"FEMA will transmit the nationwide test of the EAS at 2:20 p.m. Eastern Time (ET), on November 17, 2026, using the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). The test will be disseminated in English and Spanish as a Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) message using the Nationwide Test of the Emergency Alert System (NPT) event code."
"If conditions on that date require the rescheduling of the test, it will be conducted on December 3, 2026."
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!
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.
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.
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
The latest version of the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG) has been released and is available for download at this link:
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.
