[MilCom] Review GFMF -- Federal Frequency Directory Portion

[Ken]

Review:  "Grove Federal Frequency Directory" 2nd Edition

Which is now bundled as part of Grove's "Frequency Master File"

Website http://www.grove-ent.com/FREQMASFILE.html



Some Facts/Observations:

Author:  Larry Van Horn

Copyright Date:  2004 (believe it came out after 11/1/04)

Total pages:  783

Format:  CD-ROM,  PDF, acrobat reader needed

Portability:  File can be place on your hard drive for quicker search.  You 
can also save the entire file in text format which allows you to build your 
own listing - However, remember that this is copyrighted material



The first 24 pages is in introduction to using the guide as well as common 
use VHF/UHF frequencies (10 1/4 pages) and HF frequencies by agency/commons 
use (approx 55 agencies/common systems) listed.  This is very similar to the 
lst edition, except additional updates of new Law enforcement agencies & 
other common use frequencies have been listed.



Headings format are (with comments):

*General VHF/UHF Assignments (primarily a sampler of nationwide use feqs 
mostly aero)

*Government Trunked System (older UHF standard format)

*New Federal Frequency Bands/Frequencies  (e.g.  Government Itinerant, 
Common Use,

Law Enforcement Interagency,  National Disaster Medical System)

*HF Frequencies By Agency



*Federal Land Mobile (LMR) Frequency Assignments

The remain frequencies are listed in ascending frequency order format 
(frequency, agencies, (agency location if applicable).

VHF Low Band:   27.575 to 50 mhz  -- pages 25 to 111 (approx 668 
frequencies)

VHF Low Band:   50.0 to 76 mhz -- pages 112 to 113  (approx 39 frequencies)

VHF High Band:   138 to 144 mhz -- pages 114 to 335 (approx

VHF High Band:   148 to 150.8 mhz -- pages 336 to 446

VHF High Band:   162 to 174 mhz -- pages 447 to 604

UHF High Band:  406 to 420 mhz -- pages 605 to 783



Note:  Civilian Aero VHF Military Aero UHF bands are not covered in this 
directory -- I'd like to see Van Horn .



Interestingly listed are approximately 832 frequencies listed as "Spectrum 
Hole" in the VHF & UHF High Bands with no agencies currently listed as 
users, and reflect the new narrow band splits which will be a work in 
process to ID all users of these new frequencies.



Larry Van Horn has completely revised this section, major changes include:



*Made it much easier to read by only having one column for frequencies (per 
horizontal line) (versus the lst edition which had two columns of 
frequencies per horizontal line)



*Abbreviations of agencies has almost totally been eliminated example (new 
edition "Fish & Wildlife Service" , old edition: "USFW") which makes it VERY 
easy to read on a BY FREQUENCY READING BASIS via the computer monitor 
screen.  However, if you are conducting a specific agency search you must be 
careful how you enter the agency name in order to get a complete frequency 
listing (see below for search terms)



*Geographic Location of agencies using the frequency listed.  Geographic 
information is primarily listed for the armed services (US Army, US Air 
Force, US Navy, US Marine Corps, US Coast Guard), limited Federal Prison 
System,  & limited NASA.  I would have like to see even general location 
data information presented for other agencies such as FBI, DEA, etc..., even 
if it wasn't precise.  So for example if there anywhere on the net OR a 
report to Larry was made, add it to the data base.



It's also important to remember that if you are doing a specific frequency 
(ies) research using the acrobat reader format that you enter the frequency 
to 4 decimal points for frequencies above 137 mhz (3 decimal points below 
138 mhz)



To aid users of this data base & to give potential users an idea of the 
scope of coverage, here's the major agencies listed (Search Terms in reader) 
with total # of instances of hits (potential frequencies allocated to that 
agency/department  or as indicated) in the extensive data base:



Air Force (Air Force):  966 (frequencies allocated)

Architect of the Capitol (Architect):  2

Army (Army):  1607 (frequencies allocated)

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms &  'Explosives"  (Alcohol):  4

Bureau of Indian Affairs (Indian Affairs):  125

Bureau of Land Management (Land Management):  223

Bureau of the Mint (Mint):  10

Bureau of Mines (Mines):  27

Bureau of Prisons (Prisons):  145

Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation):    126

Census Bureau (Census):  9

Center for Disease Control & Prevention (Disease Control):  9

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA):  2 (actual locations)

Central Intelligence Agency (Central Intelligence):  5

Coast Guard also listed next to it "Dept of Homeland Security" (Coast 
Guard):  326

Consumer Products Safety Commission (Products Safety):  1

Department of Agriculture (Agriculture):  219

Department of Commerce (Commerce):  82

Department of Education (Education):  13

Department of Energy (Energy Department):  433

Department of Health & Human Services (Health & Human/HHS):  1/17

Department Homeland Security (Homeland Security):   250

Department of Interior (Interior Department):  302

Department of Housing & Urban Development (Housing and Urban):  4

Department of Justice (Justice):  20

Department of Labor (Labor):  34

Department of State (State Department):  21

Department of Transportation (Transportation Department):  23

Department of the Treasury (Treasury Department):  24

Department of Veterans Affairs (Veterans Affairs):  167

Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA):  16

Drug Enforcement Agency (Drug):  82

Environmental Protection Agency (Environmental Protection/EPA):  15/21

Environmental Research Lab (Environmental Research):  48

Federal Aviation Administration (Aviation Administration/FAA):  6/168

Federal Bureau of Investigation  (FBI):  367

Federal Communications Commission (FCC):  7

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA):  59

Federal Grains Inspection Service (Grain Inspection):  6

Federal Highway Administration (Highway Administration):  13

Federal Law Enforcement Training Facility (Enforcement Training):  28

Federal Law Enforcement Training Facility (FLETC) :  6 (shows actual 
location)

Federal Railroad Administration (Railroad Administration):  8

Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve):  36

Food & Drug Administration (FDA/Drug Administration):  2/3

Food Safety & Inspection Service (Food Safety):  9

General Services Administration (General Services/GSA):  36/14 (shows some 
actual locations)

Government Printing Office (Government Printing):  3

Health Resources & Services Administration (Health Resources):  2

House of Representatives (Representatives):  4

Immigration & Customs Service (Immigration):  75

Immigration & Customs Enforcement (Customs Enforcement/ICE):  61/12 (shows 
actual locations)

Indian Health Service (Indian Health):  14

Institute for Telecommunications Science (Telecommunications Science):  4

Internal Revenue Service (Internal Revenue/IRS):  4/34

International Boundary & Water Commission (International Boundary):  18

Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC):  1

Library of Congress (Library):  3

Maritime Administration (Maritime Administration):  10

Mine Safety and Health Administration (Mine Safety):  12

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA):  608

National Archives and Record Administration (National Archives):  1

National Environmental Satellite, Data & Information Service (Environmental 
Satellite):  5

National Gallery of Art (National Gallery):  5

National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (National Highway):  3

National Incident Radio Support Cache (Support Cache):  21

National Institutes of Health (National Institutes):  15

National Interagency Fire Center (National Interagency):  21

National Marine Fisheries Service (Marine Fisheries):  36

National Ocean Service (Ocean Service):  30

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):  43

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Data Buoy Office (Data 
Buoy):  1

National Park Service (National Park/NPS):  232/26 (some actual locations)

National Radio Astronomy Observatory (National Radio):  1

National Science Foundation (National Science):  29

National Security Agency (NSA):  4 (shows actual location)

National Technical Information Service (National Technical):  1

National Weather Service (National Weather):  56

Navy (Navy):  646 (frequencies allocated)

Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Nuclear Regulatory):  12

Office of Surface Mining (Surface Mining):  4

Office of Technological Assessment (Technological Assessment):  1

Patent & Trademark Office (Patent):  1

Railroad Transportation Test Center (Transportation Test):  13

Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (Seaway Development):  1

Senate (Senate):  3

Small Business Administration (Small Business):  2

Smithsonian Institute (Smithsonian):  21

Social Security Administration (Social Security):  12

Soil Conservation Service (Soil Conservation):  56

Supreme Court (Supreme Court):  1

Tennessee Valley Authority (Tennessee Valley/TVA):  1/130

United Nations (United Nations):  2

U.S. Air Force (USAF):  7084 (shows actual locations)

U.S. Army (USA):  6463 (shows actual locations)

US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps of Engineers):  139

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG):  291 (shows actual locations)

U.S. Courts (Courts):  3

U.S. Customs Service (Customs Service):  3

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (Wildlife Service):  124

U.S. Forestry Service (Forestry Service):  5

U.S. Geological Survey (Geological Survey):  119

U.S. Information Agency (Information Agency):  27

U.S. Marine Corps (USMC):  935

U.S. Marshals Service (Marshals Service):  26

U.S. Navy (USN):  2451 (shows actual locations)

U.S. Postal Service (Post Office/Postal Service/USPS):  189/5/6 (shows 
actual locations)

U.S. Secret Service (Secret Service/USSS):  70/21 (shows actual locations)

White House Communications Agency (White House):  9



This is an excellent source of information for those hobbyists who monitor 
both federal civilian government & military land mobile/base support nets 
and want to get an idea of who might be using the frequency(ies) found to be 
active.



Ken