The latest version of the Department of Homeland Security National Interoperability Field Operations Guide (NIFOG) is now available for download. You can find this PDF file at this link:
The electronic version is also available at the Apple App store and Google Play for your mobile devices:
Apple
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/enifog/id1231552691
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.saic.eNIFOG&hl=en_US&gl=US
Recent events in the South Florida area prompted requests from readers for information on the frequencies used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
At 1:23 AM on June 24, 2021, a large section of the Champlain Towers South condominium building in Surfside, Florida, collapsed. Nearly 100 people lost their lives in the collapse. The response to the building collapse was massive, with not only Miami city agencies and Florida state agencies responding, but quite a few federal agencies sent teams of personal and equipment in. On June 25, President Biden signed an Emergency Declaration authorizing federal assistance to local and state resources.
FEMA can show up in nearly any federal frequency band, but their primary frequencies of choice these days is in the 400 MHz federal band. All communications are likely P25 digital and encrypted. FEMA has also been observed handing out Motorola DTR710 900 MHz spread spectrum frequency hopping radios in some situations. In addition to the FEMA channels, be sure and keep a watch on the VHF and UHF interoperability frequencies found in the DHS National Interoperability Field Operations Guide, or NIFOG. Radios deployed at disaster sites will have all the NIFOG channels available for use.
Here is a listing of known FEMA radio frequencies that were probably in use in South Florida and can be used in any disaster response. The P-25 digital channels will often be used with a Network Access Code (NAC) of N421, but other NACs have been observed in some situations. All of these can be used as repeater pairs (inputs are usually +9 MHz in the UHF band), or any frequency can be simplex:
406.2625 N421 FEMA 01/02
406.4500
406.4625
406.6500
406.6750
406.7000
406.7250
406.7500
406.8625 National Disaster Medical System (NDMS)
407.0625 N421 FEMA 03/04
407.1250 NDMS
407.2625
407.4500 N421 FEMA 11/12
407.4625
407.5250
407.6625 N421 FEMA 05/06
407.8000
407.8500
407.9000
407.9250
408.0625
408.2625
408.8625 N421 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) 01
409.0000 N447 FEMA NDMS
409.0500 N447 FEMA NDMS
409.0625 N421 FEMA 07/08
409.0750 NDMS
409.1500
409.2000
409.2625 USAR
409.3375
409.4625 N421 FEMA 11
409.6625 USAR
409.7250
409.8625 N421 FEMA 05
410.2625 USAR
410.3375 N447 FEMA NDMS
410.4625 N421 FEMA 09/10
410.6625 FEMA Urban Search and Rescue (USAR)
410.8625 N421 FEMA 14
412.4375
412.8250
412.8375
412.8500
412.8625
412.8750
412.8875
412.9000
412.9125
414.9125
414.9375
414.9500
414.9625
415.2625
415.4625
415.6500
415.6750
415.7000
415.7250
415.7500
415.8625
416.0625
416.2625
416.4500 N421 FEMA INPUT
416.4625
416.5250
416.6625
416.8000
416.8500
416.9000
416.9250
417.0625
417.2625
417.2875
417.8625
418.0625 N421 FEMA 08 INPUT
418.0750
418.1500
418.2000
418.2625
418.3375
418.4625 N421 FEMA 11 INPUT
418.6625
418.7250
418.8625 N421 FEMA 05 INPUT
419.2625
419.4625 N421 FEMA 02 INPUT
419.6625 N421
419.8625 N421 FEMA 14 INPUT
I will continue to update my FEMA frequency listings on the Fed Files Blog page, which can be found here: http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/p/fema-frequencies.html
For those who may have missed the discussions on Radio Reference or in the pages of The Spectrum Monitor magazine, there has been a redacted version of the Government Master File of federal radio frequencies made available on line.
The web site Government Attic obtained the unclassified portion of the GMF and posted it on their site. The first page of the PDF file indicate that Government Attic requested the GMF copy from the Department of Commerce through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. The request was submitted on May 19 and was released on June 25, 2021.
Here is a link to the file if you wish to download it for yourself:
https://www.governmentattic.org/41docs/NTIAgovtMasterFile_2021.pdf
The released PDF file is 82 megabytes large and contains over 15,500 pages of text information from the GMF, although some have noticed that there are some blank and duplicate pages in this file. It is important to note that this is only a portion of the entire Government Master File, a portion that had been unclassified for release.
Those who are in the know say that this release is only about 20 percent of the entire file. The entire GMF is quite large and is only available to persons or organizations who hold a government security clearance. Sensitive frequencies used by agencies of the Justice Department, Homeland Security, Department of State, etc., are all redacted from this document.
Despite being heavily edited, there are some interesting federal frequencies listed for various offices and agencies that you may not have known about before, so definitely check it out if you have time to look through the file.
Since this version of the GMF extract is a PDF file, your PDF reader program should have a search function built in. I have found that to find a specific frequency, you can search for “M162.5500”, with M standing for Megahertz and K for kilohertz. You can search for city names or federal facility names or locations.
This is not federal or military specific, but interesting none the less.
A recent discovery of a new type of P-25 trunking control channel has sparked some developments in the various monitoring and analysis software solutions.
It seems that a couple of new Harris P-25, phase 2 trunked radio systems for energy companies have started using the same TDMA modulation for the control channel data as is used for the voice frequencies. Traditionally, the control channels in P-25 phase 2 trunked systems have used FDMA modulation for the control channel data. This is potentially a big change for all P-25 trunked system monitoring, although it appears to be an option for newer systems that are being built out now and is not likely to start showing up on existing public safety radio systems.
Here is the Radio Reference forum thread with more specific information on what was found:
The Bluetail Technologies forum also seems to indicate they have added TDMA control channel support for their SDR receivers:
https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/tdma-control-channel-support.429563/#post-3544536
The web site "Government Attic" has posted a PDF of some of the NTIA Government Master File (GMF). This file contains license and associated frequency information for federal agency radio frequencies.
This file appears to have been obtained via a Freedom of Information request. I have known several people who were able to obtain this same information by filing a federal FOI request.
Remember that this is the unclassified section of the GMF and contains no real information on federal law enforcement agencies or their radio systems. Even with that said, there are many interesting tidbits of federal frequency usage by other agencies.
https://www.governmentattic.org/41docs/NTIAgovtMasterFile_2021.pdf
Back in February, I mentioned in The Spectrum Monitor column that the Bonneville Power Administration was in the process of expanding their radio network. The BPA, part of the Department of Energy, is responsible for distributing power generated by some of the hydroelectric facilities in the Pacific Northwest. The BPA operated in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and parts of California and Montana.
Here is a list of what might be in use once the project is completed:
168.2250 CA, CO, ID, MT, OR, WA
168.3250 ID, MT, OR, WA
172.5000 ID, MT, OR, WA
172.5250 ID, MT, OR, WA, WY
172.5750 CA, ID, MT, OR, WA
173.0625 Beverly, WA
173.1125 Boistfort Peak, Deer Creek, WA
173.1375 OR, WA
173.1500 ID, OR, WA
173.1625 MT, WA
173.1750 Capitol Peak, WA
173.1875 Targhee Substation, ID
173.4500 Capitol Peak, Sickler Substation, Teanaway, WA
173.4750 Blacktail Peak, MT, Central Ferry Substation, WA
173.5500 MT, OR
173.5750 Stampede Pass, WA
173.6000 Sunnyside, WA
173.6125 Mt. Hebo, Shaniko, OR
173.6375 Bald Mountain, MT
173.6500 Calx Mountain, MT, Augspurger Mountain, WA
173.7125 Beverly, WA
173.7250 Haystack Butte, WA
173.7375 Bald Mountain, MT, Cougar, West Portland, OR
173.7500 Roosevelt, Tunk Mountain, WA
173.8000 Hilltop Substation, CA, Ripplebrook, OR
173.8125 Skyrocket, WA
173.9500 Malaga, WA
173.9750 Ripplebrook, OR
406.1875 ID, OR
407.4000 ID, WA
415.1875 ID, OR
416.4000 ID, WA
Just a quick note that Super Bowl LV is near at hand and I am in the middle of the broadcasting of the big game. It's going to be a little different this year with very limited crowds and social distancing within our work areas at the stadium.
We've already had the usual parade of DHS helicopters orbiting the stadium each day, as well as the Department of Energy survey helicopter looking at background radiation levels.
I will have more of what I saw and heard in March edition of The Spectrum Monitor magazine!
Here is a recent article addressing the woes of the Department of the Interior and their various radio systems for the various agencies within the DoI;
The article mentions an audit by the Office of the Inspector General of the DoI from 2007:
https://www.doioig.gov/sites/doioig.gov/files/2007-G-00042.pdf
And the subsequent verification review in 2017:
https://www.doioig.gov/sites/doioig.gov/files/RadioCommunicationsProgramVerificationReviewPublic.pdf
And an example of the difficulties of some of the users of the DoI radio systems:
http://aparkrangerslife.blogspot.com/2010/08/radio-communications-park-rangers-life.html
Amongst the flurry of activity surrounding the 59th Presidential Inauguration, there were reports that some different radio call signs heard being used by some federal agencies.
Although probably not related to the Inauguration activity, a reported FBI aircraft was heard using the call sign of KONA. This was seen reported on some social media postings.
And there were several reports of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) aircraft using the call sign of TROY. The aircraft using this call were reportedly the slick, dark colored Sikorsky S-76 helicopters seen around the Washington, DC area - https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33136/the-curious-case-of-customs-and-border-protections-mysterious-unmarked-s-76-helicopters
While the FBI has several call signs they have been known to use, including ROSS, JENA and others, the CBP aircraft usually answer to the OMAHA call sign, but have been known to use special, mission-related calls.
We will see what comes up in Tampa at the upcoming Super Bowl game.
