NORTH COUNTRY FREQUENCY MANUAL

Table of Contents

Frequency Allocations

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     806-940 MHz "800" Band
     ----------------------
      806-810 MHz         Business Band (Cvtnl Systems, Mobile Input)
      809.7625-810.9875 MHz General-single channels
      810-816 MHz         Public Safety (Slow Growth Systems, Mble Ipt)
      811.0125-815.9875 MHz General-trunked
      816-821 MHz         SMR - Business Band (Trunked Systems, Mobile Input)
      821.0125-823.9875 MHz Public Safety-trunked (12.5 kHz steps)
      821-825 MHz         Land Mobile Satellite Service (Mobile Input)
      824.040-835 MHz     Cellular Telephone Non-Wireline (Mobile Input)
      835-845 MHz         Cellular Telephone Wireline (Mobile Input)
      845-848.970 MHz     Cellular Telephone (Expansion, Mobile Input)
      849.0055-850.9735 MHz SkyTel Airphones Transmit (6 kHz steps-AM)
      851-869 MHz         SMRS, May Be Private Paging For Internal Uses
      851.0125-865.9875 MHz Cvtl/Trunked Systems, .025 or .0125 Spacing
                          Wireless Mikes/Walkie-talkies/Drive-thru's
      851-866 MHz         Automobile Emergency Freqs for Tow Operators
      851-855 MHz         Business Band (Cvtnl Systems, Base Output)
      855-861 MHz         Public Safety (Slow Growth Systems, Base Opt)
      861.0125-865.9875 MHz SMR-Business Band (Trunked Systems, Base Output)
      861.0125-865.2375 MHz Basic Exchange Radio Service
      866-870 MHz         Land Mobile Satellite Service (Satellite Opt)
      866.0125-868.9875 MHz Public Safety, Spaced .0125 MHz Apart
      866.0125-868.9875 MHz Parks & Recreation, Fire, Local Gov't, Police
      866.0125-868.9875 MHz Roads Maintenance, Special Services
      869.010-894 MHz     Common Carrier, Spaced .030 Apart
      869.040-870.000 MHz Cellular RCC - voice, channels 800-832
      870.030-879.360 MHz Cellular RCC - voice, channels 1-312
      870-880 MHz         Cellular Telephone Non-Wireline (Base Output)
      879.390-879.990 MHz Cellular RCC - data, channels 313-333
      880.020-880.620 MHz Cellular Telco - data, channels 334-354
      880-890 MHz         Cellular Telephone Wireline (Base Output)
      880.650-889.980 MHz Cellular Telco - voice, channels 355-666
      890-895 MHz         Cellular Telephone (Expansion, Base Output)
      890.010-891.480 MHz Cellular RCC - voice, channels 667-716
      890-915 MHz         Microwave Ovens
      891.510-893.970 MHz Cellular Telco - voice, channels 717-799
      894-896 MHz         SkyTel Airphones Receive
      894.0055-894.1735 MHz Air to Ground telephones ch 1-29 block 10
      894.2055-894.3735 MHz Air to Ground telephones ch 1-29 block 9
      894.4055-894.5735 MHz Air to Ground telephones ch 1-29 block 8
      894.6055-894.7735 MHz Air to Ground telephones ch 1-29 block 7
      894.8055-894.9735 MHz Air to Ground telephones ch 1-29 block 6
      895.0055-895.1735 MHz Air to Ground telephones ch 1-29 block 5
      895.2055-895.3735 MHz Air to Ground telephones ch 1-29 block 4
      895.4055-895.5735 MHz Air to Ground telephones ch 1-29 block 3
      895.6055-895.7735 MHz Air to Ground telephones ch 1-29 block 2
      895.8055-895.9735 MHz Air to Ground telephones ch 1-29 block 1
      895-960 MHz         Mobile and Paging
      896.000-901.000 MHz SMR/Business/Industry-mobile (12.5 kHz steps)
      901.000-902.000 MHz Personal Communications Services
      902-928 MHz  old    Amateur - 33-CM, Technician, <1500 watts
                          (no use near White Sands/Denver)
      902.000-928.000 MHz ISM band
      903.000-905.000 MHz fast food headset freq WFM (new "3M" headsets,
                                sometimes marked as "GM")
      920.000-922.000 MHz fast food speaker freq WFM (new "3M" headsets,
                                sometimes marked as "GM")
      902.000-928.000 MHz 900 MHz Cordless Phones NFM (30-10Khz spacing)
      902.100-903.900 MHz Panasonic KX-T9000 Cordless Phone
                          Transponder (Base) Frequencies (60 Khz Spacing)
      902.000-905.000 MHz AT&T #9120 Cordless Phones
      902.100-903.900 MHz Otron Corp. #CP-1000 Cordless Phones
      902-928 MHz         Popular Commercial FH/DS Devices
                          [Microwave Bugging Device]
      903.000 MHz Samsung #SP-R912 Cordless Phones
      905.600-907.005 MHz V-TECH TROPEZ DX900 Cordless Phone Transponder
                          (Base) Frequencies (100 Khz Spacing)
      925.000-928.000 MHz AT&T #9120 Cordless Phones
      925.500-927.400 MHz V-TECH TROPEZ DX900 Cordless Phone Handset
                          Frequencies
      926.100-927.900 MHz Otron Corp. #CP-1000 Cordless Phones
      926.100-927.900 MHz Panasonic KX-T9000 Cordless Phone Handset
                          Frequencies
      927.000 MHz Samsung #SP-R912 Cordless Phones
      928.0125 - 928.3375 MHz Domestic Public Radio Service Reserve
                              Private Multi-Radio Service
      928.3625 - 928.8375 MHz Domestic Public Radio Service Reserve
      928.8625 - 928.9875 MHz Domestic Public Radio Service Reserve
                              Wide Area Paging
      929.000-932.000 MHz Radio Paging
      929.0125 - 929.7375 MHz Domestic Public Radio Service Reserve
      929.3625-929.4625 MHz Private Carrier Paging,
                            police/fire/federal/etc.
      929.6375-929.9875 MHz Private Carrier Paging,
                            police/fire/federal/etc.
      928-930 MHz         Multi-Address Paging
      930.000-931.000 MHz Personal Communications Services-base
      931-932 MHz         Common Carrier Paging
      932.000-935.000 MHz US Gov't - low-capacity fixed links (FAA)/Private Shared
      935-940 MHz         Automobile Emergency Freqs for Tow Operators
      935.0125-940.9875 MHz SMRS, May Be Private Paging For Internal Uses
                          Private Trunked, .0125 MHz Spacing
      935.000-940.000 MHz SMR/Business/Industry-base  (12.5 kHz steps)
      ----------------------------
      940.0125-940.9875 MHz General Trunked, Spaced .0125 MHz
      941.000-944.000 MHz US Gov't - low-capacity fixed links (FAA)/Private Shared
      944.0125-951.9875 MHz Remote pick-up & STL
      952-960 MHz         Microwave Relay And Paging
                          Multiple Address Systems  (Muzak, etc.)
      956.262-956.437 MHz Private Fixed Service - Signaling And Control
      959.862-959.987 MHz Common Carrier Radio Serv - Wide Area Paging
      960.000-1215.000 MHz Aero navigation - DME/TACAN (w/ assoc. VOR)
                          US Gov't - Joint Tactical Info. Distrib. Sys. & RADAR/IFF
      1215-1300 MHz       Gov't
      1215.000-1240.000 MHz US Gov't - GPS Radionavigation Satellite
      1215-1240 MHz       Non gov't allocation - Earth Exploration-
                          Satellite and Space Research
      1537-1541 MHz     L-band Downlink
      1240.000-1350.000 MHz Aero-Air Route Surveillance Radar
      1240.000-1300.000 MHz Amateur (23-CM)
      1270-1295 MHz       Amateur - 23-CM, Novice, <5 watts
                          (band with many repeaters)
      1300-1350 MHz       Non-gov't allocation and aeronautical
                          radionavigation
      1535-1543.5 MHz     Inmarsat Communications Satellite Downlink Range
      1350.000-1400.000 MHz US Gov't - military tactical & air-ground data
      1227 MHz            GPS L1
      1575 MHz            GPS L2
      1635.5-1645.0 MHz   Inmarsat Communications Satellite Uplink Range
      1710-1755 MHz (1.710-1.755 GHz) DOJ Audio/Video Bugs (.25 to .50
                          watts) [Microwave Bugging Device]
      1710-1755 MHz (1.710-1.755 GHz) DEA Audio/Video Bugs (over 1400
                          bugs purchased in 1995) [Microwave Bugging Device]
      1710-1850 MHz (1.710-1.850 GHz) Treasury Video Surveillance Systems
                          [Microwave Bugging Device]
      2310-2360 MHz       Digital Satellite Radio
      2400-2500 MHz       Microwave Ovens
      2400-2500 MHz       WLAN's
      2400-2484 MHz (2.400-2.484 GHz) Popular Commercial FH/DS Devices
                          [Microwave Bugging Device]

     3-30 Ghz      SHF (Super High Frequency)
     ----------------------------------------
      4 Ghz C-Band
      4.195-4.199 GHz (4195-4199 MHz) C-Band downlink
      4.635-4.660 GHz     Treasury Video Surveillance Systems
                          [Microwave Bugging Device]
      12 Ghz Ku-Band
 
     30-300 Ghz    EHF (Extra High Frequency)
          -----------------------     -----------------
      31.000-31.300 GHz   GMRS microwave any mode

     300-3000 GHz   -
         or 3 THz
     ----------------------------------------
 
     Microwave Bands
     ---------------
     0.225 - 0.390 GHz  P
     0.390 - 1.550 GHz  L
     1.55 - 5.20 GHz    S
     5.20 - 10.90 GHz   X
     10.9 - 36.0 GHz    K
     36.0 - 46.0 GHz    Q
     46.0 - 56.0 GHz    V
     56.0 - 100.0 GHz   W
 
 

A Couple Things About Electronics & CB's (also applies to other transceivers and receivers)

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Air-to-Ground Telephone

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Antennas

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Types of antennas:
Wick. Dipping a piece of string in oil will absorb a
little of it. Same principle with a piece of wire - it
will absorb a little of the radio waves around it. The
telescoping antennas which come with some scanners are
this type.

Wideband. This antenna is made to be somewhat
efficient at all frequencies. But it also brings in
things which you might not want - like interference. A
discone is a wideband antenna (see below).

Multiband. Different elements make up this type of
antenna corresponding to the frequencies which you want
to receive.

Monoband. An antenna designed to match one frequency
or range of frequencies. Not efficient on others.

1/4 Wave Ground Plane - Consists of a single band
vertically polarized antenna which offers about 3 dB of gain
in a fairly narrow frequency range. Benefits are its low
cost and small size. The ground plane isolates the antenna
from having to be coupled to earth ground at a specific
multiple of the wavelength, by simulating ground with the
radially mounted elements around the bottom. A car mounted
antenna is typically a 1/4 wave which uses the body of the
car for its ground plane. There are some versions which have
several vertical elements (like the Radio Shack all-band with
three) but each vertical element will only be resonant in one
band. While it will receive signals in all bands, it will
only be efficient in the 3 bands which the vertical elements
are cut to resonate at. Radio Shack's all-band is a good
antenna if you have a limited number of bands you listen to.
(Note: I have this antenna and it seems to get fairly good
response over the whole range).

Discone antenna - A relative of the 1/4 wave ground plane
antenna offering wide frequency bandwidth. It has 0 dB of
gain on frequencies from about 120-1300 MHz, and with a
vertical element on top, it is usable down to about 30 MHz.
Gain is achieved by compressing the radiation pattern into a
donut shape with little of the signal radiating upwards or
downwards, concentrating the pattern perpendicular to the
vertical axis of the antenna. Its called a discone because
it is comprised of two parts - the disc, a group of elements
parallel to the ground around the top; and the cone, the
diagonal radial elements around the bottom. These could be
made from a solid metal disc and a cone-shaped sheet metal
radial, and perform the same, but the wind loading would be
increased. The Diamond D130J and the Sigma SE1300 are good
discones for general purpose scanning. (Note: Mike Diaz,
who's text I got these antenna descriptions from, notes that
he has had experience with the Radio Shack discone antenna at
home, and has shown that it is not a very good implementation
of the discone design, and should be avoided. He says that
it is too fragile and does not work below 100 MHz.)

1/2 Wave Dipole antenna - This is also a single band
antenna which offers 2 dB of gain in a relatively narrow
frequency range. The dipole antenna is the standard against
which gain is measured on all antennas, and it is twice as
long as a 1/4 wave antenna. This antenna has balanced signal
and round sides, which means that the coax feed is in the
center of the antenna. The center conductor is hooked to the
top half and the shield connects to the lower half. It
requires a balun to connect it to coax cable, although there
are feed techniques which can do the job of matching the
antenna to the 50 ohm coax. It is fairly large for the
frequency it's tuned to, and like the ground plane antenna,
it isolates your antenna from having to be coupled to earth
ground at a specific multiple of the wavelength, by
simulating ground with the lower half of the antenna. The
dipole can be oriented either vertically or horizontally.

Yagi beam antenna - This antenna was named after it's
inventors Mr. Yagi and Mr. Uda. The Yagi-Uda parasitic array
is another single band antenna. It offers 10-20 dB of gain
and 10-30 dB of front-to-back isolation in a relatively
narrow frequency range. It is a group of dipoles all the
same length, connected to a boom, to hold them a specific
distance apart. It offers excellent gain, and front-to-back
isolation, and a narrow beam width which it will receive
from. The gain is determined by how many elements are used
as directors, and is achieved by limiting how many directions
a signal can be received from. Like a magnifying glass
focusing the sun, the smaller the spot the hotter it gets.
The most useful feature of a beam antenna, is that it can be
rotated to null out a signal you do not want or maximizing
the one that you do want. You will need a rotor to point it
in the right direction; if you want to listen in more than
one direction. The downside is that it will only have gain
in a narrow frequency range of about +/-1% of the center
frequency, which would be beneficial in a dense signal
environment to attenuate those intermod producing signals
that you do not want, or if you only listen on one band. It
is most commonly used by commercial and amateur operators,
since it is an inexpensive and very efficient type of antenna
for single band point-to-point communication in the VHF/UHF
range.

Log Periodic beam antenna - The Logarithmically Periodic
Dipole Array is a beam antenna optimized for wide frequency
bandwidth. It offers 5-15 dB of gain with a moderate 10-15
dB of front-to back ratio; the beam width is fairly wide when
compared to a Yagi. It is a group of dipoles of decreasing
size (with the longest in back and the smallest in front),
connected to a boom, to hold them a specific distance apart.
The tapering of the elements is what gives it the wide
frequency range, by always providing an element which
resonates near the frequency that you're operating on. It is
most commonly used in TV antennas, where operation on many
frequencies is required. The downside is that this antenna
can be fairly large for a VHF/UHF antenna. There are
commercial versions available which provide general coverage.
Create Labs makes two models for $200-350. EEB and Ham Radio
Outlet both have them in their catalogs.

TV antennas - A TV antenna is not a very good scanner
antenna because it is optimized only for the TV bands. If
you look closely at a TV antenna you will notice that the
taper of the elements is not uniform. There will be several
long ones (channels 2-6 at 54-88 MHz) then several medium
long ones, usually interspersed with the long ones (channels
7-13 at 175-216 MHz), and then a bunch of short ones, all
the same length (UHF 470-812 MHz). The missing elements are
for the frequencies which a scanner user wants, but are not
in the TV band, so they are not included in the design. If
the frequencies which you do listen to are close to the TV
bands it may be for you but you must re-orient the TV
antenna to vertical polarization. Another problem is that
the UHF elements on a TV antenna are always a Yagi design.
The reception range that they advertise is only on one
channel (probably around channel 35 at 600 MHz) and the gain
falls off the farther you get from that center channel. You
will never see a gain Vs frequency plot of any TV antenna
from the manufacturer. If you want to use a wide band UHF
TV antenna. Try a 4-bay bow tie which has about 6 dB of
gain, a 15 dB front-to-back ratio and resonates across a
wide frequency range. And again, the antenna needs to be
re-oriented to vertical polarization. Some people have
TV antennas for their scanners and have reported some
use.

If you have a telescoping antenna for your scanner try
collapsing a couple sections for better high-frequency
performance (Radio Shack's Part Number 20-006 works great). The
shorter it is the better it may receive higher frequencies. You
can also apply this to your car's collapsible antenna if you have
your scanner hooked up to it. Here's a general guide...

25-136 Mhz -----------------==------------ (full length)
138-174 Mhz -----------------==----- (extend only top four
sections)
220-1296 Mhz --==---------- (extend only lower 1 to 3
sections)

To get a quick fix on frequency ranges for mobile units of
any type use these tips:
The antennas which have 60 to 100 inch-high whips or 35 inch-
high whips with a 5 inch coil at the bottom (these look kind of
like CB antennas) are the VHF low-band antennas.
The ones which have an 18 inch-high whip or 40 inch-high whip
with a 3 inch coil at the bottom (these might look like CB
antennas, too - don't confuse these antennas with similar VHF-Low
antennas) are VHF high-band antennas.
UHF antennas have a 6 inch-high whip, a 32 inch-high whip
with a 3 inch coil in the middle, or a 35 inch-high whip that has
a grey or black plastic band in the middle of it.
The ones which look like a cellular telephone antenna; an 18
inch-high whip with a coil in the middle (coil may or may not be
exposed, if exposed it may look like a pig tail) or antennas
consisting of a 3 inch-high whip are 800 MHz antennas.
You can also get some radio trade magazines, make up a
company name and mark lots of those little product information
cards concerning antennas and radios. Make sure you put a
company name or they may not send you as many advertisements.
When you get the company's advertisements study the antenna
and radio types. Before long you'll be recognizing frequency
ranges of antennas and radios you see around. Even if an antenna
or radio is not made by a company you have become familiar with
you still may be able to recognize frequency ranges; after all -
there's only so many ways to make a radio and so many ways to
make an antenna.
 

Coaxial Cable Losses

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Losses in dB Per 100 Feet

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Amateur Radio (Ham)

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Callsigns

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Repeaters

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See 'Space' frequencies for more info on Amateur Radio
Satellite Links.
 

Aviation

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Radar Service Terminated - the controller is no longer
providing traffic advisory or separation service for the
aircraft. This could be because the controller is too busy to
handle some types of traffic, was unable to "hand off" the
traffic to another controller, or has instructed the pilot to
contact a facility which does not have radar (most towers do not
have radar). You will not normally hear "radar service
terminated" with airline traffic on IFR flight plans. It is
common with VFR flights that are using "flight following"
services.
MODE-C, or Transponder "Squawk" (military version is called
IFF, see definitions). An airport's radar is a two part antenna
system; the radar antenna and an interrogator. The radar tells
the controller in the tower that there is a plane there but it
doesn't say which plane it is. The interrogator sends a signal,
which the plane receives and responds to with a transponder
"squawk" which identifies the plane. The controller's radar
screen then displays the ID beside the radar contact.
The "squawk" consists of a 4 digit octal code assigned for
that aircraft for that flight by the controller or before the
flight when receiving clearance. Mode-C also contains the
aircraft's pressure altitude from an onboard altitude encoder.
ATC computers use the four digit code to determine and
display the aircraft callsign and altitude (corrected for the
local altimeter setting). The computers can also display the
ground speed of the aircraft by tracking the target and doing the
time and distance calculations; the transponder does not send
speed info to the computer.
When you hear news stories about FAA ATC computers going
down, it usually means they can't use the transponder replies for
information and have to deal with raw radar, if they have it.
 

Cellular Telephone

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The mobile units (the cellular telephone itself) transmit 45
MHz below the base (824.040-848.970) and are usually repeated by
the base. Channels are 30 kHz apart and channels 800-832 are
also identified as Channels 991-1023. Narrow band FM is usually
used for cellular. (see Frequency Allocations for more info on
channel designations)

The below is reprinted from a textfile called SCANHINT.TXT
by an unknown author.

Here is a method of determining which freqs are used in a
cellular system, and which ones are in what cells. If the system
uses OMNICELLS, as most do, you can readily find all the channels
in a cell if you know just one of them, using tables constructed
with the instructions below.

Cellular frequencies are assigned by channel number, and for
all channel numbers, in both wireline and non-wireline systems,
the formula is:

Transmit Freq = (channel number x .030 MHZ) + 870 MHZ
Receive Freq = (channel number x .030 MHz) + 825 MHz

"Band A" (one of the two blocks) uses channels 1 - 333. To
construct a table showing frequency by cells, use ch 333 as the
top left corner of a table. The next entry to the right of
ch 333 is 332, the next is 331, etc., down to ch 313. Enter
ch 312 underneath 333, 311 under 332, etc. Each channel across
the top row is the 1st chan in each CELL of the system; each
channel DOWN from the column from the first channel is the
next freq assigned to that Cell. You may have noted that each
channel down is 21 channels lower in number. Usually the data
channel used is the highest numbered channel in a cell.

"Band B" uses channels from 334 to 666. Construct your table
in a similar way, with ch 334 in the upper left corner, 335 the
next entry to the right. The data channel should be the lowest
numbered channel in each cell this time.

For more info on trunking see that section below.

Also note that many scanners will receive cellular even if it
is locked out or deleted. For example, on a Bearcat Uniden
BC-200 XLT you just add the intermediate freq of 21.7 MHz to the
frequency that you want to monitor. Even if a scanner receives
cellular normally, it may also receive them above or below what
is considered the normal range.
 

Checking AM/FM Antennas

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Citizen Band (CB)

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On January 1, 1977, the FCC expanded the Citizen Band
from 23 to 40 channels.

Maximum RF Output Power - 4 watts Amplitude Modulation
- 12 watts peak envelope power
Single Side Band
 

The upper channels of the regular 40 are often used by SSB
CB'ers but all modes (AM & SSB) are permitted on any frequency.
You'll hear something that sounds like 'Donald-Duck' if a
channel is in use by a strong SSB source. If your radio is
equipped with side-bands switch to upper or lower and adjust the
clarifier knob until you find the best-sounding place. Side-band
talking allows further range and more power but is slightly
different then regular CB'ing.
All modes (AM & SSB) are permitted on any frequency.
In England, CB's use the same channels and frequencies,
except that they use FM instead of AM.

On January 1, 1977, the FCC expanded the Citizen Band from 23
to 40 channels.

Maximum RF Output Power - 4 watts Amplitude Modulation
- 12 watts peak envelope power Single
Side Band
 

Black Horse Code

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CB Antenna Height

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antenna----------dB---------signal
-height-----improvement------level
--(ft)-----------------------(uV)-
=========================
--10-------------0-----------1.0
--20-------------6-----------2.0
--30-------------10----------3.2
--50-------------15----------5.6
-100-------------20---------10.0
-400-------------30---------31.6
 

CB Interference Filters

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Checking a CB Mobile Antenna

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Maximum Heights for CB Antennas

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Mike Impedence

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See "A Couple Things About Electronics & CB's" for more info.
 

Civil Air Patrol

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Commercial AM/FM/TV Towers in the Area

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Marker/Warning lights - 6 strobes for between 1750 and 2000
feet recommends, 4 strobes for around 1200 feet. White stobes
are either 40 or 60 flashes per minute and red flashes were about
40 per minute, 1/3 off, 2/3 on.
 

Communications Act

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*Refer to your local authorities and regulations for complete
info for your area.
 

CTCSS or PL Tones

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Below are the tones and remember, these are tones, not
frequencies).
67.0 XZ 69.3 WZ 71.9 XA 74.4 WA 77.0 XB 79.7 SP
82.5 YZ 85.4 YA 88.5 YB 91.5 ZZ 94.8 ZA 97.4 ZB
100.0 1Z 103.5 1A 107.2 1B 110.9 2Z 114.8 2A 118.8 2B
123.0 3Z 127.3 ZA 131.8 3B 136.5 4Z 141.3 4A 146.2 4B
151.4 5Z 156.7 5A 162.2 5B 167.9 6Z 173.8 6A 179.9 6B
186.2 7Z 192.8 7A 203.5 M1 206.5 8Z 210.7 M2 218.1 M3
225.7 M4, 229.2 9Z, 233.6 M5 241.8 M6, 250.3 M7, 254.1 M8
 

Digipeaters

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DTMF Tones

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1 - 1209 & 697 7 - 1209 & 852
2 - 1336 & 697 8 - 1336 & 852
3 - 1477 & 697 9 - 1477 & 852
4 - 1209 & 770 * - 1209 & 941
5 - 1336 & 770 0 - 1336 & 941
6 - 1477 & 770 # - 1477 & 941
 

EBS Tones

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Family Radio Service

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Federal Government License Plates

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Figuring Freqs

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Fort Drum Air

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Runway 03/21
5000 feet long (1524 meters) long and 150 feet (46 meters) wide.
Concrete surface.

Runway 08/26
4500 feet (1372 meters) long and 150 feet (46 meters) wide.
Concrete surface.

Runway 15/33
5000 feet (1524 meters) long and 150 feet (46 meters) wide.
Concrete surface.
 

Below is a partial reprint of a message posted on the
Dots-N-Dashes BBS by Bill Staab.

Date: 08-08-94 (17:54) Number: 287
From: BILL STAAB Refer#: NONE
Subj: Syr. Ang 174-Tfw Conf: (24) Scanner Ra
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I'm an Air Force Forward Air Controller (FAC) stationed at Ft
Drum and I think I can help you guys out. Just for reference
at Fort Drum there are actually 2 ranges. Range 35 which is a
scorable air to ground range run by the Air National Guard (ANG)
and the main impact area that's used for live ordnance. Those
missions are controlled by Active Duty Air Force FACs assigned
to the 10th Mountain Division. The ANG also operates the Forward
Operating Location (FOL) at Drum. The FOL is used to quick turn
A10s (The runway at Drum can't take an F16 those are turned at
Griffiss AFB). The Range is about the only one on the East
Coast that can be easily used for live air to ground missions.
We have fighters as far away as Georgia coming to the Range
to drop. On any given mission as many as 3 radios are being used
at once by fighters. They are in contact with the GCA at Drum,
the FAC or Range Controllers and one radio to talk to each other
(fighters fly as a minimum of a two ship). We also do work with
C-130 outfits to do air drops and assault landings at Drum.
Callsigns that are used are peacetime assigned and don't
change. Armed with that figuring out what's going on is pretty
easy. Range 35 always uses "RANGE 35". 174 F-16s always use
"COBRA" followed by a 2 digit number. The 103 & 104 Fighter
Squadrons (A-10) use a myriad of callsigns some examples are
"SHARK, HOG, DEMON, SAINT, FREIGHT, PIG PEN, etc". Out of
towners are usually unknown until they show up at the range. But
the callsigns are pretty much the same. The Forward Air
Controllers use "COMMENTARY, ALPINE, GRIFFIN & ICEMAN".
 

Garage Door Openers

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GMRS

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International Communications Union Phonics

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International Morse Code

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Listening to Fire and Ambulance in Jefferson County

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         Code Blue - Bomb threat recieved
                     Code Black - DOA

Villages and Towns

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Vehicle Types

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Marine

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Note that the letter "A" indicates simplex use of an
international duplex channel, and that operations are different
than international operations on that channel. Some VHF
transceivers are equipped with an "International - U.S." switch
for that purpose. "A" channels are generally only used in the
United States, and use is normally not recognized or allowed
outside the U.S.
Boaters should normally use channels listed as Non-
Commercial. Channel 16 is used for calling other stations or for
distress alerting. Channel 13 should be used to contact a ship
when there is danger of collision. All ships of length 20 meter
or greater are required to guard VHF channel 13, in addition to
VHF channel 16, when operating within U.S. territorial waters.
Users may be fined by the FCC for improper use of these channels.

The above was gotten from the US Coast Guard Homepage -
http://www.navcen.uscg.mil/marcomms/.
 

Miscellaneous Scanner Info

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Mobile Data Terminals

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NOAA

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NORAD

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Police & Customs

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    The below codes are the  10-codes suggested by the Associated
Public Safety Communications Officers (APCO).  Your area may have
more then these or some of the below codes may be different.  The
best way to find out is just to listen.
    A 10-code with a '/' before it means it is an unofficial APCO
code used by some police.   A '*' means that I've heard this code
is used in this area.   Locally the police don't  seem to use the
'10' in the code very often.   For example,  an officer might ask
for a 28,  not a 10-28,  for Vehicle  Information.   But the code
11-92 seems to be used in full.
 
 

10-Codes

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Police Codes

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Thanks to Mike C. and Warren Silverman, editor of 'The Scanner Master
       New York Metro/Northern New Jersey Guide' for much of the
       above stuff.

Police Jargon (see also "Some common terms and abbreviations used
               here and on the radio waves")
"92" - short for NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law section 1192
"941" - NYS Mental Health Law for "Unstable Person"
"1192" - NYS Vehicle & Traffic Law section for Driving While Intoxicated
 
 

Local Police ID's

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      Watertown Police
        9-1 - Chief
        9-2 - Shift Supervisor or Captain?
        9-3 - Shift supervisor's car
        9-3 - 9-12 - Marked patrol cars 11 & 12 are K-9 units
        9-4 - rover car zones 8 & 9
        9-5 - rover car zones 6 & 7
        9-6 - zone 6 - Mill St to State St
        9-7 - zone 7 - State St to Washington St
        9-8 - zone 8 - Washington St to Arsenal St
        9-9 - zone 9 - Arsenal St to Mill St
        9-10 - rover car  (entire city)
        9-11 - K-9
        9-12 - K-9
        9-13 - DWI Patrol
        9-14 - Marked Ford Mustang
        9-15 to 9-26 - Admin & detective cars
        9-19 - Juvinile Officers car - unmarked sedan
        9-20 - Mustang, painted in Department colors, marked 9-14?
        9-24 - An Investigator
        3-10? - Animal Control Truck, wrong?
        3-1 - Unmarked Chevy Caprice?  Old?  Wrong?
        3-8 - Animal control?
        3-8 - ? unmarked patrol  (white Chevy Caprice, license WPD 38)
        2-7 - Was police 4X4 Truck, now city fire vehicle
        2-6 - Corrections car
        K9-2 and K9-3 - marked patrols with these numbers on the plates
        K9-1 - New Ford Expidition?  But definatly a K9 unit
        28 - Underwater Rescue Unit

      State Police
       A typical radio number such as 3d-15 means car #15 assigned
         to zone 3 in Troop D.   The number is more representative
         of the type of vehicle and/or agency it belongs to.
       3D-1 - Zone Commanders Vehicle
       3D-10 - 3D-35 are regular blue and gold cars
       3d-25 - Alex Bay car
       3D-15 - mini-Blazer
       3D-5# - unmarked cars,  called "CI"  or  concealed identity
               cars and bearing  regular state police  plates with
               the radio number.
       3D-81 - Blazer 4X4 K-9 unit stationed in Lowville
       3D-87 - Camaro pursuit car out of SP-Pulaski, not Watertown?
       3D-88 - Camaro pursuit car out of SP-Watertown, not Pulaski?
       3D-89 - Camaro pursuit car, probably out of Alex Bay?
       3D-98 & 3D-99 - Boat on St. Lawrence
       (the 8 after the D is special purpose vehicles, 9 is boats)
       5D-## or 5D-1## - BCI or  detective division  drive compact
                         GM products bearing  generic plates and a
                         forest of antennas.
       D-84, D-79 - Scale units
       P-29 - New York State Corrections bus from Watertown
           Correctional Facility
       Any 'P' unit is a New York State Prisons vehicle, CR for
       Corrections, CV for Civil.
    P-60 - P-65 - Unknown?

  Other agencies which  use the  State Police  radio  service are
designated as 7D units with two digits if they are a state agency
such as  park police.   The park  police  also use  the Sheriff's
department but use their 7D-## call numbers when doing so:
   7D-10, 7D-15, 7D-16, 7D-17, 7D-18, 7D-19, 7D-20, 7D-21 (boat?), 7D-50
 
   Villages that use the radio service are designated  as 7D-3#
units: (Some villages use both)
    Carthage - 7D-310, 7D-311, 7D-312
    Adams - 7D-301
    West Carthage - 7D-345, 7D-346
    Clayton - 7D-305
    Lowville - 7D-330, 7D-331
    Pulaski - 7D-340
    Sackets Harbor - 7D-380
 
    US Border Patrol unit 451 - 7D-511
 
  The portable radios used by the  state are designated as 6D-3##
units and do not have much range.  Base portables such as the one
at Alex Bay carry quite well.
  The DEC  also uses the  state  police from  time to time.   The
units are  designated as  7N-6## units as  Jefferson County is in
Region 6 of the DEC.    The last three numbers also appear on the
license  plate  of  the  vehicles.   They  also  have  their  own
frequency but  it is  used statewide  with repeaters.   It offers
little information to listeners.

                               Customs
                               -------
   There is a repeater for customs in Ogdensburg and one for Alex
Bay  (the repeater itself is in Watertown).   'Sector' is acually
the base in  Florida,  Alpha  units are  Agents/Law  Enforcement,
Charlie units are communications specialists, Delta units are the
Contraband Enforcement Team,  India units are Inspectors.   Every
once in a while you may hear Lima units, which are aircraft.

                          Other Agencies Nearby
                          ---------------------
Madison County Sheriffs
All  dispatching is done  through the  Sheriff's Office,  base is
called "Control".
100's are Oneida PD
200's are Canasota PD
300's are unknown  (heard 301)
400's are Sheriff patrols
500's are unknown  (heard 598, 599)
600's never heard any
700's are Cazenovia PD
800's are unknown  (heard 801)
Chittenango PD (also in County) - car "10" & 2 unmarked cars w/ no
numbers.

ONEIDA COUNTY SHERIFFS
HQ: Oriskany
substations: Barneveld, Camden, Griffiss (Rome) & Verona
Jails: Oriskany & Rome
ALL dispatching is done through the Sheriff's (including
mutual dispatch of NYSP units - like Jefferson Co) and base
is called "Oneida"
Unit numbers heard (but have NO clue who they belong to):
450, 451, 464, 467, 469, 471, 561, 562, 571, 573, 574, 576,
577, 578 & 581

Rome PD 155.010r CTCSS 110.9 units heard: 464, 467, 469

Sherrill PD 155.850  units heard: 571, 573, 574, 576, 577,
 578 & "Sherrill Base"

Oneida Indian Nation PD (seen only at the Turning Stone
Casino) and they were uniformed, armed, have arrest powers.
Radios they were carrying were Ericcson/GE and it was an
800MHz trunked system -- unfortunately I had no way
of getting the freqs.

  The above was info gotten from Mike, thanks.

                      Fort Drum Military Police
                      -------------------------
    Communications are usually scrambled.
 
10-2   Emergency Request For Assist.   10-23  Disturbance At (location)
10-3   Vehicle Accident                10-24  Suspicious Person (location)
10-4   Send Tow Truck                  10-25  Stolen/Abandoned Vehicle
10-5   Send Ambulance                  10-26  Serious Accident At (location)
10-6   Send Civilian Police            10-27  How Do You Receive This
10-7   Pick Up Prisoner                       Station/Unit?
10-8   Prisoner In Custody             10-28  Signals Received Loud & Clear
10-9   Send Police Van                 10-29  Signals Received Poorly
10-10  Escort                          10-30  Request Non-Emergency Assist.
10-11  In Service                      10-31  Request Investigator (location)
10-12  Out Of Service                  10-32  Request M.P Duty Officer
10-13  Repeat Last Transmission        10-33  Stand By
10-14  What Is Your Location           10-34  Cancel Last Message
10-15  Proceed To (location)           10-35  Chow Relief
10-16  Report By Phone                 10-36  Do You Have A Message For ___?
10-17  Return To Station               10-37  Report To Vehicle Wash Area
10-18  Last Assignment Completed       10-38  Change Or Relief
10-19  Do You Have Contact With ____   10-39  Check Of Vehicle Or Building
       Make Contact With _____         10-40  Acknowledge
10-20  Relay To (person/unit)          10-50  Change Frequency
10-21  Time Check
10-22  Fire At (location)
 

Phonetics used by Police

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NY State Thruway Police Radio Codes & Signals

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Signals
-------
1 - Governor's car
7 - Failure to pay toll
9 - Assistance required at HQ
11 - Corrections vehicle
30 - Unit requests assistance
33 - Toll collector requests assistance
34 - Inspection team needs assistance
44 - Radar detail
55 - Location
90 - Overtime approved
 

Q Signals

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RST (Readability/Signal/Tone) Signal Reporting System

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1 Unreadable 2 Barely Readable
3 Readable With Considerable Difficulty
4 Readable With Practically No Difficulty
5 Perfectly Readable

Signal Strength
1 Faint signal - Barely Perceptible 2 Very Weak Signal
3 Weak Signal 4 Fair Signal
5 Fairly Good Signal 6 Good Signal
7 Moderately Strong Signal 8 Strong Signal
9 Extremely Strong Signal

Tone (For Code Transmissions Only)
1 Extremely Rough, Harsh and Broad Tone 2 Very Rough, Harsh
3 Rough, Rippling Tone Tone
4 Moderately Rough, Rippling Tone
5 Moderate, With Some Rippling Sound
6 Moderate, Hardly Any Rippling In Tone
7 Near Pure Tone, Only Traces Of Rippling
9 Perfect Tone
 

Remote Control

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SAM (Special Air Mission) Codenames

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Scanner Law

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Of course, the law starts out by saying that if you're not a
police officer, OR a peace officer, you CAN'T have the scanner in
your vehicle.

The above was sent to me by Mike (WatnNY@aol.com).
 

Scanner Transmitting

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Subs

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Television

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Tempest Receiver

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Trunking

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success with this method.
If you have enough bank room you can load in the frequencies
for the mobile units in a trunked system. Just subtract 45 MHz
off the base frequencies. If you are close enough you'll be able
to pick up the mobile units without having to listen to the rest
of the trunked system, but you must be pretty close.
There are a number of different kinds of trunking systems...

Motorola Systems
----------------
Can be 1 to 4 control channel frequencies.

Type I. This system is the oldest and uses a combination of
around 14 combinations of a variable length fleet/subfleet/ID.

Type II. This is a newer version which uses talkgroups
instead of the fleet/subfleets of Type I. This system have be 3,
7, or 15 subfleets, plus one fleetwide channel in each fleet but
there can be quite a few talkgroups assigned to a system.

Type III. A combination of Type I and II.

EF Johnson LTR Systems
----------------------
Completely different from Motorola. There are no dedicated
control channel but uses a home channel. User group(s) are given
a specific home channel to use. For example, if channel 1 is
being used by user 1, who's assigned to that channel, another
user who tries to transmit while the first user is talking would
be handed off to another channel.
 

USAF Air Operations

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The USAF uses several nets and over the past few years they
have changed and combined. There is a system called Global
Command and Control System (GCCS) in place for keeping track of
all airlift and tanker operations worldwide. The system is
composed of HF stations located all over the world. Some are
part of the Mystic Star Network (Presidential Support) and some
are part of the now defunct Strategic Air Command while others
are run by remote control from stations hundreds of miles away.
For example, the Loring Maine station is remote controlled by
Macdill AFB in Florida which use HF radios referred to as PACER
BOUNCE. They are manufactured by Harris Communications of
Rochester NY and are state of the art with digital tuning, VOX
controlled phone patches, computer interfaces, etc. and use the
best antenna system for an outstanding, reliable system.
The system uses all the same basic frequencies but the call
signs vary. MAINSAIL is the generic call sign for any of these
stations, HILDA belongs to Air Mobility Commands (formerly
Military Airlift Command) Operations Center at Scott AFB IL.
Most of the other call signs such as Andrews, MacDill,
Loring, etc refer to that particular station.
Calls for SKY KING are for the old SAC alerting system. The
messages are nothing more then encoded message traffic. A lot of
what you would hear are weather updates, ETA updates, etc and the
system is only occasionally used by ground stations. The best
time to listen for that is when an operation is going on.
(Thanks to Bill Staab for this info, which I've taken almost
verbatim from his text.)
 

Watertown International Airport

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Watertown International Airport is about 5 miles outside of
Watertown. It is publicly-owned and operated by the City of
Watertown and is managed by Eugene P. Hayes.
There is no longer any control tower but there used to many
years ago.
Latitude - 43-59-30.917 North (43.9919214)
Longitude - 76-01-18.264 West (76.0217400)
Elevation - about 325 feet above sea level (99.1 meters)
ARTCC - Boston Center
FSS - Burlington Flight Service Station (1-800-WX-Brief)
NOTAM facility - ART (NOTAM-D service available)
Attendance - ALL/ALL/0800-DUSK
Segmented circle - yes
Lights: DUSK-DAWN
HIRL RY 07/25 PRESET LOW INTST; TO INCR INTST & ACTVT
MALSR RY 07; MIRL RY 10/28; TWY LGTS & REIL RY 28 -
CTAF.
Beacon - white-green (lighted land airport)
Landing fee - none for aircraft under 6000 pounds GWT
Airline operations: Full FAR Part 139 certification, but currently
is not receiving scheduled air carrier service
PPR 2 HRS FOR ACR OPNS WITH MORE THAN 30 PSGR SEATS
International operations: international airport of entry
Two hours advance notice to customs by the pilot is required.
Fuel available at airport - A 100LL
Airframe service available at airport - Major
Powerplant service - Major
Bottled oxygen - None
Bulk oxygen - None

Airport Stats
Aircraft typically based at the field - 41
Aircraft operations per year - 35066
Single engine airplanes - 36
Commercial - 2686
Multi engine airplanes - 4
Local general aviation - 21800
Jet airplanes - 1
Transient general aviation - 2780
Military - 7800

Runway 07/25
5000 feet (1524 meters) long and 150 feet (46 meters) wide.
Asphalt/grooved surface

Runway 10/28
4997 feet (1523 meters) long and 150 feet (46 meters) wide.
Asphalt surface.

Occasionally you'll see deer and birds and possibly other
animals right on the runway (I know this from experience!).
 

What's Active on Shortwave

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The 120-41 meter bands are usually most active after dark and
31-11 meters are active during daylight hours. Frequencies in
the list will and do change, somtimes without notice.
 

Wireless Mikes/Bugs/Bumper Beepers/Walkie Talkies

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The wireless mike frequencies listed in the frequency
allocations above and in the list are used by fast food drive-
thru's, wireless mikes, bugs (government and otherwise), newer
walkie-talkies, local preachers at churches, entertainers while
on stage, husbands checking up on their wives and vice versa,
companies checking up on their competitors; the list is endless.
Many of these are fairly low power so you would have to be
quite close to pick them up.
Frequencies with descriptions may be shared with others.
Ex. - A fast food frequency may also be used by wireless
mikes in a church elsewhere.
Some common search ranges 49 - 50 MHz, 72 - 76 MHz, 88 - 108
MHz, 174 - 216 MHz. Federal Agencies seem to stick within their
band when using bugs = 162 - 174 MHz, 406 - 420 MHz, Federal Body
Mikes 169.2 - 173.4 MHz.
Bumper Beepers are used for the tracking purposes of a car
'vehicle' to keep up with the actions of an individual. They can
also be used on the person of an agent or individual to keep
track of his position.
According to James M. Atkinson - "Most recently purchased gvt
microwave surveillance gear seems to be running between 900mhz to
5ghz, with a few systems operating on the 7/8 Ghz bands.
"Also, keep in mind that the pros love to use ultra low power
devices which use the power lines as the transmission medium/
antenna (9khz to 300 MHz). Devices typically operate below 10mw,
often below 1mw. The devices typically use Wide FM and use voice
inversion encryption... VERY easy to demodulate.
Note: According to a recently obtained DOJ surveillance training
manual:
"The typical range for the 28 Ghz devices is six miles, the
typical range of the 2.4 Ghz is thirty miles, and the typical
range for the 1.7ghz is 44 miles.
"... frequency modulated applications should operate below 3 Ghz
to take advantage of the favorable frequency propagation
characteristics of that part of the spectrum.
"...Frequency Hopping and Direct Sequence Devices speed spectrum
devices should operate above 1.5 Ghz, this will prevent the
emissions from being detected by electronic countermeasures."

DOT Transceiver Freqs

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No, not the radios those guys with the yellow trucks and
snowplows use.
"Dot" stickers are used by the manufacturer or distributor to
indicate the frequency of otherwise identical transceivers. They
are often found in rental inventories and on construction sites.

Types of Bugs

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Telephone - Attached to a phone, either serial or parallel.
Picks up phone conversations or some can be
remotely activated to pick up conversations in a
room (the latter does not pick up phone
conversations).
VOX - Transmits the audio only when a sound is made.
Usually can still be picked up by professional bug
hunters by putting out a tone to hold the VOX circuit
open.
Remote Activation - Has a small receiver and can be turned
on on command. Can be picked up with
a NLQ (Non-Linear Junction Detector)
but otherwise hard to pick up when not
on.
Burst Transmission - Stores a few seconds of speech and then
transmits it in a compressed burst.
Hard to detect.
Encrypted - Just what the name says.
Spread Spectrum - Very, very hard to detect but a good
spectrum analyzer should be able to find
it.

Drive Thru's

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Sometimes you can find some interesting listening on drive-
thru freqs. Sure, there's a lot of "I'll take two Big Mac's and
small fries" but once in a while you'll catch an employee
insulting a drive-thru customer or interesting chit-chat.
Drive-thru transmitters are very low power so you have to be
fairly close to pick them up, depending on conditions and your
equipment. Usually about half a mile is the range.
Some drive-thru's use simplex systems which means they
transmit on one freq and receiver on another but a lot of the
time you can find the one freq which has both sides of the
conversation. Or sometimes there is a frequency for employees
and one for the drive-thru (like the Burger King on Arsenal
Street in Watertown).
For the drive-thru freq you may hear outside noise until
someone orders, a dead carrier, or nothing at all until a vehicle
trips a detector. You then may hear a tone and then the regular
ordering sequence.
See the frequency manual for drive-thru freqs around here and
if you're searching elsewhere most every possible one is listed.
But a lot of times its best to use the search function on your
scanner rather then poking each of those in - just check through
them to find the likely ranges.
Some drive-thru's do not use transmitters so don't waste your
whole lunch break if you can't find after a reasonable amount of
time - it may be a wired system.
 

Some common terms and abbreviations used here and on the radio waves

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   AAA - American Auto Association
   ADF - Automatic Direction Finder, found mostly in aircraft
   Adve - Advanced
   AICC - Airborne Intercept Control Command
   AINS - Area Inertial Navigation System
   ALS - Advanced Life Support
   AM - Amplitude Modulation
   AMTS - Automated Maritime Telecommunications System
   APCO - Associated Public-Safety Communications Officers
   APU - Auxiliary Power Unit
   ARES - Amateur Radio Emergency Services, a group of volunteers
          who assist  prior  to  the  declaration  of  emergency.
          These people are  weather spotters,  race communicators
          as well as disaster communicators.  This is a volunteer
          organization  sponsored  by the  ARRL  (American  Radio
          Relay League)
   ARRL - American  Radio  Relay  League,  largest USA  ham radio
          organization
   ART - Code  for  Watertown  or  Watertown  Airport.   Seen  on
         weather and aviation charts
   ASCII - American Standard Code For Information Exchange
   ATC - Air Traffic Control or All-Terrain Cycle
   ATIS - Automatic  Terminal   Information  Service,   found  in
          aircraft
   ATV - All-Terrain  Vehicle  or  Advanced  Television  (digital
         television  with  CD-quality  sound  and  a  very  sharp
         picture)
   AUO - Aggrivated Unlicensed Operation (of motor vehicle)
   Autovon - Automatic Voice Network, see DSN
   Aux - Auxiliary
   Bandwidth - Amount of frequency space taken up by a signal
   BCI - Bureau of Criminal Investigation
   Beam Antenna - A directional antenna used by many hams
   BIAS Signal - A high frequency  signal which  is mixed with an
                 audio signal and applied to a tape.  This signal
                 allows the audio to better saturate the tape and
                 produces a cleaner sound with less distortion.
   BFO - Beat  Frequency  Oscillator,  on  some  receivers  makes
         sideband  voice transmissions  intelligible and improves
         Morse code reception
   BLS - Basic Life Support
   BO - Bad Order, Not Working
   CAP - Civil Air Patrol
   CCI - Controlled Cyptographic Items
   CD - Civil Defense or Compact Disk
   CD-ROM - Compact Disk Read Only Memory, used with computers
   Ch# - Channel Number
   Chrominance - Color portion of TV signals
   Clear - non encrypted comms
   Client ID Number - NYS Driver's License Number
   Coded - DES or other encyptions.  Not for classified comms
   Company Car - any NY State Police vehicle
   CM - Centimeter
   C Minus 4 - polce, the 3-11 shift and plus or minus 4 means overtime
   Cnty - County
   Coulomb - The  unit  of  quantity   of  electricity  equal  to
             6.28x1018 electrons
   CPA - Car/Pedestrian Accident
   CSQ - Carrier Squelch, no CTCTSS tone
   CTCSS - Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System,  see CTCSS or PL
           Tones section above
   Cty - City or County
   Cvtnl - Conventional
   CW - Continuous wave or morse code
   CWA - County Warning Area, see NOAA
   DALL - Driver's information ALL
   Dielectric - Insulating material
   DES - Digital Encryption System, DVP is civilian version
   DES-Xl - Updated DES.  Not compatible with older DES systems.
            Better sound output and radios can store more then
            one key.  Capable of Over The Air Rekey (OTAR).
   DL - Driver's License
   DLIC - Drivers LICense check
   DME - Distance Measuring Equipment, used in aircraft
   DNR - Dynamic Noise Reduction.   A circuit which  reduces hiss
         and noise from any source  whether it is AM,  FM,  tape,
         etc. and not to be confused with Dolby.
   DPL - Digital Private Line,  see the CTCSS or PL Tones section
         above
   DOA - Dead on Arrival
   DOB - Date of Birth
   DOLBY B & C - Noise-reduction systems  intended to reduce tape
                 hiss.
   Dolby Pro-Logic - Decoder  which uses  circuitry to  duplicate
                     sound used in Dolby Surround theaters.
   DOT - Department of Transportation, or designation on business
         band radios,   see   Wireless Mikes/Bugs/Bumper Beepers/
         Walkie Talkies section
   Downlink - Frequency used to  relay satellite transmissions to
              Earth
   DSN - Defense  Switched  Network.    This used  to  be  called
         Autovon  (Automatic Voice Network).   DSN is the private
         telephone  system used  primarily by  DOD and relying on
         the commerical common carriers (ATT, MCI, etc.) for most
         of the circuits.
   DTMF - Dual Tone Multi-Frequency, what tone-dialing telephones
          use
   Duplex - Communications in more then one direction
   DVP - Digital Voice Protection, scrambles communication, DES is
         Federal version
   DX - Distance
   EAS - Emergency Alert System, replacing EBS
   EBS - Emergency Broadcast System
   EID - Electronic Intrusion Device
   ELT - Emergency Locator Transmitter
   EMS - Emergency Medical Service
   ENG - Electronic News Gathering
   EOD - Explosive Ordinance Disposal
   ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival
   F - Fatality
   FAA - Federal Aviation Administration
   Farad - unit of capacitance - fd, F, Fd
   Fascinator - New encryption method.  Approved for top security
                comms by fed gov't.  Multiple keys, OTAR capable.
   FBO - Fixed Base Operator - the airport manager
   (V)FD - (Volunteer) Fire Department
   FEMA - Federal Emergency Management Agency
   FM - Frequency Modulation
   FM Sensitivity - Tells you  how well  a tuner  pulls  in  weak
         stations.  Measured in decibel femtowatts.  Lower values
         indicate a more sensitive tuner.
   FM Stereo Separation - Indicates  how well a tuner  reproduces
         the three-dimensional  stereophonic effect.   The higher
         the value the better the stereo image.
   FOIMS - Field Office Information Management System, FBI system
           used to automate the administrative and record keeping
           functions of the field and resident offices
   Footprint - Area covered by satellite transmission
   Frequency Response - Tells you  how well the  audible range is
             reproduced.   Humans can  hear sounds  from 20 Hertz
             to 20,000 Hertz.  "Middle C" on  a piano is 262 Hz.
   FRS - Family Radio Service, new Citizens Band service
   GCCS - Global Command and Control System
   GCA - Ground-Controlled Approach
   Geostationary Orbit - An orbit of 22,300 miles above the Earth
                         where satellites circle the Earth at the
                         same  speed  as the  planet is  turning,
                         thus the satellite stays in one position
   Ghz - Gigahertz
   GMRS - General Mobile Radio Service
   GMS - Japanese Weather Satellite
   GMT - Greenwich  Mean  Time,  old  term  for  UTC,   worldwide
         standard time zone
   Gnrl - General
   GOES - North American Weather Satellite
   GPM - Gallons Per Minute
   GPS - Global   Positioning   System.    A   satellite   system
         consisting of many  satellites which  encircle the Earth
         to  provide   the  device   with  very   exact  location
         information.   There are civilian and military versions,
         the military  being  more  accurate so  far  because  of
         limitations imposed by the military
   Ground Wave - Radio wave which stays near the Earth,  can only
                 be heard a short distance
   HEAR Channels - Hospital Emergency Ambulance Radio
   HGS - House of the Good Samaritan Hospital (now SMC)
   Hz - Hertz
   IF - Intermediate Frequency
   IFF - Identification, Friend or Foe, also see Aviation section
   IFR - Instrument Flight Rules
   ILS - Instrument Landing System
   Impedance - Opposition to  current  including  both resistance
               and   reactance    (resistance,   reactance,   and
               impedance are measured in ohms)
   INSAT - Indian Weather Satellite
   Intersystem, Intercity, Interagency - Frequency used by
         multiple agencies for the sharing of information
   Intrl - International
   Ipt - Input
   IR - Infrared
   IRC - International Reply Coupon, worldwide medium used to pay
         for postage costs, usually for QSL cards
   IRC - Internet Relay Chat
   ISIS - Investigative  Support  Information  System, FBI system
          used to provide  support for major  investigations that
          require  the  handling  of a  large  volume of  complex
          information, limited to maximum of 20 cases at a time
   Killowatt hours - Energy, in kilowatts, multiplied by the time
                     in hours
   Kirchoff's Current Law - Current  entering  a   junction  must
                            equal current leaving
   LETS - Law Enforcement Tracking System
   LOJACK  - An auto theft tracking system that relies on a
             transponder which is hidden in your vehicle.
   Luminance - Brightness portion of TV signals.
   MARS - Military Amateur Radio Service
   MAW - Military Airlift Wing
   MCS - Mobile Switching Center.  Cellular - tracks and transfers
         cell calls as they leave one cell coverage to another.
   MDT - Mobile Data Terminal,  mobile onboard computer terminal,
         usually 800 MHz; used by some police departments and
         others
   Mble - Mobile
   MHz - Megahertz
   MCIC - ?  Anyone have this  ?
   MODE-C - See Aviation section
   Mutual Aid - The sharing of resources and/or personnel between
                various departments
   NAB - National Association of Broadcasters
   NALEMARS - National Law Enforcement Aid Radio System or NLEEF
   NCIC - National Crime  Information Center,  nationwide wants &
          warrant requests go here,  they receive  almost 400,000
          inquiries of this type every day
   NDB - Non-Directional Radio Beacon
   NORAD - North American Aerospace Defense Command
   NRC - Nuclear Regulatory Commission
   NTSB - National Transportation Safety Board
   Nvc - Novice
   NYSPIN - New York State Police Information Network
   OCIS - Organized Crime Information Systems,  allows FBI agents
          in  different  field  offices   to  share  and  analyze
          information collected in each other's areas
   OEM - Original Equipment Manufacturer  or  Office of Emergency
         Management (Services)
   Ops - Operations
   Opt - Output
   OT - Overtime
   OTAR - Over  The  Air  Rekey.    The  process  of  updating  a
          cryptographic  variable over  the  air for  use  in the
          receiving  device ONLY.   Used by the  military  often.
          (also see OTAT)
   OTAT - Over The Air Transfer.   The process of  transferring a
          cryptographic  variable  over  the  air for  use  in  a
          cryptographic  device other  than the one  receiving it
          (the variable is extracted and used elsewhere, also see
          OTAR).
   PA - Public Address System
   Packet Radio - Using  a  computer,  a  TNC  (see  below),  and
                  a amateur radio  for electronic  mail,  message
                  transmission,  emergency communications, on-air
                  BBS', or tinkering with digital communications
   PCC - Public Correspondence Channel
   PCS - Personal  Communications  Services.   Second  generation
         cellular telephone services.
   PD - Property Damage Only or Police Department
   PDAA - Property Damage Automoblie Accident
   PI - Personal Injury
   PL (CTCSS) Tone Codes Chart -  Private Line sub-audible tones,
              see CTCSS or PL Tones section above
   Print Through - Applies  to  tape.    Accidental  transfer  of
                   recorded   signals  from  one  tape  layer  to
                   another.  The lower the number the better.
   Propagation - Transportation   of  radio  waves   through  the
                 atmosphere from one part of the world to another
   QRP - Low power  operation  (in ham  radio,  usually under  10
         watts)
   QSL Card - A card from a radio  station that verifies that you
              heard their  broadcast,  usually used  in shortwave
              reception
   RACES - Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service.  Is the part of
           the Amateur Radio service that gets used in a declared
           emergency.   That means if the Governor was to declare
           a state of emergency, the ham radio operators would be
           put to work  for the state  (or Commonwealth).  In the
           event of a war, the Amateur Radio bands would be shut
           down to all but RACES radio operators.
   Radar Service Terminated - See Aviation section
   RALL - vehicle Registration ALL
   REACT - Radio   Emergency   Associated    Citizens   Teams   -
           International   volunteer    emergency   organization,
           usually operating  on Citizen  Band channel  #9 and/or
           the GMRS emergency channel
   Repeater - An automated transmitter  which is used to pick up,
              amplify, and retransmit the signal
   Reactance - Opposition to current caused by voltage or current
               changes not resulting in energy dissipation  (this
               opposition is  caused by inductive and  capacitive
               effects)
   Resistance - Opposition   to  current   resulting  in   energy
                dissipation
   RFI - Radio Frequency Interference
   RMI - Radio Magnetic Indicator
   Rolling Code - where a code is continuously changed
   RTTY - Radioteletype,  digital  transmission much  faster then
          Morse Code
   RVEH - Registered VEHicle information
   RVI - Rolling Vehicle Identification
   RVIN - Registered Vehicle Identification Number
   SAC - Strategic Air Command
   SAM - Special Air Mission
   SAME - Selected Area Message Encoding, see NOAA
   Sec - Security
   Secured - Encrypted comms approved for classified comms
   Signal-to-Noise Ratio - Tells  you  how  quiet  it is,  so you
             don't hear a lot of  hiss and noise.   Higher values
             indicate less background noise
   Simplex - Communication in one direction at a time
   SINPO/SIO - Method of  quantifying  reception conditions  in a
               five-digit code, used mostly for shortwave
               reception
   Skip - Radio signals which have bounced off the atmosphere
   SMC - Samaritan Medical Center (formerly HGS)
   SMRS - Specialized Mobile Radio Service  -  a privately  owned
          repeater or group of repeaters  which the owners charge
          a fee to share the use of
   SP - State police
   S&R's- Suspensions & Revocations
   S & R - Search & Rescue
   SSB - Single Sideband
   STL - Studio Transmitter Link or Studio to Transmitter Link
   SWAT - Special Weapons & Tactics Teams
   Syr - Syracuse
   TAC - Tactical
   TDMA - Time Division Multiple Access.  This is a digital
          system allowing a frequency to be used by more then one
          user on a time-shared basis using time-slots.
   THD - Total Harmonic Distortion, measured as percentage of the
         total output  signal.  The lower the number, the better.
   TNC - Terminal Node Controller
   Transponder - In aircrafts it is the  airborne equipment which
                 receives a  ground radar signal  and responds by
                 transmitting back a coded signal, also see under
                 the Aviation section transponder squawk
   Transponder Squawk - see above and Aviation section
   Trunking - All stations share a group of channels
   TX or Xmit - Transmit or Transmitter
   Type II cassettes - Takes  advantage  of   special  high  bias
                       capabilities of better tape players
   UPM - Unlawful Possession of Marijuana
   Uplink - Frequency  used to  transmit  signals  from  an Earth
            station to a satellite
   USAF - United States Air Force
   USCG - United States Coast Guard
   USN - United States Navy
   UTC - Old term  for  worldwide standard time zone,  now called
         GMT  or Greenwich Mean Time - convert from military time
         format and then add five hours (four for summer months)
   VFR - Visual Flight Rules
   VIN - Vehicle Identification Number (pronounced "vin")
   VIS - Visible
   VOR - VHF Omni-directional range radio beacon, used in aircraft
   VOX - Voice Operated Transmit
   WINQ - Warrant INQuiry
   WFM - Wide FM
   Wow-and-Flutter - Tells how  accurately  the tape  transport's
                     speed is controlled.   A smaller  percentage
                     of Wow-and-Flutter indicates a more accurate
                     tape transport.   Wow is slow and Flutter is
                     fast fluctuations.
   WPM - Words Per Minute
   WTN - Watertown
   WX - Weather
   Xmit or TX - Transmit or Transmitter
   Xtra - Extra
 
 
 

Thanks

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I'd like to thank the following people, business', BBS'
organizations, BBS' and magazines/books. They've been great
sources of info, frequency lists (sometimes that one frequency
I've been looking for forever), and/or just nice to do business
with and talk about my hobby with. Some of the text in this file
has been taken verboten or nearly so from some of these people's
files.
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Major Contributors (in no particular order)
------------------------------------------
Andy Burrows for some of the Fort Drum stuff
Rodney Esley (for lots of the police stuff and others)
Vincent Everett for a LOT of the shortwave, Fort Drum info and
freqs, and Watertown Airport info and freqs
Mike (WatnNY@aol.com) for a WHOLE lot of the police stuff and
corrections to stuff!
Bill Staab (KB2TNQ) for info on the Fort Drum airfield operations,
SAM callsign clarification, and other fun stuff
that I'd never find elsewhere
Warren Silverman, editor of 'The Scanner Master New York Metro/Northern New Jersey Guide'
[If I missed any write me!]

Others
------
A textfile called ALLPHONE.FRQ by 'Fearless Phosdick'
alt.radio.scanner, rec.radio.cb, & rec.radio.scanner newsgroups
ARNet Scanner Echo
James M. Atkinson, Communications Engineer
Automania BBS
Nigel Ballard
A message in rec.radio.scanner by BrianB@faa.roc.servtech.com
(Brian Berard) concerning airports
Beyond Police Call from Radio Shack
Pete Biggers
A message by Rich Carlson, N9JIG
The CB FAQ
Bill Cheek
Roger D. Cravens
Cyberealm BBS (Offline now) and Pat & Linda Fields
A text-file by John Desmond, WB0GDB
The textfile A Guide to Scanner antennas by Mike Diaz
George Fassett
FIDONet Scanner Echo
FIDONet Shortwave Echo
Jim Fordyce's N.Y. State Thruway Police Codes webpage
Fort Drum BBS
A message by Bill Funk on the sub stuff
A couple textfiles by John (Topol) Johnson KWV8BP from The
Hotline BBS [(304)736-9169, (304)743-7909]
J & L Communications (for their old freq manual)
A message by Paul Cordingley about the St. Lawrence Seaway comms
Larry Girard (for fire stuff)
John Gordon (how big ARE scanners in Texas?!)
A message by Pat Gribbin, WESH-TV news photographer on scanning
trunking
HAMNET BBS (Offline now)
A file from Havana Moon's "Los Numeros" On-Line [(408)973-9111]
uploaded to the Liberty Mall BBS by Pete.
Shawn Hayes Chris Hayman
The Hotline BBS 304-736-9169 or 304-743-7909
Jennifer Hudson (for a lot of the police stuff, love ya!)
A message in rec.radio.scanner by dhughes@inetdirect.net (D. Hughes)
Infopedia
Clay Irving (for putting my freqs on his web pages - check his page
at http://www.panix.com/~clay/scanning as well as his mailing
list at Majordomo@lists.panix.com)
John Johnson, KWV8BP (a textfile on Federal License Plates)
Fred Lampman
Liberty Mall BBS [(315)788-1297] (great place to visit!)
"The License Plate Book," by Thomson C. Murray (Interstate
Publishing Co. Inc., Cleft Road, Mill Neck NY 11765,
Federal License Plates section)
Logical Positivism BBS [Offline now]
Mountain Summit BBS (Offline now)
A file called Mall Cop Frequencies by Michael Subelka
A message in rec.radio.scanner by twilson3@ix.netcom.com (Tom
Moorehouse) on aviation
A text-file by N5OWK
The New England Scanner Technology mailing list
(nest@nomad.n-reading.ma.us) run by Michael C Tiernan
Bill Nolan
Northern Lights BBS (Offline now)
John Meyers (KB2TNP) and his BBS - Dots & Dashes BBS (Offline now)
The Playhouse BBS (Offline now, great CD-ROM with scanner stuff)
Police Call Radio Guide from Radio Shack
Popular Communications
Radio Shack
The SCAN-L mailing list (SCAN-L@UAFSYSB.UARK.EDU) run by Peter Laws
Shortwave Listener's Handbook - 3rd edition by Hand Bennett, Harry
L. Helms, & David T. Hardy
Shortwave Radio Listening for Beginners by Anita Louise McCormick
Patrick Springer
A file by Terry Stader - KA8SCP
The "Top Secret" Registry of U.S. Government Radio Frequencies
(Federal License Plates section)
Harold Rozanski
Ron Walsh
A message in rec.radio.scanner by Curtis Wheeler 
The White House BBS [(315)785-0319] and its SysOp and the
Cyberspace Transporter Door there
Pete Wormwood (KB2JY)
Bhoto Zhamtos & Unmentioned Friends (for lots of stuff)

Many, many people from the various echoes mentioned above.
And the NOAA Weather Service for being dependable and helpful.
Those I missed or who wanted not to be listed or forgotten.
 

Freqs, Info, Corrections

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If you have any frequencies, info, or corrections to
contribute please write me at my registered listening station
(KNY2ADC) address below.
If you think you can write up any part of this text better
then I, please feel free to and drop it to me for perusal. I'm
no expert on this and if anyone has more knowledge on a
particular area I'd gladly incorporate it into this text,
crediting you fully of course.
 

Getting the Above to Me

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I'm open to any mode of reception of any new frequencies
including transfer of files over the modem (the fastest and
easiest way to incorporate info into my files), fax, voice-
communication, or even plain ol' paper. Or if you contact me on
one of the local BBSes, nets, or the Internet - you can attach
a file or include text in the message to me, which works just as
well...
 

Becoming a Registered Listening Station

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Also, if you are interested in becoming a registered monitor
station from CRB HQ please write me for more info. These ID's
supersede earlier registry projects such as WDX, WPE, etc and are
similar to callsigns. The ID's can be used on communications
correspondence, signal reports, QSL's, etc and 1000's of HF/VHF
/UHF monitors are registered all over.
 

Radio Mods & TextFiles

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I do have a number of modifications for scanners and some
shortwaves and amateur radios. Most of them can be done by a
fairly handy person with a little experience. But some are a bit
more complicated so I wouldn't recommend them if you don't have
complete confidence in your electronics abilities.
I also have available the textfiles on how to convert an old
AM table model radio, clock radio, transistor radio, or car
radio/stereo into a multi-band shortwave receiver. And many,
many other textfiles on electronics and radios including a
listing of all cellular telephone frequencies and channels (these
are for educational purposes only!).
Contact me for more info or if you have any mods for scanners
or interesting textfiles yourself.
 

Closing Notes

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Just one more note - we are continually being threatened with
more and more restrictions to this hobby. Keep an eye out for
new laws and signs of new laws to come, many times needlessly
regulating the airwaves and how we interact with them. Let those
who make these laws know what you think.
Also, a great medium for the exchange of free information is
being threatened - the Internet. Don't let it happen.
Write to your congressperson and let him or her know just
what you think...
According to a law passed late in 1994 it is now illegal to
listen to cordless phones, as well as cellular.

That's all for now, until the next version, so enjoy and keep
scanning!