BLM LE USING SATCOM

 On my recent travels through Arizona, I spotted a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Law Enforcement vehicle that had a large SATCOM antenna on the roof. There was also what appeared to be a multi-band land mobile radio antenna as well.

The large, platter shaped antenna is on the left side, over the drivers head. It is labeled with a number of warning emblems, probably telling you to not touch the antenna while in use.

 

I did not know that BLM had satellite capabilities, but it makes sense as they often operate in very remote areas, many miles from cell sites.

This is an additional agency that has been confirmed to have access to satellite voice and data communications. This list includes other Department of the Interior agencies, such as US Geological Survey, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), FEMA, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Army Corps of Engineers and Health & Human Services. 

There are likely more agencies that can use mobile satellite gear. The NIFOG does list some federal interoperability channels/networks that are available on satellite.

New Pages Added

 At the top of the Fed Files Blog home page, you should see tabs that will take you to frequency lists of various federal agencies and offices. I have recently added some new tabs to include some frequencies that were requested by some blog visitors.

I have added tabs for the Department of Agriculture, which includes the Forest Service, and a tab for the Department of the Interior, which includes the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the National Park Service (NPS).

 I will be updating and adding some specific listings for various parks and forests soon.

Federal Use of Analog

In the December Federal Wavelengths column, I mentioned that most federal law enforcement agencies still have a zone of their frequencies in analog mode available for their use. Many have it labeled as "WB" or wide-band.

This week, I received reports of one such use. The Drug Enforcement Administration has long been noted to still use their TAC channels in analog, especially when an airborne observer was part of the surveillance operations. The reports I have seen have analog surveillance ops going on, and some limited reports of DES encryption being used. 

So it might be good to set up some analog searches of federal channels some time!

New TSA Frequencies Appear

With the switch over  to UHF P25 for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), there have been some airport locations that are revealing some new frequency allocations. I recently discovered a new repeater pairing in Detroit (DTW). They are using 407.7000 / 415.7000 MHz, with a NAC of N13E. I had not seen this pair of frequencies in use at other airport locations yet. 

 I also heard from a reader who confirmed 411.3375 MHz, N0D2 in use in  Rochester, NY (ROC).

I am posting updates on new frequencies and NACs on the TSA page here:

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

As more airport locations start using the new Motorola UHF radios, some new frequencies are bound to show up, so keep searching!

NIFOG 2.01 Now Available

The newest version of the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide, also known as the NIFOG has been updated. Version 2.01 is now available for download here:

 https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/video/NIFOG%202.01_508%20FINAL%20VERSION%205%2011%2022_0.pdf

Some changes I noted include a revamped Network Access Code (NAC) assignment for the 700 MHz interoperability frequencies. Also I see some default frequencies listed for deployable trunking systems. 

FPS Los Ageles Update

I recently received word that the Federal Protective Service (FPS) in Los Angeles has finally upgraded their UHF repeater to be P-25 digital. The LA operation had been one of the few FPS locations that was still analog as of a few weeks ago. 

The LA area repeater is now using 410.8000 MHz, using a NAC of N201. 

The Orange County repeater on Santiago Peak is now using 406.2000 MHz, N201.  

And encryption was utilized when the radios were updated. 

The General Services Administration (GSA) federal building maintenance repeater on 415.2 MHz remains analog. 

June 2022 Column Typo!

 It appears that one frequency in my June TSM column got cut off.

On page 43 of the June issue, under the map of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve locations in Texas and Louisiana, I listed frequencies that have been confirmed as in use by these facilities. However, the very first frequency should be 164.2250 MHz and not 64.225 MHz.