After my recent trip to LA for Super Bowl 56, I was a guest on Phil Lichtenberger’s Scanner School podcast.
We talked at some length about the whole event and what I managed to hear.
You can listen to podcast #221 at scannerschool.com:
THE FED FILES - Welcome to The Fed Files blog! This blog was originally built to support the "Fed Files" column in Monitoring Times magazine. Although the Fed Files, as well as Monitoring Times, ended with the December 2013 issue, this blog continues and is associated with the new federal monitoring column, Federal Wavelengths, in The Spectrum Monitor magazine. If you would like to make a comment, pass along a tip or frequency you can send it to my email address, chrisparris @ thefedfiles.com
After my recent trip to LA for Super Bowl 56, I was a guest on Phil Lichtenberger’s Scanner School podcast.
We talked at some length about the whole event and what I managed to hear.
You can listen to podcast #221 at scannerschool.com:
The rollout of the new UHF radio systems for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) appears to be proceeding at a fast pace.
So far we have found the frequencies of 406.7375/415.7375 MHz, P-25 using various NAC's. The P25 radio IDs are in the 8xxxx or 9xxxx range so far, but some radios are just showing a RID of 1.They appear to be using a repeater at the airport, but I have identified a simplex channel of 411.4875 MHz, using the same NAC at one of the airports listed below. More are likely to be found as I get more time at the airports to monitor. I suspect that the simplex channels will be available with multiple NACs in different zones of the radios, similar to what they used in the VHF channel plans.
Lots of questions regarding encryption - Yes the TSA has always had AES encryption available in their radios and the new APX radios are no exception. And like the other radios, the encryption is not forced on, so you will get some clear transmissions.
(NOTE: Corrected the frequency pair listing above which started out as incorrect!)
Here is a list of what we have found active so far. I will update the list as new finds come in.
Airport P-25 NAC
AUS - Austin Bergstrom N061
BOS - Boston Logan N01C
BUR - Hollywood Burbank N06A
COS - Colorado Springs N076
DAL - Dallas Love Field N07C
DEN - Denver International N016
DFW - Dallas/Ft. Worth Int'l N02A
EWR - Newark N03D
HOU - Houston Hobby N028
JFK - New York JFK N02N
LAX - Los Angeles Intl N031,N032
LGA - New York LaGuardia N03A
MCO - Orlando Intl N040
SAN - San Diego Intl N0E0
SFO - San Francisco Intl N049
NOTES:
In addition to the repeater paired frequencies, here are simplex channels that have been confirmed:
409.4875
411.2875
411.4875
411.5375
414.6125
414.6375
414.9125
415.7375
418.4875
419.6875
These channels may be used with multiple NACs at the various airport locations.
UPDATES!
On my latest trip through San Diego, the TSA at SAN airport were using 414.6375 MHz, with a NAC of N0E0. Encryption was not forced, so some clear traffic was heard.
I just noticed a posting from CARMA Chicago that they heard a tone on 406.7375 MHz, N293. Unknown if this is testing for a TSA repeater, but odds are that it is. Also unknown if this is O'Hare or Midway airport.
While traveling through Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) today, I noted that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents in the Terminal 2 checkpoint had Motorola APX-900 radios with them instead of the BK Radios that they have been using for some years now.
I put one of the radios in my backpack into searching the UHF federal band and quickly came up with some encrypted traffic on 406.7375 MHz, with a P-25 NAC of N031.
There may be additional UHF channels in use at LAX, but it will take some time to find them. But this frequency seems to be common for all TSA locations so far. The repeater input is 415.7375 MHz.
For those wondering, yes I was at Super Bowl 56 in Inglewood last week, and there was plenty to hear. I didn't publish what was happening in real time, but will have a full report in the April issue of The Spectrum Monitor magazine.
I would normally try and get it in the March issue, but due to editorial deadlines and the fact that the game occurred a week later than in past years, just made it too difficult to get done in time.
I will share a picture of my work space at the stadium for the time I was on site!
Also some of the CBP helicopters that visited the stadium and dodged commercial traffic from LAX!
I have recently received word of the new TSA UHF frequency being heard in the Houston, Texas area.
406.7375 MHz, was heard active with a NAC of N028. The report could not establish if this was from Houston Hobby airport (KHOU) or Houston George Bush Intercontinental airport (KIAH). It might be a common repeater for the area, and each airport may have addtional, simplex P-25 frequencies.
This makes the third or fourth city that has seen the new TSA channel active. Boston is using the same frequency with a NAC of N01C, Colorado Springs is using a NAC of N076. And someone posted on a thread about the TSA in Milwaukee that "Wisconson TSA has gone UHF", but no details were shared.
More updates as they come it!
I have been receiving reports of some recent changes in the Federal Protective Service (FPS) radio channels in multiple cities.
First, listeners were not hearing the normal FPS traffic on 410.8000, 410.7000, or 410.9000 MHz in the eastern Georgia region. After some additional monitoring, it was determined that they had changed their P-25 Network Access Code (NAC) from N270 to N201.
I also received word that a new FPS repeater on 410.8000 MHz, N201 was being used in the Chicago area. This seems to replace the long used FPS channel of 406.7000 MHz, N201.
Nashville, TN has also reported a new FPS presence on 410.8000 MHz, N201 as well, so maybe they are attempting to coordinate everything into a regional or national channel plan.
This may indicate other changes are afoot, so keep an ear on the federal UHF channels for any new activity.
One of the great monitoring locations I have encountered in my travels is O’Hare airport in Chicago (ORD). There is so much going on there, not just with air traffic and airlines, but the public safety and federal operations are always busy. One of the ongoing mysteries for me is what frequencies are being used by which federal agencies at ORD? In particular, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). Since the TSA moved to their newer P-25 radios a few years ago, they seemed to be hard to catch at ORD.
Chicago usually has plenty of federal activity, and here is a listing of what I have caught over my last few visits:
162.0625 NC02 Customs and Border Protection @ ORD
162.8250 NC02 Customs and Border Protection @ ORD
162.9500 NC02 Customs and Border Protection @ ORD
163.1125 N496
163.1375 N293 Coast Guard NET 113
163.4750 NC02 Customs and Border Protection @ ORD
163.6250 NC02 Customs and Border Protection @ ORD
163.6750 NC02 Customs and Border Protection @ ORD
163.7500 NC02 Customs and Border Protection @ ORD
163.7750 NC02 Customs and Border Protection @ ORD
164.2625 127.3 PL Department of Energy - Fermilabs
165.0750 N03D TSA at ORD Airport
165.8500 NC02
166.7375 N03D TSA at ORD Airport
166.8125 N167 FBI
167.5875 N167 FBI
168.0875 NC02
168.8875 N653 Chicago Tactical North (CG-TAC N)
168.9125 N653 Chicago Tactical South (CG-TAC S)
169.5750 N156 DEA
170.3750 N156 DEA
170.5625 N156 DEA
170.6250 N167 FBI
170.7250 N167 FBI
170.8125 N653 Chicago Command North (CG-COM N)
170.8500 N864
170.8625 N167 FBI
171.2875 N293
171.4375 N653 Chicago Command South (CG-COM S)
171.6125 N167 FBI
171.6875 N653 Chicago Command Central (CG-COM C)
172.2125 N653 Chicago Tactical Central (CG-TAC C)
172.6625 NC02 Customs and Border Protection @ ORD
173.1875 N650 BATFE
173.8625 N156 DEA
406.1125 DMR
406.3375 N482 Postal Inspection Service (PIS)
406.6625 DMR-CC1 Federal Reserve Bank Branch
406.7000 N201 Federal Protective Service, Chicago
407.0750 DMR
407.1250 N396 BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center
407.7250 N482 Postal Inspection Service
407.7750 N482 Postal Inspection Service
407.8375 N293
408.2500 N396 BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center
409.9125 N396 BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center
409.9500 N396 BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center
412.9750 N293
Over the last year, there has been some anticipation over the move of the Transportation Security Administration to new radios. They had been seeking new UHF radios to replace their current VHF BK radios used in most airports around the United States.
Today, I received word of some activity on a federal UHF frequency in the Boston, MA area that is likely a new TSA UHF repeater system at Logan Airport.
The active frequency was 406.7375 MHz, NAC was N01C. Radio IDs were in the 839xxx range. Clear testing was heard from locations around the airport terminals. Encryption was also noted.
The frequency is interesting as I have no reports on that frequency use before. It is listed in the NTIA documents as being paired with 415.7375 MHz for repeater use.
More on this as I receive additional reports.
UPDATE 11/23/21 - Colorado Springs, CO is now using 406.7375/415.7375 repeater with a NAC of N076.
And thanks to all my anonymous sources!