Federal Harris County (TX)

Itinerant Frequencies

166.5625 M  192.8 PL Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services - distributing rabies
                       vaccine from helicopters in Fort Bend County area 9/17/2013
168.35   M   100 NAC Department of Health and Human Services Secretary protective
                       detail
173.875  R   94.8 PL US Capitol Police "Travel 3" (Giffords detail at Hermann TIRR)

Unidentified Frequencies

Unidentified federal frequencies monitored in Harris County, Texas:

VHF-High

141.6125     FFF NAC encrypted?
162.2375 M     CSQ   analog, CC hit around the Eastex and 610, informal conversation,
                       mobile-to-mobile chit chat on freeways in downtown Houston
162.7125 M?          Marshals? P25?
162.7875 M   839 NAC Marshals? encrypted
162.7875 M   864 NAC Marshals? encrypted
162.9625 M     CSQ   chit chat
163.1    M   101 NAC voice, encrypted
163.1125 M   496 NAC Federal Air Marshals/TSA VIPR? clear voice
163.4375 M   100 NAC Army Corps of Engineers?
163.65       052 NAC ICE? P25 encrypted (heard during FBI fugitive search in Fort
                       Bend County area)
163.7    M   164 NAC ICE? clear voice, encrypted
163.7    M  206.5 PL voice
163.7375 M?  100 NAC encrypted
163.8125 M   864 NAC Marshals? encrypted
164.45   M  151.4 PL car-to-car talk
164.7375 M   293 NAC surveillance?
165.025  M     CSQ   heard during Hurricane Gustav
165.075  M?  293 NAC Marshals? encrypted
165.6375 M  100.0 PL voice
165.6875 M  100.0 PL CBP new Net input?
165.6875 M   001 NAC Secret Service? encrypted
165.825  M   060 NAC ICE? (used during NCAA Final Four 2011)
166.4875 M  100.0 PL CBP new Net input?
166.5875 M  100.0 PL CBP new Net input?
166.625  M  250.3 PL voice
167.2125             EMWIN Data?
167.4    M?  293 NAC voice
167.675  M   293 NAC Marshals? encrypted
168.2625 R?  301 NAC CBP D-Net?
168.6125 M           very weak/broken voice
168.7    M     CSQ   National Incident Radio Support Cache (NIRSC) Command 1? 
                       - analog voice and DES, surveillance
169.25   I?  293 NAC FAA input?
169.325  I?  293 NAC FAA input?
169.6375             data bursts, P25?
170.2625 R?  293 NAC encrypted
170.725  M           analog simplex voice during Hurricane Gustav
170.8    M   293 NAC Marshals? encrypted
171.025  R           IFLOWS/Harris County Flood Alert System - League City repeater output, unconfirmed
171.2    M           DOE? NEST? - brief analog voice (NCAA Final Four 2011), also P25 or intermod?
171.3125             trunked control channel? very weak in Houston during good conditions
171.6125 M   864 NAC Marshals?
172.7    I?  293 NAC encrypted, correlated with 170.2625 activity
172.9    R     CSQ   somewhere near IAH airport
172.95   R?  293 NAC FAA?
173.05   S?          telemetry at Hobby Airport? - chirping sound data
173.1625 R?          P25?
173.7125 M?  293 NAC clear voice, aircraft?
173.8875 M?          ATFE Tactical 6? - P25 encrypted

Presumed Obsolete

163.1    M           DES
164.55   M           OCDETF? DES
167.5125 M?          FBI? DES?
167.5125 R? 167.9 PL FBI? lots of key-ups with weak signal (same time as 173.025),
                       feedback/squeaking, weak voice
167.5375 M           FBI? DES
168.35   M           DES, analog voice
168.8625 M           OCDETF? DES
168.925  R  167.9 PL reported in MT Fed Files
170.025  R? 167.9 PL FBI? weak, open mic/keyed-up dead air/static
171.175  R  167.9 PL FBI? near IAH airport, open mic/keyed-up dead air
                      (this may be obsolete, now P25)
173.025  R? 167.9 PL FBI? lots of key-ups with weak signal (same time as 167.5125), DES
173.1    R? 167.9 PL FBI? open mic dead air, DES

The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) is a multi-agency federal task force (commonly associated with the FBI although many other agencies participate). The DES frequencies above initially remained in use after the FBI's conversion to P25 in the Houston area but have since gone silent.

UHF

406.175      293 NAC encrypted
411.7875 M?  293 NAC Coast Guard? keyed-up for 3 seconds with a high pitch tone (NCAA Final Four 2011)
412.4375    206.5 PL constant dead carrier around UH Clear Lake/JSC area
413.9625 M?  201 NAC Federal Protective Service? voice
414.5625 M   168 NAC encrypted
414.5625 M   169 NAC encrypted
414.75   M   169 NAC encrypted

Federal Aviation

Bases

• Army National Guard (Apache helicopters) - Ellington International Airport (Houston)
• Army Reserve (Apache helicopters) - Lone Star Executive Airport (Conroe)
• CBP - Lone Star Executive Airport (Conroe) - 1003 General Thomas Kelly Blvd.
• Coast Guard - Ellington International Airport (Houston)
• DEA - Lone Star Executive Airport (Conroe) - 10318 Dorbandt Drive source source source
• FBI - West Houston Airport (Houston) - identified via monitoring
• ICE - Contract repatriation flights operate to/from Bush Intercontinental Airport but there is no formal base there
• Marshals Service - JPATS flights operate to/from Ellington Airport but there is no formal base there
• NASA - Ellington International Airport (Houston)

CBP Aircraft

The following CBP aircraft have been noted operating the Houston region.

• N192A - helicopter
• N2734K - jet
• N5204G - helicopter
• N6001L - jet
• N810AM - helicopter
• N8142G - single engine turboprop
• N9085U - twin engine turboprop

Related Links

• Harris County Federal Frequencies - confirmed frequencies