Nationwide federal common?

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I know years back in the old scanner books, i use to see 163.1000 as a nationwide federal common.
Does anyone know of any good nationwide federal common channels that are active on a regular basis that are not on a TRS?
Im looking for freqs in the Ny/Nj, CT, Boston area.
 

trumpetman

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163.1000 & 168.3500 are the big ones that come to mind.

Google "NTIA Red Book". That'll have all the itinerant frequencies and popular multi-use channels. Several agencies around here have those channels in their radios as simplex BS channels to use....definitely worth adding to your scan list.
 

SCPD

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Four new nationwide commons were assigned as a result of narrowbanding. They are: 163.7125, 167.1375, 168.6125 and 173.625. They are actually called "nationwide itinerant simplex frequencies" and are available for use at any time by any federal agency. The National Park Service is now using them in many parks that have abandoned 163.100 and 168.350. As far as I know the 4 new commons are still being used as "intra-crew" frequencies for national interagency hotshot crews. They are reserved for crew logistical type traffic.
 

ClayD

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I believe that 166.4625 is the federal common. Most times now you here it apco-25 digital and have seen a few different nac codes with it, but i think $001 is the most frequent.
 

RodStrong

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I still hear occasional traffic on 168.350. Not so much anymore on 163.100.
 

ecps92

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The VHF Interops as well as the DOJ 25 (now more) Cities would be a good place to listen

Federal/Non-Federal Interoperability - The RadioReference Wiki

Category:US Federal Government Frequencies - The RadioReference Wiki

I know years back in the old scanner books, i use to see 163.1000 as a nationwide federal common.
Does anyone know of any good nationwide federal common channels that are active on a regular basis that are not on a TRS?
Im looking for freqs in the Ny/Nj, CT, Boston area.
 
Joined
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mid cities, Texas
I've had 163.1000 in my scanner for a few years. The last time I heard it used in nyc area was around the time of the manhattan car bomber. Out here in Texas, I don't get much or anything at all on 163.1.
I will punch those new ones in and see if I can get anything out here in the DFW area.



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SCPD

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I know years back in the old scanner books, i use to see 163.1000 as a nationwide federal common.
Does anyone know of any good nationwide federal common channels that are active on a regular basis that are not on a TRS?
Im looking for freqs in the Ny/Nj, CT, Boston area.

Bill gave you some very good links. Buried among some of the information posted in each link is a set of UHF frequencies that were assigned in the last edition of NTIA Redbook. Here they are:

Fed UHF Common 412.850000 NFM
Fed UHF Common 412.837500 NFM
Fed UHF Common 412.862500 NFM
Fed UHF Common 412.875000 NFM
Fed UHF Common 412.887500 NFM
Fed UHF Common 412.900000 NFM
Fed UHF Common 412.912500 NFM
 
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Stavro35

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It seems that most of what's worth monitoring here in the Seattle area is on the JIWIN and that's mostly encrypted. With the coast guard on a secure frequency. There isn't a whole lot to monitor around here in the way of the federal government. Even Secret service frequencies are encrypted before "Wheels down" for Airforce 1 etc.
 

SCPD

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It seems that most of what's worth monitoring here in the Seattle area is on the JIWIN and that's mostly encrypted. With the coast guard on a secure frequency. There isn't a whole lot to monitor around here in the way of the federal government. Even Secret service frequencies are encrypted before "Wheels down" for Airforce 1 etc.

I imagine you can copy Mt. Rainier National Park quite well and the frequent rescues there would be interesting to me at least. Given the way that mountain towers over Seattle you might even pick up some tactical simplex from the city. I was on top of a 12,000 foot peak in Nevada and heard radio traffic from a handheld located over 100 miles away. I was carrying a good old Bendix King on the job. The input frequency for the San Bernardino National Forest was the output frequency on the Toiyabe National Forest and I was hiking and working on the latter. I heard the San Bernardino for the entire 3 day trip, even one mobile unit that was on the south side of the San Berdo mountain range.

***EDIT*** The Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie and Olympic National Forests and Olympic National Park are close by also. Not everything that comes over a scanner needs to be cops and robbers or very frequent to be interesting.
 
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