One New Mexico Bureau of Land Management frequency now encrypted

[CorwinScansNM]

Just a quick heads up. I just discovered & found out today while scanning that one of the New Mexico Bureau of Land Management frequencies listed under Federal appears & sounds like it is now trunked or encrypted but has not yet been updated or posted on RadioReference.com as encrypted or trunked. I had to make myself lock it out of my scanner because it was stopping with nothing but encryption or trunked noises on this frequency but no voices coming through it at all. Just that worthless annoying encryption sound that we all know, have heard & run into with our analog only scanners.

It is this BLM frequency that I am talking about.

Frequency Input License Type Tone Alpha Tag Description Mode Tag
169.70000 BM CSQ BLM LE Law Enforcement FMN Federal

One of New Mexico's BLM frequencies listed on RadioReference.com (168.52500) is already P25 encrypted as I can see. It never use to be P25 encrypted until in this year 2013. I use to have the BLM (168.52500) programmed on my scanner in 2012 & heard quite some communications for around my area on that BLM frequency that I now can't because of the new P25 encryption used on that specific frequency. I think that New Mexico BLM is slowly switching all of the New Mexico BLM frequencies to encrypted & or trunked instead of non-encrypted analog like they use to be.

I guess that it's time to wait until Uniden comes out with their 2 new digital scanners in 2014; then break down & purchase one of them hoping that they will have the newest technology built into these new digital scanners to be able to un-encrypt all or at least most of these new forms & types of encryption used these days in the USA by police, fire departments, BLM, Federal etc.

 

[SCPD]

You referring to a digital format? As for encryption no. Encryption is just that to keep people from listenin and it won't happen. Last I knew many municipalities and states agencies were getting adp (encryption) equipped radios and planned eventually to slowly roll over to it as its sole purpose is to knock out scanners or un authorized two ways. Majority for now have stayed with keeping it at press of the button though.

 

[SCPD]

Are you close to the Chaves, Lincoln, otero, Dona Ana area? This particular output is also used by the border patrol I have heard them before in those areas. Don't know if they comm with blm for things doubt it but have heard them on this freq before.

 

[2wayfreq]

Many people confuse P25 Digital and Encryption as being the same thing and it's not. P25 Digital can be received just fine on a digital scanner. When (ADP, DES-XL, AES ) Encryption is added to the digital transmission, then you will not be able to monitor them anymore.

 

[SCPD]

Decoding encrypted radio transmissions not meant for you is a crime, So if you want to meet Bubba at the Federal penn, go for it..

 

[SCPD]

Know for solid fact Capitan NM BLM is 172.5875 csq no rx tone analog, This was valid up to August this year.

 

[SCPD]

I'm thinking he's referring prob to p25, though If he has a digital scanner p25 format capable then this would for sure say yup encryption. I know the BIA in Mescalero has been playing with digital p25 lately in clear from time to time. No encryption however but they are absolutely capable by the rotation knob on the xts5000s and button press on the xtl's.

 

[SCPD]

I would recommend getting a p25 capable scanner for NM ( p25 referring to the clear digital format, not encryption). Allot of agencies changed out equipment prior to January but majority after to digital capable equipment. Many vfds didn't because budgets and such being volunteer with limited budgets unlike BLM lol they took the small grant, got narrow capable radios but basic Analog ones. All the law enforcement and fire officers got digital capable radios in southern NM those on VHF and UHF. Federal obviously well before January was fitting out digital capable equipment.

 

[SCPD]

The last time I went through the NIFC approved radio model and specification list P25 was required, but I didn't see any discussion requiring encryption in any of them. 168.525 is the district net for the Albuquerque District, if its still called that. A district frequency using encryption would mean that all functions, not just law enforcement and fire would be using it. Federal fire, given the large number of state and local agencies they interact with, would not use encryption. The BLM and NPS are both in the Department of the Interior and there are now some national park law enforcement nets that are encrypted, Grand Canyon being one of those. The law enforcement net may be encrypted or might be at some point in the future. 169.700 is one of the three nationally assigned law enforcement frequencies for the BLM.

 

[SCPD]

Regarding federal I am not sure if white sands falls under blm or uses any comm setup the same but today I heard the obvious sound of a p25 transmission on white sands national monuments frequency. The mobile was using p25 unknown If in clear as what i was using was a kenwood but the dispatch or park office was clear analog replying back to the p25 audio. I'll have to see if they are clear or coded tomorrow with a digital radio capable of p25

 

[SCPD]

Regarding federal I am not sure if white sands falls under blm or uses any comm setup the same but today I heard the obvious sound of a p25 transmission on white sands national monuments frequency. The mobile was using p25 unknown If in clear as what i was using was a kenwood but the dispatch or park office was clear analog replying back to the p25 audio. I'll have to see if they are clear or coded tomorrow with a digital radio capable of p25

White Sands is managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and not the BLM. The NPS seems to be the agency among the four primary federal land management agencies moving to digital systems the quickest. The other three agencies are the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

These four agencies experienced a loss in coverage after the 2005 narrow band mandate for federal agencies and many had to install additional repeaters. Use of digital modulation will cause additional coverage loss. All of these agencies have to cover very large areas, often in rugged topography. It doesn't make sense to convert to digital to me.

 

[SCPD]

True meant in regard with frequencies and if they follow blm pattern and line up. I did not hear a peep yesterday. They seem to use otero sheriff primary for encounters in park and traffic stops. Calling another I hve not heard them do that on sheriffs. I'll see if I hear anything this week more.

 

[SCPD]

True meant in regard with frequencies and if they follow blm pattern and line up. I did not hear a peep yesterday. They seem to use otero sheriff primary for encounters in park and traffic stops. Calling another I hve not heard them do that on sheriffs. I'll see if I hear anything this week more.

Your first sentence is difficult to understand. I don't know what a BLM pattern and line up is. Whatever it is what does that have to do with a National Park Service radio system?

White Sands does not have a huge staff and the law enforcement workload may not justify 24 hour, fully trained and equipped law enforcement dispatch staff. However, in other parts of the country where this is the situation, the radio system is linked to a larger park that is able to do so.

Your last sentence is a bit tough to interpret. Do you mean that individual NPS units don't call each other on the Otero SO channels, but use the NPS system to do that? I understand that they use the Otero frequencies to run warrants, do 10-28's and such, correct?. Do they also use Otero dispatch to track the status of their LEO rangers throughout their entire shift?

 

[n7jei]

Last time I heard ABQ BLM on 168.525, they were P25 in the clear. (Probably a few months ago. Just haven't listened lately.)
Recently heard Socorro BLM on 169.65 analog FM.
On January 2nd, heard El Malpais National Monument morning radio check on 168.275 P25 in the clear.
Have also heard Salinas Pueblo NM (Abo and Quarai units) in the clear with P25 in the past month. (Don't remember the freq. Either 164.425 or 166.75)

 

[SCPD]

I talked To a old friend with a agency. He said all the Leo only channels such as bia or other law federal is rolling out strapped encrypted. The main channels such as say a channel a park maint uses or federal and fire and police communicate those will be mix and matched open digital and analog. But direct Leo comms where only Leo would use would be strapped. Other federal users in that district or agency would have ability to hear it not public. So if it's solid Leo only it's strapped. Anything else for interop or mix dispatch is clear.

In general they'll use otero so after or before the dispatch hours at park. If there is someone at the kios desk a dispatcher per say at the park they'll run there channels there. After hours and before park hours they use sheriff to check out status etc and also 1028s. Which they do that during normal hours but just traffic stops during hours of operations at the desk. From what I was told direct Leo comms are strapped anymore with federal police or are starting to roll out that way. If it's a mixed dispatch type fire police or interop on one channel it's clear for interop reasons. But any solid direct law talk would be strapped I was told.

It came about me asking because of this post plus he mentioned it was funny because in past he could choose to be secure or clear on his Leo channel and it was analog He would interop on direct federal law with a couple local entities but after a upgrade while back he couldn't anymore. He noticed the strapped indication on his end and heard them but couldn't reply as they heard the r2d2 aes. He dug into it and was told neither that local agency wanted to distribute its key nor did the fed want to distribute there's but that it was moot anyway because his side they do otar an otap on a regular basis. That they used aes and the other local used des. So now he said he just uses a interop local or the local primary to communicate for whatever or if it's sensitive they just cell phone it amongst another now.

 

[Mick]

Numerous BLM and NM State Forestry freqs at this link:

http://www.sjcfd.net/administration/Documents/Wildland/Documents/Four_Corners_FOG.pdf