mystery traffic on 408.5875 in Tucson

[ruffzarf]

I'm hearing infrequent traffic, some type of aircraft, talking to "Dispatch", "616 to Dispatch, landing Wickenburg for fuel." Also heard a different call sign last week, landing in a tiny town in Colorado, Pagosa Springs, also for fuel. No other traffic heard except these aircraft landing in small towns for fuel.
Anyone know who this is?

 

[RaleighGuy]

I'm hearing infrequent traffic, some type of aircraft, talking to "Dispatch", "616 to Dispatch, landing Wickenburg for fuel." Also heard a different call sign last week, landing in a tiny town in Colorado, Pagosa Springs, also for fuel. No other traffic heard except these aircraft landing in small towns for fuel.
Anyone know who this is?

Where are you located, is this AM, FM, P25, or DMR? Do you have additional information on radio IDs, NAC, Color or DPL codes?

 

[dave3825]

He said he was hearing it in Tucson in the title.

 

[TerryPavlick]

Here is your 616 callsign

N616DE Flight Tracking and History - FlightAware

Track N616DE flight from Phoenix Area to Phoenix Deer Valley

flightaware.com

and this showing helicopter operated by the Department of Energy

N616DE - Aircraft Registration Information

Aircraft and owner registration information for tail number and call sign N616DE, a 2022 BELL TEXTRON CANADA LTD 407 owned by WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION.

aircraft-data.com

 

[ecps92]

When the OP replies as to PL/DPL or NAC we might have more, wondering if they maybe hearing the ole NNSA TRS Sys 7526

Here is your 616 callsign

N616DE Flight Tracking and History - FlightAware

Track N616DE flight from Phoenix Area to Phoenix Deer Valley

flightaware.com

 

[RaleighGuy]

Radio Reference database links this frequency to several National Labs, that would be consistent to the Dept of Energy and the aircraft @TerryPavlick shared.

 

[dave3825]

Here is your 616 callsign

https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N616DE
and this showing helicopter operated by the Department of Energy

N616DE - Aircraft Registration Information

Aircraft and owner registration information for tail number and call sign N616DE, a 2022 BELL TEXTRON CANADA LTD 407 owned by WESTERN AREA POWER ADMINISTRATION.

aircraft-data.com

On the second link you posted, it says Department of Energy reserved that tail number/call sign in 1994. Have they been using it that long? This link says its owned by BELL TEXTRON INC FORT WORTH , TX, US

 

[TerryPavlick]

On the second link you posted, it says Department of Energy reserved that tail number/call sign in 1994. Have they been using it that long? This link says its owned by BELL TEXTRON INC FORT WORTH , TX, US

Leased by them to the Department of Energy.

 

[ruffzarf]

Wow, you guys are amazing. So what would DOE copters be doing flying to Wickenburg (heard them go for fuel once before), and Pagosa Springs Co.? It seems that there would be bigger and better places to land for fuel. What does DOE use copters for?
PS, I can't read NAC's with old BC785D, but it does show P25.

 

[Wilrobnson]

May be a new UHF freq or link for WAPA.

 

[dave3825]

I can't read NAC's with old BC785D, but it does show P25.

Are you into sdr and maybe have a dongle?

 

[ruffzarf]

No. I'm about an hour north of Tucson and the 408.5875 signal is very strong. The closest peak to me is Mt Lemmon, but it's blocked at my location so I only hear VHF very weak off it. I've heard DOE traffic (weak) on 167.975 but it's always encrypted and infrequent. I can hear VHF off Keystone peak but this sounds way stronger, maybe by Casa Grande? It could be their Air Ops on a link.

 

[TerryPavlick]

No. I'm about an hour north of Tucson and the 408.5875 signal is very strong. The closest peak to me is Mt Lemmon, but it's blocked at my location so I only hear VHF very weak off it. I've heard DOE traffic (weak) on 167.975 but it's always encrypted and infrequent. I can hear VHF off Keystone peak but this sounds way stronger, maybe by Casa Grande? It could be their Air Ops on a link.

Well RR shows Los Alamos with a trunk frequency of 408.5875 so could be a DOE assignment

 

[dave3825]

Well RR shows Los Alamos with a trunk frequency of 408.5875 so could be a DOE assignment

I am not familiar with the 785 scanner. When it lands on a voice channel from a trunked system, does it display anything letting the user know its a trunked system?

 

[ecps92]

If someone else local could get the NAC that might help

As the exiled Prez said could be a down link, or even part of a trunk

No. I'm about an hour north of Tucson and the 408.5875 signal is very strong. The closest peak to me is Mt Lemmon, but it's blocked at my location so I only hear VHF very weak off it. I've heard DOE traffic (weak) on 167.975 but it's always encrypted and infrequent. I can hear VHF off Keystone peak but this sounds way stronger, maybe by Casa Grande? It could be their Air Ops on a link.

 

[ecps92]

Use Varies.

Here in Boston we see them annually for Radiation monitoring [pre] before some of our major events
Boston Marathon, etc etc etc

Wow, you guys are amazing. So what would DOE copters be doing flying to Wickenburg (heard them go for fuel once before), and Pagosa Springs Co.? It seems that there would be bigger and better places to land for fuel. What does DOE use copters for?
PS, I can't read NAC's with old BC785D, but it does show P25.

 

[nd5y]

It seems that there would be bigger and better places to land for fuel.

Maybe the government has deals for cheaper fuel with smaller FBOs.

 

[ruffzarf]

It doesn't sound trunked, as I can hear no control channels in the area, except a very weak one from Davis-Monthan (I'm blocked from downtown Tucson by the Catalina Mountains). I plugged in all of the DOE VHF listed in Radio Ref to see if there's a correlation, but the TX's are few, just the occasional copter going for gas. The flight plan that Terry linked to showed 616 departed Phoenix, so I'm thinking "Dispatch" is there, but the UHF P25 signal is way too strong here by Catalina to be coming from there.

 

[ladn]

@Lauri-CoyoteFrostbite might be able to shed some light on this as she used to work for DOE.

 

[Lauri-CoyoteFrostbite]

• 
  
  "..................Lauri-CoyoteFrostbite might be able to shed some light on this as she used to work for DOE............"

Sorry Guys, but I can offer little here. We used quite a few frequencies scatter'd between 406 and 420: -------- 408.5875 rings no bells.
Since many of our projects where joint DoD/DoE--- you might look at Defense Dept. rosters.