Durango Dispatch USFS Info

A source passed along this link to the Durango Dispatch Center firefighting information packet. These PDF files occasionally show up on line sometimes, but then they can dissapear just as quickly:

http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/fire/drc/2006briefguide.pdf

The Durango Dispatch Center (DRC) is an interagency dispatch center responsible for incidents and resource mobilization coordination for the San Juan Public Lands (San Juan NF - USFS and San Juan Field Office -BLM), Ute Mountain Ute Reservation, Southern Ute Reservation, Mesa Verde National Park, Southwest Colorado counties, and Colorado State Forest Service.

Federal Air Marshals Communications

Recent posts on the AirCommSouthwest Yahoo group were concerning the Federal Air Marshals Service and an incident involving an Air Marshal on a recent flight. After the incident, in which a passenger was subdued by an Air Marshal, the FAM requested the pilot call in a report of what happened. The pilot was heard on an ARINC VHF air-to-ground frequency calling in the incident. Some wondered about what the Air Marshals have to communicate with while on duty.

Although there have been reports of some type of satellite or world-wide communications system, the Federal Air Marshals most likely just have cell phones. One list member posted a link to this document that mentioned the TSA and Federal Air Marshals Service using satellite communications:

http://www.house.gov/hasc/schedules/6-21-06CavossaTestimony.pdf

However, further searches on the subject of the Air Marshals Service and satellite communications reveals this story:

http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/06/air_marshals_bo.html

It seems that if they have a satellite communications system, it doesn't work as advertised.

I also received some anonymous information regarding the Federal Air Marshals and a UHF radio system that was installed for the New York Field Office:

F1 408.050 (418.050, input)

F2 418.075

F3 418.575

F4 418.400

It's not known if these are used nationwide or only in the NYC area.

Coast Guard MSST Activity

I recently received some loggings of some USCG MSST activity in the Southeast US...

From an anonymous source:

"Within the last year, I have had two opportunities to monitor what I believe is MSST 91108 (King's Bay). They have done security zone operations on the Savannah River at Georgia Ports in both March and December. On both occasions they have used 25' RB-S Defender Class boats using 2548# hull numbers. I can only make an educated guess that they are from King's Bay, but they are certainly an MSST, as they were addressed as such by the civilian police boats working on the river. They operated on 157.050, Ch. 21 with guard through Sector Charleston rather than Station Tybee. They ID'd variously by hull number, THUNDER ### (last 3 digits of hull number), and VENOM ### (last 3 digits of hull number). They used 157.075, Ch. 81 and 157.175, Ch. 83 for internal / boat-to-boat communications. They used hull number / THUNDER/VENOM callsigns here as well as COYOTE, SUNCOAST, and VOODOO (these last 3 I think may have been coxswain or crew related and not boat-assigned)."

Thanks to my anonymous source for passing that information along...

For those not familiar with the Marine Safety and Security Teams, you can read more about them here:

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/comrel/factfile/Factcards/MSST.htm

What's Up in MT?

The January Monitoring Times Fed Files covers a number of topics, including our Fed Files drawing for an original issue of Monitoring Times, and information regarding MT "Reader Only" access to areas of the MT web site. We also cover a number of federal agency frequencies, including the US Postal Inspectors, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a close look at the Justice Department's "25 Cities Project". And we get a view of Oklahoma City federal scanning with the help of a Monitoring Times reader!

A Very Merry Fed Files Christmas!

Sorry for the lack of new blog entries these days, but between traveling for work and getting up to speed on the holidays, I've just not had the time for posting things lately.
However, I can offer some federal monitoring nuggets as stocking stuffers:
418.9000, 156.7 pl - DEA repeater with OTAR data, heard in the area of LAX.
167.3375 MHz, P-25 - Interesting FBI surviellance operation in the Los Angeles area on Friday, December 22. Airborne observers were in a helicopter and the P-25 vocoder had an interesting time with the whine of the turbines in the backround.
166.9125 MHz, P-25 - Unknown agency in the Los Angeles area, with both encrypted and clear traffic.
163.2125 MHz, P-25 and 163.6375 MHz, P-25 - Both of these frequencies were reported as being used by some sort of simplex operation in the Portland, Oregon area this past week. No idea who the agency is yet.

Little Rock Federal Scanning - Updated

I'm set up in Little Rock, Arkansas for the weekend and will have some time for searching the federal bands. Here's some of what I've been hearing:
163.8125, 131.8 - US Marshals
163.8125, 136.5 - US Marshals
166.7125, 146.2 - Unknown repeater, sounds like maintenance types
168.3625, 146.2 - Unknown repeater
168.5250 - Paging, McClellan VA Medical Center
169.5875, P-25 - Little Rock Air Force Base Security Police
173.1375, P-25 - Unknown, likely Little Rock AFB
173.4375, P-25 - Little Rock Air Force Base, sounds like base security police
173.5375, 118.8 - Unknown repeater
173.5875, P-25 - Little Rock Air Force Base, Fire / Crash Net
406.1625, P-25 - Motorola SmartNet trunked system 4628
406.3625, P-25 - Motorola SmartNet trunked system 4628
406.5625, P-25 - Motorola SmartNet trunked system 4628
406.7625, P-25 - Motorola SmartNet trunked system 4628
406.9625, P-25 - Motorola SmartNet trunked system 4628
407.1625, P-25 - Motorola SmartNet trunked system 4628
407.3625, P-25 - Motorola SmartNet trunked system 4628
409.7625, P-25 - Motorola SmartNet trunked system 4628
409.7375, D664 - US Postal Service
415.2000, 103.5 - DHS Federal Protective Service
418.7375, D664 - US Postal Service, input to 409.7375
418.9500, 156.7 - DEA
419.1750, 210.7 - DHS Federal Protective Service, input to 415.2

The UHF trunked system noted above was originally reported as being located at Little Rock Air Force Base. However, I was unable to detect any of these or any other 406-420 MHz signals radiating from the base as I drove around the base perimeter today. The control channel on 406.1625 MHz started to come in very weakly as I drove back south to Little Rock, and was still very weak at my hotel. Since all the radios using this system are running encryption, I'm calling this "Unidentified" for now.

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

MT Blog Subscription Offer!

Monitoring Times is offering a discount on new or renewed MT Express subscriptions that mention the MT Blogs!

MT Express is the electronic version of the printed magazine. If comes to you in your email as a PDF file that can easily be read, printed and searched on your computer.

You can get a 1-year subscription to MT Express for $14.95 if you mention that you read about it here on one of the Monitoring Times Column Blogs. This offer is good for new subscritions or renewals that are ordered by December 31st 2006 and can be used only once.

To order your MT Express subscription visit http://www.grove-ent.com/MT.html or call 800-438-8155 (US and Canada). Be sure and mention that you read about it here on the Fed Files Blog!

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

National Parks Going Digital - Updated!

A number of reports have come across my desk about the National Parks Service switch to APCO P-25 digital, and that change appears to be in full swing. Here is a sample of what’s being heard:

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
168.4750
170.0500

Gettysburg National Memorial Park
164.7250

Great Smokey Mountain National Park
167.1500
169.0875
169.5500
170.5125
171.1625

Hopewell Furnace National Historical Site
172.4000

Independance National Historical Park
164.1250
164.7250
164.7500
171.6500

Shenandoah National Park
169.9250
171.7000
173.6750

Valley Forge National Historical Park
164.4250
165.4375

If you have any other National Parks frequencies that have switched to P-25 digital, let us know at the Fed Files!

Special thanks to those folks who have helped pass along this information!

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!

Justice IWN News

A recent article on the Government Computer News web site http://www.gcn.com has some insight in to the progress of the Justice Integrated Wireless Network,

http://www.gcn.com/print/25_32/42518-1.html

The article indicates that the next wave of IWN installation may be the US Southern Border region.

TSA Oddity at SFO - Updated!

A while back I asked Fed Files readers to keep an ear out for new frequencies that might be used by the Transportation Security Administration. Well, I found a new one, but not quite what I was expecting!

While changing planes at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) I had time to run my Uniden 396 scanner in Close Call mode and found the TSA operating on 469.5000 MHz, DPL 023! I confirmed that many, but not all, TSA personel were carrying UHF Motorola Radius or similar model hand-held radios. I was also able to confirm the transmissions I was hearing were from the TSA checkpoint near my gate. I was not able to see if they were using any additional UHF frequencies.

So what's up with that? I assumed that all the TSA operations had gotten their P-25 VHF radios long ago, but maybe they are awaiting new model radios. I have noticed that some TSA operations have newer XTS radios than were originally issued.

Oh, and I was able to confirm that 170.6250 MHz P-25 is the Customs & Border Protection operations for International Arrivals at SFO.

UPDATE - I was reminded by several members of the Fedcom e-mail list about the fact that the screeners at SFO are not really TSA, but work for a sub-contractor, in this case Covenant Aviation Security. If the federal contract with the TSA does not provide for radios to be supplied, I guess the contractor is responsible.

http://www.covenantsecurity.com/

Justice IWN Marches On!

Until recently the Justice Integrated Wireless Network (JIWN) testbed trunked system operated within the state of Washington, but now the system has started to creep south into the Portland, Oregon area. Last week several new P-25 VHF control channels suddenly hit the airwaves. A group of us in the area have started trying to map out these new sites as they come on line, and here's what we've found so far:

170.7250 Site 119 Portland-Mount Scott
170.8375 Site 119 Portland-Mount Scott
170.9375 Site 119 Portland-Mount Scott
172.0625 Site 119 Portland-Mount Scott
172.2125 Site 119 Portland-Mount Scott
172.4125 Site 119 Portland-Mount Scott
167.5125 Site 120 Portland-Germantown Rd.
167.6625 Site 120 Portland-Germantown Rd.
168.5875 Site 120 Portland-Germantown Rd.
168.9125 Site 120 Portland-Germantown Rd.
169.2375 Site 120 Portland-Germantown Rd.
169.9375 Site 121 Portland Metro Area
171.6625 Site 121 Portland Metro Area
170.8625 Site 122 Portland Metro Area
171.6125 Site 122 Portland Metro Area
172.1875 Site 122 Portland Metro Area
167.6125 Site 123 Portland
170.9875 Site 123 Portland

This information is very preliminary. We've been hearing the radio techs setting up these new sites and testing various systems. Some of the sites have not been activated yet, so more frequencies will be coming soon. Most of the traffic has been un-encrypted, but encryption has been the primary mode on the rest of the JIWN system.

Press reports indicate that final contracts for this nationwide JIWN project may be finalized by early 2007, so we'll see when this system starts appearing in other parts of the country.

"Historic" Federal Photos

While going through some files yesterday, I came across a couple of photos I shot back in 1983 on a driving trip through El Paso, Texas. These are some of the antennas that were on top of the El Paso Intelligence Center, or EPIC. EPIC was and is still a major coordination center for the border interdiction efforts of the DEA, Coast Guard, Customs and other agencies. At the time I took these photos EPIC was located along I-10 in mid-town El Paso, but since has been moved on to the Fort Bliss military base.

http://www.dea.gov/programs/epic.htm

You can click on the photos for a closer look at the UHF satcom antennas.

Postal Inspectors Continue P-25 Upgrades

While searching through the federal UHF band (406.1 to 420 MHz), I often run in to frequencies used by the US Postal Inspection Service. The most common channels used by the Postal Inspectors have been 414.7250, 414.7500 and 415.0500 MHz. However many cities are in the process of upgrading to P-25 digital radio systems and many cities have changed frequencies. The Postal Inspection Service has also moved to 2 regional dispatch centers that they are calling NLECC, or National Law Enforcement Control Centers. Many listeners have reported hearing NLECC (heard as"En-Leck") calling various "IDA" units in the field.

This week I am hearing NLECC Fort Worth doing some radio tests in the Portland, Oregon area on 407.1375 MHz. This frequency has been noted in the past with occasional traffic, but was always encrypted. So far most of these tests with NLECC Fort Worth and Portland have been in the clear, but we'll see how long that lasts.

Also have confirmation of the Postal Inspectors repeater in the Boston area, 409.9375 MHz with an input of 418.9375 MHz.

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

173.8125 MHz and ROSS / JENA Call Sign

I recently posted that 173.8125 MHz was a mystery frequency in my home base area of Portland, OR. The frequency is P-25 digital with almost 100% of the transmissions encrypted. I was finally able to positively identify the frequency as the FBI with the help of ROSS 25.

On Monday morning, October 9th, I caught ROSS 25, an FBI observation aircraft, calling Portland International approach control, telling them they would be working over downtown Portland at 4000 feet. Shortly after that transmission, 173.8125 MHz came alive with CLEAR P-25 traffic from "25", indicating they were having a tough time following the target on the ground! So don't give up on those encrypted channels!

Speaking of ROSS aircraft call signs - A poster on the MILCOM e-mail list is reporting that in his area the FBI aircraft have started using the call sign JENA (GINA, JEANA?) for flight operations. I've also received confirmed reports from the Seattle area of an aircraft previously heard as a ROSS flight now using the JENA call sign. And a message from South Florida indicates a JENA or JEANNA flight has been heard regularly down there. Anyone else hearing this call sign change for the FBI surveillance flights?

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

Goings On

It was noted on Friday, September 29th by an Los Angeles area listener that he heard a new P-25 repeater being tested on 172.7375 MHz. I was in the area on Friday and Saturday but was unable to catch any traffic on this frequency. Anyone else in the SoCal area heard this frequency active?

And in my home base of Portland, OR there continues to be a "mystery" operation taking place on 173.8125 MHz. This is a P-25 simplex net, and they are encrypted 99.9% of the time. I've only managed to catch 1 or 2 transmissions in the clear.

Got any mystery frequencies in your list? Please let us know about them at the Fed Files and Monitoring Times!

What's Coming Up in MT

Coming up in the November Fed Files will be a look at the new FAA VHF nationwide communications system frequencies, a close look at New York City federal trunked systems and some additional Pittsburgh monitoring information.

In January we're going to run a Fed Files contest. Details will be coming soon!

We're also working on a project to organize all the Bureau of Prisons facilies with information on their UHF trunking systems. If you monitor any of these federal prisons systems, please feel free to pass along that data to the Fed Files!

DHS ICE in DFW

I've received some reports from the Dallas Ft. Worth Metroplex of a new DHS Immigration and Customs Enforcement repeater in operation.

The P-25 repeater is on 163.7000 MHz with apparently two input frequencies, 162.8500 MHz and 168.9750 MHz.

I am currently working on an "Up Close" look at ICE and their radio systems for a future Fed Files column, so if you have any frequencies of interest, feel free to pass them along!

Atlanta Trip

I made a very short trip through Atlanta this past week. I wasn't in town long enough to do much monitoring, but did catch a couple of hits...

164.6500 MHz - P-25, US Secret Service TANGO
167.3375 MHz - P-25, FBI in Atlanta
167.7875 MHz - DES, Heard this near the town of Auburn, Alabama. I don't know if this is the local area FBI repeater, but was active while I was there.

9/11 Anniversary Visit

On Saturday, September 9th, I was preparing to leave Pittsburgh and happened to catch some of the preparations for a 9/11 Anniversary visit from President Bush. Apparently Pittsburgh International Airport was used as a jumping off point for the POTUS visit to Shanksville, PA, the site of the United flight 93 crash.

I first caught the tower clearing a flight of 3 CH-53 Marine helicopters were all painted in the "United States of America" colors. All three landed and taxied directly over the a hanger at the AF Reserve ramp. Shortly after these was a flight of 2 UH-60 helicopters using the "Nighthawk" call sign landed, also taxied over to the AF Reserve ramp and inside a hanger.

While watching all this I did catch some P-25 comms on USSS Oscar
(164.8875), WHCA Sierra (166.5125) and some DES on WHCA Zulu (171.2875). Seems like I have noted on other Presidential events I've been around, the WHCA hasn't switched over to P-25 entirely yet...

DEA Update

Since some DEA channels were recently discussed on the FEDCOM mail list, I thought I'd post my list of DEA UHF frequencies that was originally appeared in Fed Files and published in the November 2005 in Monitoring Times. Here are all the UHF DEA frequency allocations I have in my database:

408.2750
408.3000
408.3750
411.1250 – input to 419.2500
411.1750
412.0000 – HIDTA Ch 6
412.1250 – HIDTA Ch.10
412.4500
412.4750
412.5250 – input to 414.5500
412.5500
413.6250
413.6750
413.7000
413.7500
413.9750 – input to 417.7500 & 419.2250
414.0000 – simplex
414.0250 – HIDTA Ch.3 simplex
414.0500 – HIDTA Ch.4 simplex
414.0750
414.1250
414.1500 – HIDTA Ch.5 simplex
414.1750
414.2000
414.2250
414.2750
414.3250
414.3500 – HIDTA Ch.7
414.4000
414.4250 – input to 419.2750
414.4500 – HIDTA Ch.8
414.4750 – HIDTA Ch.9
414.5000 – HIDTA Ch 2
414.5250 – input to 419.3000
414.5500 – HIDTA Ch 1
414.5750
414.6000 – input to 419.2000
415.5000
415.6000 – input to 418.8250
416.0500 – input to 418.6250
416.1000
416.1500
416.2000 – input to 418.9500
416.2750
416.3250 – input to 418.9000
416.3750 – input to 418.7750
417.0250 – input to 418.9750
417.0500
417.0750
417.1000
417.1250 – input to 412.0000
417.1500 – simplex
417.1750 – input to 412.1250
417.2750 – simplex
417.3250 – simplex
417.4000 – input to 419.0000
417.4500 – simplex
417.5000 – simplex
417.5500 – simplex
417.7500
418.0000
418.0500 – simplex (federal itinerant)
418.0750 – Interagency Common
418.1250
418.1750 – simplex
418.2000 – simplex
418.2250 – simplex
418.3250
418.5000 – simplex
418.5750 – simplex (federal itinerant)
418.6250 – DEA Ch.1
418.6500 – simplex
418.6750 – DEA Ch.4 simplex
418.7000 – simplex
418.7500 – DEA Ch.3 simplex
418.7750 – simplex
418.8000 – simplex
418.8250 – DEA Ch.5
418.8500
418.8750 – simplex
418.9000 – DEA Ch.2
418.9250
418.9500 – DEA Ch.6
418.9750 – DEA Ch.8
419.0000
419.2000
419.2250 – simplex
419.2500
419.2750
419.3000
419.3250 – input to 414.3500
419.3750 – input to 414.4500
419.4000 – input to 414.4750
419.4250 – input to 414.5000
419.4500
419.5000
419.5250 – DEA Ch.10

HIDTA stands for High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area and is a program that concentrates resources on major drug trafficking areas in the United States. HIDTA operations normally involve federal support of local police operations that are involved in drug enforcement, www.usdoj.gov/dea/programs/hidta.htm.

Coast Guard UHF Frequencies

Officially the US Coast Guard moved it's UHF airband frequencies at the beginning of 2006. This was done to move their frequencies out of the 380-400 MHz DoD Land Mobile band. Here are the new frequencies:
237.9 MHz - Operations (secondary)
326.15 MHz - Air-to-Ground (primary)
345.0 MHz - Operations (primary)
379.05 MHz - Air-to-Ground (secondary)

However, don't take out the old Coast Guard UHF frequencies! It appears that some units are still using them for air-to-air tactical and training ops:
381.7 MHz
381.8 MHz
383.9 MHz

Federal Interoperability - Updated

Some new federal interoperability frequencies have become active in the Lone Star state recently.

170.7250 MHz, P-25 is known as "Dallas East" in the DFW Metroplex,
171.4375 MHz, P-25 is known as "Dallas West".

The same frequencies have been heard in the Houston area, but they were called "L-1" and "L-2".

I've also received information that the 171.4375 MHz frequency is used as a federal interop channel in the Philadelphia area. It is referred to as the "FIO" channel.

Anyone else hearing activity on either of these frequencies?

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

TSA Busy!

With the security level at US airports now at ORANGE, the TSA has been extremely busy with the added security checks. If you live near an airport with commercial air service, try these frequencies and see what's going on:

166.4625 MHz - DHS Common
169.3000 MHz - TSA input to 172.9000 repeater
172.1500 MHz - TSA Simplex
172.9000 MHz - TSA Repeater or Simplex

All TSA communications are using P-25 digital mode. This channel plan should be used nationwide, with the exception of the DFW Airport in Grapevine, Texas. They are using a repeater on 169.1625 MHz, input of 165.0750 MHz. So far no encryption has been noted on TSA frequencies.

USCG "LANT" & "PAC" List

I've recently received some requests for information on the current status of the US Coast Guard "LANT" frequency lists. They have been floating around the Internet for a while but they seem to vary from source to source. The LANT designation appears to be short for ATLANTIC, however these frequencies are noted in use all over. Here's one of several versions of the LANT channels and some use notes:

155.4750 LANT 01
163.1750 LANT 02 USCG C3 Repeater (162.050 in)
162.1250 LANT 03 USCG TAC 1
162.2250 LANT 04
162.2500 LANT 05 USCG Operations
162.3250 LANT 06 USCG TAC 2
162.3500 LANT 07
162.6125 LANT 08
163.0500 LANT 09 USCG Enforcement (162.125 in)
163.1750 LANT 10 USCG Simplex
163.3750 LANT 11
164.3000 LANT 12 NYC
164.9125 LANT 13 NYC Repeater - Harbor Patrols
165.2375 LANT 14 DHS CBP Customs TAC 1
165.2625 LANT 15 USCG Law Enforcement C3
165.3125 LANT 16
165.3375 LANT 17
164.7750 LANT 18 US Army Corps of Engineers (165.975 in)
165.2375 LANT 19 DHS CBP Customs NET 1 (166.4375 in)
166.4625 LANT 20 DHS Common
165.2375 LANT 21 DHS CBP Customs NET 6 (166.4875 in)
166.5875 LANT 22 DHS USCG Tactical
167.9000 LANT 23 DHS USCG Portable Repeater Talk-Around
164.5500 LANT 24 DHS USCG OCDETF Repeater(168.8625 in)
171.3375 LANT 25 USCG Law Enforcement C4

There have been many variations of this LANT list, but this seems to be the most current. And yes, I have some frequencies that are identified as "PAC" channels as well. These are reported as allocated to the USCG District 11 (Southern California):

165.3375 PAC 01 (162.1250 in)

167.9000 PAC 02 (162.3250 in)

165.3125 PAC 03 (164.3000 in)

165.3125 PAC 04

164.3000 PAC 05 (165.3125 in)

165.3375 PAC 06

162.1250 PAC 07 (166.3375 in)

168.5000 PAC 08 (165.3125 in)

I have no current info on the use of these PAC channels. But I did hear from a listener in Southern California who heard two CG helos on 163.1750 MHz and referred to it as "LE-4".

Any more additions or corrections? Let me know!

NASA SATS Frequencies

I found this list in my "IN" box from a while back. Seems I kept saving it for a rainy day in the Fed Files column, but now with the Blog, here they are!

These were issued in conjunciton with the NASA General Aviation Programs Office Small Aircraft Transportation Systems (SATS) Project;

136.1750 MHz - Digital datalink - 14KHz bandwidth
966.0000 MHz - Digital datalink

123.1750 MHz - Air to ground outside 300 km of KLFI (Langley AFB)
123.3750 MHz - Air to ground within 300 km of KLFI

166.1000 MHz - FM nationwide
166.2250 MHz - FM nationwide
167.8125 MHz - FM nationwide
168.3500 MHz - FM nationwide
171.0000 MHz - FM nationwide
171.1500 MHz - FM nationwide

162.8125 MHz - DGPS information transmission
170.1250 MHz - DGPS information transmission
170.3500 MHz - DGPS information transmission
173.3500 MHz - DGPS information transmission

Here is some information on the SATS Project:
http://sats.erau.edu/nationalsats/index.html

Customs and Border Protection AMID - Update!

Some new DHS Air and Marine Interdiction Division (AMID) frequencies have been noted as of late. There are 4 UHF airband frequencies that are allocated to the AMID operations:

282.4250 MHz
308.3500 MHz
350.0250 MHz
376.0750 MHz

These would probably NOT be the ONLY UHF frequencies that the CBP aircraft would be using, but these are exclusive to their use. Also, check the VHF bands between 136.0 MHz and 138.0 MHz for some additional "tactical" air frequencies.


A source up north has mentioned that the CBP Air Marine Interdiction Division aircraft based in Bellingham, Washington have now been heard using 350.025 MHz to contact HAMMER as well as 282.425 MHz. HAMMER is the call sign of the AMID nationwide command center at March AFB. Previously I had only heard HAMMER being contacted on the 282.425 MHz frequency via the national network of remote air-to-ground tranmitter sites. There are two CBP Pilatus PC-12s at Bellingham, N497PC and N593PC.


According to this page on the Customs & Border Protection website, they have received the first of their new EC-120 helicopters (link updated August 8th):

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/newsroom/news_releases/072006/07142006.xml

Federal Executive Board

These were recently posted on Radio Reference. They were listed as NYC area frequencies for the Federal Executive Board. To be honest, I hadn't even heard of the FEB until I saw this posting:

FEB F1 - 408.4000 MHz, 131 DPL
FEB F2 - 418.0750 MHz, 131 DPL
F3 - 408.4000 MHz, 023 DPL
NATIONAL F4 - 408.4000 MHz, 712 DPL
F5 - 408.4000 MHz, 244 DPL
F6 - 418.0750 MHz, 023 DPL
F7 - 418.0750 MHz, 712 DPL
F8 - 406.8000 MHz, CSQ

Interesting in that most of these frequencies are federal itinerants and would be available to almost any government agency. Also interesting is the use of all the digital squelch, unusual for federal operations.

Here's the lowdown on the Federal Executive Board, http://www.feb.gov/

Las Vegas Area Scanning - Updated!

All sorts of stuff to listen to here in Las Vegas. Unfortunately work kept me away from the radios for much of the time I was there. Also, the hotel we stay at is in some kind of weird RF whirlpool that seems to de-sense my radios with all kinds of noise and RF garbage. Anyway, here are some highlites:

166.3000 MHz, CSQ - Lake Mead National Recreation Area, F1 repeater, discussions on loading up helicopter to head for wildfire. Also mentioned being back "in the Park". Input to this repeater is reported as 166.9000 MHz.
167.4375 MHz, P25 - Always encrypted, most likely FBI.
169.4000 MHz, CSQ - BLM Dispatch for some fire units for a wildland fire northeast of the Las Vegas area. Reference to helicopter 7AW heading back from the fire. Input to this repeater is reported as 168.5250 MHz.
170.0500 MHz, CSQ - Lake Meade National Recreation Area repeater.
172.9000 MHz, P25 - TSA at McCarran Airport. I gotta give these guys credit for really moving the bodies through the checkpoints in near record time. They don't fool around in Las Vegas!

Pittsburgh Scanning Scene - Updated!

Just got home and had a great time at the Wings over Pittsburgh Air Show last Saturday. I even got to meet up with some of the local scanning group - it was great!
I caught part of the preparations for the All Star Game before I left, but the locals really helped and caught the activities during the events. Here's a quick update:

162.2250 MHz - Coast Guard patrols outside of PNC Park
163.1000 MHz - Federal Wide Area Itinerant - FBI D7
164.5500 MHz - OCDETF / FBI D1/D2
165.2875 MHz - ATF NET 1
166.4625 MHz - DHS Common / Treasury Common / FBI D3
167.5375 MHz - FBI D6
169.8000 MHz - Unknown, but likely FBI
409.3375 MHz - Federal Itinerant UHF repeater with OSCAR and LION callsigns, unknown agency
412.8375 MHz - Federal Itinerant UHF with the same units as on 409.3375, but simplex

A special thanks to members of the Three Rivers Area Monitoring Association group for their help!

More Coast Guard

I was in the Astoria, Oregon area this week and caught the USCG Cutter Steadfast, "El Tiburon Blanco", getting ready to ship out.

http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/cgcsteadfast/main.htm

While in the area I caught some new frequencies (new to me anyway):

162.2250 MHz, 67.0 pl - Job Corps facility at Tongue Point
162.8250 MHz, 67.0 pl - Job Corps facility at Tongue Point
171.3500 MHz - USCG Air Station Astoria, Helo Maintenance - helicopters would call in with maintenance write-ups when inbound.

Most of the helicopter and surface ops were on the VHF marine channels, but I did catch Group Astoria ask one helo (6030) for a check on 5 Mhz - I did catch them on 5.696 MHz.

And finally, while watching the Steadfast getting ready to depart, I noticed that the guys on deck were using UHF hand-held radios. Found them on 464.5500 MHz, 67.0 pl !?!

Border Scanning - Updated

I'm based in Laredo, Texas for a few days and have started my usual spectrum sweep. Most of the Customs and Border Protection frequencies are still running analog DES encryption, no P-25 yet. I did note that the local ATF repeater is the only federal P-25 I've caught so far. One wierd thing I have run in to is a number of UHF frequencies that seem to be using something like ACSB modulation. I can't tell yet if it's English or Spanish...

Here's a quick list of what's been active:

162.8250 151.4 DHS CBP Border Patrol
162.8500 DHS CBP Border Patrol
162.8750 100.0 DHS CBP Border Patrol
162.9000 100.0 DHS CBP Border Patrol
163.6000 Voice inversion scrambling - may be Mexico.
163.6250 151.4 DHS CBP Border Patrol
163.6750 100.0 DHS CBP Border Patrol
165.2375 100.0 CBP Customs NET 1
165.2875 P-25 ATF NET 1
165.5625 Unknown
165.6875 100.0 DHS CBP Customs Inspectors
166.4625 CSQ DHS Common
166.5875 Unknown
168.1000 100.0 Unknown
168.8625 103.5 Unknown
169.1750 167.9 Dept. of Agriculture
169.4500 100.0 CBP Customs
171.5750 Unknown
173.7750 131.8 DHS CBP Border Patrol
406.4500 Sounds like a trunking control channel, but isn't.
408.3750 123.0 Link? Always active
414.4250 156.7 DEA HIDTA
415.2500 179.9 Unknown
415.5000 Unknown
416.3250 156.7 DEA OTAR
418.6750 156.7 DEA F4 Surveillance
418.9000 156.7 DEA Laredo repeater
419.1250 D465 Unknown
419.4250 156.7 DEA HIDTA

On the non-federal side, I discovered that the Cityof Laredo has a P-25 trunked 800 Mhz system up and running, new since I was here last. No info on Radio Reference yet, but I'll see if I can help submit some info.

MT Express Blog Offer!

Here's a special offer from Monitoring Times magazine...

They are going to offer a discounted rate of $14.95 on a 1 yr. MT Express subscription if you mention any of the Monitoring Times Blogs,
http://mt-editor.blogspot.com
http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com
http://mt-milcom.blogspot.com
http://monitor-post.blogspot.com
http://mt-shortwave.blogspot.com

MT Express is the electronic version of the printed magazine and arrives to you as a PDF file. This offer will be good for first-time subscribers and renewals for a limited time. It can only be used once per customer and the offer ends July 31st, so take advantage of this offer now!

Memphis Federal Logs

Here's what I've logged after a couple days of searching:

163.4625 TN ANG BASE AT MEMPHIS INT'L
163.4875 100.0 UNKNOWN - STRONG SIGNAL DOWNTOWN
164.2000 ? MAY BE PAGING?
164.5625 UNKNOWN
165.7250 P-25 POSSIBLE INPUT TO 170.7500
168.0000 103.5 REPEATER
170.7500 P-25 US MARSHALS - COURTHOUSE SECURITY
173.1000 167.9 FBI REPEATER - CLEAR
406.0000 REPORTED AS SYSTEM 9106
406.1500 D073 VAMC - SECURITY REPEATER
407.1375 P-25 ENC
407.5250 REPORTED AS SYSTEM 9106
407.7500 ?
407.7750 P-25 ENC
407.9250 REPORTED AS SYSTEM 9106
408.2375 ?
408.2500 P-25 BOP TRS 9106
409.0125 P-25
409.0250 ?
409.2125 MOTO CC - SYSTEM 9106
409.4125 MOTO CC - SYSTEM 9105
410.4000 P-25 BOP TRS 9106
410.8125 P-25
411.1250 REPORTED AS SYSTEM 9106
415.1500 D073 VAMC - 406.1500 REPEATER INPUT
416.1375 P-25 POSSIBLE INPUT TO 407.1375

Memphis Fed Scanning

I'm based in Memphis, TN for a few days of work and have started my usual searches of the VHF and UHF federal bands.

To start with I'm trying to figure out the Bureau of Prisons UHF system here. Radio Reference lists a UHF trunked system for the Memphis Federal Correctional Institution, a Motorola 3600 baud system with a SYS ID of 9106. Here are the frequencies:
406.0000
407.5250
407.9250
408.2500
409.2125 - Control Channel
410.4000
411.1250

However, I'm picking up an addional control channel showing a SYS ID of 9105 on 409.4125 MHz. Anyone have any info on this system?

Justice IWN Update

The July issue of Monitoring Times and Fed Files will feature some information on the Justice Integrated Wireless Network Project. This week the Justice Department Joint Project Office has named two winners of the contract for the IWN systems:
http://www.fcw.com/article94863-06-12-06-Print

The JIWN Home Page hasn’t yet been updated as of this blog, but hopefully it will be soon: http://www.usdoj.gov/jmd/iwn/overview.html
I’ve also received word that the Oregon state budget has received some funds from the JIWN project to upgrade Oregon state repeater sites for co-location of JIWN equipment. So it appears that the Washington State Pilot Project will eventually be extended south through Oregon.

Thanks!

A sincere thanks to all the Fed Files blog fans out there. I appreciate the updates to the frequency lists that I've been posting and I'll make sure the updates get incorporated in to the frequency lists.

Just a reminder that as a rule, I will NOT use your name as the source of any information unless you give me explicit permission!

Thanks again!

- Chris

US Coast Guard???

I spotted this info posted on Radio Reference a while back. It seems someone was programming up a bunch of HT1000 radios for "a Coast Guard unit" in the San Francisco Bay area. The frequencies are extremely bizarre to say the least:

430.5250
431.5250
432.7350
434.5250
436.7650
437.6250
438.5750
440.5325
440.5850
449.7125
450.5250
451.7625
455.5150
460.7750
465.5250
461.5250

Not only are these not allocated to Coast Guard usage, some of these frequencies aren't even valid US channel assignments!

Anyone want to have a guess at what they were using these for, or even if this is for real?

New York City Quick Scan

I'm spending a few days in the New York City area and have had some time searching the federal bands. Here's a quick rundown on what I've logged so far:












164.3375 D251 Repeater
166.3250 136.5 Repeater
167.1500 167.9 FBI - repeater with squelch noise, not DES
168.8250 P-25 Unknown - clear/encrypted surveillance
169.4125 P-25
170.4250 P-25
170.4500 P-25
172.4750 167.9
172.8250 P-25 FAA @ JFK
172.9000 P-25 TSA @ JFK
173.2000 Telemetry
173.6625 P-25 "Operations - Alpha 1"
406.1500 P-25
407.8125 Motorola control channel – Trunked System B12E
408.0000 151.4 Repeater
408.1000 P-25
408.1250 P-25
409.0250 110.9 Repeater
409.2750 127.3 Repeater
410.2000 127.3 USPS
410.9500 CSQ FAA Data
413.7000
413.8625 Paging
415.9500
417.2500 Analog repeater
418.2500 156.7 DEA (?)
418.3500 Motorola control channel – Trunked System 3517
418.9500 156.7 DEA - OTAR
417.2000 P-25 DHS Federal Protective Service

DHS CBP Channel Lineup

A few years ago I published this new list of DHS Customs and Border Protection frequencies. This list still comes in handy so I thought I'd post it. The frequencies and channel assignments remain current, the only change is the move to P-25 digital in some areas.

Repeater Out PL Repeater In PL Channel Name

165.2375 100.0 166.4375 100.0 NET 1
169.4500 100.0 171.0750 100.0 NET 2
165.2375 100.0 166.5875 100.0 NET 3
165.6875 100.0 166.2250 100.0 NET 4
164.6000 100.0 166.4875 100.0 NET 5
165.2375 100.0 166.4875 100.0 NET 6
165.4625 100.0 166.5875 100.0 NET 7
165.4875 100.0 166.5625 100.0 NET 8
165.6875 100.0 166.4375 100.0 NET 9
163.1250 100.0 164.3250 100.0 NET 10
165.7625 100.0 166.5875 100.0 NET 11
166.5875 100.0 169.5500 100.0 NET 12
165.4125 100.0 166.2250 100.0 NET 13
165.4375 100.0 166.3000 100.0 NET 14
162.0500 100.0 164.5750 100.0 NET 15
164.7750 100.0 165.9750 100.0 NET 16
165.2375 100.0 166.5375 100.0 NET 17
163.6250 100.0 162.8500 100.0 NET 18
163.6750 100.0 162.9250 100.0 NET 19
163.6250 100.0 162.8250 100.0 NET 20
163.6250 CSQ 162.8250 100.0 NET 21
163.6750 CSQ 162.9250 151.4 NET 22
163.6750 CSQ 166.5875 123.0 NET 23
165.6875 094.8 166.4375 100.0 NET 24
165.4875 100.0 166.9750 100.0 NET 25
166.3000 100.0 165.4125 100.0 NET 26
166.2000 100.0 168.0000 100.0 NET 27
163.1750 100.0 166.4875 100.0 NET 28
169.5500 100.0 166.1250 100.0 NET 29
163.2250 100.0 164.1000 100.0 NET 30
170.1000 100.0 166.4875 100.0 NET 31
165.4125 100.0 166.5875 100.0 NET 32
169.5500 100.0 170.1000 100.0 NET 33
162.3000 100.0 164.1000 100.0 NET 34
163.1250 131.8 166.5875 131.8 NET 35
170.7250 100.0 173.5000 100.0 NET 36
165.6875 100.0 170.1000 100.0 NET 37
166.1250 100.0 169.5500 100.0 NET 38
165.2375 100.0 166.4375 100.0 NET 39
165.2375 100.0 164.2500 100.0 NET 40
165.6875 100.0 170.1000 167.9 NET 41
165.5125 100.0 168.8000 100.0 NET 42
165.2375 094.8 166.4375 100.0 NET 43
162.6625 100.0 164.1000 100.0 NET 44
165.4375 156.7 166.3000 100.0 NET 45
164.1000 100.0 169.5500 167.9 NET 46
165.2375 100.0 172.3500 100.0 NET 47
169.4125 100.0 165.4125 100.0 NET 48
165.6875 100.0 166.5875 100.0 NET 49
162.2500 100.0 166.2000 100.0 NET 50
163.3000 100.0 169.4125 100.0 NET 51
165.2375 100.0 166.8750 100.0 NET 52
166.4625 CSQ 166.4625 100.0 DHS COMMON
166.4625 CSQ 166.4625 CSQ DHS INTEROP

165.2375 100.0 TAC 1
169.4500 100.0 TAC 2
164.6000 100.0 TAC 4
163.1250 100.0 TAC 7
165.4125 100.0 TAC 10
169.5500 100.0 TAC 19
165.7375 100.0 TAC 26

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

Loxahatchee NWR

From a long time source in South Florida:

172.2750 MHz confirmed as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, in Palm Beach County. FWS personnel from Loxahatchee also administer Hobe Sound NWR, but I don't know if another freq is used up there (in Jupiter, FL). Input to 172.2750 MHz is unknown at this time.

BoP - Coleman

While going through some old notes, I found this information on another Bureau of Prisons UHF trunked system. This is located at the Coleman facility in Florida, near Orlando, http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/cox/index.jsp

Here is the system info:

407.0125 - Control Channel
406.8125
407.0750
408.6125
409.2125
410.0000
410.7000
410.8125

Reported to be both analog and P-25, which would be unusual. I have not monitored this system myself yet, but will check it out next time we're in the Orlando area.

Hanford DoE Fire Dispatch

In addition to the VHF trunking control channel I found at Hanford, I also monitored some conventional VHF traffic from there. The Hanford Fire dispatch came up on three frequencies at once giving a fire conditions forecast for the area. They were on 164.7750 MHz (110.9pl), 165.0250 MHz (192.8pl) and 173.1000 MHz (151.4pl). Later, there was a medical dispatch at the Hanford facility, and the dispatch and associated traffic appeared only on the 165.0250 MHz repeater.

Umatilla Tribal Fire

While driving through Umatilla, Oregon on my way back to Portland, I caught the evening fire tone-out test of the Umatilla Tribal Fire system. The tones and voice announcement were on 172.4250 MHz, with a PL tone of 103.5 Hz.

US Customs in Canada?

OK, here's something I've always wondered about. I occasionally travel to Canada on business,often passing through the Vancouver airport (great airport, by the way!). When coming back in to the US through Vancouver, you are able to pass through US Customs and Immigration Control while still in Canada. There are US Customs and Border Protection officers that work at the Vancouver airport processing the folks traveling to the US. I had not seen any sort of radios in use by the CBP officers in Vancouver until recently.

On my last return trip I noticed a VHF CBP radio at the CBP check point and wondered what frequency they might be using. Since Vancouver is not that far from the US border, could they be simply trying to hit a repeater in the US, or is there a repeater or remote receive site at Vancouver airport? They didn't use the radio while I was in the area, and searching the VHF federal bands produced a lot of extraneous traffic, as the Canadian band plan is totally different that the US.

So, does anyone have any indication of US Customs & Border Protection frequencies in use at the Vancouver International Airport???

New VHF Trunking System

During a recent trip through southern Washington state, I stumbled upon a new VHF P-25 trunking control channel. The frequency was 164.4125 MHz and appeared to be located at the Department of Energy's Hanford Reservation in Richland, Washington.

The control channel showed a System ID "def", WACN of 1 and Tower 101. The system appears to be broadcasting channel numbers instead of actual frequencies. This may indicate that the is an E.F. Johnson trunked system, as has been reported at other DoE facilities.

The system appears to be still in the early stages of being on the air, and no users were monitored while I was watching, but I'll be making some future trips to the area to check on the progress of this system.