DHS Lags in Preparations for Transition of Power, Study Says

Noting Timing of Terrorist Attacks, Report Urges Readiness
By Spencer S. Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, June 26, 2008; A17

http://www.washingtonpost.com/

The Department of Homeland Security is moving too slowly to prepare for the risks that will accompany the first presidential transition for U.S. counterterrorism agencies formed after the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to a study scheduled for release today.

The department's plan to train scores of key career officials, temporarily fill the posts of 26 departing political appointees and complete a transition plan are insufficient or should be accelerated, according to a 118-page report by the National Academy of Public Administration that was funded by Congress and DHS.

The report urged the presumptive presidential nominees, Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.), to move more quickly than previous candidates to submit the names of top aides for security clearances in order to ensure that they are ready to handle a national security crisis upon taking office.

Breaking with tradition by moving the deadline up two months -- to September from November -- would ensure that background checks are completed in time for officials to receive classified briefings the day after Election Day.

"For a first-ever presidential transition in an era of terrorism, we need to think and act nontraditionally," said the academy's president, Jennifer L. Dorn.

In a 9/11-style incident or other crisis after Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, an untested team of presidential advisers and unfamiliar career officials would have to make instant decisions, she said.

"The question is, will there be trust and confidence in the judgment of career personnel who come rushing in to the White House to say, 'Mr. President, we recommend shutting down the nation's air traffic control system'?" Dorn said.

The report marks the latest in a string of assessments by outsiders as well as actions taken by DHS leaders to make sure that critical security agencies remain effective as they undergo the first handoff from one president to another.

Terrorists may seek to exploit the transfer of power, the report said, noting the first World Trade Center attack in 1993, five weeks after President Bill Clinton took office; the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, eight months after President Bush took office; the Madrid train bombings in March 2004, three days before national elections; and failed car bomb attacks in London and Glasgow just days after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown assumed power.

Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said the senator "agrees that the next president will need to expedite the transition process, and if elected, will take the steps necessary to ensure a safe, fast and orderly process." Randy Scheunemann, McCain's foreign policy and national security director, said that "Senator McCain is acutely aware of challenges associated with a wartime transition, and he will address these matters in the appropriate way at the appropriate time."

Elaine C. Duke, DHS acting undersecretary for management, said the report shows that DHS is on track and far ahead of other departments, but she added: "Do I agree we have more to do? Certainly. We will be working on this every day."

Under pressure from Congress, homeland security officials held exercises for top officials in February and May, increased the number of career executives, lengthened the chain of succession to the DHS secretary and identified top career officials to serve as interim leaders in about two dozen vital positions.

The DHS also is preparing transition handbooks and briefing materials and will finish a formal transition plan in October.

But the academy report said DHS should complete a comprehensive plan by the time both parties have finished their national conventions, Sept. 4.

The department is behind schedule in setting up training workshops planned for July 1 and has not identified career officials to fill all vacated political appointee slots.

EPA Frequencies

One of the more elusive federal agencies to monitor is the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. They have a visible presence at many events, including many of the Homeland Security operational training simulations, but not many people have actually logged any EPA radio traffic.

I was once at a raid involving the local police and agents from the EPA, but it appeared that the EPA folks were carrying UHF radios on the police system.

In my preparation to visit the EPA's research vessel BOLD, I pulled up all the EPA frequency allocations I could muster:

40.9700
41.6300
49.8600
163.4375 - Nationwide allocation (shared)
164.1000
164.4500 - Nationwide allocation (shared)
165.2375 - DHS CBP Customs (EPA contracted dispatch)
165.4125 - Nationwide allocation (shared)
166.1250
166.4375 - DHS CBP Customs (EPA contracted dispatch)
167.0750
167.1500
168.5000
168.5250
168.6500
168.8500
169.0000
169.1750
169.5750
169.9750
170.1250
170.3750
170.4000
172.5500 - Nationwide allocation (shared)
172.7000 - Nationwide allocation (shared)
173.0250
173.9125
406.1500
406.2250
408.0000
409.2000
416.1000
419.6500

Besides these frequencies, be sure and try the nationwide federal interoperability channels and federal itinerant channels. And I'm sure the VHF marine band channels would be in use on any operations on or near the water. I have no area specific allocations, so try all these and let me know if you hear anything.

EPA OSV BOLD Visits Pacific Northwest

Among the ocean-going visitors to this years Portland Rose Festival is the Ocean Survey Vessel Bold. The Bold is the only OSV in the marine fleet of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This was also the first visit of the ship to the Pacifc Northwest. I had a chance to tour the Bold at the waterfront in Portland.

Lots of interesting research programs take place on board this ship. Side-scanning sonar and remotely operated vehicles for underwater observations were shown during the tour.

While on the tour I noticed quite a bit of VHF marine communications and HF communications gear on the bridge. The ship also appears to carry a satellite base phone aboard. The folks working on board were using FRS radios, so I was unable to locate any agency-specific radio gear on board.

For more information on the Bold, here is a link to the EPA web page:

http://www.epa.gov/bold/

And the operations of the ship are managed by a federal contractor, Seaward Services of Dania Beach, FL:

http://www.seawardservices.com/

St. Paul MN Scanning Update

I was recently in St. Paul, Minnesota for some preliminary meetings regarding broadcast coverage of the Republican National Convention in September. While there I found some activity in the downtown area.

164.3375 MHz, 167.9 - US Postal Service operations
165.2375 MHz, 100.0 - DHS Customs & Border Protection NET1
167.2625 MHz, P-25 - Clear testing of what might be some new radio system. probably FBI
167.4375 MHz, P-25
167.6375 MHz, P-25
167.8875 MHz - VA Paging
170.6250 MHz - P-25
170.7375 MHz - P-25
170.7625 MHz, D271 - Unknown agency
171.6875 MHz, P-25
173.8125 MHz, P-25
407.0000 MHz, P-25 - DHS Federal Protective Service

Most of the VHF P-25 was encrypted or too short to confirm it's use. The clear traffic was a lot of testing. I don't know if these are new to the St. Paul area or not.

McCain Campaign Update

As I posted a couple of weeks ago, Sen. John McCain has recently been confirmed as having Secret Service protection as he campaigns across the US. He had previously dismissed the security detail from the Secret Service, but apparently reconsidered as the conventions draw closer.

Now, I have received word of Sen. McCain's Secret Service call sign. It is reported as "PHOENIX", which is appropriate in several ways. This now joins the list of other candidate call signs listed below.

Hillary Clinton - EVERGREEN
Bill Clinton - EAGLE

John McCain - PHOENIX
Cindy McCain - ?

Barack Obama - RENEGADE
Michelle Obama - RENAISSANCE

And even though they are not running for office, there may be convention or campaign apperiances:

President Bush - TRAILBLAZER
Vice President Cheney - ANGLER

Thanks to all the blog readers and listeners in the field for this information!

When Federal Frequencies Get Hijacked?

I was recently working near the location of a Championship Off Road Racing event in Nevada. I discovered that someone at this event was using 169.1125 MHz, simplex, for what sounded like race officials. I don't know exactly who this group was, but they used this frequency for quite a long time before, during and after the racing events. I wonder how they picked this channel and why...

You never know who might show up on some frequencies!

McCain Now With USSS

I was able to confirm today that Sen. John McCain is now accompanied by a security detail from the US Secret Service. There had been some speculation earlier in the campaign as to who was providing security for Sen. McCain, as he had previously refused Secret Service protection.

Sen. McCain was in Portland, Oregon on a campaign stop, and the Secret Service detail was using 165.3750 MHz (CHARLIE), P-25 mode. I was unable to snag the call sign for Sen. McCain.

Anyone Listening to 165.4250 MHz?

OK Fed Files fans, it's time to help track down a mystery frequency! If anyone has one of the presidential candidates coming for a visit soon, besides the known US Secret Service channels found here,

http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/2008/02/secret-service-frequency-list.html

please check the frequency of 165.4250 MHz for activity. I have received reports of some activity on this frequency during some candidates visits and want to see if it has widespread use.

The frequency is interesting in that it is not a previously known Secret Service channel. In fact in most federal databases it has NO previous users noted.

So if you have room in your scan list, pop that frequency in and let me know what you hear!

Border "Virtual" Fence Scrapped

It appears that the virtual fence built by Boeing is not performing as expected. Details here:

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,352213,00.html

The story indicates that there will be some additional towers and surveillance devices set up to help control the border area in southern Arizona.

Pittsburgh - New FBI P25

Despite it's slow start in moving towards APCO P-25 digital radio systems, the FBI is starting to make the switch in different regions of the country. I've been spending some time in the Pittsburgh, PA area and can confirm that some new P-25 repeaters have started to make themselves heard here.

The new repeaters are on 165.8250 MHz, 165.8750 MHz, 168.8250 MHz and 168.9250 MHz. The repeaters all seem to have an input frequency of 163.7500 MHz. Mostly encrypted but a few clear transmissions have been heard, all showing a P-25 NAC of 167.

Not sure if these repeaters are replacing some analog equipment, or these are serving a new purpose for the Department of Justice in the Pittsburgh area.

Political Campaign Acitvity - McCain to get Secret Service Detail

News media outlets are reporting that Senator John McCain will discuss Secret Service protection with DHS officials next week. For some time now, candidate McCain has publicly said that he did not want the burden of Secret Service protection.

Despite claiming not to want the protection of the Secret Service, I have seen reports that Senator McCain might have actually had some sort of security detail with him on the campaign trail. But some have reported that he had the US Capitol Police with him, others claimed it was the FBI and one posting even seemed to think the US State Department was somehow involved with security for McCain. I haven't seen any hard data to support any of these theories.

The other political candidates, Clinton (both Bill & Hillary) and Obama, currently have Secret Service protective details. The big question now is what will Senator McCain's call sign be?

Presidential Campaign Activities

Is it just me, or does it seem like this presidential political campaign has been going on forever? Back in June of 07 (!) I mentioned that the media was reporting Senator Barack Obama had been given the call sign of "Renegade" by the US Secret Service:

http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/2007/06/secret-service-call-signs.html

I can confirm this is still the case. During a recent visit to the state of Oregon, Senator Obama's security detail was using 165.3750 MHz, P-25 digital mode. And he is still being called RENEGADE.

The security details are using various USSS frequencies depending on the location and detail requirements:

http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/2008/02/secret-service-frequency-list.html

Las Vegas NNSA Update

It would appear that the UHF federal trunked systems in the Las Vegas area have gone through some channel changes prior to the narrow banding deadline of January, 2008. Last time I was in the LV area I noticed some UHF trunked channels that were not heard before, and this trip I was able to sit down and analyze some of what I am hearing.

I was only able to grab a few of the sites, but here is what is currently in use:

National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Trunked System
System ID = 7526
Motorola Type II, with APCO P-25 voice

Site 004 - Las Vegas DoE Facility
406.9875 - Control Channel
407.3625
408.3625
409.5250
409.9250

Site 006 - Angel Peak, NV
406.1125 - Control Channel
406.5500
409.3000
410.2500

Site 009
407.3500 - Control Channel

Site 010 - Nellis AFB
407.9875 - Control Channel


It also appears that the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) EDACS system has changed some frequencies around. I was able to copy an EDACS control channel on 406.5625 MHz, 408.0500 MHz and 409.9625 MHz. I have not seen these frequencies listed as part of the NTTR system in the past.

More updates on this as I am able to figure them out...

US Geological Survey

After seeing some requests for frequencies for the US Geological Survey, I decided to post all that I had in my database. These were compiled for the March 2005 Fed Files column. I have included not only land mobile voice channels but also some very narrow band data channels that appear in the federal NTIA assignments.

http://www.usgs.gov/aboutusgs/

162.0500
162.0750
162.089375
162.1250
162.1750
162.2000
162.809375
163.0250
163.0750
163.1250
163.1750
163.3000 NATIONWIDE
163.3250
163.3500 NATIONWIDE
163.396875
163.606225
163.609375
163.792875
163.793775
163.796875
164.009375
164.0500
164.0750 NATIONWIDE
164.1250
164.1500
164.1750
164.2500
164.4250
164.4375
164.5250
164.5500
164.5750
164.6625
164.6750 NATIONWIDE
164.7250 NATIONWIDE
164.7750
164.8000
164.8250
164.842875
164.846875
164.9125
164.9375
164.9875
165.3375
165.4875
165.5375 NATIONWIDE
165.806225
165.809375
165.9750
166.0000
166.0500
166.0750
166.1250
166.1500
166.1750
166.2000
166.2250
166.2750
166.3000
166.3250
166.3500
166.3750
166.418725
166.421875
166.6125
166.6375
166.659375
166.7500
166.7625
166.7750
166.8000
166.8125
166.8250
166.8500
166.8750
166.8875
166.9000
166.9125
166.9250
166.9375
166.9500
166.9500
166.9625
166.9750
167.0250
167.0750
167.1250
167.1500
167.193775
167.196825
167.806225
167.809375
167.9000
167.9500
168.1250
168.2250
168.2750
168.3000
168.3750
168.4000
168.4250
168.4750
168.5000
168.5250
168.5500
168.5750
168.7500
169.0000
169.0250
169.0375
169.1000
169.2250
169.2500
169.3750
169.4000
169.5000
169.5500
169.5750
169.6000
169.6250
169.6500
169.7000 NATIONWIDE
169.7250
169.7750 NATIONWIDE
169.8250 NATIONWIDE
169.8750
169.9250
170.0000
170.0250
170.0500
170.0750
170.1000
170.2000
170.3000
170.3750
170.4750
170.5250
170.6000
171.1750
171.4060
171.406225
171.4250
171.5750
171.6250
171.6750 NATIONWIDE
171.7000
171.7250 NATIONWIDE
171.7750
171.8250
171.9750
172.2250
172.3000
172.3250
172.4250
172.4500
172.5000
172.5250
172.5750
172.6250
172.6750
172.7500 NATIONWIDE
172.7750
173.193725
173.193875
173.1940
173.197925
173.6375
173.7625
173.9625
173.9875
406.1500
406.4750
408.0750
408.6250
408.6750
411.6500
411.7250
411.7750
411.8750
411.9000
411.9500
411.9750
412.0000
412.0750
412.2750
414.8250
415.0250
415.0750
417.4000
417.6750
417.7750
417.8250
419.6250
419.8750

NOAA WP-3D in Portland

While waiting at Portland International Airport (KPDX) for a commercial flight, I spotted a NOAA WP-3D aircraft taxing out for takeoff. The aircraft was NOAA 42, N42RF.

NOAA often flies research missions out of the Pacific Northwest doing wind and storm research out along the Pacific coast. Here is a link to the NOAA web page describing what the annual missions are all about this year:

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/20080211_p3.html

March Fed Files Correction

Before I get too many more emails, I want to post a correction of something that was in the March 2008 Fed Files column regarding the federal use of Network Access Codes or NAC's on P-25 digital radio systems.

I incorrectly stated that NAC 293 will act as a digital carrier squelch on professional P-25 radio equipment. I should have said that NAC F7E will operate as a digital carrier squelch on P-25 radio equipment, although I have also been told that this only applies to repeaters and not radios in the field.

The NAC value of 293 is what some are calling a "default" NAC that seems to be used by quite a few agencies.

I have to confess that I don't' own any professional P-25 equipment yet, so I rely on the kindness of strangers for this information...

Secret Service Frequency List

I've started to have some requests for Secret Service frequencies during the height of the '08 political campaign season. Here is what was published in the July 2007 Fed Files column.

Remember that at this time, only Senators Clinton and Obama have full time Secret Service protection. I have heard, but not confirmed, that Senator McCain may have US Capitol Police with him, or private security. But McCain has publicly refused Secret Service protection.

Also note that it is highly unlikely that the White House Communications Agency would be involved with any visits other than for the President or Vice President.

US Secret Service VHF Allocations
162.0750 USSS Uniformed Division
162.2875 Laurel, MD Trunked System
162.3125 USSS Uniformed Division
163.3125 USSS Uniformed Division
163.4500 Laurel, MD Trunked System
164.1000 X-RAY, New York City Field Office 1
164.1750 USSS Uniformed Division
164.4000 PAPA
164.4375 USSS Uniformed Division
164.6500 TANGO
164.7500 X-RAY
164.8000 X-RAY
164.8875 OSCAR
164.9875
165.2125 MIKE
165.2625 X-RAY
165.3375 X-RAY
165.3625
165.3750 CHARLIE
165.3875
165.4125 X-RAY
165.4875
165.5125 X-RAY
165.5250 Laurel, MD Trunked System
165.6500 X-RAY
165.6875 X-RAY - Washington DC Field Office
165.7875 BAKER
165.8500 X-RAY
165.9000 X-RAY
166.0000 Dignitary Protective Division 5
166.0250 Laurel, MD Trunked System
166.0500 X-RAY
166.2000 X-RAY - USSS Uniformed Division
166.2625 Laurel, MD Trunked System
166.4000 GOLF
166.4625 DHS Common
166.4875
166.5625 X-RAY
166.5875 X-RAY
166.6375 X-RAY
166.6500 Laurel, MD Trunked System
166.8000 X-RAY
167.0125 Reported POTUS / VPOTUS Protection Details
167.0375 Reported POTUS / VPOTUS Protection Details
167.4000 Laurel, MD Trunked System
167.9000 X-RAY – Dallas Field Office
168.0000
168.1250
168.2375 Diplomatic Protection Division 1
168.5875 Diplomatic Protection Division 2
169.9375 USSS Uniformed Division
170.0000 JULIET – Washington DC Field Office Alternate
170.0875 Diplomatic Protection Division 3
170.4375 USSS Uniformed Division
170.9875 USSS Uniformed Division
171.3875 New York City Field Office 2
171.7625 USSS Uniformed Division
172.0625 Diplomatic Protection Division 4
172.2250 New York Field Office 3
172.5625 USSS Uniformed Division

US Secret Service UHF Allocations
406.2750
407.6750 WHITE
407.7500 GRAY
407.8000
407.8750 GREEN
407.9000
407.9250 INDIA
408.0250
408.5000
408.9750
414.6750 YELLOW
414.8000 BLUE
414.8500 BROWN – Technical Security Division
414.9500 ORANGE – Technical Security Division
415.1000 BLACK
415.6500 SILVER
415.6750 GOLD – Technical Security Division
415.7500 GREEN
415.8000 VIOLET
415.9750 RED
418.1250 LAVENDER
418.1500 YELLOW
418.3250 BLACK
418.3500 GRAY
418.7750 ORANGE – Technical Security Division
418.8000 BROWN – Technical Security Division
419.0750 GOLD – Technical Security Division
419.1000 SILVER
419.7250 RED

White House Communications Agency (WHCA) VHF Allocations
162.6875 YANKEE
165.2125 MIKE
165.3750 CHARLIE
165.7875 BAKER
166.2000 Reported in use at Camp David Presidential Retreat
166.4625 DHS Common
166.5125 ALPHA / SIERRA
166.7000 NOVEMBER
167.0250 WHISKEY – Paging, reported no longer in use
167.9000 HOTEL
169.5125 SIERRA
169.9250 DELTA
170.0000 JULIET
171.2875 ZULU

White House Communications Agency (WHCA) UHF Allocations
406.4500 Transportable Trunking System
407.1250 Transportable Trunking System
407.4750
407.6750 Wideband UHF reported
407.8000 Transportable Trunking System
407.8500 ECHO – No longer in use
408.8500 Transportable Trunking System
408.8750 Transportable Trunking System
408.9250 Transportable Trunking System
415.6750 Wideband UHF reported
415.7000 FOXTROT – No longer in use
415.8000
418.2750 Transportable Trunking System
418.3750 Transportable Trunking System
418.4000 Transportable Trunking System
418.5000 Transportable Trunking system
418.5250 Transportable Trunking System

Phoenix Fedcom

Well, it's Super Saturday and I finally have a minute to post a quick note. I had meant to post some federal communications updates related to the Super Bowl activities in Phoenix, but have been just too darned busy to keep up with it!

I have had the scanner running with me and have collected some new federal operations here at the event and I promise to share them after the show is over on Sunday.

Needless to say, the Customs AMD UH-60's have been flying around U of P Stadium all week in preparation for the big event. Several other local, state and federal agencies have been flying around as well, along with the Goodyear blimp. The Blue Angels have made some brief appearances as well, getting ready for the fly-by on Sunday.

Gotta get back to work, but keep checking and I'll update the scanning stuff soon. And a special thanks to some of the Phoenix area scanner listeners for their email updates to me the last couple of weeks!

South Carolina Campaigns

I've seen some reports of Secret Service operations on 165.7875 MHz, USSS BAKER in South Carolina in regards to the political campaigns. Unknown if this is related to the Clinton or Obama campaigns. More as it becomes available...

DHS NRF Resource Center

The DHS National Response Framework presents the guiding principles that enable all response partners to prepare for and provide a unified national response to disasters and emergencies – from the smallest incident to the largest catastrophe. The Framework establishes a comprehensive, national, all-hazards approach to domestic incident response.

A new series of PDF files is available at the NRF site, with some communications information:

http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nrf/aboutNRF.htm

New York Area Fedcom

Just a couple of quick notes from my last trip to the NYC area...

Once again, I was in town for the weekly Federal Interoperability radio check in. This check in occurs every Wednesday morning on a couple of federal frequencies. Last time I was only able to hear the repeater on 167.7875 MHz, P-25 digital and unencrypted. This time I was able to copy the UHF side of the check-ins on 414.7500 MHz, 82.5pl, analog mode. The input to this repeater is 407.7750 MHz, 82.5pl, analog mode.

Also, the last few times in town, I heard quite a bit of both analog and P-25 activity on 417.5500 MHz. The analog activity was all OTAR (Over The Air Re-keying) data, and the P-25 activity was pretty much all encrypted. My guess is this is a DEA repeater, as this is one of their allocations. Other DEA channels still show some analog activity.

And finally, I was hearing a lot of traffic on 413.4125 MHz, P-25. All the traffic was in the clear and sounded like some facility security operation. At times the traffic seemed to sound like a VA medical facility, but not sure where it was coming from.

UPDATE: A listener in the know informed me that 413.4125 MHz is indeed the VA Medical Center in East Orange, NJ. Thanks!

Super Bowl XLII Federal Monitoring

I'm headed to Phoenix this week to start work as part of the international coverage of Super Bowl XLII. Technically we will be in Glendale, west of Phoenix, where the University of Phoenix Stadium is located.

If past Super Bowls are any indication, there will be plenty of local, state and federal agency communications to search for during the next couple of weeks. I will be updating the Fed Files blog with interesting finds, and the May issue of Monitoring Times will have a more detailed look at what went on.

BTW, if there are any Phoenix area listeners that might want to keep in touch via email or IM, please feel free to contact me at the Fed Files email address.

More Campaign Communications

Some additional information on the political campaigns communications has started to surface. A post on the FEDCOM list indicated that at least one candidate's staff was using 462.6250 MHz for some of it's communications.

This might be a good time to review what they might be using for radio frequencies. If you have a chance, check these out at locations where some of the candidates are making appearances. These would most likely be used for staff operations, not security, but could still provide some interesting listening...

Multi-Use Radio Service (MURS)
151.820 MHz
151.880 MHz
151.940 MHz
154.570 MHz (shared with business band)
154.600 MHz (shared with business band)

GMRS Frequencies
Repeater outputs (inputs are +5 MHz):
462.550
462.575
462.600
462.625
462.650
462.675
462.700
462.725
Interstitial frequencies (simplex, not more than 5 watts):
462.5625
462.5875
462.6125
462.6375
462.6625
462.6875
462.7125

Common Business Frequencies
IS=Special Industrial
IB=Business
ZA=GMRS

027.4900 IB Itinerant
035.0400 IB Itinerant
043.0400 IS Itinerant
151.5050 IS Itinerant
151.6250 IB RED DOT Itinerant
151.9550 IB PURPLE DOT
152.8700 IS Itinerant
154.5700 IB BLUE DOT (also MURS)
154.6000 IB GREEN DOT (also MURS)
158.4000 IS Itinerant
451.8000 IS Itinerant
456.8000 IS Itinerant
462.5750 ZA WHITE DOT
462.6250 ZA BLACK DOT
462.6750 ZA ORANGE DOT
462.7125 ZA Radio Shack HTs (GMRS)
464.5000 IB BROWN DOT Itinerant 35w.
464.5500 IB YELLOW DOT Itinerant 35w.
467.7625 IB J DOT
467.8125 IB K DOT
467.8500 IB SILVER STAR
467.8750 IB GOLD STAR
467.9000 IB RED STAR
467.9250 IB BLUE STAR
469.5000 IB Simplex or input to 464.500 if
repeater. Itinerant 35 w. max
469.5500 IB Simplex or input to 464.550 if
repeater. Itinerant 35 w. max

DoE Hanford Update

I was able to spend a couple of days monitoring the goings on at the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington recently. I was primarily trying get an update on the status of a P-25 VHF trunked system that had shown signs of coming on the air the last two or three times I was in the area.

But this trip, I found no sign of any P-25 control channels! I don't know what happened to the system, but in past visits I have monitored a P-25 trunking control channel (System ID = def) on 164.3500 MHz and 164.4125 MHz, but nothing on any VHF frequency was found. I did hear the same, rapid Morse ID that appears on all the Hanford VHF frequencies on 164.4125, but no other activity.The other analog VHF radio nets for Hanford (Patrol, Fire, etc.) continue to operate as normal.

Another interesting thing is the UHF EDACS trunked system located at the Hanford Site is still up and running, but over two days I never heard a peep out of it. In the past this system has been fairly active during certain shifts with a lot of construction and maintenance operations. I've always thought it was mostly for contractors operations:

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=2681

And new system that I saw on Radio Reference claims to belong to Bechtel, a major nuclear energy contractor. However, this system does not appear to be on the air at this time:

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=5109

Campaign Communications

I've finally seen a report of some political campaign communications being monitored.

During the time around the New Hampshire primary, the local Secret Service office was heard operating in P-25 mode on the USSS BAKER frequency (165.7875 MHz) with RENEGADE CP in operation. It was pretty much assumed that RENEGADE is the call sign for candidate Barack Obama, and is confirmed in this story:

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

Also, during the Iowa Caucuses I received a report of USSS OSCAR (164.8875 MHz) being used for a motorcade in Davenport. The original information guessed that this was for John McCain, but as far as I can determine at this time, the only candidates that have Secret Service protection at this time are Clinton and Obama. Also, McCain has stated that he is not interested in Secret Service protection.

I have been surprised at the lack of postings or information about the security details at these early campaign events. I'm not sure if it's just a lack of people willing to search for activity, or folks are just keeping it quiet.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all the Fed Files fans and Monitoring Times readers. Looking forward to a great 2008!

More Federal Interop

As has been posted in previous blog entries, the Justice Department's "25 Cities" project continues to set up federal interoperability radio systems in various cities that have been identified as having a need for it:
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/ric/Publications/wirelesscomm_ritter.pdf

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

Chicago, IL
168.8875 MHz - P25 repeater
168.9125 MHz - P25 repeater
170.8125 MHz - P25 repeater
171.4375 MHz - P25 repeater
171.6875 MHz - P25 repeater
172.2125 MHz - P25 repeater

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

Hampton Roads/Norfolk, VA
165.7000 MHz - P25 repeater

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

New York City, NY
167.7875 MHz - P25 repeater

Philadelphia, PA
171.4375 MHz - P25 repeater "FIO"

January Fed Files Correction!

I was just notified of an error in the January Fed Files column and wanted to pass along a correction.

In the mention of John Wilson's Virginia Frequency Guide on CD-ROM, I published the wrong email address.

Merry Christmas From The Fed Files!

Houston Federal Interop Test

Another testing of a federal interoperability system was noted by listeners in the Houston, Texas area last night. Radio checks from various local and many federal agencies were heard. In some cities these tests seem to come at a set time every week. This test in Houston occurred at 3:30 AM. They may mix up the times to keep people on their toes...

As noted in a previous blog entry, the Houston federal interop channels are:

L1 - 170.7250 MHz, P-25
L2 - 171.4375 MHz, P-25

Also some testing of a patch between L1 and the Houston Police Citywide channel of 460.4250 MHz was heard.

These same frequencies appear to be used as interop channels in other cities, so give them a try and see what you might hear.

South Florida UHF Mystery!

With the mandated changes in the channelization of the federal UHF band that appear to be taking place before the years end, mysterious signals have been heard in some areas, including South Florida.

A strong signal on 414.0375 MHz was heard by listeners in the northern Broward County area,and was traced to a tower in Palm Beach County. The signal was an analog carrier with no voice or CTCSS tone. The mystery signal continued it's broadcast for 5 days or so, then abruptly left the air.

This frequency is a Federal Interoperability channel, designated as a simplex calling channel. The NTIA designation for this frequency is 4FCAL-45D, previously known as LE-B. The signal was possibly from a base station transmitter that was being installed, or had a problem that kept it keyed up for an extended period.

Keep an ear out for other strange, new signals on the federal 406 MHz to 420 MHz band as the deadline for changes approaches.

Another JENNA Sighting!

While waiting for my flight to board at Burbank (KBUR) last week, I caught JENNA 49 coming in for a landing. I watched the runway expecting a fixed-wing aircraft, but to my suprise an all-black Bell 206B Jet Ranger helicopter flew in on runway 15 and hover taxied over to a small hanger & building marked as "Police Air Support". 

They must have stopped for fuel and a bathroom break, because about
45 minutes after touching down, they took off and headed east over the Burbank area. Unfortunately I was unable to find them on any federal channels at that time. All the communications I heard from them were on 118.7 MHz, the BUR tower frequency.

Las Vegas UHF Mysteries

Been working in the Las Vegas, NV region this week and have found a few UHF frequencies that I've had trouble pinning down who the users are. Thought I would throw them out to the blog page and see if I could get some input...

407.3250 MHz, D051 - Security operations. Might be related to activity on 407.5250 MHz (see below). This frequency is allocated as a federal Itinerant local use repeater.

407.5250 MHz, D023 - Definitely sounds like a military security net. I've thought it might be Nellis AFB, but this analog repeater does not seem to be patched to the NNSA UHF system the rest of Nellis seems to be using. The frequency is allocated to various DoD services.

409.0250 MHz - This frequency started showing an EDACS control channel. It is showing that it is LCN 3 of Site 7, so I am guessing it is part of the NTTR (Nevada Test & Training Range) trunked system, although this frequency has not been listed as part of this system in the past. Changes in the UHF channels may be showing up in the local trunked systems as well.

409.3000 MHz, P-25 - This seems to be a stand alone P-25 repeater, but everything on this has been encrypted so far. This frequency is allocated to various agencies, including the Department of Energy as well as DoD.

415.5750, D754 - Another security operation, but definitly NOT military. Very "civilian" radio procedure. The frequency is primarily allocated to the Department of Agriculture, but also has some NOAA and US Postal Service allocations.

Another VHF Trunking Mystery?

A few months ago some reports from the east coast indicated that there was an EDACS trunking system operating in the VHF federal band somewhere nearby. It was determined that it was a two-site analog EDACS system belonging to the NASA facility at Wallops Island, VA.

Now a report has appeared in one of the Radio Reference forums that a similar VHF EDACS system is being heard in the Houston, TX area, but the poster believes that this system is being heard via skip or ducting and is not local.

http://www.radioreference.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88827

The frequencies reported heard are 163.5625 MHz, 164.5000 MHz and 165.0875 MHz. These frequencies are often associated with military facilities and the US Army Corps of Engineers, so my first guess would be a military base in Texas or Louisiana.

Anyone else hearing these frequencies active?

406.6625 / 415.6625 MHz Update

A while back I asked folks about hearing activity on 406.6625 or 415.6625 MHz. I received several responses and it now appears that this frequency pair is being used nationwide by the Federal Reserve Branch Banks for security operations. What is interesting is that in some cases these systems are analog and some are P-25 digital.

Here are confirmed locations that these frequency pairs are being used:

Boston, MA
Dallas, TX
Houston, TX
Kansas City, MO
Memphis, TN
Miami, FL
San Francisco, CA

The Dallas Federal Reserve Bank is also reported to be using a repeater on 410.4875 MHz(input should be 419.4875 MHz). Can anyone else hear that pair in use?

Federal UHF Band Changes

Some recent changes and new frequencies for several UHF federal
and military  systems have prompted me to remind everyone of the 
upcoming deadline for narrowbanding the federal UHF band.
 
The January 1st 2008 deadline for the 406.1-420 MHz band to narrowband channels from 25 KHz channels spacing up to 12.5 kHz. Some agencies will be changing frequencies and some trunked systems may move off of their current UHF channels. Expect to see many changes between now and the end of the year, and even after the deadline has passed.

FCI Morgantown WV Update

I was able to update some information on the Morgantown, WV Federal Correctional Institution;

Motorola Type II with P-25 voice
System ID: a620
Base: 406.8125
Step: 12.5
Offset: 380

406.8125, 407.0125, 408.2125, 408.8125

This will be added to the updated file of all Bureau of Prisons radio systems that is available for download on the Montoring Times web site. Simple go to http://www.monitoringtimes.com and look for the Readers Access icon. You can find the password in the latest issue of Monitoring Times.

NYC Interop Check-In Redux

I found myself in New York City on a Wednesday morning and was able to monitor the FBI Control interoperability check-in on 167.7875 MHz, P-25. FBI Control checked in with various stations as they have in the past:

http://mt-fedfiles.blogspot.com/2007/06/nyc-fbi-interop-check-in.html

However, this time I was able to confirm the use of 407.7750 MHz, 88.5pl as part of this Interop Net. 

The activity on the UHF repeater was all analog, while the traffic on the VHF side 
was all P-25. 

Shortly after the check-in net was finished, traffic on the VHF repeater went to encrypted.

BPA Update

A few months ago, I posted that I thought I had heard someone on the BPA radio system identifying themselves as "DENVER", when in fact they were saying "KOD900 DITTMER". That's the name of the Vancouver, WA Dispatch center just south of 63rd and Hwy 99, also called the Ross Complex.

The Bonneville Power Administration 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.

Can Tiny Scanners Be In Our Future?

After reading this item from the BBC:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7050477.stm

I've got to believe a tiny receiver / scanner using nano-techology can't be too far fetched! But will it trunk-track a P-25 system?!?

JIWN Site in WDC?

I just noticed that the Radio Reference listing for the Justice Integrated Wireless Network (JIWN) now shows a site in Washington, DC.;

http://www.radioreference.com/modules.php?name=RR&sid=3509

It is showing as Site 160, using frequencies of 168.2625 MHz and 168.8875 MHz. I have not seen any posts from anyone in the DC area about this yet. It may have just show up on the air recently, as it was not there a few weeks ago when I went through the area. Can anyone in the DC area confirm this?

UPDATE! - I did hear from someone who did confirm this site is on the air, and has a voice channel of 173.5500 MHz associated with it.

Seems like the IWN sites area popping up in new places, but so far not along the US/ Mexico border, which was officially stated as the next phase of the IWN project.

ANOTHER UPDATE! - I was passing through Dulles International Airport (IAD) today and was unable to pick up anything on either of the listed frequencies. Reports are that this site is not really strong as Reagan National Airport either, so the site may not be in DC proper.

415.6625 MHz Near You?

I'm curious if anyone had started picking up transmissions on 415.6625 MHz or 406.6625 MHz?

I have confirmed these frequencies are being used at several branches of the Federal Reserve System. I am wondering if this is now a nationwide assignment for the Federal Reserve. Some locations are using P-25 digital mode, some are analog. Some locations are using the 406 frequency as the repeater input, some are using it as the repeater output.

Previously these frequencies have been unassigned and became available because of the 12.5 KHz channelization of the federal 406-420 MHz band.

If you are curious about where the federal reserve banks and their branch banks are located, you can click here:

http://www.federalreserve.gov/otherfrb.htm

http://www.federalreserve.gov/branches.htm

TOPOFF 4 Radio Usage

Since the TOPOFF 4 exercise is now finished, at least on the public side, I thought I would share what I found as far as radio communications in the Portland area...

Tuesday's initial operations were mainly on the 800 MHz Portland area public safety trunked system, as well as trunked systems used by neighboring Clark County Washington and Washington County Oregon. Several fire and Emergency / Incident Command talk groups were utilized.

Wednesday brought in more federal agency response, and more activity on the 800 MHz systems. It did appear that there was use of the federal IWN VHF trunked radio system. I noticed a "spike" in the number of radios that were affiliated to the trunked system on Tuesday and Wednesday. Voice activity that I was able to catch on the IWN sites was all encrypted, so I can't confirm who exactly was using the system.

I did catch some conventional federal frequencies in use during the week. While near the area that the dirty bomb explosion was staged, I caught some simplex P-25 traffic on 167.3875 MHz, most likely FBI units on scene. While parked near the TOPOFF operations center in Portland, I did catch quite a bit of P-25 encrypted traffic on 138.225 MHz, most likely FEMA. They were a big presence at the ops center, as well as the Federal Protective Service. They were active on 417.2000 MHz, P-25 in the clear.

I am certain that there was more activity going on the federal bands, but I wasn't able to catch it. I'm also surprised that there was not more activity on any of the federal interoperability channels. I thought that this exercise might be a good time to catch some interop between the local 800 MHz trunked systems and some federal channels, but didn't catch any.

An interesting side note - I have seen no postings or any information on line about the TOP OFF exercises in Phoenix or in Guam. I don't know how many listeners there might have been in Guam, but I'm suprised that no one heard any of the events in Phoenix I'll have more in a future Fed Files column...

TOPOFF 4 Exercise Unfolds

I had a chance to do some monitoring and observations of the TOPOFF 4 exercise in the Portland, Oregon area this week and thought I would post some information.

The events started Tuesday, with the simulated explosion of a dirty bomb in downtown Portland on the Steel Bridge. The staged event took place on a simulated bridge with wrecked cars and a bus, all located at the Portland International Raceway along I-5 north of town. They had a large compound of tents and support vehicles for this event, but they kept the gawkers away by prohibiting any parking where you could sit and watch.

The radio traffic on Tuesday was primarily local public safety first-responders. Lots of active talk-groups on the Portland area 800 MHz trunked system carried traffic from this simulation.

The activities on Wednesday focused on recovery, decontamination and criminal investigation of the event. Lots of federal and military presence during the exercise on Wednesday. Some EPA air monitoring vehicles were staged at the Portland airport. Several very interesting FEMA vehicles were spotted around the city, including a mobile commmand post located at the TOPOFF Command Center, which was at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Portland. Many DHS and military vehicles were parked around the hotel and clogged the entrance to the parking ramp. :-)

I'll update this blog with more info as I find it...

Oregon / Washington Army CoE

Thursday morning at home and just heard some radio checks on 163.4375 MHz, 100.0pl. One station requested a check on RANIER, which came in 5x5, then asked for a check on NASELLE, who came through not as well.

One op asked about some sort of check-in scheduled for Sunday. Also asked if they had the HF radio on. Original station said they did but that it was scanning the CoE frequencies.

The 163.4375 MHz repeater has been called "NAV Primary", and the input was noted as 164.2000 MHz.

DHS TOPOFF 4 Next Week

As you may have read on other lists or web sites, the DHS Exercise TOPOFF 4 will be held next week, October 15th through the 19th. More info can be found here:

http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/training/gc_1179350946764.shtm

http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/training/gc_1179430526487.shtm

http://www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/training/gc_1179422026237.shtm

The exercise will have "events" taking place in Phoenix, AZ, Portland, OR and in the US territory of Guam. These events will involve communications by first responders as well as government officials. This could be a good time to find out how the federal / local interoperability systems are working. The Guam location may provide some HF and SATCOM communciations as well.

NTIA Looks at 162-174 MHz

I recently came across this report on the NTIA (National Telecommunications and Information Administration) web site;

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/reports/2006/land_mobile_DC_06_440.doc

It is an interesting look at the usage of the VHF federal band (162 - 174 MHz) in the Washington DC area. It talks about the different agencies that are using frequencies in this band and how many users there are. It also looks at the potential impact the Justice IWN trunked system will have on frequency loading in the area. Some of the report is very technical, and there are some frequencies mentioned.

Some additonal interesting reading can be found here;

http://www.ntia.doc.gov/osmhome/reports.html

Federal VHF Low Band - TVA?

A couple of years ago I asked MT readers for any information on current federal (non-military) agencies that are still using VHF low-band (30-50 MHz). Unfortunately I did not receive any information, but I recently stumbled across some discussions on Radio Reference about line crews from the Tennessee Valley Authority, (http://www.tva.gov/) still using low band.

Here are the TVA Lo-Band channels and locations that I have in my database:

38.97 - AL, MS, US
38.98 - AL, KY, MS, NC, TN, US
40.50 - KY, MS, TN, US
40.57 - US
40.61 - US
40.62 - AL, KY, MS, NC, TN, US
40.73 - US
40.74 - AL, KY, MS, NC, TN,US
40.75 - US
40.85 - US
40.87 - MS, US

Can anyone in the states listed give these a listen and let us know if they are active?

FPS Chicago & Other Cities

I have received word that the Federal Protective Service (FPS), a division of the Department of Homeland Security under Immigrations & Customs Enforcement (ICE) has changed frequencies.

406.7000 MHz, P-25 with no encryption, with an input of 415.7000 MHz, now seems to be the primary FPS channel in Chicago. The old analog repeater on 415.2000 MHz appears to be no longer in use.

UPDATE! - Both Cleveland and Toledo, OH have recently switched from 415.2000 MHz to 407.0000 MHz, P-25. Minneapolis, MN also reports that FPS has changed from 415.2000 MHz to 407.0000 MHz, P-25 within the last month.

Look for additional changes in the UHF federal bands as the NTIA band re-shuffling continues.

JENA Aircraft in Tampa FL

While listening to Tampa International (KTPA) approach on 08/28, I caught one of the controllers talking to JENA 32. At one point the controller called JENA 32 several times with no response, but JENA 024 ("Zero-Two-Four") came up and advised he was working with JENA 32 "on another radio" and he would pass along the instructions. The TPA approach controller just wanted to advise the JENA aircraft not to stray any further west as they would get mixed up with departing Tampa traffic. JENA 024 also advised TPA that they were trying to get JENA 32 on a target, then JENA 024 would depart the area.

Unfortunately I was not able to find what frequency the other radio might have been on.

Reports are that the "JENA" (here it was pronounced JENN-AH) aircraft are FBI operations using non-FBI pilots. The "ROSS" FBI aircraft call sign is still being used, and is reported to indicate that an FBI pilot is in command.

UPDATE!

Searching the Internet produced this video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kldMbyNLXpM

The poster claims this is a military contractor flight landing at DCA and was using the call sign "JENA 611". Could the JENA flights heard on surveillance operations be DoD contractor pilots working FBI aircraft???

"VIPR" Airport Security Program

Local media is reporting an increase of federal law enforcement presence at the Portland International Airport (PDX) as part of a TSA program called VIPR. The program includes ramped-up security operations at randomly chosen airports and other facilities.

VIPR, standing for Visible Intermodal Protection and Response, has conducted missions at various events and transportation facilities over the last 18 months. The teams include canine teams, Transportation Security officers trained in behavior observation, air marshal supervisors, air marshals not scheduled for flights, surface transportation security inspectors and local police.

A quick search of the TSA web site (http://www.tsa.gov/) shows quite a few news releases on the VIPR program

VIPR Teams were also in Portland for the Rose Festival back in July, but local media did not report on this.

No specific communications frequencies have been noted, but increased traffic (encrypted) on the Justice IWN trunked system here in Portland may be a result of this operation.

More as it becomes available...

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!