Input to USPS on 166.3750 MHz

164.1000, N001 – US Secret Service

164.3375, D251 – Postal Service Brooklyn

164.4000, N001 – US Secret Service PAPA

164.6500, N001 – US Secret Service TANGO

165.2125, N001 - US Secret Service MIKE

165.2375, N301 – DHS CBP NET 1

166.3750, D065 – US Postal Service Manhattan

166.5625, N301 – DHS CBP (B16)

166.8875, 103.5  - UN Security Base

167.1250, 114.8 – US Postal Service, New Jersey

167.4625, N207 – DHS ICE Regional Network

167.5125, N167 - FBI Newark B3/B4

167.7875, N653 – NYC FIO Federal Interoperability repeater

167.8875, 127.3 – Input to 164.1875 MHz, UN Security

168.3000, N167 – FBI H3/H4

168.8250, N167 – FBI H1/H2

168.8250, N730 -

168.8875, N167 – FBI B7/B8

168.9125, N935 - DHS ICE, New York City

169.4500, 100.0 – DHS, CBP Customs NET 2

169.6250, N167 – FBI (not previously logged)

169.7000, N864 – DoJ, US Marshals Service

169.7250, N864 – DoJ, US Marshals Service

169.9750, N167 – FBI Newark A1/A2

169.9875, N4F9 - Department of the Interior, Liberty Island/Ellis Island

170.3750, N167 – FBI G5/G6

170.4250, N167 – FBI G3/G4

170.4250, N730-

170.5500, N167 - FBI G7/G8

170.5500, N730 -

170.6250, N167 – FBI C7/C8

170.6250, N730 -

171.1750, N653 – NYC Federal Interoperability FIO 2

171.4625, N24F - Unknown agency

171.5500, N167 - FBI C3/C4

171.5500, N673

171.6875, N173

171.6875, N9C5 – DHS ICE Regional Network, New Jersey NJ-1

171.7250, N159 - DHS ICE Regional Network, New Jersey NJ-2

172.1875, N167 - FBI B3/B4

172.5250, N167 – FBI B1/B2

172.6625, N615 - Reported as US Marshals NY-2

173.6625, N167 – FBI A1

173.6625, N673

173.6625, N730

406.1125, 82.5 - UN Maintenance

406.1500, N293 – VAMC Brooklyn

406.3375, N482 – US Postal Inspectors RED Net

406.4250, 67.0 - VA Maintenance

406.5000, N020 - BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn (*seemed to show this NAC on some transmissions)

406.5000, N2E1 - BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn

406.9250, N020*

406.9250, N2E1 - BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn

407.1375, N482 – US Postal Inspectors GREEN Net

407.2000, N293 – State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security

407.4125, N1A3 - BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center, Manhattan

407.5000, 107.2 – VA NJ Maintenance

407.7250, N482 – US Postal Inspectors WHITE Net

407.7750, N482 – US Postal Inspectors BLUE Net

407.9500, N020*

407.9500, N2E1 – BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn

408.1000, N0F0 – State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security

408.1250, N293 – VAMC Manhattan

408.2000, N270 - Federal Protective Service

408.2125, N020*

408.2125, N2E1 - BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn

408.3000, 74.4

408.4250, 67.0 - VA Manhattan, maintenance

408.5750, N020*

408.5750, N2E1 - BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn

408.8125, N1A3 - BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center, Manhattan

409.0250, 110.9 – Postal Service Flushing/Nassau

409.3250, 67.0 - VA maintenance

409.6250, N293 – State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security

409.7500, N020*

409.9000, N1A3 - BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center, Manhattan

409.9375, N482 – US Postal Inspectors BLACK Net

410.4125, N1A3 - BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center, Manhattan

411.7375, 67.0

412.9750, N293

413.4125, N293 – VA Medical Center, New Jersey

413.8625, CSQ – VA Medical Center - Paging

413.8750, 67.0

413.9750, D271

414.6875, D503

414.8750, 173.8

414.9000, 156.7  - DEA

415.9000, 74.4

416.1375, N482 – US Postal Inspectors, input to 407.1375 MHz

416.7250, N482 – US Postal Inspectors, input to 407.7250 MHz

417.2000, N270 – Federal Protective Service

417.6000, N293 – State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security

417.6500, 103.5

417.9125, 192.8

418.3500, 141.3

418.6250, 156.7 – DEA

418.6750, 156.7 – DEA F4

418.7500, 156.7 – DEA F3

418.7875, D125

418.9250, D731

418.9375, N482 – US Postal Inspectors, input to 409.9375 MHz

418.9500, 156.7 – DEA

419.7875, 67.0

Some have asked about the N730 NACs appearing on some of the FBI repeaters. I have noted these NACs for several years now, especially when I have been monitoring the New Years Eve happenings in Times Square. I suspect some sort of Special Operation or Task Force may be using a different NAC on these repeaters, but nothing has been confirmed - just a guess...

Tampa RNC Updates

As the powers that be mull a possible delay in the start of the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, due to Hurricane Isaac, some frequencies have been reported as active.

Secret Service and Coast Guard channels have been reported as active with both encrypted and clear communications.

I will not be in attendance this year, so hopefully some local monitors can pass along some active federal frequencies. And interesting updates will be posted here.

UPDATE:
I know it's a little late (but I tend to wait for these events to be over before posting), but here are a few active federal channels that were submitted by anonymous listeners in the Tampa area;

123.1000, AM - Intercepted civilian aircraft being warned out of restricted airspace
163.0500, N293 - USCG NET 112
163.0875, 131.8 PL
163.3125, N653 - Input to 171.6875 MHz
163.3625, 131.0 PL - VA Medical Center Police
164.3250, NE01
164.4000, N001 - USSS PAPA
164.4750, N167
164.6500, NAC 001 - USSS TANGO
164.8875, N001 - USSS OSCAR
165.2125
165.3750, N001 - USSS CHARLIE
165.5875
165.6375, N611
166.1875, N293  - USCG NET 124
166.4375, 100.0 - DHS CBP, input to 165.2375 MHz
166.4750, 94.8 PL - US Capitol Police
167.0375, N001 - USSS
167.0500, N1AF – Federal Communications Commission (FCC)
167.2500, N68F - Federal Interoperability LE-2/LE-6
167.4625, N167 – Tampa FBI
167.5375, N167 - FBI
167.5625, N167 - FBI
167.5875, N167 – Tampa FBI
167.6875, N167 – Tampa FBI
168.3500, 77.0 PL - US Capitol Police
168.4250, N001
168.5875, N001
168.8500, 151.4 PL - US Capitol Police
169.4500, 100.0 PL - DHS CBP NET 2
169.5125
170.3375, NF00
170.4375, NF00
170.5875, N131
170.8000, N293
170.8500, N864
170.8625
171.2000, N293
171.5750, 146.2 PL
171.6875, N653 - Federal Interoperability, TAM FIO
171.9500, NE01
172.9000, N001 - TSA @ Tampa International Airport
173.0125, N650 - BATFE Tac 3
173.8750, 94.8 PL - US Capitol Police
406.1375, D371 - US Postal Service
406.5625, N4A0 - USCG Base
407.0000, N201
407.1375, N482 - USPS Postal Inspectors
409.0000, N293 - USCG
409.3375, N293
410.6500, 100.0 PL
410.8000, N201
411.8500
413.2125, 167.9 PL - Nationwide Interoperability, IR14
417.5500, N254
417.6125, D165
418.2000, N744 - Federal Protective Service

Tampa Federal Monitoring - Updated

I'm located in the Tampa, Florida area for this week, so here is what I've been picking up. I'll update this list as new things are heard:
162.0250, CSQ - US Coast Guard
162.1250, CSQ - US Coast Guard
163.0625, P-25 - Unknown, heard at Tampa airport
163.0875, 131.8 - VAMC Maintenance?
163.3625, 131.8 - VAMC Security
165.2375, 100.0 - CBP Customs NET 1
166.4375, 100.0 - Input to 165.2375 MHz
167.4625, 167.9 - FBI DES
167.5875, 167.9 - FBI DES
168.5250, CSQ - Paging, VAMC?
168.8500, 151.4 - DHS ICE
169.4750 - Unknown
170.1250, D371 - USPS
172.1500, P-25 - DHS TSA simplex at Tampa Int'l
172.9000, P-25 - DHS TSA repeater
345.0000, AM - USCG Air Operations
406.1375, D371 - US Postal Service - Truck operations
406.5625, P-25 - MacDill AFB TRS
406.7625, P-25 - MacDill AFB TRS
406.9625, P-25 - MacDill AFB TRS
407.1375, P-25 Encrypted - possible USPS Inspectors new freq
407.3625, P-25 - MacDill AFB TRS
407.5625, P-25 - MacDill AFB TRS
407.7625, P-25 - MacDill AFB TRS
407.9625, P-25 - MacDill AFB TRS
408.1625, P-25 - MacDill AFB TRS
408.3625, P-25 - MacDill AFB TRS
408.5625, P-25 - MacDill AFB TRS
408.8500, D506 - ?
409.1625, P-25 - ?
409.4750, CSQ - ? Repeater
414.7000, 136.5 - ?
415.0500, USPS Inspectors
415.1375, D371 - US Postal Service - input to 406.1375 repeater
415.7625, P-25 ? - Possible input to 406.7625

Travel Logs - Boston

While traveling for business, I always try and have a couple of scanners in the hotel searching out the federal VHF and UHF bands. I collect all the frequencies that show activity in what I call my "Travel Log". I keep logs for all the cites I travel to and then add them to a master database of federal frequencies.

Some frequencies are indentified by listening, some by cross reference from local info and some are just unknown. Here is the log from my most recent visit to the Boston area:

UPDATED June 6:

162.0500 DES US Coast Guard
163.1750 NPS
163.2625 P-25 VAMC Jamaica Plain
163.7500 P-25 DHS CBP
164.1750 151.4 NPS USS Constitution
164.4000 P-25 USSS Papa
164.6500 P-25 USSS Tango - Boston FO
165.2375 DHS CBP NET 1
165.2875 P-25 ATF NET 1
165.7375 P-25 DHS CBP
166.0000 151.4 NPS Lowell
166.0750 123.0 USPS?
166.3500 151.4 NPS Lowell
166.4375 Input to 165.2375 repeater
166.4625 DHS Common
166.5375 P-25 ATF Repeater in
166.7750 D532 NPS Boston
166.9500 141.3 NPS Boston
166.9500 151.4 NPS Lowell
167.4375 167.9 BAPERN link to 470.7875
167.4625 DES FBI Boston
167.4875 167.9 FBI Boston
167.8500 ?
167.9500 141.3 NPS Boston
169.3000 P-25 Input to 172.9 TSA repeater
170.3750 131.8 USPS Bulk Mail Center - truck movements
170.5750 151.4 USS Constitution
170.7750 ?
171.9750 151.4 USS Constitution
172.7750 P-25 See 163.750
172.9000 P-25 TSA at BOS Logan Airport
173.6125 118.8 USPS South Station
414.3500 ? DTMF Signalling
417.2000 P-25 DHS FPS
418.3000 82.5 US Postal Service - Postal Facility Security

Sandy Recovery NYC Area

I have been in the Brooklyn/Staten Island area for the last few days have have been monitoring some of the federal recovery efforts. Federal agency activity has started to increase on Saturday, with FEMA finally setting up some communications along with some DoD assets. Some FEMA communications were heard in the clear.

I have been monitoring mostly from the Ft. Wadsworth area on Staten Island. Ft. Wadsworth is the location of the US Coast Guard Sector New York. They have had numerous fly overs by USCG helicopters and have been landing some at the baseball field on Ft. Wadsworth. I've also been seeing many other military and other helicopters flying over the area over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

The National Guard and active duty military units have begun to arrive and are staging at various locations, one of which is Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn. I have not been able to confirm any military or National Guard communications yet, but the National Parks Police are very busy supporting operations in their areas.

Here is what has been busy:

-->

162.3250	N293	USCG NET 111
164.3125 164.4000	N293 N001	USCG NET 115 USSS PAPA
165.1750	N225
165.2375	N301	DHS CBP DNET 1
166.0500	100.0	FORT WADSWORTH NPS OPERATIONS/SECURITY
166.3250	136.5	US PARK POLICE - NEW YORK AREA F1
167.7875	N653	FEDERAL I/O
168.9125	N935
169.7250	N824
169.8250	N225	NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, GATEWAY NATIONAL RECREATION AREA
173.6625	N167	FBI
345.0000	AM	USCG AIR OPERATIONS
406.3375	N482	USPS POSTAL INSPECTORS
407.6625	N421	FEMA
408.2000	N270	FEDERAL PROTECTIVE SERVICE
408.8625	N421	FEMA DMATS

UPDATE:
During the evening I heard multiple communications on 123.1 MHz from "AVIATION BASE". They were apparently directing inbound helicopters to landing and parking areas somewhere. There was mention of parking on a baseball field near a flight line. I thought it might have been at the old airfield at Floyd Bennett, but haven't been able to confirm that. Reports on Radio Reference have 242.2 MHz and 283.0 MHz being used by the National Guard helicopters operating in the area.

And I forgot to include in the list above the Red Cross frequency of 47.42 MHz, which I caught some transmissions Saturday.

Detroit Federal Scanning - Updated!

Here's what I've been finding active in Detroit the past few weeks. I'll be updating this list as I find more active frequencies:

162.2375, CSQ - Unknown
163.6250, 107.2 - DHS Customs and Border Protection
163.9875, P-25 - Encrypted, most likely FBI
164.3875, 110.9 - Probably US Postal Service truck operations
164.4000, P-25 - USSS Papa, Detroit Field Office?
164.6000, P-25 - DHS CBP or ICE
164.9625, CSQ - US Postal Service, referenced BMC (Bulk Mail Center)
165.1875, 123.0 - Unknown, mentioned FIRE units - Canadian?
165.2375, 100.0 - DHS Customs and Border Protection
165.5500 - Unknown, sounded like DES
165.9125, P-25 - Clear, probably ATF
166.5875, 100.0 - DHS Customs and Border Protection
166.7375 - Unknown
167.6375, 167.9 - FBI
169.0000, 103.5 - Unknown, simplex or repeater input
169.9125, 167.9 - Possible input to 170.8250 repeater
169.9500, 110.9 - Probably USPS, referenced "A Dock"
170.5500, P-25 - Encrypted, likely FBI
170.8250, 167.9 - FBI repeater
170.9500, P-25 - Encrypted, likely FBI
172.9000, P-25 - TSA
173.8000, P-25 - Clear but not enough traffic to identify
406.2250, P-25 - FCI Milan, MI trunked system
406.7000, P-25 - Clear, talking about score of Tigers / A's game
407.0500, P-25 - FCI Milan, MI trunked system
408.1000, P-25 - FCI Milan, MI trunked system
408.3250, P-25 - FCI Milan, MI trunked system
411.0750, ? - Strange digital mode, doesn't sound like DES, but not P-25
415.2000 - DHS Federal Protective Service
417.2000 - DHS Federal Protective Service
418.7500, 156.7 - DEA F3 aerial surviellance

New Southern AZ Finds

While visiting family in the Tucson area over Christmas 2017, I came across some new to me federal VHF channels in use. These include 2 new DMR VHF federal channels that I have not been able to determine who the user is yet.

168.7750 MHz DMR - Color Code 12, Time Slot 1
All conversations heard on Talk Group 111, so not part of a trunked system. All transmissions were encrypted.

169.3750 MHz DMR - Color Code 12, Time Slot 1
All conversations heard on Talk Group 122. Radio IDs were not the same as seen on 168.7750 MHz. All transmissions were encrypted.

   I'm not certain who these belong to. I had heard some analog traffic on the 168.7750 frequency in past years, but never identified who the user was. The frequencies themselves have been associated with the Department of Agriculture and the US Postal Service. My bet it probably on the USPS at some central mail facility in Tucson. Why they enabled the encryption is beyond me.

And as I was searching I came across two more CBP repeaters that I have not logged in my past visit:

169.8875 MHz, N208
173.9375 MHz, N304

Both carried encrypted traffic with the normal CBP radio identification ranges.

CBP Comm Center Alert

Apparently a suspicious white powder was discovered in a package delivered to the Customs & Border Protection National Law Enforcement Communications Center in Orlando. You can read about the incident here:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/newsletter/mu-html/orl-bk-powder120406,0,5204040.story

Although the powder turned out to be harmless, I wonder who would be sending such things to the NLECC.

Note that the CBP NLECC is not the same dispatch center as the US Postal Inspectors NLECC. You'll be able to read more about the USPS NLECC in the January Fed Files.

The Customs and Border Protection NLECC (Pre-9/11 and DHS, known as SECTOR, now heard on their radio frequencies as CHARLIE 100) continues to operate the nationwide communications network for the CBP as well as some other federal agencies that don't maintain their own national communications networks. Other agencies you might hear on the CBP channels include the ATF, Coast Guard, Department of Defense, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), NOAA and the Department of Agriculture. For a fairly current list of the CBP nationwide radio nets, check the Fed Files blog here: http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/2006_05_28_mt-fedfiles_archive.html

Las Vegas Redux

Back in Las Vegas with some time to search the federal bands. Here are a few things I've been hearing:
165.2375, 100.0 - DHS CBP NET 1, with OTAR data.
168.4375, 114.8 pl - Analog repeater being keyed up by noise on the input side.
172.7625, P-25 - 14-xx units talking about heading back to the office.
413.6000, 103.5 pl - USPS sounds like a postal sorting facility.
418.9000, 156.7 pl - DEA with OTAR data.

Lots to hear in Las Vegas, federal, military and others. But I can't seem to find enough time to spend with the scanners, and the places I've been working & staying have a terrible amount of RF hash in the area that just wipes out the radios!