460.05 is Who?

[TinEar]

Last night I heard a roll call on 460.05 and then subsequent traffic on the freq. It was fairly weak other than the "Headquarters" transmissions. This was not the Baltimore area common or mutual aid net. Headquarters called the roll beginning with Unit 1 through about 40. Each unit responded with their location. The ones I could hear clearly enough all responded with being at "Desk" so-and-so. Some of them were President's names that I could make out - like "Unit 25 Eisenhower Desk." Only one unit I heard responded with something different which was "Unit 40 Douglas Outer." I seem to want to think this was somehow State Department traffic but the freq is not listed to anyone in DC. The only 10-codes I heard were 10-4, 10-27 and 10-28. The 10-28 seemed to mean "away from my post" and the 10-27 "back at my post." Anyone have any ideas?

 

[doctordave]

Peculiar....never heard anything of the sort....but then, all of my radios are PL protected on that freq. 465.05, which in the input freq for the Metro system, is sometimes used w/ a unique PL for MSP helo medic to chopper (reportedly). That's the only other useage I've ever heard of for the freq pair.

Dave

 

[TinEar]

Hope I hear them again later tonight so I can grab some more info from the net. It sure was different sounding.

There are several freqs that I can't quite make sense of. Like 462.95. It's MED2 and also MedSTAR using the freq for its operations but then there's also a fire/EMS dispatch taking place on that freq that's probably from Virginia somewhere. I haven't been able to pin them down yet. Almost every VHF/UHF freq I listen to has a secondary or tertiary user that can be heard at times from my location. And on those nights where the secondary user (to my area) is louder than the primary, it makes for some confusing copy. 155.58 is another one...it's primarily PG County Sheriff for me but Harrisburg Dispatch PSP is louder some nights. There are four users at least that I can hear on that freq. But it's what makes this hobby interesting.

 

[Dispatcher308]

Tin Ear ever think it might be a PA County using that med channel as Primary Dispatch for Ambulances as York uses 462.975 Pl 186.2 for Dispatch.

 

[TinEar]

I'll test that out some more over the next couple of days Nathan. The only reason I thought it might be from VA was the way I needed to tilt my whip antenna to hear them. I tilt one direction for VA, totally opposite direction for PA. That's about as unscientific as you can get but it might very well be from PA. My primary interest in that freq is for MedSTAR operations but it always bugs me when I hear something and can't identify it. So...off to the PA direction we'll go.

FCC listings show about 100 uses of that freq in PA.

 

[Llwellyn]

460.05 is licensed for Dauphin County PA police dispatch. That's close enough that you could be picking it up, given you're picking up some of the other PA counties surrounding or farther away.

If you can tone search, see if you can pick up a PL tone being used if you copy the traffic again.

 

[Dispatcher308]

Also remember that the Frequency in Question for Dauphin County will not have a Pl due to it being in a UHF Trunking System.

 

[NINN27]

Also remember that the Frequency in Question for Dauphin County will not have a Pl due to it being in a UHF Trunking System.

hate to disagree with someone i have come to respect on these boards... but 460.050 in Dauphin is showing a PL of 203.5

 

[TinEar]

The 460.05 signal was up again but way too weak to get anything significant. The "Headquarters" transmitter was all that could be copied this time. The mobiles/portables/units or whatever they are only produced some static when they transmitted. Units are still all referred to as "Desks" and I added "U-J-A Desk" and "U-J-B Desk" along with "Douglas Desk" to what I previously had. I don't believe this is Dauphin County PA or any "normal" police net. I get the impression the units - about 40 of them - are at some type of guard posts. This is going to take more listening and a much better reception night to recover anything meaningful. Reception has been rotten the past few nights for any kind of long distance listening - at least from my area. With my very unscientific method of determing signal location by tilting the radio whip toward the signal trying to be copied, this signal appears to be coming from the south of my Glen Burnie location. I've only been able to hear this net very late at night when reception conditions are at their best - after midnight.

 

[Llwellyn]

I had originally looked up Virginia licenses as well, there is one in Mecklenberg County and one in Williamsburg County. I wrote them off as being too far away to be likely... but you never know. Might wanna check the DB for those two and see if it lines up with what you're hearing. I know *I* will never get a signal from there, but you never know.

 

[TinEar]

Thanks Llwellyn. Both Mecklenberg County and Williamsburg City list that frequency for "police," and I just don't think this net belongs to any police department - at least what I think of as a "normal" police department function. Having said that, the Williamsburg City idea intrigues me a bit simply because of its historic nature and function that *could* have posted police/guard units all over the city to watch over various exhibits. This goes along with my thinking this net consists of guard duty rather than normal police work. But 40 of them on duty late at night? At least it's within the realm of possibility which is more than I've had up to this point.

 

[Dispatcher308]

Sorry NINN27 but I thought it was a part of the Trunked System in Harrisburg as I went up there several Nights ago and I would hear traffic on it and then hear another unit that was not talking anything about the 1st conversation. I am always subject to be wrong though.

 

[hai_akeeba]

From your description of the id's I would guess you are hearing the General Services Admin. security units at various senate/house and various official buildings in D.C.

 

[TinEar]

hai-akeeba, that's as good a guess as I've heard. Now all I have to do is prove there is such a unit and then confirm the identity with a callsign.

 

[TinEar]

There is another unit I just learned about that I'm considering for this traffic on 460.05. There is something called the Bureau of Diplomatic Security that's a part of the State Department. The downside is that I would think a government entity like this would use the government band from 406-420. If someone from DC could listen to 460.05 some night to see if they hear this traffic, it might help identify it.

 

[doctordave]

Tin Ear,

I used to monitor the State Dept Diplomatic Security folks in DC (when I lived there)....they had various UHF freqs that were very active....but I never did hear anything from them on 460.05 - and that freq was always on in one of my radios (and not PL protected). Perhaps they've added that freq recently - but it wouldn't seem too likely.

Dave

 

[Dougie]

Its a jail , or facility for inmates