I have been searching 163.000 to 174.000 the last couple of days as you suggested and have been logging LMNRA traffic on 164.5250 also. From my location both frequencies are full quieting so at times it's hard to tell which is base and mobile. I will attenuate the input and do more testing. Also heard 173.1750 P25 the Wilson Site testing today and 166.300 P25 testing ( the old park maintenance channel ). Since they appear to be moving channels around and still testing i have been hesitant about posting the changes for now.
National Park Service Rangers
- Thread starter mikew
- Start date
ecps92
Member
Keep in mind, 173.175 in AZ at various sites is used by OBP, FBI and the NPS
172.5875 NAC4F9
Lima Charlie in Spring Valley
700 working multiple "US" units in the clear. Havent heard a repeater name yet, but judging by the signal strength and having just heard a unit give his location as NV-604S @ MM14 (which is near Jean Dry Lake) my guess is the repeater is NPS LE Potosi.
Lima Charlie in Spring Valley
700 working multiple "US" units in the clear. Havent heard a repeater name yet, but judging by the signal strength and having just heard a unit give his location as NV-604S @ MM14 (which is near Jean Dry Lake) my guess is the repeater is NPS LE Potosi.
700 is also active on
171.3875 NAC455
No repeater name, multiple 'US' units heard.
173.1500 NAC585
Strong signal, multiple 'US' units heard, one said he was in Hidden Hills
171.3875 NAC455
No repeater name, multiple 'US' units heard.
173.1500 NAC585
Strong signal, multiple 'US' units heard, one said he was in Hidden Hills
Might be BLM law enforcement rangers as they often use a "US" prefix as part of their callsign. As for Hidden Hills this is an area located a bit South of Pahrump on State Road 160. This frequency has been heard, but very weak in the Kingman, AZ area. This applies to 173.1500.
I think there are interagency LE nets and repeaters. You should also hear U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife on the same repeater nets and using the same tacs. Obviously some frequencies have changed in the last couple of years, however, prior to that I had access to some up to date frequency lists showing this sharing of LE nets, i.e. NPS, USFS, BLM and USFWS. This interagency effort is shown in the latter 3 agencies all sharing the same building for their district and national wildlife refuge complex offices.
tradecraft6f
Member
rumor is All federal LE park service ops are going encrypted in the coming months to year..
Apologies for resurrecting this thread - I'm headed to Lake Mohave in the coming weeks; Are the frequencies discussed in this thread valid for that area of the LMNRA? If not, does anyone have the NPS channels for Lake Mohave/Katherines Landing etc.? Thank you!
South of the Hoover Dam, the NPS seems to utilize 172.4625R NAC526 as their primary law enforcement repeater. To the North, on Lake Mead they seem to use 169.6250 NAC68F as their primary law enforcement repeater. From time-to-time they may switch to 166.3000R with analog or digital use. Having concurrent jurisdiction it can be useful to monitor the Nevada Dept. of Wildlife (enforces boating and fishing laws also) on 151.475, remote bases, and sometimes 151.460, unit to unit. On the Arizona side, monitor 151.460, Arizona Game and Fish. Enjoy your visit.
Fantastic info. Thank you!
A few minutes ago there was an open mic on a frequency, 164.7500, associated with the NPS at Lake Mead. The dispatcher came on and confirmed the frequency as National Park Service North Shore West Gray Repeater. I did not notice it in the database but this is a great way to have it confirmed. I did not notice if it was P25 or analog mode. Some of their repeaters are dual mode repeaters.
Could you tell if it was the repeater input or output? What was your location when you monitored this?
This was the repeater output and I was about 75 miles away using an outside gain VHF antenna and at higher altitude than most of the LMNRA. It was easy to hear.
Hooligan
Member
Just FYI, 164.750(/131.8Hz) used to be the input for the NPS LAKE Christmas Tree Pass repeater.
Also, regarding some earlier wild conjecture that some of the repeater systems mentioned in this post were jointly used for interop, all you've got to do is find the freqs, listen & pay-attention to the Big 3 (BLM, USFS, NPS) federal land administration agencies in this area to easily determine they're all operating nominally on their own, independent LMR systems.
USFS = Dept of Agriculture, NPS & BLM (& US Fish & Wildlife Service) = Dept of Interior. While they've all got MOUs & LMR interop -- mostly-for fires -- & share some dispatch services, on a day to day basis, they have & use their own LMR systems (with the exception of repeater use by USF&WS), augmented in some cases by satphones & mobile satellite service mobile radios.
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Can anyone point me to lat/longs or other location info for the radio sites at Mt. Wilson and Virgin Mountain?
Thank you!
Jim
I would if I could, but I don't have the $100 each topos on CD for Arizona and Nevada, just California. The CD sets are sold state by state, same price. What I do in other states is just Google the peak name and include the state. For example I think Mt. Wilson is in Arizona. What usually comes up in the results is websites like "Peakbagger" or some such. There will be instructions on where to park, characteristics of the hike or climb and a topo map that will show the lat and long. If you don't find Wilson in Arizona or find it in the wrong location for Lake Mead NRA, then try typing in Nevada. The folks at Peakbagger have hiked/climbed to nearly every prominent peak, no matter how obscure, all over the U.S. You may get results from more than one website too. Some come with pictures of the hike/climb and some with pictures at the top and I've found radio vaults in some of their pictures. That's when you know you probably have the right peak.
My California topo map CD's come in handy for locating peaks. It has a search engine as well. I think the state has 7.5 minute topo coverage over the entire state. I've thought of buying Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada as well, but being on fixed incomes for my wife and I precludes such purchases. I had trouble with a Caltrans repeater northeast of Lake Isabella once and finally used the topo search. Then I went to Google earth and could see a two track road going up the peak and the rectangular shape of a radio vault on top of the peak.
Just thought I would pass along that I've looked for repeater sites as well.
I think Virgin Mountain is in Nevada, up in that arm of Lake Mead that the Virgin River feeds.
Thanks, and here's some of what I already did before taking a shot at asking for help.
A good place to search for landmarks and download topos for free is at the USGS site. Maybe not as good as having your own CD but still very handy. Map Locator | USGS Store
I did use Peakbagger and the physical site of the Mt. Wilson that overlooks Lake Mead National Recreation Area in Arizona has absolutely no radio site anywhere near the 5400' top. It is on BLM land at 35°59'47.7"N 114°36'42.9"W or 35.996588, -114.611927
Here's the Peakbagger trip report with pictures. Mt Wilson Hike
Anyhow, it's possible there is a nearby radio site erroneously called "Mt. Wilson" for some reason but I didn't spot it using satellite views.
For Virgin Peak it's a similar story but I ran out of patience sooner, ha ha. The physical peak is here 36°36'10.0"N 114°06'41.9"W
I know of a couple of repeater sites up here on the Inyo where I know they are there since I've climbed both peaks. I've also used these repeaters for the 18 years of my career in the eastern Sierra. I could not find any indication of a repeater's presence on Google Earth. The vaults at these sites are tiny, perhaps 2' x 2' or 3' x 3' and 2 1/2 to 3 feet high. Both are painted a very light green color, which may not allow enough contrast to be seen on Google Earth. In these two sites that is as it should be as both a prominent peaks in very scenic areas. The two peaks I speak of are Mt. Warren and Olancha Peak. Heck, Olancha Peak has an Inyo and Sequoia repeater up there, but you have to be nearly on top of them on foot to find them. The antennas are also stealthy.
EDIT: The antennas on Olancha Peak don't have any type of a tower device, their mounts are drilled into rocks. Good old lag bolts and shields. The antenna at Warren is mounted to the little vault up there.
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