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FED FILES Chris Parris chrisparris@monitoringtimes.com A New Year For Federal Communications Happy New Year from all of us at Monitoring Times and the Fed Files! This begins my second year as the federal frequency guru for MT and I would like to thank all of the readers who have responded and contributed to the Fed Files columns. Your input to this resource is very important and always welcome. In fact, it seems that quite a few MT readers find this column of interest, so the editors have graciously allowed us to get together every other month from now on. Thanks for your support and keep your letters and e-mails coming! ❖ Fed Files Road Trip! Border Patrol Update In September, we talked about formation of the Department of Homeland Security and how some federal agencies’ communications plans are changing. One agency that has been absorbed into the Customs and Border Security Directorate of the DHS is the US Border Patrol. Formerly part of the Immigration and Naturalization Service of the Justice Department, the Border Patrol now forms the front line of defense of the US borders, along with the Customs Service. Even before the formation of DHS, the Border Patrol was in the process of upgrading their radio communications systems. These upgrades included moving towards digital radios and consolidating communications centers. The program is called the Encrypted Voice Radio Project, or EVRP. In at least one area of the country these upgrades have taken changes to the extreme. Listeners in the San Diego, California, area have reported for some time that the “normal” groups of VHF Border Patrol frequencies have been virtually abandoned and replaced with dozens of new digital VHF frequencies. Some reports have claimed to log upwards of over 100 different encrypted frequencies that seem to be part of this new digital network. Photo by James Tourtellotte 54 MONITORING TIMES January 2005 I have been able to make several trips to the San Diego area to check this new network out and recently traveled along I-8 from San Diego to Tucson, Arizona. After loading up my rental car with computers, scanners and a number of antennas on the trunk lid, I started hearing dozens of new digital frequencies. This new radio network seems to be in use along the southern California border area only, with Border Patrol communications in Arizona appearing to revert back to mostly familiar, analog frequencies once you cross the state line. Here is some of what I was able to log on my travels. Note that all of the frequencies using P-25 digital mode were using encryption, except where noted: San Diego County, CA 162.8500 MHz 163.7250 MHz 166.6375 MHz 166.9125 MHz 167.1500 MHz 167.3000 MHz – Busy, most traffic unencrypted 167.3750 MHz 167.4500 MHz 167.5250 MHz 167.5750 MHz 167.7250 MHz 167.7750 MHz – Busy 168.5000 MHz – Busy 168.8500 MHz – Busy 170.3750 MHz 170.7625 MHz 170.8375 MHz – Busy 171.5375 MHz – Busy 172.0250 MHz 172.5125 MHz – Busy 172.9875 MHz 173.1625 MHz – Busy 173.4500 MHz 173.6500 MHz – Busy 173.9750 MHz – Busy Imperial County, CA 162.6125 MHz 162.9250 MHz 165.5875 MHz 167.2625 MHz 167.3000 MHz – Busy, most traffic unencrypted 167.4500 MHz – Busy 167.6500 MHz 167.7250 MHz 167.7750 MHz – Busy 168.9250 MHz – Busy 170.6500 MHz 170.7625 MHz 170.8375 MHz 172.9875 MHz 173.1625 MHz – Busy 173.6500 MHz – Busy 173.9750 MHz Once I entered Arizona, things settled back down to “normal” frequencies and modes of operations: 163.6250 MHz 163.6750 MHz 163.7000 MHz 163.7250 MHz – Border Patrol LEMMON repeater (Mt. Lemmon, Tucson area) 163.7750 MHz 165.2375 MHz – Customs NET 1 168.8250 MHz 168.8750 MHz 282.4250 MHz (AM) - Custom Air Operations Border Patrol communications along the Northwestern US border with Canada still continue to be heard on the usual 163 MHz channels, with some digital encryption heard. If you start noticing a large number of new digital frequencies becoming active in your area, you may be hearing part of the EVRP! ❖ Federal Agency Updates Transportation Security Administration I have received some requests from readers wondering what frequencies the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) uses at airports these days. The TSA was originally formed as part of the Department of Transportation, but is now under the Department of Homeland Security. When the TSA was first formed in 2002, they were using whatever was handy for radios until their federal contract for communications equipment was fulfilled. In their early days, I monitored the TSA on everything from local airport police frequencies to UHF business and even Family Radio Service channels. The TSA is now using radios with their own frequencies in the APCO P-25 digital mode. So far I have not encountered any encryption, but the federal contract for the radios calls for encryption capabilities. Here is the nationwide channel plan for the TSA radios: F1 - 172.1500, S/D S1 - simplex, digital F2 - 172.1500, S/D S1 - simplex, digital F3 - 172.1500, S/D S1 - simplex, digital F4 - 172.1500, S/D S1 - simplex, digital F5 - 172.9000, S/D S2 - simplex, digital F6 - 169.3000, S/D S3 - simplex, digital F7 - 169.3000 TX / 172.9000 RX - repeater, digital F8 - 169.3000 TX / 172.9000 RX - repeater, digital F9 - 169.3000 TX / 172.9000 RX - repeater, digital F10 - 172.9000, S/D S2 - simplex, digital F11 - 172.9000, S/D S2 - simplex, digital F12 - 166.4625, 103.5 PL - simplex, analog
(DHS COMMON) F13 - 166.4625, S/D - simplex, digital (DHS COMMON) You will notice some channels in the radios have the same frequencies listed. They are set up with the same frequencies, but different NAC’s or Network Access Codes. These are the digital equivalent of the CTCSS or DCS codes used in analog radios. This means that radios can only communicate with each other if they are programmed with the same NAC. There are no scanners available yet that can utilize the NAC information, but maybe the next generation of digital scanners will have that feature. TSA radio traffic can vary from airport to airport, sometimes very interesting and other times almost non-existent. The TSA communications I have monitored at the San Diego airport are very professional, with almost military style radio procedure. Other airports are very informal, with only small amounts of radio traffic. While the above list represents the standard frequency assignments for the TSA, there have been some listener reports of operations on other frequencies. Even after most airports have switched to the new band plan, there are a few that remain a mystery. One of them is DFW International Airport. I have never heard the TSA using their VHF frequencies at DFW. I spotted a few TSA employees with what appeared to be UHF Motorola VISOR radios, but so far their frequency has eluded me. Have you heard the TSA using something other than is what’s listed? If so, drop us a line at the Fed Files and let us know. Speaking of TSA radios, there was a recent story on the KUSA-TV news website about four TSA radios going missing from the Denver International Airport inventory and one even showed up on e-Bay! It turns out that one radio was turned in to the DIA lost and found department, but it remained there until it was sold at a Denver County surplus property auction. If you would like to read more, you can take a look at the KUSA-TV website at http://www.9news.com and do a search for TSA. Federal Protective Service The Federal Protective Service, once part of the General Services Administration (GSA), is now fully integrated into the Department of Homeland Security as part of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement division (ICE). The FPS is in charge of federal building and facility security in many areas of the US. They are dispatched from at least two regional dispatch centers, one in Denver and the other in Philadelphia. There may be others, but these are the only two I’ve been able to identify. The FPS is also in the process of switching to an all-digital P-25 radio network. The FPS frequencies in my area of the Pacific Northwest went to P-25 digital almost a year ago, but many cities I visit in my travels still operate with analog radio equipment. Some have switched to new digital radios, and some are even operating with encryption. The most popular FPS frequencies seem to be 415.2000 MHz and 417.2000 MHz, but some areas may use others. Here’s a list of possible FPS frequencies: 406.4125 MHz 417.2000 MHz 407.1750 MHz 407.2125 MHz 407.3625 MHz 408.5375 MHz 415.1750 MHz 415.2000 MHz 416.0250 MHz 417.2500 MHz 417.4250 MHz 417.6500 MHz 419.1500 MHz 419.1750 MHz 419.6500 MHz 419.8750 MHz If you browse the Immigration and Customs Enforcement website, http://www.ice.gov/graphics/fps/index.htm mentions that the FPS is now involved with security planning and support of large public events, specifically the Kentucky Derby and Presidential Inaugurals. I was at the running of the Kentucky Derby in 2004 and did catch some interesting federal radio traffic: 163.0500 MHz, 023 dpl - Mystery frequency. Clear voice traffic. I never figured out who it was, but definitely at the racetrack. 163.8375 MHz - DES encryption 165.2875 MHz - P25 digital mode, ATF Command Post on site 167.5375 MHz - DES encryption 167.5625 MHz, 167.9 pl - Clear repeater that was tied into the Louisville Police repeater on 453.575 MHz. Used for coordination of federal and local police. 168.6500 MHz - DES encryption While I couldn’t confirm exactly who was using the encrypted radio channels, the signals appeared to be Derby related. ATF The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has undergone some changes after the formation of DHS, although the agency did not become part of Homeland Security. The official web site of the ATF, http://www.atf.gov, explains that the agency was split into two parts, with the law enforcement functions of the agency now under the Justice Department and the tax and trade functions remaining with the Treasury Department. How will this affect the ATF communications requirements? We’ll have to keep listening and see. For the time being, it looks like the national primary ATF frequency of 165.2875 MHz continues to be used, with some areas now using P-25 digital radios. Here’s a gathering of possible BATF radio frequencies: 165.2875 MHz – Nationwide Primary 165.5125 MHz 166.4625 MHz - DHS Common 166.5375 MHz - Input to 165.2875 repeaters 166.8750 MHz 168.0000 MHz 169.5500 MHz 170.1000 MHz 170.2000 MHz 173.8875 MHz 407.1500 MHz 409.1500 MHz 415.2500 MHz 418.2500 MHz 419.0500 MHz 419.2500 MHz In my area, 165.2875 MHz is busy nearly every morning with units checking in with the office, but most of the units are using P-25 digital with encryption. However, analog communications still show up on the ATF channels. Since the ATF is now part of the Justice Department, it’s likely that they will be users of some of the new Justice Department systems that are starting to come on line – read on! Justice Trunked System The Justice Department’s regional digital trunked system in Washington State is continuing to take shape. I reported in the last Fed Files that I was able to receive some traffic on the P-25 trunked sites near my home base in Oregon. There have been more new repeater sites activated and technicians have been heard working on getting the system operational. I took a couple of Fed Files road trips up through Washington State and I was able to find more active frequencies for this system, but since the system is still being built, finding transmitter sites and frequencies can be slow going. Special thanks go to some of the members of the Northwest Intercepts website at http://www.northwestradio. com for helping track the progress of this system. Here is what is active so far: 167.0000 MHz – Bellingham 167.1625 MHz – Tacoma 167.2125 MHz – Tacoma 167.2625 MHz – Baw Faw Peak 167.2875 MHz – Tacoma 167.3125 MHz – Blaine 167.3625 MHz – Unknown location 167.4375 MHz – Bellingham 167.4625 MHz – Blaine and Vancouver 167.6125 MHz – Olympia 167.6375 MHz – Bellingham 167.7375 MHz – Baw Faw Peak 168.8250 MHz – Bellingham and Vancouver 168.8500 MHz – Tacoma 168.8750 MHz – Unknown location 168.8875 MHz – Kalama 169.4125 MHz – Tacoma and Vancouver 170.6750 MHz – Kalama 170.7875 MHz – Unknown location 170.9375 MHz – Unknown location The Justice Department now has a web site with news updates about the progress of this system. The web site is http://www.usdoj. gov/jmd/iwn/index.html. This site gives details of the project and information on contractors. The official information indicates that it will be a 15-site trunked system when completed. This is a pilot project for the Justice Department, with more systems like this planned all over the country. Keep watching the federal VHF band for trunking activity in your area, and let us know what you find! ❖ Back in Two Months! That’s all for this installment of the Fed Files, but we will be getting together again in the March issue of Monitoring Times. Next time we’ll talk about some other radio frequency bands that we need to search for federal activity. See you then! January 2005 MONITORING TIMES 55
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