Armed Federal Agencies

With all the controversy surrounding the EPA and their use of armed agents in Alaska recently, I saw  this story about all the federal agencies that you didn't know had armed law enforcement personnel:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/09/14/armed-epa-agents-in-alaska-shed-light-on-70-fed-agencies-with-armed-divisions/

As I have mentioned in several Fed Files columns, nearly every federal agency has some division that is charged with investigating and enforcing the federal agency's own rules and regulations.

DoE Seeking New Radio System

The Department of Energy is seeking vendors for replacement of their current Motorola trunked radio system at their Oak Ridge, Tennessee facilities. The current system is to be replaced with a wide-area APCO P-25 digital system, according to the bid specifications.

There were some indications posted on Radio Reference about hearing some P25 control channels in the UHF band near Oak Ridge.

Here is some information from the General Services Administration (GSA):

https://www.fbo.gov/spg/DOE/PAM/HQ/DE-SOL-0006098/listing.html

DHS OIG Report on Communications Management

The Department of Homeland Security continues to have difficulties in managing their communications resources, says a new report out from the DHS Inspector General. You can read a copy of the new report here:

http://www.oig.dhs.gov/assets/Mgmt/2013/OIG_13-113_Aug13.pdf

In the report, examples of mismanagement include two component agencies of DHS that have been storing more than 8,000 pieces of radio equipment for a year or longer at their maintenance and warehouse facilities, while other DHS communications programs suffer from critical equipment shortages.

The Fed Files on Twitter

Preparing for life after Monitoring Times, I have established a Twitter account for posting breaking news and updates on the federal frequency monitoring scene.

You can follow my tweets @TheFedFiles.

CBP Changes in Houston Area

I'm seeing reports of major changes in the Customs & Border Protection (CBP) repeaters in the Houston, Texas area. It appears that they have changed out the primary area analog repeaters on 165.2375 (NET 1) and 165.6875 (NET 4). Reports are that these have been replaced with 170.1250 MHz, N304 or 100.0 PL  (mixed-mode repeater) and 171.6625 MHz, N301. Also, 170.1000 MHz, N301 has been heard in the Galveston area, possibly as "D-NET 200". Neither 170.1250 or 171.6625 has previously been part of the standard CBP VHF channel lineup, but they both have appeared in the new, wide-area CBP networks along the southern US-Mexico border in Arizona and Texas. This could be signaling a major re-channeling of the CBP network in some areas. Stay tuned for further developments...

UPDATE!
Another new DNET channel has been identified near Houston. 170.4625 MHz, N301 is being called "DNET 201". I caught some testing on 170.1250 MHz, N301 near Bush Intercontinental Airport last week.

UPDATE 2!
These changes are not just in the Texas Gulf Coast area. Reports from Wichita Falls, Texas have 172.0625 MHz, N301 as D-NET 202. Keep listening for more CBP changes.

UPDATE 3!
Houston area sources confirm that 171.6625 MHz, N301 is identified as D-NET 207. Also reports of hearing simplex activity on 167.8875 MHz, N301 in the Wichita Falls, TX area. This might be a new simplex CBP channel, as it has not previously been an exclusive FBI allocation, despite being in the normal range of FBI operating frequencies (167-168 MHz)

UPDATE 4!
172.8625 MHz, N301 was heard in the DFW area. No channel name associated with this yet.

NFM in the UHF Miltiary Air Band?

Recently I have received reports of uses of narrow-band FM for voice traffic on various frequencies in the 225-380 MHz military air band. Most recently a report showed up on the MILCOM mailing list detailing how a Coast Guard C-130J was heard using NFM on 345.0 MHz to talk with a USCG cutter, then when calling their station inbound they were AM.

This may be due to the proliferation of all-mode radios in some military aircraft. Several years ago I caught some Air National Guard aircraft repeatedly trying to contact their base ops in NFM, but the base station was having a hard time hearing them because the base was AM.

Possibly these issues are due to incorrect settings on the radio presets, or operators not knowing what mode they should be in.

Anyone else catching aircraft using NFM in the UHF military band?

NTIA Plans Spectrum Monitoring

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) plans a remote, real-time, spectrum monitoring project. You can read some interesting, preliminary information about it here:

https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2013-20148.pdf

This project will monitor real world usage of radio frequency spectrum in 10 cities and evaluate possible plans to more efficiently utilize both federal and non-federal spectrum.

170.7875 MHz in Boston

Reports of a new frequency being tested by "radio services" were received from sources in the Boston area. The frequency heard was 170.7875 MHz, but no P25 NAC has been confirmed. This frequency has a sort of mysterious past, having been heard at various events but never positively identified.

Here's what I have logged it as:

170.7875, N001 - heard in Washington DC at last two Presidential Inaugurations
170.7875, N496 - unknown agency at Super Bowl
170.7875 - used as a voice channel in the IWN trunked system
170.7875, N452 - identified as a DHS Common channel
170.7875, N272 - been used for aerial surveillance in various areas of the country.

This may be amongst the new DHS "common" allocations to provide each DHS agency with its own common channel.

Bob Grove Interview About Monitoring Times

For those interested, here is an interview with Monitoring Times founder and owner, Bob Grove, regarding the fate of the magazine and his upcoming retirement.

http://blip.tv/HamRadioNow/episode-89-goodbye-monitoring-times-6625372

USDA Intercept Concerns

The September edition of the Fed Files column is on voice encryption and security in federal radios. During research, I found this page, from the Department of Management at the US Department of Agriculture:

http://www.dm.usda.gov/ocpm/Security%20Guide/V2comint/Intro.htm#Intercepting

It shows that all federal agencies, from the FBI to the USDA, are at least trying to let their people know about the possibilities of intercepted communications. The page does not specifically mention radio systems, but I suspect most USDA employees don't' deal with radios on a day-to-day basis.

New DEA Frequencies in GA

I have seen reports of activity on some of the new P25 DEA frequencies in west-central Georgia. 406.9750 MHz, N156 was heard used as a repeater. The reporter is listening to other "new" DEA frequencies for activity as well.

Monitoring Times Magazine to Cease Publication

The following is a statement from MT Publisher, Bob Grove W8JHD:

       After 33 years of publishing the most informative and lauded magazine on monitoring the radio spectrum, Judy and I are finally going to retire. We are grateful for the dedicated efforts of our fine staff of writers for the excellent work which has kept MT alive for all these years. While we know the discontinuation of MT, with our December issue, will be a disappointment to our readers and writers alike, we realize that a combination of a down-turned economy, as well as the ready availability of free listening and technical information on the Internet, has reduced sales and subscriptions throughout the market place. I would like to thank you personally for your knowledge, your dependability, and your professionalism in making MT the publication that is most often referred to in the radio monitoring hobby. It is a legacy that we have all inherited.

Warmest regards to all our writers, Bob and Judy Grove

 ---

To all the Fed Files fans out there - The Fed Files column will continue monthly through these last issues of Monitoring Times. I will keep the Fed Files blog active and I am looking into other on-line outlets to provide updates on federal frequency monitoring. Keep watching this blog page for further details over the next

USMS Lost Radios

I have written in the Fed Files column about how the TSA has lost radios in the past, and the stray equipment has show up on eBay. Now if appears that the US Marshals Service has had some radios get away from them as well:

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/07/22/report-us-marshals-lose-track-thousands-two-way-radios/?test=latestnews

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323664204578609720405017446.html 
(Subscription required for the second link)

New VHF Frequencies - Houston

Some new VHF channels were noted in the Houston, TX area recently:

163.8125 MHz,  N864
173.7125 MHz,  N293

There was some speculation that this may be a new US Marshals repeater setup, with various NAC's used on the input frequency. Indications are that this is being used in the Kansas City area. Further research is in order!

New DoD UHF Trunked System in Portland, OR

Although this is usually Larry Van Horn's domain, since it's in my backyard, I thought I would post about it!

A new P-25 trunked system is on the air in the area of the Portland International Airport. The system is apparently in support of operations at the Portland Air National Guard Base on the south side of the field.

Here are the system specifics from PRO96COM:

System ID : 00A
System Name : DOD USAF
WACN : 92195
Tower Number (Decimal): 101
Tower Number (Hex) : T0101
Tower Description : PORTLAND AIR BASE, PDX
Control Capabilities : Data,Voice,Registration
Call Sign(s) :
Timestamp : Fri Jul 05 15:12:18 2013

-Tables
#Format: Table ID,Base Freq,Spacing,Input Offset,Assumed/Confirmed,BandWidth
00,380.00000,0.00625,20.00000,"Confirmed",0.01250

-Frequencies
#Format: Channel,Usage,Frequency,Input Frequency,Hit Count
"00-0012","a",380.07500,400.07500,0
"00-0044","a",380.27500,400.27500,0
"00-0228","c",381.42500,401.42500,0
"00-0312","a",381.95000,401.95000,0
"00-0834","a",385.21250,405.21250,0

* For some reason the system is showing a 20 MHz offset for the input frequencies, but it is actually 10 MHz. I have seen this phenomenon on other 380 MHz DoD trunked systems.

As of this weekend, no radio affiliations were seen, and base operations on other, conventional 380 MHz channels appear to continue as usual. Not sure when this system is slated to become live, but it is on the air and audible throughout northwestern Portland and Vancouver, Washington.

USCG on 167.6250 MHz?

A listener in Michigan is reporting he got a Close Call hit and heard P25 Coast Guard communications on 167.6250 MHz, N293.  Here is the Radio Reference thread:

http://forums.radioreference.com/marine-monitoring-forum/269338-coast-guard-digital.html#post1993308

Even though I have never heard of that frequency being allocated to Coast Guard operations, it could be a new allocation for a special use channel. Some under-used frequencies, especially near border areas, can be utilized by agencies that you would normally not expect.

Also, some are thinking this might be a special channel for interoperability with the FBI, since it falls in the 167 MHz area that we are used to seeing their communications in. However, many of the frequencies in the 167-168 MHz area are not exclusive allocations to the Justice Department or the FBI, and can be assigned to other agencies. Also, there are plenty of existing federal interoperability channels already in the FBI and Coast Guard radios that are available for use by both agencies.

UPDATE! 

Another listener now states that CG Sector Toledo has been using 167.1125 MHz, N293 for some of their operations. The channel has been identified by users as "AG-101".

FBI Frequency Updates Added

At the suggestion of a blog fan, I have started to add FBI frequency updates to the various agency pages at the top of the Fed Files blog. Since the FBI does not operate on a standard, nationwide channel plan, listing the various known FBI channels by US city should provide some idea of what frequencies are used where.

I have just started, so things may look a little sparse for a while, but I will be adding more as I have time. Also, if you have any FBI frequencies for your area, please pass the along and I will add them to the list.

New DEA UHF - UPDATE!

I recently received some information on another new UHF channel associated with the DEA transition to P-25.

412.5750 MHz, N156 has been heard in use in Mississippi as a simplex air-to-ground channel.

UPDATE!

I just received information that there is a new DEA repeater on 406.6000 MHz, N156. It is located in southern Mississippi, specific location unknown as of now.

The DEA list on the top of the blog home page has been updated with this new information.

New York City FIO2

For a while now, I had confirmed that 171.1750 MHz, N653 was officially designated as NYC Federal Interop 2. However, I had never heard anyone using it.

But when I arrived in town this last week, I heard a couple of days of traffic from some group moving around the NYC area. They were a large enough group that they had to take separate ferries when they were using the Staten Island ferry. It sounded like some sort of escort. The only call sign I caught was "1A7", so no idea what agency it was. I did also hear "Topside" a couple of times, but not sure if it was a call sign or just telling someone where they were on the ferry!

Boston Area Mystery Aircraft

Many media outlets are carrying stories about Boston area residents being disturbed by low-altitude, "mysterious" aircraft at all hours. Here is one such story:

http://theaviationist.com/2013/05/12/fbi-planes-boston/

Officially, the FBI and Boston officials are not confirming anything about these flights, but anyone checking the aircraft N numbers, or paying attention to federal radio traffic in the area are pretty likely to figure this one out...