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.