Welcome!
Fed searching is where it is at. Scanning? Yeah, at times good, but the hunt is more fun IMO. If you live in a rural area, and I think you might, you will hear allot less. Just a few rural repeaters for the most major agency opps with little action. Most of the real action in rural areas, which you may not have for months on end, will be mobile direct traffic, and only if you have a good antenna and no interference issues since these are harder to pick up. In some ways this is more rewarding than the big city repeaters because you get to hear some hard to find simplex channels that might not be used as much as in the city with all the repeaters. But you have to be a searcher if you don't have inside information...and not too many of us do.
What scanner do you have? What antenna? Filters??? Most everyone has gone or is going P25 digital, so I hope you have a P25 scanner and a good antenna system. You might not hear anything but noise if you don't. And if you are a searcher, you will want a scanner that decodes NAC codes (like PL for digital). You will need that to help ID who you are listening to. That being said, here is the scoop on the many changes that have been, or are in the works right now. NOW is a great time to search (right, Bill?). :twisted:
The IRS dumped that UHF system years ago and went back to the old VHF channels (now P25) that they used to use before the UHF system was built. The repeaters are out there, but not getting used too much. Reports of new simplex channels have been observed. This is a national channel plan.
DEA is in a holding pattern for now. Some has gone P25 (and did it very early...like NYC for example), and other areas are still analog. The UHF band has been reorged to a standard 9 MHz offset with 12.5 K channel spacing where inputs are now in the upper part of the band and outputs in the lower part. The middle is simplex, and again an area to look hard for direct mobile traffic. I have no real data to support this, but I think the reason DEA is dragging its heels on further P25 deployment, and reorging to the new UHF band standard, might be due to a possible VHF jump. Again...no data, but the stagnation is odd. VHF is undergoing all sorts of moves now that DHS and DOJ has swapped agencies. It will be interesting to see what they do, but I bet it will be a national channel plan.
FBI is still using the core 25 KHz channels from 167.2125 to 167.7875 with a few channels in some areas being in between (12.5 K spacing). Most major city areas have the majority of stuff in this section, as well as simplex and national freqs that work anywhere. Listen to all of those! Most areas are converting analog to P25 right now. Some areas are trunking, like WA, OR, which sucks! (sorry...not a fan) The "Echo" group of repeater channels assigned locally to expand tac comms beyond the core group are pulled from DOJ pool freqs that are not used for something else in that given area. Now that Immigration is no longer part of DOJ, some of those might be returning to DOJ soon, but we also see more new DOJ freqs popping up almost every day with the VHF reorg. The jury is still out here in FL because ICE is popping up on new freqs as well. Major city areas have shared DOJ Interops freqs with the NAC of 653. The same freqs may be FBI NAC167 in other areas of the country. These are DOJ pool freqs. I do not see a national plan in the works except for maybe the IWN P25 trunked systems. Will the areas like FL convert to that some day? Maybe...once all is P25, but maybe not the way these new Echo repeaters are popping up.
USSS is mostly all the same nationwide and all P25 now.
USMS is a mixed bag depending on where you live. All are P25 now. Some areas (few) have a repeater on the old 163.2000, but other areas have attached to the FBI on a special channel in their core group. Some of us have noticed the different NAC than FBI. NAC293 is mostly what they use. All the other old USM freqs they used in FL are still being used for simplex. Listen to all the old known freqs nationwide and look for one or more locally assigned FBI core group channels to be used for USM support.
B.ATF.E is all P25 and using their old freqs with a few new channels (NAC 650). The Wiki has the new plan. It appears to be accurate nationwide.
FPS (the old GSA) is converting to P25 and moving to the new UHF bandplan in slow steps. Some areas are P25 on the old plan, and some have moved. The Wiki shows what looks like the same pool group being used around the country. Simplex freqs will be harder to find, so keep searching!
DSS went P25 and moved a little to reorg the UHF band (mostly for the input to be clear of old DEA stuff). This looks to be the same nationwide.
Customs (now CBP) combined with USBP, but there are still two systems. The old Customs system was almost a national plan before, but as it expands to P25 it is shaping up as a true national plan with what looks like a "playbook" for each region. I suspect the radios will all have the same channels and each "sector" will have a list to use for that area. Most areas have mobiles that have P25 capability, but not all repeaters are P25 yet. They are in the works, so you have to scan dual mode.
BP is slow to convert, but is also upgrading to P25. Some areas went already (same as CBP), and mobiles have P25 and use it a little. New P25 repeater pairs are popping up along with new ICE P25 repeaters. The core group of 163 MHz freqs is the first to be converting. In FL the repeaters have been upgraded to P25 capability, but not running digital yet. The big question is if they move the ones on the old DOJ freqs to new freqs when they make the switch. The fact that some core 163 freqs already went P25, and not the DOJ pool freqs, tells me they might be moving. Will it be a national plan in the end? I hope so!
USCG has a national channel plan (on the Wiki) and it is standard with maybe a couple of extras I have seen here in FL. Almost all P25 now, but I have heard very little analog. If you know the PL, scan dual mode. There are some new UHF freqs now, as well, that are really starting to get some use. Why V and U bands? I don't know. Looking at the base equipment, it has one UHF TX to a few VHF transmitters. Maybe the UHF is the local sector freq and the VHF is everyone???
BOP moved to UHF trunking systems and are P25 on the new UHF band plan. The same freq pool is showing up nationwide and locally assigned.
NPS is converting their stuff to P25 in most areas, but some systems are dual mode.
The FCC has not been heard here in years, but then again they were not very active in the past. I scan it in analog and P25 digital just in case. I bet they will show up P25 one day. Maybe just direct, but I would listen to it. Maybe listen to the old input, as well. ???
All the common interops channels are mixed mode with different PL's and NAC's...And there is a new NTIA list of channels that is being set up around the country (Both V and U). I have an LE B repeater just north of me and it gets tested every once in a while. No LE A yet, but others hear it being tested. Look in the Wiki for the LE and IR plans.
Who did I miss? There are many other agencies I did not cover (like the VA), but they are out there. Well, It looks like most agencies may be gravitating to national plans, but it is still unfolding. DHS ICE & BP is on the move with strange NACs showing up different in most areas. That could be a sign of a "master plan" for frequency reuse. The DOJ is doing different things in different areas. Old analog, mixed P25 (but converting most...not all...some "E" repeaters moving), and the crappy IWN trunking in some areas has taken root. The DC area is now going that way, which is a bad sign. Perhaps DEA is waiting for this system before spending more money on UHF equipment.
This is all from my point of view, and I'm sure there is information and observations in other areas I am not aware of. I welcome any corrections or additions. Encryption is now the norm on most P25 systems. It is cheap enough and it works well...plus people keep spilling active investigation info in real-time on this forum (not a good idea). At least wait till it makes the news or is long over!
Have fun!
Phil
