VHF EDACS Mystery Solved!?

It appears that our mystery VHF EDACS trunked radio system mentioned in a previous blog entry has been located. Someone tracked down the control channels on 173.4250 MHz and 170.7625 MHz, and they appear to be coming from the NASA Goddard Flight Facility at Wallops Island, VA:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/home/index.html

The NASA web site does not mention this trunked system specifically, but there are some interesting downloads containing information about the range and it's facilities:

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/wallops/multimedia/index.html

The information about the location of these control channels also indicated that NASA security there continues to utilize their VHF conventional repeaters on 170.0000 MHz and 171.1500 MHz. A quick look at previously monitored frequencies at Wallops Island seems to show a lot of VHF usage in the same area as these trunked systems:

http://www.monitoringtimes.com/html/Monitoring%20NASA%20and%20Space%20Communications.pdf

We'll try and track down more information on this new trunked system and pass it along in a future Fed Files.

VHF Trunking Mysteries

There are a couple of mysterious trunking control channels that have been reported in the VHF federal bands and so far we have no solid information on where they are coming from or who is operating them.

First, a listener in New Jersey as been reporting what he believes is an EDACS trunking control channel on 170.7625 MHz. 172.6875 & 172.9875 MHz might be analog voice channels associated with this control channel. The signal comes and goes as if it's being heard via skip, but from which direction is unknown. EDACS federal trunked systems are rare, but a VHF system would be a first. Listeners in Philadelphia, where 170.7625 MHz is used as by DHS/ICE have not confirmed a trunked system there. The 172.6875 and 172.9875 are previously un-assigned frequencies.

The originator of this information has theorized that it's an ICE/DHS trunked system somewhere. But so far he hasn't reported any specific voice traffic heard. I find that difficult to accept with as little information as we have so far. It makes no sense to me that the DHS would set up an analog EDACS trunked system, totally incompatible with what they are doing everywhere else, and not using the P-25 standard, which has been mandated by specifications in federal budgets for interoperability.

In the south, another monitor in Florida is reporting a P-25 control channel on 170.1250 MHz. It is reporting a System ID of 910. Speculation is that it might be military or Department of Energy, but nothing is confirmed. This signal is also being heard via skip from an unknown location in the Southeast US.

Anyone else hear any of these signals? Let us know at the Fed Files!

New CBP A&M Units?

I've been receiving information that there is a new call sign being heard on some of the Customs & Border Protection radio nets in the Southwest US. Listeners in Arizona have started reporting references to "1100 TAC" units, sometimes in association with CBP air units. The call sign does not appear to refer to a base location or station, but mobiles that operate as a group under that call. Sounds like it could be a Task Force unit of some kind, perhaps National Guard units working along the border?

Also, the CBP division that we used to refer to as Air Marine Interdiction Division (AMID) is now simply Air & Marine:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_security/air_marine/cbp_air_marine_overview.xml

And it appears that the CBP A&M has added two AgustaWestland AW139 helicopters to its aircraft fleet:

http://www.verticalmag.com/control/news/templates/?a=5042&z=6

DoE / BPA Activity

The Bonneville Power Administration, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is an agency under the U.S. Department of Energy. They operate a series of VHF repeaters in the Pacific Northwest that is normally used for transmission line and facilities maintenance. All of these repeaters operate on 172.5250 MHz.

Recently I caught a transmission from "KOD900 Denver" calling an aircraft (who's call sign I failed to catch) about his landing at Portland Internatnional Airport. I assumed that the aircraft was probably involved in aerial inspections of tranmission lines. I also had not realised that BPA had a centralized dispatch center that was NOT in Portland!

170.7250 MHz - Harrisburg, PA?

I was recently forced by an airline flight cancellation to drive from Pittsburgh to Atlantic City, NJ for work. While driving across on I-76, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I started picking up a lot of P-25 clear activity on 170.7250 MHz. As previously blogged, this frequency has been used as a Federal Interoperability repeater in some cites, but I have not received reports of it being used in the Philadelphia area. The signal was quite strong and seemed to be centered around the Harrisburg area. It finally got weak and was not heard in the Philadelphia area.

The activity was a surveillance operation. First names were used and no specific locations were identified. Could have been anyone of a dozen federal agencies. Similar traffic has been heard in the Pittsburgh area on a P-25 repeater on 169.8000 MHz. Pittsburgh monitors report that some locations heard on this repeater seem to indicate that the operations were taking place in Philadelphia, and this frequency was somehow tied in to the Philly repeater.

It's quite possible that this Federal Interop system has these repeaters in various cities tied together, but I have not confirmed this yet.

"VOLCANO - Out"

With the passing of Lady Bird Johnson this past week, I was reminded of many trips through the Austin, Texas area in years past. Often I could pick up the US Secret Service detail that was stationed at the LBJ Ranch near Johnson City, Texas. They could be heard using the call sign VOLCANO. I think that they used to use the Secret Service CHARLIE channel, 165.3750 MHz, but my old logs from those trips have been lost for a while... UPDATE: A friend in Texas reminded me that VOLCANO had a MIKE (165.2125 MHz) repeater.

By the way, LBJ's call sign was VOLUNTEER and Lady Bird was known as VICTORIA.

164.9625 MHz Anyone?

I am curious if anyone is hearing any law enforcement activity on 164.9625 MHz in your area. This frequency has been a long used Customs tac frequency that folks in South Florida have been hearing for years. In the old Customs channel plan, this was often referred to as "A-7", and under the new DHS channel plan it may be known as TAC 21. It appears to be used primarily by the Customs Air Marine Division and was very active at the recent Super Bowl in Miami.

What I am curious about is if anyone outside of South Florida has heard the use of this channel. This frequency is not an exclusive DHS Customs assignement, so I'm curious if it is used anywhere else. If you hear any activity on this frequency in your area, please let us know at the Fed Files!

UPDATE - Here is what readers have sent me so far:

Boston - US Postal Service - 164.9625, 162.2 pl - input to 173.6375, 162.2 pl repeater

Federal Interop "25 Cities" Frequencies

In the January 2007 Fed Files, I mentioned the Justice Department's "25 Cities Project". Basically the program focuses on 25 major US cites and helps plan and provide radio interoperability between federal and local radio systems. You can find some very informative downloads at the project’s web site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/commtech/25cities/

(NOTE: It appears that the DoJ has moved all the 25 Cities downloads behind a login page. However you can do a search for "Department of Justice High Risk Metropolitan Area Interoperability" and you should still find access to all of the individual PDF files for each city.)

I have recently received some additional frequencies that may be part of the 25 Cities Project. Here are a list of what I have so far. If you have anything to add, please let us know!

Chicago
168.8875 - P25 repeater
168.9125 - P25 repeater
170.8125 - P25 repeater
171.4375 - P25 repeater
171.6875 - P25 repeater
172.2125 - P25 repeater

Dallas / Ft. Worth
170.7250 MHz - P25 repeater "Dallas East"
171.4375 MHz - P25 repeater "Dallas West"

Houston
170.7250 MHz - P25 repeater "L-1"
171.4375 MHz - P25 repeater "L-2"

New York City
167.7875 MHz - P25 repeater

Philadelphia
171.4375 MHz - P25 repeater "FIO"

Postal Inspectors Update

I recently had a nice email from a Fed Files reader who was interested in finding the US Postal Inspectors active frequencies. As we have noted here, the Postal Inspectors are in the process of changing around some of their frequencies and upgrading to P-25 digital radios. Some cities are still analog with DES encryption, others have moved to P-25 digital and some have both!

I thought I would compile what I currently had logged and share them. If anyone has some additional info, please feel free to pass it along!

Atlanta - 407.7250, P-25

Boston - 407.7750, 409.9375, 414.7500

Chicago - 406.3375, 414.7500, 415.0500

Cleveland - 409.9375, 414.7500

Dallas - 414.7500, 417.6000

Houston - 407.1375, 407.7250, 414.7500

Little Rock - 406.9625 (Not Confirmed Yet)

Los Angeles - 415.0500

Memphis - 407.1375, 407.7750

Miami - 407.7750

Minneapolis - 407.7250, 407.7750

NYC - 414.7500, 415.0500, 416.2250 + UHF trunked system on Manhattan

Newark - 407.7250

Oklahoma City - 417.7000

Orlando - 406.3375

Philadelphia - 406.8125, 409.3250, 409.9375

Pittsburgh - 406.3375, 407.1375, 407.7250, 407.7750, 415.0500

Portland - 407.1375, 407.7750, 415.0500 - P25

San Jose, CA - 413.6000, 414.1500, 414.7500, 415.0500

Tampa - 407.1375, 415.0500

Washington DC - 407.7750

In most cases, the 406 through 409 MHz repeaters are P-25 digital and the inputs to those repeaters should be +9 MHz. The 414 and 415 MHz repeaters are still analog, most with DES or AES encryption. In areas that have moved to new 406 or 407 MHz P-25 repeaters, keep listening to the 414.7500 and 415.0500 frequencies, as they can still show up as simplex surveillance channels!

UPDATE - Several Fed Files fans have provided some updates to the list I posted. Thanks for all the information! I will continue to update this blog entry as more information is received!

Coast Guard New Haven

I was recently in the New London/Groton Connecticut area and was monitoring a lot of Coast Guard Station New Haven activity. The area of responsibility (AOR) for Station New Haven consists of almost 2/3 of Long Island Sound,extending from Black Rock Harbor to Clinton Harbor on the Connecticut shoreline and from Mattituck Inlet to approximately 2nm East of Mt. Sinai Harbor on the Long Island shore.

Besides the normal VHF marine channels, I did catch quite a few transmission on 162.1250 MHz, once known as LANT 03 or TAC 1. However, I was hearing the units calling New Haven refer to this frequency as CC-9 ("See-See-Nine"). Anyone hear channel designators like this before?

UPDATE - A kind blog reader suggested that I might have heard "CG" instead of "CC". Quite possible I guess...

Secret Service Call Signs

With all the candidates running for President in 2008, the Secret Service will have to come up with new radio call signs for each protectee. This article from the Washington post mentions that candidate Barack Obama has been dubbed "Renegade",

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/16/AR2007061601079.html

This article mentions that President Bush (43) has a call sign of "Tumbler", which it was when he was Governor of Texas. But I do recall that after he was elected to President, his call sign was changed to "Trailblazer", with the First Lady known as "Tempo".

The July Fed Files column will feature a focus on Secret Service radio frequencies.

AMTRAK Police Operations

I'm currently working on a show in New York City that has us parked near Penn Station in mid-town Manahattan, and there are usually 3-6 AMTRAK police vehicles parked in the area between Penn Station and Madison Square Garden. This got my interest up in what AMTRAK police officers were using for radios.

I've seen requests on some lists for information about AMTRAK police operations and frequencies. A search of the Internet turns up little information, but I decided to try and piece together as much of it as I could. I think I saw a thread on AMTRAK police on the SCAN-DC list a while back. The frequencies of 173.3500 MHz and 173.3750 MHz came up, and someone pointed to an archived edition of the Capitol Hill Monitors newsletter that has some great info on the AMTRAK police radio channels: http://henney.com/chm/0299/.

Other web sites have indicated that the AMTRAK police in New York City may have additional channels besides the ones listed in the previous link: F2-160.8150 MHz, F3-161.2950 MHz, F4-161.2050 MHz, F5-161.2950 MHz, F6-161.2050 MHz. 161.3650 MHz is also listed in some sources as an AMTRAK police frequency. These are all channels in the standard US railroad allocations, so in theory they may be using any of the 99 available VHF channels. The 173.3500 and 173.3750 MHz frequencies are not exclusive federal allocations, so you may hear other users on these channels.

Here on location, I have been hearing what appears to the AMTRAK police operations on 161.2950 MHz, 131.8pl. There have been a few incidents over the last few days at Penn Station involving NYFD units, but nothing that seems to have made the news.

Got any confirmed AMTRAK police frequencies you want to pass along? Send them to the Fed Files and Monitoring Times!

NYC FBI Interop Check-In

I finally had a chance to catch the weekly (I think) test of the Federal Interoperability repeater in the New York City area. The test started at 10AM with "FBI Operations" calling a list of participating agencies on 167.7875 MHz, P-25 digital. The agencies that checked in with FBI Control included:

ATF New York
ATF Newark
US Attorney Eastern District
DEA New York
DEA Newark
FEMA
US Marshals Southern District
US Marshals Eastern District
US Marshals New Jersey
ICE New York
ICE New Jersey
CBP New York
CBP Tactical JFK
Coast Guard Sector New York
Secret Service New York
Secret Service New Jersey
IRS New York
Park Police Manhattan
Park Police Brooklyn
Postal Inspectors New York
Postal Inspectors New Jersey
US Attorney Long Island
Air Marshals New York
Essex County SO
Nassau County Police

Previous reports that I had received on this interop repeater said that they had heard this repeater tied to 414.750 MHz during these tests, but I did not hear any activity on the UHF frequency during this morning's test.

Earlier in the morning, I caught two FBI radio techs checking coverage of this repeater with a hand held radio. The gentleman that was mobile was north of the NYC area on I-287 near the White Plains area, which is apparently the northern limit on this repeater.

Washington DC Trip

I just spent a few days working in the Washington DC area. Too much to listen to there!!! Besides all the new trunked systems and military stuff, the federal bands are just hopping there with almost every federal frequency allocation being used.

Notes and frequencies from my trip will be featured in an upcoming Fed Files, but a couple of interesting notes:

In the July Monitoring Times Fed Files, there will be a feature on the Secret Service. As I noted on that column, the Secret Service has switched over the P-25 digital modes, but does not seem to be 100% full time encrypted. Some transmission on 165.7875 MHz (BAKER) were in clear P-25.

The Uniformed Division of the Secret Service is highly visible and very busy with encrypted P-25 operations on their VHF frequencies (also featured in the upcoming MT).

167.4125 MHz was busy with what sounded like a large, rolling surveillance operation by the FBI. Strangely it was all analog, in the clear. Perhaps units from different areas without the right encryption keys?

Most of the UHF federal band is full of Motorola and LTR PassPort trunked systems. But there are a few conventional systems in the UHF band there.

DoD military APCO P-25 trunked systems in the 380 MHz band are springing up like weeds in a back yard around the DC area. Hard to keep track of who's on first with those, as they are encrypted on about 80% of the traffic heard.

2007 National Hurrican Operations Plan

From the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology:

http://www.ofcm.gov/nhop/07/pdf/entire-nhop07.pdf

Interesting document with several references to communications. Here are a few highlites:

5.5.4.2.1. The 53 WRS shall only use the call sign "Teal ##," AOC shallonly use "NOAA ##," NASA shall only use "NASA ##," and NRL shall useonly Warlock587.ATC will provide TEAL and NOAA aircraft priority handling when specifically requested.

5.5.4.5.1. During NHOP missions, commencing 5 minutes prior torelease of dropsondes from FL190 or higher, the aircraft commander will broadcast in the blind on radio frequencies 121.5 MHZ and 243.0 MHZ to advise any traffic in thearea of the impending drop. Pilots shall not make these broadcasts if they will interfere with routine ATCcommunications, such as in the vicinity of an airport approach control facility. The aircraft commander is responsible for determining the content and duration of a broadcast, concerning a dropsonde release or sensor activation.

5.9.1. General. The 53 WRS WC-130 and NOAA WP-3D aircraft will normally transmit reconnaissance observations via the Air Force Satellite Communications System(AFSATCOM), commercial SATCOM or high frequency (HF) radio phone patch. Figures 5-12 and 5-13 depict the ASDL and AFSATCOM communications links. The NOAA G-IV will normally transmit WMO Temp Drop messages via commercial SATCOM. Flight meteorologists should contact CARCAH following the first fix, and periodically throughout the mission.
5.9.2. Air-to-Ground Communications (HF Radio). The weather reconnaissance crew may relay weather data via direct telephone patch to the weather data monitor. Monitors will evaluate these reports and disseminate them through the Air Force'sAutomated Weather Network (AWN) or to the weather communications facility at Suitland, Maryland. When requested, aeronautical stations will provide a discrete frequency for mission use, if possible. Specific radio procedures and terminology will comply with Allied Communications Publication 125, Standard Telephone and Radio Procedures. The use of IMMEDIATE precedence for transmission of hurricane reconnaissance data is authorized because of the perishable nature and potential operational impact of weather data. Data will be routed by direct phone patch between the aircraft and CARCAH.

5.9.3. Air-to-Air Communications. When more than one aircraft is known to be operating in a particular area of interest, the following frequencies will be used for airplane-to-airplane communications and coordination unless otherwise directed by air traffic control:• Primary: VHF 123.05 MHZ• Secondary: UHF 304.8 MHZ• Back-up: HF 4701 KHz USB

Definitely worth a look! Thanks to Robert Wyman for alerting me to this material!

415.2 Oddity In Memphis

Some strange happenings have been observed in the Memphis, Tennessee over the last couple of days. When I got in to town on Wednesday evening and started searching the federal bands, I came across a repeater on 415.2000 MHz that was keyed up all the time with a "beep-beep" about every 7 seconds. It was definitely coming from downtown Memphis, as I could get Close-Call hits from it and hear it without an antenna on the radio. This frequency is normally used by the Federal Protective Service in many cities and may still be used by General Services Administration maintenance operations in some areas.

On Thursday, while in Forrest City, Arkansas, the same constant-carrier with the "beep-beep" was heard on 409.3500 MHz while in that area. I was not able to determine where that repeater was located.

I actually sat and listened to the constant "beep-beep" signal on Saturday for a while. It appears that the repeater is still getting signals in to the input. I heard quite a few radio key-ups and actual voice transmissions, but it was like they were talking to someone that was never heard responding over the repeater. Most of the transmissions I did hear were maintenance related, i.e., getting doors unlocked, refrigerators not working, etc.. Again, I heard some units calling others, but would only hear one side of the conversation.

I know some repeater systems will transmit this "beep-beep" signal to indicate something needs attention, such as a commercial power failure, a control link failure or something along those lines. But what this means is a mystery to me!

New BoP System Info

In the quest to document and build a database of Bureau of Prisons radio systems, there have been some BoP facilites that we just don't have any information on. Some are located in rural areas that just may not have any listeners nearby. This is probably the case for the Federal Correctional Complex in Forrest City, Arkansas.

I happened to be in nearby Memphis, TN and made a side trip over to see what I could find about the FCC Forrest City's radio system. Here is what I found:

Federal Correctional Complex Forrest City

Motorola Type II SmartNet

System ID - a733

Base - 406.8125

Step - 12.5

Offset - 380

406.8125

407.0125

407.4125

408.2125

408.8125

409.6750

410.5250

The system is using P-25 digital voice and seems to be very busy.

This system information will be added to the Fed Files BoP Database that is available for download on the Monitoring Times website. It is in the "Readers Only" section of the site, and requires a password found in the latest issue of Monitoring Times magazine.

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory

The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the San Francisco Bay area operates a multi-site UHF trunked system with sites all over. The system info was removed from the RadioReference web site at the request of the LLNL.

On a recent trip through San Francisco I found that there appears to be a site on this system located in or near downtown San Francisco. It is a Motorola Type II UHF system that is using P-25 voice. The system ID is 5434 and I found Site 6 to be coming in full strength with no antenna on the radio while I was at AT&T Park. Here is the site info:

406.1500 MHz - Control Channel, System 5434, Site 6

407.8625 MHz - Voice Channel

408.3875 MHz - Voice Channel

416.8625 MHz - Input to 407.8625

417.3875 MHz - Input to 408.3875

UPDATE: I have been informed that Site 6 of this system is in fact located at the Lawrence Berkley Lab, across the bay from San Francisco.

Hoover Dam

I had some spare time on a recent trip to Las Vegas, so we decided to take a trip out to the Hoover Dam and see what had changed in the last 10 years since I was there last.

As it turns out, quite a bit had changed. There is a fabulous new visitors center, a great parking ramp and the construction of the new bridge over the dam is quite impressive. But traffic still slows to a crawl well before you get to the dam, due mainly to the new security checkpoints that all vehicles must pass through.

Here is what I picked up on the scanner while at the dam:

163.1250, P-25 - Hoover Dam Police repeater

165.6000, P-25 - Hoover Dam Police input

166.3000

167.1500

169.8000, 173.8pl

170.0500

172.6000

Some of these frequencies are related to the Lake Mead National recreation Area. I also spotted a UHF omni and a UHF Yagi antenna mounted at the center of the dam, both pointed down towards the bottom of the dam. It might be that the dam operations are using UHF, but never found any active UHF frequencies while there.

Update At ORD

On my return trip through Chicago, I had more time to break out multiple scanners and try to figure out some of what I heard on my last trip.

First off, the 163.4750 MHz frequency does NOT appear to be the TSA on further listening. It is, in fact, the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement operations at the International Terminal at O'Hare Airport. However, it gets strange in that all the traffic on this repeater is also heard on another repeater on 163.7500 MHz, located somewhere nearby. These frequencies are quite busy with announcements as to incoming flights and baggage movement (thus my thinking it was TSA at first). I also heard one unit calling CHARLIE 100 about taking a subject under arrest to a holding cell. CHARLIE 100 is the Customs & Border Patrol National Law Enforcement Communications Center in the Orlando, FL area.

Next, I discovered the 165.8500 MHz frequency is actually the input to the ICE/CBP repeater on 163.6250 MHz, which does appear to be at ORD. I heard more than a few units switch between the 163.6250 and 163.4750 frequencies.

The 169.1625 MHz repeater does appear to be TSA, but have not confirmed the input. 172.1500 MHz is definitely in use by the TSA at ORD.

And finally, while searching, I got a couple of brief hits on 167.0375 MHz. I don't know who that might have been. All the frequencies listed in this blog entry were using APCO P-25 digital mode and un-encrypted.

New Dallas Frequencies

On a quick visit in the Dallas area, I discovered some new P-25 frequencies active in the downtown Dallas area. 406.6625 MHz (repeater) and 415.6625 MHz (input to 406.6625) appear to be a 24/7 security operation. Local sources are indicating that this is most likely the Federal Reserve Bank, located at 2200 North Pearl Street, a stone's throw from where I was staying.

New TSA Freqs Found???

While waiting for my delayed departure from Chicago's O'Hare Airport, I found what appears to be several new P-25 conventional frequencies in use by the TSA (Transportation Security Administration). This seems to continue the trend of the TSA showing up on new frequencies where they might have interference issues with another nearby commercial airport. Previously I had only heard the nationwide frequencies of 172.15 and 172.9 in use at ORD, but here's what is being used now:

163.4750, P-25 - Repeater that seems to carry a lot of informal traffic regarding baggage screening and personel assignments. I did not find the input to this repeater.

165.8500, P-25 - TSA operations, appears to be the input to a repeater on 169.1625 MHz.

169.1625, P-25 - TSA Operations at ORD. This frequency is also used by the TSA at DFW Airport in Grapevine, Texas.

172.1500, P-25 - TSA Simplex operations at ORD. This remains as one of the normal, nationwide TSA channels that is still in use at ORD.

While searching these out, I also came across a P-25 repeater on 163.6250 MHz, most likely an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) repeater at ORD.

NASA JSC Shooting

News reports indicate a suspect fired two gun shots then barricaded himself in Building 44 at the Johnson Space Center campus in Houston, Texas. As of the time of this blog entry, the situation was still unfolding.

For those wondering about monitoring the situation at JSC, the best bet would be listening to the Houston police conventional UHF frequencies for any activity. The Johnson Space Center does have a UHF federal trunked system for all of it's radio communications, but at last check all the radios were using P-25 digital mode with encryption enabled full time.

For future reference:

NASA Johnson Space Center

Motorola Smart Zone

System ID B32C

406.2375 MHz
407.0375 MHz
407.2375 MHz
407.4375 MHz
407.6375 MHz
408.5500 MHz
409.5125 MHz
409.7125 MHz
409.9125 MHz

VAMC Pittsburgh Radio Updates

I've received some information about changes to the Pittsburgh VA Medical Center radio frequencies. It appears that they are in the process of moving frequencies around and are actually simulcasting on old and new frequencies at the same time.

Here's what is reported as active these days:

171.0125 - PL 103.5 - Transports

173.9375 - PL 103.5 - Transports

172.6875 - P25 - Police

169.0125 - P25 - Police

166.2500 - P25 - Police Input

171.2625 - PL 127.3 - Emergency

170.5875 - PL 127.3 - Emergency

169.5875 - PL 114.8 - Maintenance

171.1875 - PL 114.8 - Maintenance

163.2375 - Paging

New Low Profile Federal Radios

A few years ago I saw this request for information from the Department of Homeland Security regarding a "low profile", cell-phone look-alike radio:

http://www.cbd-net.com/index.php/search/show/575529

A recent posting on the "Batlabs" board indicates that Motorola has come out with just what DHS wanted, and they are calling it the XTS4000:

http://batboard.batlabs.com/viewtopic.php?p=313386&sid=1896dc86ad52bb7b6e99d3773ecc31f2

While there is some speculation that these were developed with the IWN trunked system in mind (since they will do P-25 VHF trunking), I would guess that any federal agency using VHF systems would be interested in a radio like this. This model covers VHF frequencies, but could a UHF version be in the works?

Some additional information on the radio can be found at these links to the FCC web site:

Photos:
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=738677&native_or_pdf=pdf

https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=738678&native_or_pdf=pdf

Operator manual:
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=738680&native_or_pdf=pdf

https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/prod/oet/forms/blobs/retrieve.cgi?attachment_id=738682&native_or_pdf=pdf

IWN Redux - It's Growing Again! UPDATED!

Reports are being posted on RadioReference.com that a new IWN site has shown up in the Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan area. It is broadcasting a P-25 control channel on 167.8125 MHz and is showing the IWN System ID of 715 with a tower number of 12015 (looks like they are expecting a lot of tower sites!). Here are some additional site frequencies as recently posted on RadioReference:

167.8125 - Primary Control Channel
167.9375 - Voice
168.1875 - Alternate Control Channel
170.9375 - Voice

This comes despite information in the recently released OIG report about the IWN Project. In that report it was stated that the next phase of the IWN deployment would be in the Southwest US:

http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/OBD/a0725/final.pdf

The IWN has recently grown from the initial "testbed" system in Western Washington State down in to Northern Oregon and is expected to continue to grow as the project continues. Listeners in the Northeren Michigan area should keep an ear out for additional control channels and voice channels that go with them!

Los Angeles BoP MDC

For a while I have been seeking information on the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, operated by the US Bureau of Prisons. I just stumbled on several P-25 voice channels and a Motorola trunked control channel that I think may be located at the LA MDC in downtown Los Angeles.

I think I have picked up this control channel on my last visit to LA, but the frequency is also used by the Camp Pendelton UHF trunked system, and I may have ignored it.

Still working on more system information but here is what I have so far:

Motorola Type II

System ID - ca0b

406.8125 - P25 voice

409.4125 - P25 voice

409.9500 - Control channel

Fed Files Contest Winner!

Congratulations to David Stearns of Overland Park, Kansas. He won the drawing for an original copy of Monitoring Times, volume 1, #4. That issue of MT featured a front page story about the NTIA classifying the federal frequency Master File.

Thanks to everyone who entered the Fed Files drawing. We'll do it again when we come up with another prize!

CBP Border Patrol Update

After my recent trip to Arizona, I decided to dust off my listings for the DHS Customs & Border Protection Border Patrol. The Border Patrol continues to use its legacy VHF frequencies that are in blocks assigned to the Justice Department.

Currently the CBP Border Patrol doesn’t have a national channel plan like some agencies, but assigns their frequencies as needed locally. Along both the northern and southern border areas (except for southern California), the 163 MHz frequencies are the “backbone” repeaters with multiple input frequencies, from the 162 MHz, 165 MHz and 168 MHz blocks of frequencies. These frequencies can be used as repeaters or “local” simplex frequencies as well.

In areas not near the US borders, the former US Immigration agents, now part of DHS as the Immigration and Customs Enforcement may use frequencies from these blocks for local use.

162.8250
162.8500
162.8750
162.9000
162.9250
162.9500
162.9750

163.0500
163.1000
163.3750
163.5500
163.6000
163.6250
163.6500
163.6625
163.6750
163.7000
163.7250
163.7500
163.7750
163.8250
163.8875
163.9625

164.0500
164.5500

165.8000
165.8250
165.8500
165.8625
165.8750
165.9000
165.9250
165.9750

166.5875
166.8500

168.3500
168.8000
168.8250
168.8500
168.8625
168.8750
168.9000
168.9250
168.9500
168.9750

170.3500
170.6250
170.6750
170.7000
170.7250
170.7375
170.7500
170.7750
170.8250
171.3125
171.7250
172.5250
173.6875
173.7750

Besides the frequencies listed above, most CBP Border Patrol units have access to the national CBP Customs radio nets listed in a previous blog entry:

http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/2006/06/dhs-cbp-channel-lineup.html

Phoenix Federal Scanning

Just finishing up a weeks work in the Phoenix, Arizona area and found quite a bit of federal activity. Despite the use of encrypted P-25 in southern California Border Patrol activity, southern Arizona remains a mix of analog and DES encryption.

163.6500 DHS CBP DES

163.7750 123.0 DHS CBP BORDER PATROL

164.6000 100.0 DHS CBP

165.2375 100.0 DHS CBP NET 1

165.6375 P-25 TRUNKED SYSTEM 534 SITE 107- PRIMARY CC

166.3250 ?

166.7000 P-25 TRUNKED SYSTEM 534 SITE 107- ALTERNATE CC

167.6250 127.3 TONTO NF?

167.8250 P-25

168.9750 100.0 DHS CBP BORDER PATROL

169.4000 CSQ REPEATER - USFS?

169.4500 100.0 DHS CBP - DES

171.7500 123.0

172.8250 P-25 FAA PHOENIX

173.6875 123.0 DHS CBP BORDER PATROL

173.7125 P-25 ? ENC

173.8375 P-25 UNKNOWN - KEYS UP WITH NO VOICE

411.6750 ?

418.9500 156.7 DEA F6

The trunked sites listed are part of the Phoenix Metro P-25 800 MHz Public Safety system. They've been on the air for a couple of years now, but I don't know if anyone has actually heard them used yet.

Justice IWN Update - The Next Move?

As I have been reporting both on the Fed Files blog and in the Fed Files column in Monitoring Times, the Justice Integrated Wireless Network or IWN continues to grow and progress towards it's goal of being a nationwide digital trunked system for federal agencies. However, a recent audit of the systems shows there are some troubles for the IWN Project:

http://www.usdoj.gov/oig/reports/OBD/a0725/final.pdf

The above link contains some interesting information about the project and its use by various agencies so far.

The IWN expanded it's coverage from Washington State down in to Oregon and the Portland metro area in late 2006. It now appears to be in full use by Portland area federal agencies. We've been monitoring a LOT of activity on the system in the last month or so, almost 24/7. Several talk-groups on the system are showing the majority of the activity, but since the radios have been set up with the encryption selected automaticaly, I haven't heard any clear transmissions since the radio techs finished with their installation tests. But remember - systems are not encrypted, talk groups are not encrypted, but it is the individual radios that are encrypted.

So where will the IWN show up next? Information in the above referenced audit report confirms that the southwest US is the next region to start the build out. I am currently in the Phoenix area (more on that in another blog entry) and have noted there is a P-25 control channel on 165.6375 MHz. It is part of the Phoenix area P-25 trunked system that allows federal VHF users to tie directly in to the 800 MHz system without patches.

Here is some budget information for the IWN project:

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/mgmt/e300-dhs-iwn2008.pdf

So keep a lookout for P-25 control channels showing up in the VHF federal band in your area!

NOAA UHF Weather Links

Some listeners may not know that the NOAA has some UHF frequencies that are used for "links" between the NOAA Weather Offices and the VHF weather transmitters that are located across the country. Sometimes, depending on the location of the NOAA offices, you can hear the weather broadcasts better on the UHF link frequency. And if the VHF Weather transmitter is off the air for some reason, you still might be able to catch the feed on the UHF frequency!

Here are some UHF frequencies that are allocated for use by the NOAA:

410.1000 - Weather Link
410.1750
410.4750
410.5500
410.5750 - Weather Link
410.6750
410.7250
410.8500
410.8750
412.3250
415.8500
415.9000 - Weather Link
416.3750 - Weather Link
416.9750 - Weather Link

I have noted where I have heard the NOAA weather being linked to VHF transmitter sites.
So if you have trouble hearing the normal VHF NOAA Weather frequencies, give the UHF federal band a search!

National Marine Fisheries Service

I received some frequencies that are reported to be used by the National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of NOAA:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/

These are reported as being used in hand-held radios. I haven't confirmed these personally, but hope someone can!

NOAA NMFS Portlables

410.7000

410.7250

410.8750

410.9750

FBI Aircraft Call Signs

This past year we have seen reports of FBI aircraft operations using a new call sign. Previously the call sign of ROSS was used by aircraft being used in FBI operations. This call sign was used on the FAA air traffic control channels in order to identify them as a law enforcement aircraft to flight controllers. The ROSS call was followed by numbers, sometimes related to the aircraft FAA registration, or "N" number.

However, some have reported that the ROSS call has been replaced by the call sign JENNA. Some have reported the call pronounced with a long E, as "jean-ah", others have heard it as "gen-na", with a short E sound. Most recently JENNA 85 (N6317T) was heard landing at Paine Field in Everett, Washington.

I have also received reports that this new JENNA call sign is actually an addition to the ROSS call. The JENNA call is supposed to be used by non-FBI aircraft and non-FBI flight crews being used on FBI operations, where the ROSS call is still used for FBI owned aircraft with FBI flight crews.

As a possible related side note, I recently heard a "JENNA 01" on the ATC channels over Colorado or Utah. Where were they headed?

BTW, the original FAA document that had all the assigned federal aircraft call signs has been modified, and the table with the call signs has been eliminated;

http://www.faa.gov/ATPUBS/FSS/fss1401.htm

The document linked above used to have a table of assigned call signs for federal law enforcement and military aircraft for use while communicating with FAA air traffic control. I have a printed copy of the original document that contains the call sign table 14-1-51.

Anyone know anything more? Let us know at the Fed Files!

IAD BETWEEN FLIGHTS

I had a little time between flights at Dulles International Airport near Washington, DC this week. Here's a little of what I was able to scan from Terminal D:
162.3500 MHz - FAA, Wind Shear data?
165.8250 MHz, P-25 - "409 to Command Center..."
168.9250 MHz, P-25 - DHS Customs & Border Protection at IAD
171.2375 MHz - Paging data
172.9000 MHz, P-25 - TSA at IAD - The TSA seems to be encrypted most of the time here. Very unusual for TSA, but I've heard reports they are encrypted full time in San Diego also.
407.8625 MHz, P-25 - Close Call hit on this frequency, sounded like "SIDE DOOR" calling Patrol Units.
408.6000 MHz, P-25 - Another Close Call hit. Active, but unknown who it is.
409.7125 MHz, P-25 - Yet another Close Call hit. Also active and unknown.

Maybe some of the folks who regularly monitor the DC area can fill me in on who all the UHF P-25 frequencies belong to!

Coast Guard Covers DC

A recent post on the SCAN DC list pointed to this press release about the recent move from Customs and Border Protection to Coast Guard helicopter assets patroling the National Capitol District:

http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/651/145886/

The Coast Guard is using HH65-C Dolphin helicopters to patrol the DC area and intercept wayward aircraft.

167.8625 MHz Anyone?

For over a year now I have been catching a lot of voice and digital paging data on 167.8625 MHz in different areas of the country. Despite this frequency falling in to the "normal" range used by the FBI, I am 99.9% sure that this is being used by the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical paging at VA Medical Centers across the country . I'm hoping some Fed Files readers can help confirm if this frequency is used in your area. So give this frequency listen and let us know if you catch some paging data or someone calling for a doctor to X-ray!

Super Bowl 41 Fedcom Sweep - Updated!

Back from Miami with some frequencies used at Super Bowl 41. A more detailed list with some additional information will be coming soon in the Fed Files column. These frequencies were monitored while on location at Dolphin Stadium over a 5 day period, including Super Sunday:

163.1000, P-25 - Federal Common

163.8625, P-25 - Input to 167.5375 repeater

163.8875, P-25

163.9000, P-25 - Input to 171.4375 FIO repeater

164.4000, P-25 - DHS USSS "Papa"

164.5375 - Unknown analog repeater

164.6500, P-25 - DHS USSS "Tango"

164.9625, 100.0 - Primary DHS Customs Air Marine Division helicopter operations

165.2375, 100.0 - DHS CBP Operations NET 1

165.2875, P-25 - ATF Operations at Dolphin Stadium

167.2625, P-25 - Radio checks at Dolphin Stadium

167.4375, 167.9 - FBI repeater

167.5125, P-25 - FBI simplex operations at Dolphin Stadium

167.5375, P-25 - FBI Interoperability repeater, possibly called "Tactical 2". Heard many radio checks between agencies and even heard "Atlanta" checking in with "Jacksonville".

167.6125, P-25 - FBI

167.6625, P-25 - FBI

167.7625

168.0125

168.8250

168.8750

169.4500. 100.0 - DHS CBP Operations

169.5750

170.8250 - FBI

171.0250

171.4375, P-25 - Primary Interoperability repeater. Links to various agencies heard here, including Metro-Dade Fire Rescue units. Keep an eye on this frequency as it has shown up as a Federal Interop repeater in other major US cities.

173.0750

413.2750, D4431 - US Air Force Thunderbirds Comm Cart at Dolphin Stadium

Fed Files Contest Deadline

For those who are interested in the Monitoring Times Fed Files drawing, the deadline for your entry is coming up quickly. Please have your entry emails in to us by February 15th. For more information, you can see the original post here:

http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/2007/01/fed-files-contest.html

Miami Super Bowl Updates

I will be working at the Super Bowl telecast in Miami for the next week. I am fairly sure that there will be tons of interesting communications to scope out while we are there. I hope to provide some interesting federal logs after the event, so watch the Fed Files blog for updates!

SoCal Federal Searching

Had some time while in the Anaheim / Orange County area of Southern California to search some, and found these frequencies active. I'll update them as I have time:

162.2250, 103.5 pl - Sounds like US Postal Service
163.1500
163.1750, unknown repeater
163.6250, P-25 - ICE repeater
164.4000, P-25 - USSS PAPA
164.9375, 103.5 pl -
165.3125
165.9500
166.8750, P-25 - likely input to 163.6250 repeater
166.9125, P-25 - Clear and encrypted, the clear tansmissions have been mobile units checking in with milages to a dispatcher.
166.9500, P-25 - encrypted
167.2250, P-25 - encrypted
167.4125, 167.9 pl - FBI, unit was "10-8 from Bank of America"
168.8250, P-25 - DHS
169.4250, 141.3 pl - Unknown, data bursts at LAX
169.5500, 100.0 pl - DHS CBP / ICE
169.8750, 123.0 pl
170.7500, P-25 - COMM CENTER with ROBERT units, Federal Courthouse Security
171.0000, 118.8 pl
171.8250, 186.2 pl - Unknown repeater, lots of spanish language, maybe getting tripped from Mexico.

JIWN Update

I had a chance to gather some new frequency data for the Justice Integrated Wireless Network P-25 trunked system. This system has started to expand and is the model for more systems that will start appearing in other parts of the country.

I haven't been able to update my logs for all the system sites yet, but here is what I was able to update over the holidays:

Site 106 [T106] – Seattle South
167.2875 - CC
167.3875
167.4625
167.7125

Site 107 [T0107] – Seattle North
167.6875 - CC
167.0000
167.3375
170.9375
172.0625

Site 108 [T0108] – Unknown location
167.6125 - CC
167.2625
167.3625
168.8500
169.4125

Site 112 [T010c] – Baw Faw Peak, WA
171.6875 - CC
167.7375
169.9125
167.2625
167.4375

Site 114 [T010e] – Kalama, WA
170.6750 - CC
171.9875
168.8875

Site 115 [T010f] – Vancouver, WA
167.4625 - CC
168.8250
169.4125

Site 118 [T0112] – SeaTac Area
172.6375 - CC
170.6250

Site 119 [T0113] – Portland, OR – Mount Scott?
172.0625 - CC
170.7250
170.8375
170.9125
170.9375
172.2125
172.4125

Site 120 [T0114] – Portland, OR – Germantown Road?
168.5875 - CC
167.6625
168.9125
169.2375
171.9625
167.5125

Site 121 [T0115] – Portland, OR – Unknown Site
171.6625 - CC
169.9375

Site 122 [T0116] – Portland, OR – Unknown Site
171.6125 - CC
170.0625
172.1875

Site 123 [T0117] – Portland, OR – West Hills Site?
170.9875 - CC
167.6125
168.8500
171.3250
171.4375

Traffic on this system has been mostly encrypted, but I suspect when the interoperability features that will be linked to local public safety systems start showing up, more traffic may be in the clear.

Also, despite the availability of this system, most federal agency conventional channels continue to be used.

NYC Federal Interop Tests

I've received some information about weekly testing of the New York City federal interop radio channels. Reports are that 167.7875 MHz, 407.7750 MHz and 414.7500 MHz are all used in these weekly check-ins with various local, state and federal agencies. The input to the 167.7875 MHz P-25 repeater is believed to be 164.7375 MHz and 407.7750 MHz is most likely the input to the 414.750 MHz repeater. The control operator appears to be the FBI New York Communications Center. I also heard a story that even though 414.7500 MHz is a nationwide US Postal Inspectors frequency, two Postal Inspector units who were trying to use this repeater in New York City were chased off the air by the FBI communications operator. I wonder if they leave these frequencies patched all the time, or someone forgot to drop the patch after the interop test?

For more information on the participating agencies and the radio systems involved:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/commtech/25cities/newyork.pdf

MT Reader Only Access

A new feature of the Monitoring Times website is a "Reader Only" access area. Look for a password in each issue of Monitoring Times for access to this area.
I have started uploading some Fed Files documents that you may find interesting, so check the Reader Only area for new files.
For more information, click the link to the MT web site:
http://www.monitoringtimes.com/ and look for the key icon!

SFO DHS Update

On a recent stopover at San Francisco International Airport (SFO), I was searching the federal bands and found that the DHS CBP/ICE repeater on 170.6250 MHz has as an input of 166.2500 MHz!

Anyone for NAC's?

I've been getting some requests from readers for information about the federal use of Network Access Codes or "NAC"s on P-25 digital channels. So far there are few ways for the monitoring hobby to actually read or use NAC's, but since CTCSS or PL tones are going away when radio channels turn digital, maybe a pattern of NAC assignments by particular agencies will reveal itself.

If you are able to decode NACs on federal P-25 systems, consider starting a federal NAC database here at the Fed Files!

Fed Files Contest

As announced in the January Fed Files column, we are having a contest to celebrate 25 years of Monitoring Times magazine. The prize is an original copy of Monitoring Times Volume 1, number 4, pictured above. All you have to do to be eligible for the drawing is send us your name and contact information (email or postal address - how to get in touch with you in case you win). And, if you like, please let us know what you would like to see in future Fed Files columns. You can e-mail it to me at chrisparris@monitoringtimes.com, or you can mail an entry to Monitoring Times Magazine, 7540 Highway 64 West, Brasstown, NC 28902-0098. The deadline for entries is February 15th. We'll announce the winner shortly after that.

DHS Releases National Interop Assessment

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today released scorecard assessments of interoperable communications capabilities in 75 urban and metropolitan areas nationwide. Interoperable communications involve policies, technology and training that enable law enforcement, fire and emergency medical services from multiple jurisdictions in a common community to effectively communicate within one hour of an incident.

http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1167843848098.shtm

http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/gc_1167770109789.shtm

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/grants-scorecard-report-010207.pdf

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/