New TSA Radios Are Analog! UPDATED!

In late 2008 there were news reports of the Transportation Security Administration requesting funding for newer, smaller radios that were supposed to help keep the security checkpoints quieter.

Now I have seen a report that the TSA at Newark Liberty Airport is using new Icom F50 portable radios at the screening areas. Interestingly, the person reporting this says they were using them on 172. 1500 MHz in analog mode (136.5 pl), but with voice inversion scrambling!

The TSA is apparently still using the APCO P-25 radios for other operations in Newark, and I have not heard this analog activity at other airports, but I will be looking for these changes as I travel this week.

UPDATE!

I have received some additional information on the "new" TSA radios, specifically they are using 169.1625 MHz, 131.8 pl with inversion scrambling in Oakland, CA (OAK) and I have personally confirmed that the TSA at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport (PHX) are using the Icom F50 radios on 172.1500, 123.0 pl with inversion scrambling.

They are still using the XTS P-25 radios, but only a few TSA officers (supervisors?) are carrying them. Almost all the screeners dealing with the public at security checkpoints were wearing the Icom radios. If you have the TSA programmed in your scanner as "digital only", watch out! They've taken a small step backwards to analog!

More TRBO On Federal Frequncies

On a recent trip out of Seattle, I started picking up what sounded like MotoTRBO digital signals on 407.9375 MHz somewhere south of town. I can not confirm who is using this frequency in the area yet, but my gut feeling is that it is one of the VA Medical Facilities in the area.

Washington DC Pit Stop

Just passed through Washington DC after New Years and had a couple of things to post about...

First, things were fairly quiet while I was there, but did hear a number of FBI repeaters key up with no one talking several times on Sunday the 3rd. The following frequencies all keyed up simultaneously and all were analog with a 167.9 CTCSS tone:

167,3625
167.4375
167.4875
167.9500
168.1250

Secondly, there have been reports of a second site of the IWN federal trunked system being heard near Washington DC.

Somewhere in Washington area is IWN Site 160, usually heard with its control channel on 168.2625 MHz. I don't know exactly where the trunked site is located, as I have only picked it up marginally from downtown DC, near the Verizon Center. Recently a control channel on 171.4375 MHz has been heard somewhere in northeren Virginia. It reports as System 715, and Site 124. And Site 160 does not report this as a neighboring site yet.

New Years Eve in NYC

Here is a quick After Action Report from Times Square this past Thursday evening. Obviously security concerns were at a peak after the attempted terror bombing on Christmas Day, so federal frequencies were very busy.

163.7500, N167
164.4000, N001 - USSS PAPA
164.7750, N167
165.2375, 100.0 - DHS CBP
165.9250, N167 - This frequency/NAC was used by FBI at MLB All Star Game at Yankees Stadium.
167.7875, N653 - NYC Federal Interop
167.7875, N94C - Confirmed, multiple transmissions using this NAC.
168.2250, N167 - NYC FBI G1/G2
168.8250, N167 - NYC FBI H1/H2, busiest frequency all night long.
169.7250, N864
170.3750, N167 - NYC FBI G5/G6
170.6250, N167 - NYC FBI C7
170.9000, N167 - NYC FBI, input to 168.8250? Also busy all night.
171.1750, N653 - Possible input to 167.7875
171.1750, N94C - Again, possible input to 167.7875
171.5500, N167
172.1875, N167
172.4250, N167 - NYC FBI B5/B6
173.6625, N167 - NYC FBI A1/A2
173.8125, 167.9 - Analog repeater w/DES

I wasn't able to hear much on the 406-420 federal channels due to interference from local UHF use near my location.

Patrolling the US Border via Webcam

I found an interesting story about folks being able to watch US border web cams and report suspected illegal crossings from home:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8412603.stm

According to the story, you can log on here to sign up to view the border cams:

http://www.blueservo.net/

Happy Holidays 2009

Happy Holidays to all from The Fed Files and Monitoring Times!

More on Coast Guard UHF Usage & SRCUS

Following up on the reports of Coast Guard operations on 413.0000 MHz, I have received some information regarding acquisition of UHF tactical radios by the Coast Guard:

http://www.uscg.mil/acquisition/rescue21/srcus.asp

This web page describes the installation of new radios in CG vessels under 87 feet in length. It specifically mentions new tactical VHF and UHF radios, and requires APCO P-25 operation with AES encryption capabilities. It also specifies that the UHF radios be capable of operations on the DoD 380 MHz trunking systems, known as the Enterprise Land Mobile Radio systems (ELMR).

It appears that this is all part of the Coast Guard's Short Range Communications Upgrade System or SRCUS;

http://www.uscg.mil/acquisition/rescue21/srcusfaq.asp

Coast Guard P-25 UHF Nets

I received a report from the Southeast US that the Coast Guard has started utilizing some frequencies in the 406-420 MHz band for its operations.

413.0000 MHz, P-25 (NAC not reported but I suspect N293) was heard in use by Coast Guard Sector Charleston along with 2 MH-65C helicopters.

They referred to this as "CG-410", which makes some sense in the new NTIA naming schemes. The other CG P25 net channels all start with 1, such as NET 101, since they are all in the VHF band and the frequencies start with 1. The 400 MHz channel frequencies all start with 4, so the NET numbers will apparently start with 4 as well.

I have not heard of any routine use of the federal UHF band by the Coast Guard, but there have been some vague references to new UHF radios for CG cutters and law enforcement use. Keep watching this band for more Coast Guard operations. Here are some known UHF allocations for the US Coast Guard:

406.5000
406.5625
406.5750
406.6000
406.8000
406.8125
406.9750
407.6250
407.9250
407.9750
408.4000
409.0000
409.1875
409.2000
409.3500
409.8250
410.0250
410.3750
411.3750
411.7875
412.9750
413.0250
413.0375
414.7625
415.6250
415.7750
415.8250
415.9250
416.2250
416.3875
416.4750
416.5500
416.5750
416.5875
416.6000
416.6375
416.7000
416.7125
416.8500
416.9250
416.9375
417.0000
418.3500
418.4375
418.4500
419.1250
419.6000
419.6500
419.8000
419.8250
419.8500
419.9750

New Federal Prison

As had been rumored for a while, the federal government will acquire a state-built prison facility in Thomson, Illinois to house terrorist prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/14/illinois-prison-house-gitmo-detainees/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/15/AR2009121500095.html?hpid=topnews

This will most likely mean a new federal trunked radio system will be built at this facility as part of the takeover by the US Bureau of Prisons. I have no firm information on what frequencies will be used here, but most likely will be similar to the other BoP trunked systems and use 406-420 MHz. Because of the high profile terror suspects to be held at this facility, there will be encryption in use for sure.

Keep watching for further developments on this.

South Florida New TRS?

A source has reported a new trunking control channel in the Miami/Dade County area of South Florida. Here is what has been spotted:

Motorola Type II
406.8125 MHz Control Channel
System ID: e723

Although not much to go by, this frequency is used in many of the US Bureau of Prisons trunked systems located all over the country. As was noted in previous blog posts, some of these systems are not compliant with the newer NTIA channel plan using a standard 9 MHz repeater offset. In some cases, these systems are being upgraded or replaced. Since it is close to the end of the year, there may be a rush to get these systems up and running as soon as possible.

If you have any federal UHF trunked systems near by, keep and ear on them for possible changes in the near future.

Houston BoP Updated!

I have received some information from the Houston, Texas area that seems to indicate a new UHF trunked system has shown up and is apparently located at the Federal Detention Center in downtown Houston. The current system information is:

Motorola Type II
System ID: 7707
Base: 408.0000
Step: 12.5
Offset: 380
408.1000, 409.6500, 410.0250, 412.4250, 414.3000

The new system is showing this information:

Motorola Type II
System ID: e726
407.4125, 408.4500, 409.4125, 410.2125

Listeners are reporting that 407.0125 MHz may also be part of this new system, but that has not been confirmed yet.

I am guessing this is being done to bring the old system in line with the new NTIA federal UHF channel plan, with 9 MHz repeater offsets. And it may have been easier to simply replace the system than upgrading all the system components already in place. We'll watch for further system info as it becomes available.

UPDATE: As of 12/18.09, this new system is in use and the old system (7707) has been deactivated.

BoP Update

I recently received some information on a Bureau of Prisons trunked system at the Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, Pennsylvania. It has been tough to come up with information on some BoP facilities, as many of them are located in remote areas of the country with not too many listeners around to send in reports. As with most BoP facilities, they are using a Motorola trunked system. Here is the information that I received:


FCI Loretto
Motorola Type II
System ID: 744b
Base: 406.2000
Step: 12.5
Offset: 380
406.2125, 407.0125, 409.0125, 409.2125, 409.7375, 410.9000

NOTE: I know I promoted the updated BoP list as being available on the Monitoring Times web site, but the site is undergoing some re-design and the Readers Only area is no longer an option. As for now, if you wish to receive a copy of the latest Bureau of Prisons update, pleasase drop me an email at the Monitoring Times address at the top of the blog.

UPDATE - 169.6 MHz NYC

A couple of weeks ago, some listeners in the New York City area reported some clear, P-25 traffic on this previously un-heard frequency. Reports were that they were hearing 169.6000 MHz, NAC 169 repeating traffic from the Federal Protective Service UHF repeater. Then it appeared to be carrying traffic from a New York PD Citywide channel, and later traffic from Newark PD was heard.

A poster on Radio Reference has indicated this was being used by a group from the Department of Homeland Security as a test project. Although saying it was DHS still leaves a lot of speculation as to what the specific agency and purpose was, this frequency is definitely worth keeping an ear on.

I'll hopefully have more information after a couple of trips I'm scheduled on to NYC over the next few weeks.

UPDATE - 409.4 MHz is Las Vegas FPS

Back in mid-September I reported on some activity on 409.4000 MHz, NAC 940 in the Las Vegas, NV area. Listeners had reported sporadic, clear activity on this frequency and had not been able to identify who it was.

I was in Las Vegas for a week and listened to that frequency when I could. I was only able to copy a few transmissions, but they all occurred in the mornings between 07:30 and 08:00 AM each day. A unit would call in to "DENVER" and report in service. DENVER would then acknowledge, and nothing else was heard by me. Others have reported hearing traffic stops and requests for backup from LV Metro PD units on this repeater.

Some have suggested this is the Federal Protective Service. At first glance that might make sense, but I have some concerns:

A) The frequency is not one used by FPS in any other region or city that I have found.

B) Every other FPS Region does regular check ins with units during shifts.

C) The total lack of traffic other than checking in each morning is also baffling. And only seems like one or possibly two units on duty.

Still not enough information to positively identify the agency yet, but we'll keep listening.

UPDATE - I have received some reliable information that this is indeed the Federal Protective Service repeater for the Las Vegas area. The FPS apparently has a very small presence in the LV Metro area and that explains the lack of radio traffic and the lack of roll calls. FPS MegaCenter in Denver is indeed the dispatch point for the LV repeater.

166.4625 MHz Las Vegas TSA?

I've been hearing numerous transmissions in the area of McCarren Airport in Las Vegas on 166.4625 MHz, P-25 with a NAC of 001. It appears to be the Transportation Security Administration operators working with the full body scanners at the security checkpoints. The operators are apparently in a different area from the scanners themselves, and are calling out when the subject being scanned is clear and if there are any anomalies detected by the scanner. The transmissions are all simplex and low-powered.

The frequency is assigned as Treasury Common as well as DHS Common in many federal agency radios. This frequency and P-25 NAC is known to be Channel 13 in the standard TSA channel plan. I have heard similar traffic in other locations, specifically at the Tampa airport during the Super Bowl last year.

169.6000 MHz NYC

I've received some reports of a mystery P-25 frequency active in the New York City area.

169.6000 MHz, NAC 169 was first reported as being a patched simulcast of the Federal Protective Service UHF channel, 417.2000 MHz. I was first wondering if this might be the reason some FPS vehicles have been seen with VHF antennas on them.

But further reports have come in that say this frequency has been heard repeating various NYPD Citywide channels and Newark NJ PD channels as well.

The frequency itself has been used by many different federal agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, US Coast Guard, Customs and Department of Energy, to name a few. It's unknown who is using this frequency for what purpose, but further monitoring may give us a clue.

World Series Game 3

I was working in Philadelphia for game 3 of the World Series baseball game between the Phillies and the Yankees on October 31st. I was pretty busy with getting the TV coverage of the game on the air, but just before the rain-delayed start of the game, I spotted a motorcade of 6 black SUVs and a limo headed into the stadium. So I thought I'd better get the scanner fired up.

It turned out that our VPOTUS, Joe Biden was in attendance. The Secret Service was in the stadium providing protection for the VP. During the game, TANGO (164.6500 MHz) was in use, but just prior to the departure, CHARLIE (165.3750 MHz) became active, and both frequencies seemed to be busy when the motorcade left the stadium. All communications were encrypted P25, with a NAC of 001.

There is a marked difference between the protection details the Vice President gets versus the POTUS, although there was still a large Secret Service detail, complete with counter-sniper teams all over the stadium.

FPS moving from ICE to NPPD

As was rumored to be the case, DHS announced today that the Federal Protective Service (FPS) will be moved from Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) to the National Protections and Programs Directorate (NPPD). The announcement can be found here:

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1256829032272.shtm

More information on the NPPD can be found here:

http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/editorial_0794.shtm

"The realignment allows FPS to focus on its primary mission—securing General Services Administration (GSA)-owned and leased federal buildings by performing building security assessments and deploying appropriate countermeasures—while enabling ICE to focus on the smart and effective enforcement of immigration and customs laws."

SoCal UHF

I've been down in the Orange County, California area the last week and have come across some active channels that remain a mystery.

408.4000 MHz, 412.6500 MHz and 417.4000 MHz are all being heard in P-25 with a NAC of $167. It appears that 417.4000 MHz might be the input to 408.4000 MHz. Others have reported some surveillance and radio checks on the 408.4000 frequency, but what agency?

The 408.4000 frequency used to be a federal agency common, but that assignment changed at the beginning of 2005 when the UHF federal band began to be re-channeled. Many military bases have been heard using the 408.4000 frequency in the past. The 412.6500 frequency has some Justice Department assignments, as well as the 417.4000 frequency.

Some would probably look at the $167 NAC as proof of being the FBI, but there are plenty of other possible agencies that might use this NAC. And I still haven't seen enough evidence hat the FBI routinely uses their UHF assignments for surveillance operations, but things might be changing.

Further monitoring will be required. If anyone in the SoCal area has any further information on this activity, let me know!

Interoperability Channel Names

APCO International has released a draft copy of it's "Proposed Standard Channel Nomenclature for the Public Safety Interoperability Channels". The draft can be viewed here:

http://apcointl.org/new/commcenter911/documents/APCO-NPSTC-ANS-1-104-1DraftPRC.pdf

This is to help standardize the channel names for the federal and non-federal interoperability frequencies through out the US. The document also provides a complete list of the frequencies for reference.