Super Bowl XLVI Indianapolis

Things are starting to come together in Indy for the Super Bowl on February 5th. All indications are that this event will have much of the same federal law enforcement activity as past Super Bowl events.

Several news articles concerning the security for the event have been published, including this one:

http://www.wibc.com/news/story.aspx?ID=1627838

Not much new information, but there are references to more hand-held devices being used for this Super Bowl than in past events. This might indicate some decrease in routine radio traffic for this event, but we shall see.

http://www.disaster-resource.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1596&Itemid=128

http://www.indystar.com/article/20111217/NEWS11/312170004/Super-public-safety-effort-planned-Super-Bowl?odyssey=mod|newswell|text|IndyStar.com|p

And it appears that S.A.F.E. will be handling crowd management this year:

http://www.safemanagement.net/

UPDATE:

Wednesday, January 25th, the Regional Operations Center opens:
Indianapolis officials on Wednesday opened a regional operations center for the coordination of law enforcement response to world-class events, including the Super Bowl.
The purpose of the center is to facilitate regional coordination and increase efficiency across all levels of law enforcement agencies in the event of emergencies.
The facility is at 200 N. Shadeland Ave., inside what once was Eastgate Mall. Marion County's emergency operations center will move to the new facility, with the existing EOC at 47 S. State St. serving as a backup facility.
Mayor Greg Ballard and Public Safety Director Frank Straub touted the facility as a good example of partnership between federal, state and local authorities.
Authorities plan to monitor a series of cameras at all hours, giving law enforcement agencies real-time information so they can shift crews as needed more easily.
The FBI will also house an intelligence operations center in the facility in the event of terrorism or other large-scale incidents

IWN Project Stopped? UPDATE

I recently came across what appears to be evidence of a halt in the Integrated Wireless network (IWN) project. A statement made by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa is posted on the US Senate web site here:

http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da16b59e3&wit_id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da16b59e3-0-1

In this statement of May 4th, 2011, Senator Grassley mentions a "stop work" order being issued for the IWN program, and officially "suspended" by the Department of Justice Wireless Management Office. The statement portion pertaining to the IWN appears below.

The statement also indicates that the project "will end without completing it's original goal". So does this mean the IWN project is officially stopped and finished? I'm still searching for confirmation on this question. We will have to see what the future brings. Stay tuned...

Oversight Hearing of the Department of Justice

Prepared Statement of Ranking Member Chuck Grassley

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary

 Hearing on Oversight of the Department of Justice

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Integrated Wireless Network (IWN):

I would also like to discuss what appears to be a new failed IT procurement at the department.  The integrated wireless network program (IWN) was recently suspended by the Department of Justice and it appears that the project will end without completing its original goal to integrate the wireless radios for all federal law enforcement agencies.  The IWN program was designed to implement a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission and create a single interoperable communication system between federal law enforcement agencies.  However, the Inspector General, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Office of Management and Budget have all expressed concerns with the program and labeled it as high risk.  To date, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent, and there is no part of the country where all federal law enforcement radios are interoperable.  The contractors have argued, as expected, that they just need more money and time and there are rumors that the department now wants to issue sole source contracts to companies just to buy equipment.  I want to know more about this stop work order and whether the stop work order will simply be used to sole source a contract for radios to vendors outside the original IWN program.  I am concerned that this program is starting to look a lot like other failed IT programs at the department—hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars spent with nothing to show for it. 

UPDATE:

A source found this article on line from the Washington Post that indicates any further expansion of the IWN project is currently on hold:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/apr/17/justice-department-shelves-upgrade-communications/?page=1&sms_ss=email&at_xt=4dab9ca93cb4f76a%2C0

According to the article sources, “given future funding uncertainty” the Justice Department was ceasing design work on the next stage, in Maryland and Virginia, and would not begin planning for the third stage deployment in the Midwest, which had been slated for 2012. Apparently there is enough funding to continue with the current IWN operation in the Washington DC National Capitol Region and the Pacific Northwest.

UPDATE II:
An article has appeared on-line that summerizes what I found earlier:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/government/mobile/232500144
This article links to a new report by the DpJ Office of the Inspector General. That report can be found here:
http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/2012/a1210.pdf
Unfortunately, this report has much of the technical information that appeared in an earlier OIG report redacted for public release.

And more industry reporting on the subject:
http://mccmag.com/newsArticle.cfm?news_id=7868

WDW Federal Frequencies?

A source recently sent me some frequencies in use at Walt Disney World, near Orlando, FL. I was surprised to find out there was a federal facility, of sorts, on the grounds of WDW! The facility is the Shades of Green Armed Forces Recreation Center (AFRC), operated by the the US Army's Family & Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command (FMWRC). Here are some links with more information:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armed_Forces_Recreation_Center
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shades_of_Green_(resort)

Here are the frequencies that have been identified as being in use at the Shades of Green:

406.1625 / 415.1625, D125  Security
407.2250 / 416.2250, D754  Maintenance
407.2750 / 416.2750, D703  Housekeeping
406.1750 / 415.1750, D365  Unknown


407.2375 MHz may also be in use, but no DPL tone value has been recorded.

So next time you are near Orlando, give these a listen...

Merry Christmas from The Fed Files

Thanks for all the great emails and reports from the loyal readers out there. Looking forward to more new and interesting federal intercepts in 2012!

Fed Files - January 2012 NYC Logs

In the January 2012 Fed Files column, I published a list of frequencies I logged during a recent trip to New York City for work. I included it in the column as a representation of the "raw" data I get from logs collected during my trips, but I started to identify some of the obvious frequencies and who they are used by.

Unfortunately, I included the list without finishing my identification tasks, and several sharp MT readers offered some suggestions. So here is the New York City list that was in the column, but with as many of the frequencies identified as I can. Keep in mind that these are simply what computer logged, and some of the P-25 NAC values may be incorrect. However, I usually disregard any NACs that appear only once. The NAC values listed appeared multiple times in the logs.

If you have any additional information on the unknown frequencies, please pass it along!

163.3750, D065 - Input to USPS on 166.3750 MHz

164.1000, N001 – US Secret Service

164.3375, D251 – Postal Service Brooklyn

164.4000, N001 – US Secret Service PAPA

164.6500, N001 – US Secret Service TANGO

165.2125, N001 - US Secret Service MIKE

165.2375, N301 – DHS CBP NET 1

166.3750, D065 – US Postal Service Manhattan

166.5625, N301 – DHS CBP (B16)

166.8875, 103.5  - UN Security Base

167.1250, 114.8 – US Postal Service, New Jersey

167.4625, N207 – DHS ICE Regional Network

167.5125, N167 - FBI Newark B3/B4

167.7875, N653 – NYC FIO Federal Interoperability repeater

167.8875, 127.3 – Input to 164.1875 MHz, UN Security

168.3000, N167 – FBI H3/H4

168.8250, N167 – FBI H1/H2

168.8250, N730 -

168.8875, N167 – FBI B7/B8

168.9125, N935 - DHS ICE, New York City

169.4500, 100.0 – DHS, CBP Customs NET 2

169.6250, N167 – FBI (not previously logged)

169.7000, N864 – DoJ, US Marshals Service

169.7250, N864 – DoJ, US Marshals Service

169.9750, N167 – FBI Newark A1/A2

169.9875, N4F9 - Department of the Interior, Liberty Island/Ellis Island

170.3750, N167 – FBI G5/G6

170.4250, N167 – FBI G3/G4

170.4250, N730-

170.5500, N167 - FBI G7/G8

170.5500, N730 -

170.6250, N167 – FBI C7/C8

170.6250, N730 -

171.1750, N653 – NYC Federal Interoperability FIO 2

171.4625, N24F - Unknown agency

171.5500, N167 - FBI C3/C4

171.5500, N673

171.6875, N173

171.6875, N9C5 – DHS ICE Regional Network, New Jersey NJ-1

171.7250, N159 - DHS ICE Regional Network, New Jersey NJ-2

172.1875, N167 - FBI B3/B4

172.5250, N167 – FBI B1/B2

172.6625, N615 - Reported as US Marshals NY-2

173.6625, N167 – FBI A1

173.6625, N673

173.6625, N730

406.1125, 82.5 - UN Maintenance

406.1500, N293 – VAMC Brooklyn

406.3375, N482 – US Postal Inspectors RED Net

406.4250, 67.0 - VA Maintenance

406.5000, N020 - BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn (*seemed to show this NAC on some transmissions)

406.5000, N2E1 - BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn

406.9250, N020*

406.9250, N2E1 - BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn

407.1375, N482 – US Postal Inspectors GREEN Net

407.2000, N293 – State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security

407.4125, N1A3 - BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center, Manhattan

407.5000, 107.2 – VA NJ Maintenance

407.7250, N482 – US Postal Inspectors WHITE Net

407.7750, N482 – US Postal Inspectors BLUE Net

407.9500, N020*

407.9500, N2E1 – BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn

408.1000, N0F0 – State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security

408.1250, N293 – VAMC Manhattan

408.2000, N270 - Federal Protective Service

408.2125, N020*

408.2125, N2E1 - BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn

408.3000, 74.4

408.4250, 67.0 - VA Manhattan, maintenance

408.5750, N020*

408.5750, N2E1 - BoP Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn

408.8125, N1A3 - BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center, Manhattan

409.0250, 110.9 – Postal Service Flushing/Nassau

409.3250, 67.0 - VA maintenance

409.6250, N293 – State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security

409.7500, N020*

409.9000, N1A3 - BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center, Manhattan

409.9375, N482 – US Postal Inspectors BLACK Net

410.4125, N1A3 - BoP Metropolitan Correctional Center, Manhattan

411.7375, 67.0

412.9750, N293

413.4125, N293 – VA Medical Center, New Jersey

413.8625, CSQ – VA Medical Center - Paging

413.8750, 67.0

413.9750, D271

414.6875, D503

414.8750, 173.8

414.9000, 156.7  - DEA

415.9000, 74.4

416.1375, N482 – US Postal Inspectors, input to 407.1375 MHz

416.7250, N482 – US Postal Inspectors, input to 407.7250 MHz

417.2000, N270 – Federal Protective Service

417.6000, N293 – State Department Bureau of Diplomatic Security

417.6500, 103.5

417.9125, 192.8

418.3500, 141.3

418.6250, 156.7 – DEA

418.6750, 156.7 – DEA F4

418.7500, 156.7 – DEA F3

418.7875, D125

418.9250, D731

418.9375, N482 – US Postal Inspectors, input to 409.9375 MHz

418.9500, 156.7 – DEA

419.7875, 67.0

Some have asked about the N730 NACs appearing on some of the FBI repeaters. I have noted these NACs for several years now, especially when I have been monitoring the New Years Eve happenings in Times Square. I suspect some sort of Special Operation or Task Force may be using a different NAC on these repeaters, but nothing has been confirmed - just a guess...

USCG NET 411 Confirmed

Back in April of 2010 I asked for some help in confirming some of the new UHF Coast Guard activity that has been monitored recently. There were reports that the Coast Guard helicopters in many areas are now carrying UHF land-mobile radios that are on various CG Nets in the 406-420 MHz band. The helicopters in the South Florida area were reported to be using NET 411, but the frequency was not known.

Recently a Coast Guard helicopter was heard in the South Florida area calling on 413.025 MHz, NAC293 and confirmed that this frequency is indeed NET 411. Here is a list of what I have confirmed in the UHF band so far. These UHF channels are usually P-25 using a NAC of 293 and simplex:

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 - NET-409
413.0000 - NET-410
413.0250 - NET-411
413.0375
414.7625
415.6250
415.7750
415.8250
415.9250
416.2250
416.3875
416.4750
416.5500 - NET-4xx
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

Cain Gets SS Protection

News reports are indicating that Herman Cain, GOP candidate for President, has started receiving protection from the US Secret Service.

“Secretary Napolitano at the request of the Cain campaign consulted with congressional advisory committee which today authorized protection for Cain.” – George Ogilvy, Secret Service spokesman.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1111/68638.html


http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/11/herman-cain-to-get-secret-service-protection-nancy-pelosi-ribs-perry-the-bubble-primary-the-pm-note/

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/herman-cain-u-s-secret-service-detail-unruly-reporters-hounding-officials-article-1.979787

hhttp://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2011/1118/Herman-Cain-receives-Secret-Service-protection

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2063085/Herman-Cain-gets-Secret-Service-Protection-receiving-death-threats.html

At this point, only President Obama and Cain are receiving protective details from the Secret Service. No reports from the field of any call signs or radio traffic related to this detail.

Denver / Laramie Area Federal Logs

I recently traveled to Denver and drove up to the Laramie, WY area for work. While driving I was able to log some federal activity.

163.6250 MHz, 151.4pl - ICE repeater at Denver International (DEN), used by TSA
165.2875 MHz, N650 - BATFE
166.3000 MHz, 110.9pl - Rocky Mountain National Park
166.5875 MHz, N301 - CBP at Denver International (DEN)
167.4625 MHz, N167 - FBI, north of Denver?
167.7250 MHz, N385
167.9250 MHz, N555 - Western Area Power Administration (WAPA)
172.9000 MHz, N001 - TSA at Denver International (DEN)
418.6750 MHz, 156.7pl - DEA F4

Once north of the Denver area, I came across some federal channels that are apparently a trunked site that is part of the statewide WyoLink system. This site is called the Cheyenne Water Tank site:
169.6250 MHz, N1A3
169.7125 MHz, N1A3
169.7750 MHz, N1A3
170.0750 MHz, N1A3
170.3625 MHz, N1A3

Came across this VHF trunked system belonging to F.E. Warren AFB in Cheyenne. The listing for this system at Radio Reference shows only one site for this system in Cheyenne, but I picked up a second site as well:
138.1625 MHz, N150
138.2625 MHz, N150
138.4625 MHz, N150
138.8875 MHz, N150, P-25 System 154, Site 001

138.3375 MHz, N151, P-25 System 154, Site 002

And finally, while driving through the Cheyenne area, came across these conventional channels:
165.1125 MHz, NDEA
173.4625 MHz, NDEA
Yes, the P-25 NAC showed as "DEA". The frequencies are used by the Wyoming Air National Guard, so my guess is someone at the radio shop had a sense of humor.

Federal Spectrum Under Scrutiny

http://www.tvtechnology.com/article/125416

Over 1500 MHz worth of frequency spectrum assigned to the federal government is being considered for broadband data use.

While many of these chunks of radio spectrum are used for non-voice data, links and video surveillance, the 406.1 to 420 MHz band is heavily used for both federal and military trunking and conventional radio systems. Keep an eye out for upcoming changes in this band...

Atlantic City, NJ

During a recent trip through the Atlantic City, NJ area, I came across a few new federal frequencies:

163.1000, N167 - FBI, might be regional task force. This channel is active is many places across the country right now.
163.2250, 100.0pl - US Fish & Wildlife Service running surveillance on roadside fish sale. At one point  the channel was called "FARA Local" or something that sounded like that. Any ideas?
164.5625, N293 - US Coast Guard, NET 117.
165,1375, CSQ - NJ Air National Guard at ACY. Sounds like aircraft maintenance.
167.7750, N9C5 - DHS ICE Regional network
168.7500, N167 - FBI
172.2125, N9C5 - DHS ICE Regional network
172.8125, D754 - FAA or ANG - Patched to ACY ground.
172.9000, D315 - FAA Tech Center at Atlantic City International Airport. This is the analog portion of a mixed-mode repeater.
172.9000, N315 - FAA Tech Center, this is the P-25 side of the repeater.
173.4875, N293 - Someone at ACY, heard a "Clear To Lauch" message for ANG F-16's.
173.7875 - Unknown
345.0 MHz, AM - US Coast Guard helicopter ops.

Another POTUS Bus Tour

President Obama starts another bus tour of North Carolina and Virginia, beginning next Monday in Asheville, North Carolina;

http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20111012/NEWS01/310120043/Obama-revisiting-Asheville-part-bus-tour?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Frontpage

Unknown if the Secret Service will be using the mega-buses they recently purchased for these bus tours.

Although I have family in Asheville and visit there often, I will miss this event...

Atlanta P-25 UHF System

Over a month ago I was working north of Atlanta and found what appeared to be a multi-site, P-25 trunked system in the federal 406-420 MHz UHF band.

There are two UHF systems in the Atlanta metro area currently - a 4 site Motorola Type II system operated by the Federal Protective Service and used by Dobbins Air Reserve Base, and another Motorola Type II system operated by the Bureau of Prisons.

This new system is showing that it has 4 networked sites on the air. The site info I have so far:

System ID - 3B9
WACN - BEE00
NAC - 3B1
Site 101 - 406.1125, 407.8125, 409.3000, 410. 0375
Site 102 - 408.8375
Site 103 - 406.7750, 408.4375, 408.6375
Site 104 - 408.8375
(Yes, both sites 102 and 104 show the same frequency for the control channel. They must be located far enough apart to re-use some frequencies.)

Traffic monitored so far has only used two talk groups, TG 100 and TG 200. The users are still unknown but traffic so far is mostly security checks to various building numbers. Radio procedure sounds possibly military. Also the broadcast band plan of the trunked system shows a 380 MHz channel level, so more circumstantial evidence of it being possibly DoD.

While there are several US Army installations around the Atlanta area, including Fort McPherson and Fort Gillem, they were reported to be using the FPS trunked system. Monitoring of the FPS trunked system showed no connectivity or patches to this P-25 system.

More information as it becomes available.

Operation Mountain Guardian 9/23/11

http://www.douglas.co.us/Operation_Mountain_Guardian_Emergency_Exercise.html

Operation Mountain Guardian is a terrorism-based emergency response drill that will be taking place in the Denver area this Friday, September 23rd. The drill involves many public safety agencies in the Denver Metro area and will include participation by federal agencies, including the FBI and Federal Protective Service.

This represents a rare opportunity to monitor the activities of the different agencies and see what is being used for communications. Be sure and keep an ear on the federal interoperability channels, as well as the DoJ "25-Cities" repeaters in the Denver area:

“DEN IO N” 170.6625 MHz (DENVER NORTH)
“DEN IO E” 171.9875 MHz (DENVER EAST)
“DEN IO C” 171.4375 MHz (DENVER CENTRAL)
“DEN IO S” 172.1875 MHz (DENVER SOUTH)
“DEN IO W” 167.2625 MHz (DENVER WEST)

CBP Aquires New Blackhawks

The Customs & Border Protection Office of Air & Marine (OAM) has acquired 4 new UH-60M helicopters that were modified by the US Army at their Aviation and Missile Research Center at Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama:

http://blog.al.com/huntsville-times-business/2011/09/black_hawk_helicopter.html

Mexican Cartel Radio Network

I have encountered news reports in the past that suggested some of the Mexican drug cartels were utilizing a wide-area, encrypted radio system to outsmart both the Mexican and US authorities. It appears that the Mexican military was able to take down this network:

http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2011/09/marines-dismantle-los-zeta.html

http://gizmodo.com/5840412/mexican-commandos-just-took-down-this-secret-drug-cartel-radio-grid

9/11 Anniversary Alerts

With the 9/11 10-Year Anniversary coming up tomorrow, many are speculating about the heightened security around the country, including federal and military installations.

There are news media reports that some "unsubstantiated yet credible" threats that have caused some increase in local, state and federal law enforcement activity. Keep searching the federal frequency bands for possible activity over the next 48 hours or so...

New USCP Radio System

The US Capitol Police are one of the federal agencies in the Washington, DC area that are still running analog radios. They have received some criticism for not yet upgrading to the federally backed APCO-P25 digital standard. But there appears to be change on the way.

A bid has been posted from the US Navy in Lakehurst, NJ for a multi-channel VHF P-25 system:

https://www.fbodaily.com/archive/2011/01-January/15-Jan-2011/FBO-02359641.htm

This system is part of the USCP radio modernization program and will be used by the US Capitol Police in the DC area. Some frequencies have been posted that are related to this new system:

Channel Number Transmit Receive
1 169.5750 162.2500
2 169.8375 162.6125
3 170.1375 162.8000
4 170.3750 163.1625
5 170.5750 163.6000
6 171.0000 164.0125
7 171.4125 164.3250
8 171.7875 164.6125
9 172.3875 164.8125
10 172.6875 165.0375
11 172.9625 165.5375
12 173.1625 165.7750
13 173.4750 166.2250
14 173.8125 166.4250

In addition to these trunked system frequencies, the bid proposes some "Travel Channels" to be used outside of the coverage of the DC system;

Travel 1: TX 168.3500 RX 163.1000

Travel 2: TX 173.5250 RX 166.4500

Travel 3: TX 173.8750 RX 166.4750

Unknown P-25 UHF System

I'm down in the Norcross, GA area with the PGA Championship Golf TV coverage this week, and started picking up a UHF trunked system I have no info on.

I'm getting a control channel on 406.7750 MHz, P25 System ID of 3B9, WACN BEE00, Site 103. It shows connected to Site 101 (406.1125), Site 102 (408.8375) and Site 104 (408.8375). I'm thinking there might be some military connection as the tables show a 380 MHz band available.

It's not coming in super strong up here northeast of Atlanta, but it is consistent. None of these frequencies or system information shows up in Internet searches or Radio Reference.

My first thought was that they could be upgrading the Federal Protective Service trunked system in Atlanta to P-25. It is also a 4 site UHF system. But, when I drove up from the airport last week I don't recall coming across these trunked sites in my initial scan/search of the federal bands.

Anyone want to take a guess at who or what this system is and where it's located?

Border Activity

In addition to DHS Border Patrol traffic, some listeners have reported activity that may be related to National Guard support of border enforcement.

From Eagle Pass, Texas comes a report of 391.0500 MHz, P25 with a NAC of N500. The report says the traffic is encrypted full time and not from Laughlin AFB.

Reports also mention some unknown type digital traffic in the 380-400 MHz bands that are not P-25, and rumored to be coming from Piedras Negras, Mexico.

UPDATE!
An alert reader pointed out that there is a wide-area TETRAPOL trunked system used by the Mexican Federal Police Forces, which may account for the unknown type digital traffic in the 390-400 MHz band.

Upcoming POTUS Bus Tour

An upcoming bus tour of the Midwest US has been announced by the White House. President Obama will embark on a three-day tour from August 15 through 17. The administration said Wednesday that the trip had long been planned, but wouldn’t outline an itinerary:

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/175185-obama-plans-august-bus-tour-of-midwest

There is a line in the story that mentions that the "Secret Service purchased two armored buses for its fleet earlier this year". This could be an interesting opportunity for some listeners along the bus tour route to see what they have incorporated in these buses for communications.

UPDATE:
Apparently the buses mentioned in the above article were purchased from this company:
http://www.hemphillbrothers.com/

They list several political tours as well as some federal government agencies as clients.

NOT the Presidential Tour bus, but an interesting possibility:









UPDATE 2!

Well, not much reported from monitoring the POTUS bus tour of the midwest, but did get a real picture: