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.