[FedCom] Neveda Group Monitoring Tour/Monitoring Effectiveness !!!??

[gary]

If you guys are serious, I know the spots to snoop on the range. Most 
require 4wd, so that leaves out the RV. I have a spot where you can 
drive and see planes landing at Groom Lake. Well, make that see the 
landing light on approach. ;-) I have the civilian and military 
tower/approach/departure frequencies for Groom.

There is a Clinton era mandate (law? executive order?) of sorts that 
requires federal users within a certain distance to share trunk systems. 
   I believe this is why Nellis AFB is using the NNSA trunk system. The 
Groom Lake Edacs system predates Nellis joining the NNSA trunk system. I 
suspect Nellis maintains the Groom Lake system, even though Groom Lake 
is controlled by Edwards north base.

Regarding Bob Grove in that Area 51 special, the film editor made him 
look quite foolish, not to mention that doofus security expert they 
picked as his companion. Seriously, the usual cast of characters that 
snoop around the range got together and watched that special. It really 
cracked us up. Here are the goofs that come to mind:

1) Bob says they are monitoring the cammo dudes. Now the cammo dudes are 
on the encrypted trunk system, which can't be monitored. Bob was 
monitoring the TTR range security.

2) Bob mentions hearing security, then the camera pans to his notebook 
PC showing the frequency. Too bad it was in the mil air band. Hey, these 
video dudes don't know one frequency from another.

3) The worse was when the security dude and Bob were at the back gate 
(north gate) of Area 51. What they thought was the border was just some 
random pole in the ground. The real border was hundreds of feet ahead. 
You can walk right up to the back gate.

The really strange thing about that special is the producer contacted me 
  to see if I wanted to be tour guide up Tikaboo Peak. I had just done 
the hike twice in the previous month and really wasn't in the mood to do 
it again so soon. Had the producer asked me to be the radio dude, I 
would have done it. In hindsight, given the poor quality of that show, 
I'm glad I passed it up. I think this is the special where they had a 
private detective follow someone from the Janet terminal in Vegas to 
their house, and when he knocked on the door of the house, the person 
didn't want to talk to the detective. Shocking!

The problem with these specials is they write the script ahead of time, 
then try to tape something relevant. They only spend a few days in the 
range. It is entertainment, not research.

To keep this topic, here is some audio I recorded from the NNSA trunk 
system:
http://www.lazygranch.com/sound/nts/q1a_armondo_tg2000.wav

I need to modify my Pro-96 so that I can record directly. You can hear 
wind noise since I just put a microphone to the scanner. Much of the 
range traffic is routine, though you can hear nuke tests if you get lucky.




Ken wrote:
> Great idea Chris - are you looking to become our Federal Files  "tour" 
> director?  Perhaps that would be a great prize for a subscriber to 
> "Monitoring Times" magazines 25th anniversary celebration staring  in 
> 2007!!!!!  -- Chris & two or three other "selected" subcribers could 
> drive around in a motor home scooping new frequencies!!!!  ;) :)
> 
> If you don't own an RV motor home, there's rental available right in the 
> Las Vegas NV
> area.  Taking a very quick internet look --- Depending upon RV size & 
> season prices (weekly rate) range from $900 to 2100 plus some additional 
> costs.
> 
> Also I guess it would be possible to "rough it" and just use tents & a 
> rented passenger van of
> some sort!
> 
> Wasn't Bob Grove "Monitoring Times" magazine publisher in a Discovery 
> Channel special
> involving area 51 in that NV southern area?
> 
> As a side note it can be VERY difficult to do monitoring with a group of 
> people because
> you may get a few hobbyists that just want to talk, talk, and continue 
> to talk, when you are
> there for a specific purposes to get frequencies/analyze use....  So 
> generally I find that it's best
> to do it alone or with just 1 or 2 others that have the same interest in 
> getting frequencies.
> 
> Additionally, sometimes also small groups meet socially at a local 
> eating estabishment before or after an event (e.g. military base open 
> houses/air shows), which works out great!!!
> 
> Ken
> 
> 
> ---- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Parris" 
> <chrisparris at monitoringtimes.com>
> To: "Discussion of Federal Government Communications" 
> <fedcom at mailman.qth.net>
> Sent: Sunday, November 12, 2006 4:16 PM
> Subject: Re: [FedCom] Re: MT "Fed Files" Column Nov 06 Edition
> 
> 
>>
>> Thanks for reminding me, Blaine. It's even more reason to take a month 
>> off
>> and drive around southern Nevada with the mobile command post to see 
>> what I
>> can pick up!
> 
> 
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