FBI Communications Compromised by Russian Agents

This story began circulating recently on the Internet - an interesting read:

https://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-russia-carried-out-a-stunning-breach-of-fbi-communications-system-escalating-the-spy-game-on-us-soil-090024212.html

VHF Marine Channel Number Changes

The US Coast Guard has a nice chart of the numbering changes on some of the VHF marine radio channels used in the United States. Here is a link to the chart:

https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=mtvhf

So why the changes? Here's an explanation from the Coast Guard:

Note that the four digit channel number beginning with the digits "10" indicates simplex use of the ship station transmit side of what had been an international duplex channel.  These new channel numbers, now recognized internationally, were previously designated in the US by the two digit channel number ending with the letter "A".  That is, the international channel 1005 has been designated in the US by channel 05A, and the US Coast Guard channel 1022 has been designated in the US as channel 22A.

ELMR 14C Sites in Barstow CA

On a recent drive between Las Vegas and Burbank, I ran across two ELMR 14C sites in Barstow, CA supporting the Marine Corps Logistics Center there; https://www.mclbbarstow.marines.mil

The Radio Reference database has never shown any sites for Barstow, so these may be new.

Also, the 14C system has been undergoing upgrades to Phase II and some site number changes, so some of the data shown on Radio Reference is out of date.

Here are the PRO96COM logs - note that the two sites only show each other as neighbors. Both sites were showing a P-25 NAC of N14C;

System ID : 14C
System Name : DoD ENTERPRISE LM RADIO SYSTEM [ELMR]
WACN : BEE00
Tower Number (Decimal): 5-16
Tower Number (Hex) : T0510
Tower Description : SITE 05-016 BARSTOW CA
Control Capabilities : Data,Voice,Registration
Flavor : Phase 2
Call Sign(s) :
Timestamp : Mon Aug 5 12:18:54 2019

-Tables
#Format: Table ID,Base Freq,Spacing,Input Offset,Assumed/Confirmed,BandWidth,Slots
00,851.00625,0.00625,-45.00000,"Confirmed",0.01250,1
01,762.00625,0.00625,30.00000,"Confirmed",0.01250,1
02,380.00000,0.01250,10.00000,"Confirmed",0.01250,1
03,380.00000,0.00625,10.00000,"Confirmed",0.01250,2

-Frequencies
#Format: Channel,Usage,Frequency(/Slot),Input Channel,Input Frequency(/Slot),Input Explicit(1/0),Hit Count
"02-0428","c",385.35000,"02-0428",395.35000,0,0
"02-0473","a",385.91250,"02-0473",395.91250,0,0
"02-0558","v",386.97500,"02-0558",396.97500,0,2
"02-0640","vd",388.00000,"02-0640",398.00000,0,2
"02-0649","v",388.11250,"02-0649",398.11250,0,2
"02-0661","vd",388.26250,"02-0661",398.26250,0,1
"03-2597","v",388.11250/1,"03-2597",398.11250/1,0,1
"03-2644","v",388.26250/0,"03-2644",398.26250/0,0,1

-Neighbors
#Format: TowerID,TowerIDHex,System ID,Channel,Frequency,Tower Name
517,"T0511",14c,"02-0668",388.35000,""

System ID : 14C
System Name : DoD ENTERPRISE LM RADIO SYSTEM [ELMR]
WACN : BEE00
Tower Number (Decimal): 5-17
Tower Number (Hex) : T0511
Tower Description :
Control Capabilities : Data,Voice,Registration
Flavor : Phase 2
Call Sign(s) :
Timestamp : Mon Aug 5 12:20:39 2019

-Tables
#Format: Table ID,Base Freq,Spacing,Input Offset,Assumed/Confirmed,BandWidth,Slots
00,851.00625,0.00625,-45.00000,"Confirmed",0.01250,1
01,762.00625,0.00625,30.00000,"Confirmed",0.01250,1
02,380.00000,0.01250,10.00000,"Confirmed",0.01250,1
03,380.00000,0.00625,10.00000,"Confirmed",0.01250,2

-Frequencies
#Format: Channel,Usage,Frequency(/Slot),Input Channel,Input Frequency(/Slot),Input Explicit(1/0),Hit Count
"02-0580","v",387.25000,"02-0580",0.00000,0,0
"02-0590","vd",387.37500,"02-0590",0.00000,0,0
"02-0606","vd",387.57500,"02-0606",0.00000,0,0
"02-0614","vd",387.67500,"02-0614",0.00000,0,0
"02-0623","a",387.78750,"02-0623",397.78750,0,0
"02-0668","c",388.35000,"02-0668",398.35000,0,0
"03-2320","v",387.25000/0,"03-2320",397.25000/0,0,0
"03-2321","v",387.25000/1,"03-2321",397.25000/1,0,0
"03-2424","v",387.57500/0,"03-2424",397.57500/0,0,0
"03-2425","v",387.57500/1,"03-2425",397.57500/1,0,0
"03-2457","v",387.67500/1,"03-2457",397.67500/1,0,0

-Neighbors
#Format: TowerID,TowerIDHex,System ID,Channel,Frequency,Tower Name
516,"T0510",14c,"02-0428",385.35000,"SITE 05-016 BARSTOW CA"

Providence, RI

Time for an update to the Fed Files blog!

I recently spent a few days in the downtown Providence area and had some interesting federal radio activity. Here are  few things I heard:

162.6125, N293  - VA Providence, repeater out. 

162.7000, N293 - Input to US Marshals Service 170.7500

163.0875, DCS 351 - VA Maintenance repeater out.

164.7000, DCS 023 - Automated alarm notifications - VA Telcom repeater out.

166.5000, DCS 351 - Input to VA Maintenance repeater.

170.7500, N293 - US Marshals Service Federal Courthouse

171.2375, N293 - US Coast Guard NET 127, Warwick, RI 

172.1500, N0D3 - TSA at PVD airport

173.2250, NXDN RAN 30, probably not federal, radio ID of 60991, talk group 20005, all ENC

406.1375, CC1 - DMR US Postal Service Capacity +

407.3375, CC1 - DMR US Postal Service Capacity +

408.2000, N201 - Federal Protective Service

US Miltary P25 Low Band Report

I have reported several sources indicating that they have heard some P-25 digital modes in to 30 - 88 MHz VHF low band that were assumed to be military. Some were with confirmed P-25 Network Access Codes (NAC), but I have recently heard a report of actual military activity using P25 digital.

From somewhere in Wisconsin:

40.4000 MHz, P25 NAC F7E - Military aircraft (helicopters) in the clear, base side encrypted

Some have asked how this can be, as none of the major equipment manufacturers make VHF low-band P-25 radios, at least not for civilian use. 

The major players in the military communications market (Harris, Thales, Motorola) all offer wide band, multi-mode radios that can be used in nearly any mode on any frequency. P-25 is an optional mode for these radios. 

It's still not known for sure if this is an intentional move to use P25 in the VHF low band, or just accidental programming of a particular channel. 

More DEA VHF Transition

Some new VHF frequencies likely being used by the DEA have been heard active in the San Francisco Bay Area in California. Here are the confirmed frequencies:

172.2125, N156
173.1625, N156
173.4750, N156 
173.9250, N156

The old UHF DEA frequencies have been pretty quiet in the Bay Area for some time, and one source even mentioned seeing the old DEA UHF repeaters being removed from service.

New Federal UHF Trunked System in Austin, TX

A new UHF P25 trunked system in the UHF band has been reported in the Austin, Texas area. Discussions on Radio Reference can be followed here:

https://forums.radioreference.com/threads/unknown-networked-federal-p25-system-in-the-austin-area.386659/#post-3105851

The system has been reporting this information so far:

WACN 0000A 
SysID 00A 
Site 005-005
Control channels   407.075 406.775 
neighboring site     001-001 408.625 
neighboring site     003-003 406.775

Unfortunately, the system ID of 00A is a "default" system ID that many Harris trunked systems start out with, and many do not change.

Super Bowl 53 Wrap Up

Here are the listings of frequencies I logged during my two weeks of work in Atlanta at Super Bowl 53. While not all of the activity was directly related to the Super Bowl game, nearly everything in the area was affected by the event and the surrounding security operations. If I was able to confidently identify the users, I have provided that information:

122.9500         AM                  Local Atlanta air traffic advisories

123.0250         AM                  Local Atlanta helicopters and banner flights over MB Stadium

139.8750         173.8PL          Civil Air Patrol

141.1750         AM                  USAF Thunderbirds

149.2750         141.3PL          Civil Air Patrol

162.0125         N653  

162.2250         NB10  ICE

162.9250         NB11  ICE

162.9750         N653  

163.1000         N1B3

163.1125         N272   TSA VIPR Units

163.4750         N309

163.4750         N293   CBP AIR 9

163.5250         N299  

163.6750         N152   DHS ICE

163.7000         N169   DHS ICE NAT TAC 1

163.7875         N167   FBI

163.8125         N864   US Marshals Service

164.1875         N293  

164.4000         N001   USSS PAPA

164.6500         N001   USSS TANGO

164.7875         N001   TSA @ ATL  

165.2875         N650   BATFE

165.3625         N167   FBI

165.7250         N293  

166.4750         NB10  ICE

166.9750         N167   FBI

167.1625         N650   BATFE

167.2125         N167   FBI

167.2375         N167   FBI

167.3875         N167   FBI

167.4875         N167   FBI

167.5125         N167   FBI

167.5375         N167   FBI

167.5625         N167   FBI

167.6375         N167   FBI

167.6750         N293   US Marshals Federal Courthouse

167.7125         N167   FBI

167.7375         N167   FBI

168.1125         N68F   NTIA LE-4

168.3500         N1B3 

168.4625         N68F   NTIA LE-5

168.5875         N001   CBP VACIS Operation

168.6375         N864   US Marshals Service

168.7500         N167   FBI

168.8375         N001   TSA @ ATL

168.8375         N293   CBP AIR 1

168.9000         N293  

169.1625         N293   CBP AIR 4

169.3750         NB10  ICE

169.6625         N292   CBP VACIS Operation

169.7375         NB10  ICE

169.8125         N293   MLK Center Atlanta - security

169.9125         NB10  ICE

170.1000         NB10  ICE

170.4375         NB10  ICE

170.4750         N653   Atlanta Federal Interoperability Repeater

170.5125         N864   US Marshals Service

170.6500         N156   DEA Simplex

170.7500         N293   US Marshals Federal Courthouse Security

170.7875         N272   TSA VIPR Units

170.8500         N864   US Marshals Service

170.8875         N167   FBI

170.9125         N167   FBI

170.9500         N156   DEA

170.9875         NB10  ICE

171.1875         NB10  ICE

171.2000         N293  

171.3250         N281   CBP VACIS Operations

171.3875         N001

171.5250         NB10  ICE

171.6250         N167   FBI

172.0500         N167   FBI

172.0625         N001  

172.1125         NB10  ICE

172.2250         N001  

172.2625         N281   CBP VACIS Operations

172.8750         N293   FAA "SOUTH COM"

172.9000         N001   TSA @ ATL

172.9750         N003

173.7875         NB10  ICE

406.1125         N3C1  System 3CD, Site 1-41

406.3375         N482   Postal Inspection Service

406.5000         N293  

406.7750         N3C0  System 3CD, Site 1-42

407.0000         N201   FPS Atlanta Operations

407.0125         N2B5  US Prison Atlanta TRS C92B

407.7250         N482   Postal Inspection Service

407.8125         N3C1  System 3CD, Site1-41

408.0000         N293   Security operation, gate checks

408.2500         N2B5  US Prison Atlanta TRS C92B

408.4375         N3C0  System 3CD, Site 1-42

408.6375         N3C0  System 3CD, Site 1-42

409.2125         N2B5  US Prison Atlanta TRS C92B

409.2625         N201   FPS Atlanta Area

409.3000         N3C1  System 3CD, Site 1-41

409.4125         N2B5  US Prison Atlanta TRS C92B

410.0375         N3C1  System 3CD, Site 1-41

410.8000         N201   FPS Atlanta

412.9625         N201   FPS Atlanta

413.9500         N201   FPS Atlanta

415.0500         N293   Postal Inspection Service

416.0000         N270  

416.7250         N482   Postal Inspection Service, input to 407.7250

419.8000         N201   FPS, input to 410.8

Many of the Super Bowl related federal operations were heard mostly unencrypted up until the day of the game, then most of the transmissions were fully encrypted.

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New Federal Bay Area VHF Trunking?

Reports have been posted on Radio Reference about a new VHF trunking control channel being heard in the San Francisco Bay area of Northern California. Best guesses are that the control channel is coming from Mt. Tamalpais, a popular radio repeater site. 

Here is the system information so far:

173.7875 MHz
P-25 Phase 2
System ID: 4D5
RFSS: 003
Site ID: 067
WACN: BEE00

The system is now in their database:

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=10459 

Since no traffic or talk groups have yet been seen active,  the system may or may not be actually using P-25 Phase 2 voice.  

Speculation abounds as to who this system is being built for. One poster mentioned he had knowledge of a "new federal system for Bay area coverage", but no speculation on agency or agencies.

Super Bowl 53 Updates

Once again I am at Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta, Georgia. I will post some limited updates on federal activity here, but nothing on active operations during the events.

I can confirm a few things that haven't been updated in a while. For some time there was a UHF trunked system in the Atlanta area that was used and manged by the Federal Protective Service, and had leased space used by the various military bases around Atlanta. This system is  no longer on the air, but FPS is using 410.8000 MHz, N201 for conventional operations. I've also heard the FPS on  409.2625 MHz, N201 and 413.9500 MHz, N210.The military bases have moved over to a 380 MHz trunked system,  https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=7895

I'm hearing the Federal Interoperability repeater on 170.4750, N653 is in operation.

168.8375, N293, CBP AIR 1, was busy with traffic about checking a live video downlink.

Tonight I found a multi-site P25 Phase II UHF trunked system. It shares the same system ID as the Department of Veterans Affairs system in the Orlando and Miami areas. Might be networked with Florida:

System ID             : 3CD
System Name           : SOUTHEASTERN US VA MEDICAL CENTERS
WACN                  : BEE00
Tower Number (Decimal): 1-41
Tower Number (Hex)    : T0129
Tower Description     : 1-41 ATLANTA
Control Capabilities  : Data,Voice,Registration
Flavor                : Phase 2

-Frequencies
#Format: Channel,Usage,Frequency(/Slot),Input Channel,Input Frequency(/Slot),Input Explicit(1/0),Hit Count
"07-0009","c",406.11250,"07-0009",415.11250,0,0
"07-0145","a",407.81250,"07-0145",416.81250,0,0
"07-0264","a",409.30000,"07-0264",418.30000,0,0
"07-0323","a",410.03750,"07-0323",410.03750,1,0

-Neighbors
#Format: TowerID,TowerIDHex,System ID,Channel,Frequency,Tower Name
101,"T0101",3cd,"02-0532",386.65000,""
142,"T012A",3cd,"07-0062",406.77500,""
143,"T012B",3cd,"07-0227",408.83750,""
144,"T012C",3cd,"07-0227",408.83750,""

I'll update this posting as more becomes available...

New Email Address

I have started using a new email address for communications related to the magazine column and other federal monitoring. You can email me at this address:

Tournament of Roses Parade

For the first time in a while I will not be working on the television coverage of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California this year. This event has always had a fair amount of federal monitoring activity relate to it, as it was a large public gathering. So I decided to compile a listing of the federal frequencies I've logged over the years for this event.

2018

162.8250         N107               Unknown, radio ID 605xxxx

162.8500         N243               Input to WA-4, CBP Border Patrol, radio ID 520xxxx

162.9875         N293               Jet Propulsion Labs Fire Response

163.1125         N169               ICE, radio ID 605xxxx

163.1375         N293               Coast Guard NET 113

163.5000         N310               Unknown, possible CBP aircraft, mentioned the view of the B2 flyover

163.7500         N109               ICE, radio ID 605xxxx

163.8375         N167               FBI

163.8625         N167               FBI, input to 167.5375 MHz repeater

163.9125         N167               FBI

164.4000         N001               US Secret Service PAPA, radio ID 802xxxx

165.8250         N108               ICE A-4, radio ID 605xxxx

166.7500         N455               BLM Law Enforcement

166.8875         N293               ICE, radio ID 605xxxx

166.9125         N245               WA-4 CBP Border Patrol, radio ID 524xxxx           

167.4625         N167               FBI A-5

167.5375         N167               FBI/USMS Interoperability repeater

167.6625         N167               FBI A-7

167.7000         N521               Unknown

168.5000         N199               Border Patrol

168.8250         N104               ICE LA-1, radio ID 605xxxx

168.8375         N293               CBP AIR 1, communications between the CBP aircraft

169.9125         N310               Unknown

170.7500         N293               US Marshals Service Federal Courthouse

171.3250         N820               CBP Marine Common, radio ID 522xxxx

172.2125         N187               Border Patrol, radio ID 605xxxx, 606xxxx

172.7125         N820               CBP Marin Common, radio ID 516xxxx

173.1000         N293               Unknown

173.9750         N191               Border Patrol

2017 

118.5750         AM                  Air Operations over Rose Parade/Rose Bowl

162.8875         N653

162.9875         N293

163.1125         N769

163.1375         N293

163.7000         N164               ICE

163.7000         N169               ICE

163.8250         N111

163.8375         N167               FBI

163.9125         N167               FBI

164.7875         N169               ICE

164.8750         131.8 PL

165.8250         N108               ICE

166.7500         N455

166.9125         N245

167.1625         N650               BATFE

167.2875         N167               FBI

167.3125         N167               FBI

167.3375         N167               FBI

167.4500         N301               CBP

167.4625         N167               FBI

167.6625         N167               FBI

167.7375         N167               FBI

168.8250         N104

168.9625         N293               CBP AIR 2 – OMAHA helicopter    

169.9125        

172.1875         N167               FBI

172.4125         N653               LA Federal Interoperability 2

172.7125         N820               CBP Marine Common System

173.1000         N293  

284.7000         AM                 B2 Flyby with LA Center

341.7500         AM                 B2 Flyby Air to Air and coordination timing with ground controller

351.9000         AM                 B2 Flyby with LA Center

2016

118.5750         AM                  Pasadena air traffic around parade route

162.9875         N293               NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Fire Dispatch

163.7250         N169               Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

163.9125         N167               FBI, probable input to 167.4625 repeater

166.9125         N245               CBP Wide-Area repeater, Santiago Peak

167.4625         N167               FBI Los Angeles, A-5 repeater

167.6625         N167               FBI Los Angeles

168.8375         N293               CBP Air 1

168.8500         N110               ICE, on location at parade

170.8000         N293               US Marshals

171.0000         N293               NASA JPL Security

172.3750         103.5 PL         Angeline National Forest

   The parade kicked off with an exciting flyover of a B-2 stealth bomber, call sign SPIRIT 11. There were actually two of the B-2 bombers in the area, but only one flew over the parade route to kick things off, then they went out and refueled with a tanker (GUCCI 61). Later, they came back around for the national anthem at the Rose Bowl football game later in the afternoon, and SPIRIT 12 did that flyover.  I was unable to catch the B2 via radio on the way into and out of the parade. But local military monitors were able to track the flight on VHF and UHF air traffic control channels across Southern California. Here are some frequencies they used as posted on the So Cal Military Monitoring Yahoo group:

124.55

124.6

128.375

132.5

263.0

317.7

351.675

2015

118.5750         AM                  Air coordination with media, IDAHO and OMAHA

163.8375         N167               FBI

163.9125         N167               FBI simplex

167.2375         N293               FBI repeater

167.5375         N167               FBI simplex

167.5625         N167               FBI simplex

167.7375         N167               FBI repeater

168.6000         Various PL      simplex

169.4500         100.0 PL         CBP OMAHA aircraft

172.7125         N820               CBP “Marine Common System” (MCS)

   The frequency of 163.9125 MHz appeared to be the primary operating frequency for the FBI units that were at the parade command center. It was the most active frequency on New Years Day. 167.2375 MHz became active during the parade and continued to be busy afterwards as well. Whatever agency was using 168.6000 MHz appeared to be trying this frequency with multiple channels on their radio looking for one that worked. I caught multiple key-ups, each showing a different CTCSS tone squelch. They finally settled on 103.5 PL for their operation. I suspect that it might have been US Forest Service units from the Angeles National Forest, as I heard them on their radio system mention they were coming into Pasadena to support parade operations.

   After the Rose Parade was done, activities continued for the federal agency support at the Rose Bowl football game later on New Years Day. The CBP OMAHA helicopter continued to provide airspace surveillance and I still heard some occasional traffic from the FBI on location and heard them chatting as they left the area after the game was over.

TSA Moving to UHF Channels?

A recent posting in the Federal Business Opportunities website, https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=25449a5f51bc288d1209e4bdb8be0281&tab=core&_cview=1
was sent to my attention.

It appears from the description that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is interested in changing out all of their radio equipment from VHF to UHF frequencies. The TSA has just recently gone through an agency-wide upgrade of their VHF radio infrastructure that included new BK radios and equipment. The information provided by the TSA includes this data on thier radio systems:

At the present time, TSA operates approximately 155 repeaters at approximately 150 airports, approximately 120 base stations at approximately at 120 airports, and over 21,000 handheld radios at approximately 415 airports located in the United States of America and its territories. TSA also has Bi-directional amplifier (BDA) and Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) systems installed at approximately 10 airports. Currently TSA manually encrypts its handheld radios and base stations monthly.

Several folks have inquired as to why they are moving. One suggestion is that the FAA, who shares many of the TSA frequency allocations, was wanting the VHF channels back. I also think that there are more available channels in the federal UHF band (406-420 MHz) than there are in the VHF (162 - 174 MHz) band.

US Park Police in DC Move to P25 Finally

It appears from postings on the Scan-DC mail list that the venerable US Park Police analog radio system may have finally met it's demise.

For some time the Park Police in Washington DC have been using analog FM for their radio transmissions. They have continued to use analog radios long after nearly every other federal agency in the DC region has moved to various forms of digital radios. The analog Park Police frequencies also have long history of being heard over quite an large area around the DC area, and could often be heard into the Philadelphia and even New York City on some occasions.

The new, encrypted, P25 digital frequency lineup for the Park Police will include the following:

168.7875 - ADMIN
169.7000 - SPECIAL EVENTS
171.7750 - DISPATCH

No information yet on P-25 NAC or radio IDs for the Park Police. 

Special thanks to the Capitol Hill Monitor newsletter for keeping up with new developments on this:

http://henney.com/chm/chm.htm

New Federal Trunking in DC?

Over last weekend I noticed reports on Radio Reference of a new VHF trunking control channel being heard in Virginia around the Washington DC area.

The frequency of 173.1750 MHz was reported as having a P-25 control channel with a system ID of 981, Site 101 and a WACN of BEE00.  DSD+ shows an alternate control channel of 172.6625 MHz.

Keep an eye on this system as more information comes in: https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=10266

Unidentified Federal Trunked System A52

A quick update on the unidentified P-25 trunked sites I and others have heard in the Las Vegas area. Radio reference has updated the entry for this system and it now indicates that it is a multi-site, multi-state system, with sites in California, Arizona and Nevada.

I monitored the control channel data about a month ago on a visit to the area and it still only showed two sites active and no affiliations. But apparently they have been busy with this system build-out.

I suspect this is a Department of the Interior system that will support the Bureau of Reclamation and other DOI activities in the Lower Colorado region.

Although it is listed as "Clark, NV", I am certain that site 112 is at or near the Hoover Dam area, as I get close-call hits on that control channel when I am at the dam.

Here is what is showing at Radio Reference:

2-013     Site 13        Riverside, CA  172.1125

2-061     Site 61        Yuma, AZ       172.650

2-065     Site 65                       172.6502

2-075     Site 75                       172.1375

2-122     Site 112       Clark, NV      172.1125

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=9989

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TSA Dropped 172.9000 MHz?

Back when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) began operations in 2002, they were originally under the Department of Transportation (DOT). The radio frequencies that were first standardized to be used by the TSA nationwide included 169.3000, 172.1500 and 172.9000 MHz. These frequencies were culled from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allocations, and they are still shared between the two agencies.

Since the new radio updates that the TSA has undergone, I have noted a distinct lack of any activity on the 172.9000 MHz frequency as I travel across the country. Most airports still have some activity on the 169.3000 and 172.1500 frequencies (as well as others), but mostly silence on the 172.9000. Anyone hearing activity on 172.9000 MHz, please let me know!

UPDATE - After reviewing my notes and talking with several other listeners, there are a few locations using 172.9 MHz for TSA activity, but it does still appear to be no longer the "primary" VHF repeater frequency that it once was for the TSA nationwide. 
 

Federal/Military use of NXDN

   I recently saw some discussions about some VHF federal frequencies being used for an NXDN IDAS trunked system in Southern California. Monitoring had provided clues to the system users and it appears to be utilized by the Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Center in Orange County. So far, two frequencies have been identified as being used by this system, and updates can be found here: https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=10019

163.4125 MHz - LCN1

163.4375 MHz - LCN2

? - LCN3

   While the use of DMR and NXDN digital modes is increasing in the federal VHF and UHF bands, it is a bit unusual for a military facility to go with a non-standard radio system type when other military bases around the world are joining large networked P-25 digital radio systems.

  

USS Portland HYDRA System

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Portland_(LPD-27)

Here is a rundown of the Portland HYDRA shipboard trunked system:

USS Portland (LPD-27)
EDACS Wide-band 

System ID – 003

397.2625         LCN-3

397.6125         LCN-5

397.7625         LCN-6

399.1625         LCN-7

399.3125         LCN-8

399.5625         LCN-9

399.7625         LCN-10

LCN-1 and LCN-2 were showing as part of the system, but were not active, so I could not confirm the frequencies. There was no LCN-4 showing.

Dockside security was using 395.2500, N293 and 398.6500, N293 for simplex communications.

   And one item that came via “close-call” near field monitoring, a UHF air band beacon on 313.6250 MHz. It was a continuous AM carrier with Morse characters “A-I-A” being send every 10 seconds. My assumption is since this vessel handles helicopters and tilt-rotor aircraft, a navigation/homing beacon to the ship would be a must. But I was also told by a friend who spent time in the US Navy that all Navy vessels carry such beacons.