Who assigns freqs for US visits by foreign leaders/diplomats?

[kl7hny]

Honest -- I really did do a search before posting my query here; depending upon how I structured the search, I got either zero hits or a few less than infinity.....
I'm a retired land mobile shop owner and regional 911 service manager.
When foreign diplomatic types visit here -- including heads of state -- how do their protective personnel -- get assigned freqs & modes?
For that matter, how do our USSS & related teams get a way to use radio gear in foreign -- and sometimes hostile -- locations?
I'd assume both sides invest considerable resources into intercepting, and trying to decipher, foreign (to them) radio traffic?
Years ago, at an APCO meeting in Anchorage, Alaska a USSS supervisor, and a second guest who was an FCC director, spoke on similar subjects. Interestingly, the Secret Service guy says they tell their folks to pretend their radio mics are hooked to public address systems with infinite loudness that cover the whole geographic area of operations. Hence code words & names of protected entities.
I suppose modern encryption is typically too strong to decode in any kind of useful time frame, but still.....
So when our leaders/diplomats visit, say, Syria or Ukraine, do they work out something so as not to interfere with systems in the other nation?
And when Putin or Assad (sp?) visit here, who tells them what to use?
Presumably everyone's advance teams check for potential interference. Otherwise does everyone just blunder onto freqs as desired and count on Diplomatic Immunity to effect a "you can't touch us" stance?
Sorry for the really, really long post.....
tnx es 73 de KL7HNY

 

[ecps92]

Great question and I'm sure others will chime it.

In my experience YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary)

For the visiting folks to the US
a. Some will rent from the local radio shop
b. Some will use Cellular/PCS phones
c. Some bring their own and say Catch me - if you can
d. Others if long term consul locations might even get DoS/DSS or USSS channels assigned in the DC area

For the USSS, they do have VHF assigned channels for most of our common countries they would visit
and likely have an agreement for short-term simplex use of channels


Here is a fun one, from the long term [two week] visit to Boston one year.
Prime Minister of India visiting.

His security installed a repeater on the roof of the hotel

469.6250 Repeater with 462.6250 input and a PL of 156.7
7 Mhz split, where-as USA is 5 Mhz

Problem(s)
469.6250 is a common business band input
462.6250 is a common GMRS Repeater output

Situation was
I transmit legally on 467.6250 (156.7) to my Repeater
and naturally come out on 462.6250 on my LEGAL Repeater
but am also tripping his repeater input to come out on 469.6250
which turned out to be a local business repeater input with an output on 464.6250

So, sometimes there is coordination, sometimes Not, just as in the Cruise/Maritime industry where many ships are using our US GMRS frequencies, for the short-term visit (Ports of Call)

Honest -- I really did do a search before posting my query here; depending upon how I structured the search, I got either zero hits or a few less than infinity.....
I'm a retired land mobile shop owner and regional 911 service manager.
When foreign diplomatic types visit here -- including heads of state -- how do their protective personnel -- get assigned freqs & modes?
For that matter, how do our USSS & related teams get a way to use radio gear in foreign -- and sometimes hostile -- locations?
I'd assume both sides invest considerable resources into intercepting, and trying to decipher, foreign (to them) radio traffic?
Years ago, at an APCO meeting in Anchorage, Alaska a USSS supervisor, and a second guest who was an FCC director, spoke on similar subjects. Interestingly, the Secret Service guy says they tell their folks to pretend their radio mics are hooked to public address systems with infinite loudness that cover the whole geographic area of operations. Hence code words & names of protected entities.
I suppose modern encryption is typically too strong to decode in any kind of useful time frame, but still.....
So when our leaders/diplomats visit, say, Syria or Ukraine, do they work out something so as not to interfere with systems in the other nation?
And when Putin or Assad (sp?) visit here, who tells them what to use?
Presumably everyone's advance teams check for potential interference. Otherwise does everyone just blunder onto freqs as desired and count on Diplomatic Immunity to effect a "you can't touch us" stance?
Sorry for the really, really long post.....
tnx es 73 de KL7HNY

 

[ChrisP]

For a large, international event I was at once, the FCC was on site helping coordinate the visiting VIP protection details. Some countries used their own radio systems and some used frequencies that were cleared for them through coordination.

I recall some discussions on the FCC channel about the French protective detail that had a VHF frequency in the US railroad band and a UHF channel in the 440 MHz area. They were trying to avoid some local users that might be interfered with.

The UK protective detail was using a VHF frequency in the federal band (166. something) and I recall one of the agents was a woman with the most fantastic Scotts accent...

- Chris

 

[MississippiPI]

We have several dignitaries visit my home state of Mississippi and sometimes MSWIN administration assigns them. They can program over the air which I would think would be beneficial

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

Diplomatic Immunity? Maybe the Department of State sponsors them to use their frequencies via NTIA? Of course the Russians will uses what they want.

Excellent question. I would love to monitor those.

 

[prcguy]

I've seen a visiting Saudi Prince use whatever he has on hand anywhere he wants. This was many years ago and he even carried his own cell site to use with his personal fleet of cell phones. He had a couple of VHF repeaters and on one trip to another country his radio people made a deal with a hill top amateur radio club to host his repeater at their site for a week or two and they got to keep all the equipment when the Prince left town.

I think most countries make proper arrangements and others do what they want.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I've seen a visiting Saudi Prince use whatever he has on hand anywhere he wants. This was many years ago and he even carried his own cell site to use with his personal fleet of cell phones. He had a couple of VHF repeaters and on one trip to another country his radio people made a deal with a hill top amateur radio club to host his repeater at their site for a week or two and they got to keep all the equipment when the Prince left town.

I think most countries make proper arrangements and others do what they want.

Sounds like the Sultan of Oman who would fly a jetliner to US on shopping trips and was a big Motorola customer back in the 70's. I worked in control centers at the time , 1976, and we were shipping a huge map display of Oman with sector back lighting activated from incident card slots.

 

[prcguy]

This was one of the Saudi princes who has a lot of investments in US companies which used to include Motorola at one time. I helped him set up a portable repeater/antenna system for an African big game hunt years ago. I think he's in a Saudi prison now.

Sounds like the Sultan of Oman who would fly a jetliner to US on shopping trips and was a big Motorola customer back in the 70's. I worked in control centers at the time , 1976, and we were shipping a huge map display of Oman with sector back lighting activated from incident card slots.

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

This was one of the Saudi princes who has a lot of investments in US companies which used to include Motorola at one time. I helped him set up a portable repeater/antenna system for an African big game hunt years ago. I think he's in a Saudi prison now.

I think I recall reading about him and his /\/\ investments. He made his money like so many other "self made billionaires". - Daddy loaned him big money.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1997/11/26/saudi-billionaire-discloses-investments-of-850-million/f4364802-4519-427b-8b66-e30229aa403a/

 

[prcguy]

That would be him. A friend of mine had to meet with "His Highness" in his LA office and was in the waiting room sitting across from Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner, all having appointments with the Prince. I heard one of his aids ran by apologizing "His Highness" wont see anyone until the aid got him some "puffy wipes" for the bathroom.

I think I recall reading about him and his /\/\ investments. He made his money like so many other "self made billionaires". - Daddy loaned him big money.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1997/11/26/saudi-billionaire-discloses-investments-of-850-million/f4364802-4519-427b-8b66-e30229aa403a/

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

That would be him. A friend of mine had to meet with "His Highness" in his LA office and was in the waiting room sitting across from Rupert Murdoch and Ted Turner, all having appointments with the Prince. I heard one of his aids ran by apologizing "His Highness" wont see anyone until the aid got him some "puffy wipes" for the bathroom.

That's pretty "special". I hope he bought some Luxury Radios while he was in town. At least we are not reading about him decapitating journalists.

 

[Ravenfalls]

Friend I pickup from the Phx airport. On his team in middle east, they use APX8000. Someone fly in & reprogram using CPS & keyloader. Then they fly out until next time.

He likes my XE model. They use normal APX.

 

[prcguy]

My friend dealt with the Prince in the 90s and set him up with a fleet of Motorola Saber radios with the repeaters. They went through them like chewing gum loosing them, dropping them in the ocean, etc.

That's pretty "special". I hope he bought some Luxury Radios while he was in town. At least we are not reading about him decapitating journalists.

 

[signal500]

Over the years I have monitored foreign diplomatic visit protection services between 420-440 MHz. They use both analog and digital modulation, simplex and temporary repeaters.

Denmark, Norway, Sweden, 430-432 MHz
Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Libya, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, 430-432 MHz and 438-440 MHz
Afghanistan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Ecuador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Greece, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Dem. People’s Rep. of Korea, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Turkey and Yemen, 420-440 MHz
Angola, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Cameroon, Congo, Djibouti, the Russian Federation, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, Kazakhstan, Mali, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Poland, the Dem. Rep. of the Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Slovakia, Romania, Rwanda, Tajikistan, Chad,
Turkmenistan and Ukraine, 430-432 MHz
Argentina, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guyana, Honduras, Panama and Venezuela, 420-430 MHz

 

[RFI-EMI-GUY]

I wonder if the use of 420-440 is by international treaty because USSS which normally uses VHF domestically, operates UHF overseas.

 

[sflmonitor]

I wonder if the use of 420-440 is by international treaty because USSS which normally uses VHF domestically, operates UHF overseas.

USSS tends to use VHF overseas as well.

 

[Randyk4661]

I would think that our FCC would have a list of frequency ranges for foreign governments to use while in the U.S. and the foreign governments version of the FCC would have the same for us to use. Heads of state and other diplomats don't just show up without alot of planning ahead.
I'm also sure there are the "catch me if you can" frequencies in use that don't get mentioned in the planning meetings.