Two trunked radio systems provide ground communications within the vast area of the NTTR (Nevada Test and Training Range) as well as Area 51, and Nellis/Creech AFB. Trunked radio systems provide more efficient use of a given number of frequencies than conventional repeater systems. The systems are using frequencies in the UHF band, 380-399 MHz and 406.1-420 MHz. Both systems use the APCO (Association of Public Safety Communications Officials) Project 25 (or P25) standard. They can be monitored with modern Trunking Scanners capable of decoding APCO P25 systems. However, the audio of some talkgroups of the NNSS system and of all groups of the NTTR system is encrypted and can not be decoded with commercial scanners. Each system has several repeater sites across the NTTR. All frequencies are in MHz, unless otherwise noted.
History: Around 2006 two trunking systems were set up mostly within the NTTR to improve communication within the vast area. Both operated in the government exclusive 406.1-420MHz band reserved for mobile communications. One system covered the NNSS as well as Nellis and Creech AFB. It used a Motorola standard. Most transmissions on this system could be monitored with modern trunking scanners. The other system covered the NTTR including Area 51 and Basecamp. It used the GE EDACS standard with encryption. Transmissions on this system could not be decoded with commercial scanners.
Around 2012-2013 the EDACS system covering the NTTR was replaced by an APCO P25 system operating in the 380-399MHz band. This new system used the same locations for repeater sites and all talkgroups are encrypted.
Around 2017-2018 the NNSS Motorola system was replaced by another APCO P25 system operating in the 406.1-420MHz band. Most transmissions in this system can still be decoded with modern trunking scanners. Again the new system used the same sites for the new repeaters as the old system with a few additional sites.
Nellis/Creech/NNSS Trunking System (P25) |
Site# | Location | NAC | Frequencies | Peers |
01 | Nellis AFB Main | 001h | 406.5000 406.7875 407.1875 407.3000 407.5000 407.8625 408.1500 408.3875 408.9625 409.1125 409.3125 409.5625 409.7125 410.1750 410.6500 | 07 10 14 27 |
02 | Creech AFB | 002h | 406.3625 407.0750 407.3875 407.5875 408.1750 408.3875 408.7000 409.1125 409.7500 410.1250 | 10 21 23 |
07 | Nellis AFB Area 2 | 007h | 406.1375 409.3250 409.9250 410.3125 410.8750 | 01 10 27 |
10 | Angel Peak | 00Ah | 407.4250 407.8125 409.3000 409.6000 409.9125 410.5500 | 01 02 07 14 21 22 23 27 |
14 | Nellis VA Hospital | 00Eh | 407.3500 407.7875 408.1875 409.1250 409.5500 | 01 10 |
21 | Mercury | 015h | 406.5000 406.7875 407.1875 407.5000 407.8625 408.1500 409.1125 409.5625 | 02 10 22 23 |
22 | Checkpoint Pass | 016h | 406.9875 407.3500 408.3625 409.3125 409.5250 409.7875 410.1625 | 10 21 23 25 26 28 |
23 | Skull Mountain | 017h | 406.1500 406.9750 407.5500 407.9625 408.1000 408.7625 409.1250 409.3500 | 02 10 21 22 24 26 28 |
24 | Rainier Mesa | 018h | 407.3000 407.8625 408.3875 410.6500 | 23 25 26 |
25 | Yucca Pass, CP-1 | 019h | 407.1875 407.5000 408.1500 409.1125 409.3250 409.5625 | 22 24 26 28 |
26 | Shoshone Mtn. | 01Ah | 406.1375 406.4000 407.3625 408.1875 408.4250 408.9625 409.3750 | 22 23 24 25 28 |
27 | LV DOE Facility | 01Bh | 406.9875 407.3625 407.9625 408.3625 408.7625 | 01 07 10 |
28 | Frenchman Flat | 01Ch | 407.7875 409.5500 409.9250 410.1750 | 22 23 25 26 |
06/12: System first seen, sites 01, 02, 10; transmissions mostly un-encrypted
11/13: Site 14 first seen
01/17: Sites 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 first seen; no activity, no peers; sites are still being set up
07/17: Sites 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27 active, no peers
12/17: Some frequencies overlap with the same site in Motorola system; not currently used in this system. (Eventually to transition to this system when Motorola System is phased out?)
02/19: All sites verified and active; some minor corrections and additions; system has completely replaced the old Motorola system that is now completely offline. Some of the frequencies have been moved over
02/19: New site 28 detected and active
03/19: Located new site 28 in Frenchman Flat
01/20: All sites verified; first saw new site 07 (Nellis AFB North); some frequencies added to sites 01 (Nellis AFB South) and 02 (Creech AFB)
08/20: All sites verified, minor changes in peers; site 24 appears to be down
01/23: All sites verified, no major changes; site 24 is up but has very little traffic
01/24: All sites verified; no changes
Talk Groups
4 | Red Flag MOC General Announcements |
7 | MOC General Announcements |
8 | Fire/Rescue Dispatch Creech AFB |
10 | Fire Prevention Inspectors |
12 | Fire Department Training Net (Ops) |
13 | Fire Department Training (Nellis AFB) |
24 | Lodging |
27 | Building Maintenance |
49 | (encrypted) |
50 | Fire/Rescue Dispatch |
51 | Rescue Vehicles |
52 | Ambulance dispatch |
53 | Medical transport, Ambulance |
55 | Fire Dispatch Creech AFB |
58 | Fire Dispatch, Nellis AFB (some encrypted) |
59 | Gate Security Control (some encrypted) |
60 | Security (mostly encrypted) |
61 | Security (some encrypted) |
62 | (encrypted) |
63 | (encrypted) |
64 | (encrypted) |
70 | Nellis Security (mostly encrypted) |
80 | Nellis Police Dispatch (traffic, building security) |
82 | VA Hospital, shuttle |
84 | Building Maintenance |
86 | VA Hospital, Building Maintenance |
101 | VA Hospital, Security Dispatch |
111 | Warehouse Net |
114 | Call Boxes in parking areas etc. |
207 | Ground troops, field exercise |
212 | Aircraft Fuelers |
214 | Personnel Shuttle |
217 | Transportation (Cargo handling) |
222 | Nellis Police/surveillance operations (encrypted) |
238 | Radio Maintenance |
298 | Aircraft Maintenance Unit "Bolt" (422 TES) |
299 | Aircraft Maintenance Unit "Lightning" (F-35, 57th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron) |
301 | Nellis Tower |
303 | Maintenance Operations Center "MOC" Common |
304 | Aircraft Maintenance Unit "Viper" (F-16, 57th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron) |
305 | Aircraft Maintenance Unit "Tomahawk" (F-16C/D, 57th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron) |
306 | Aircraft Maintenance Unit "Phoenix" (757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron) |
307 | Aircraft Maintenance Unit "Thunder" (A-10, 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron) |
308 | Aircraft Maintenance Unit "Strike" (F-15E, 757th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron) |
309 | Ramp Ops Common |
310 | Flight Line Supervisor |
311 | Ramp Ops Misc. |
312 | Flight Line Supervisor/EOR/Ammo control? ("Gatorade", "Red Bull") |
313 | Ammo Transport ("Stinger", "Gator", "Wizard", "Boomer", "Hydra") |
314 | Ammo Depot (Inventory checks) |
315 | Aircraft Maintenance Unit "Raptor" (F-22, 57th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron) |
317 | Red Flag, guest unit "Moonshine" |
318 | Red Flag Ramp Ops |
319 | Red Flag Ops / Maintenance / Exercises |
320 | Red Flag Ops |
321 | Red Flag MOC |
322 | Red Flag Ramp Ops Common |
323 | Red Flag MOC Ramp Ops |
324 | Red Flag Ramp Ops "Rocket" |
325 | Red Flag Flight Line Super |
326 | Red Flag Ramp Ops Misc |
327 | Red Flag, Belgian units ground crews |
328 | Red Flag, foreign units ground crews "Sahid" |
329 | Red Flag, foreign units ground crews |
330 | Red Flag EOR |
335 | Airfield Control |
339 | Aircraft Maintenance "Falcon" |
340 | Aircraft pod techs |
347 | Red Flag Ramp Ops Misc 2 |
416 | Creech AFB MOC |
423 | Creech Tower |
440 | Radio Maintenance |
2024 | Nellis AFB Crash Recovery, Fire Command |
30000 | Main net for JSCP candidate training |
30008 | Clean-up Net |
30033 | Road safety/maintenance trucks (handle road hazards, cones, barricades etc.) |
30034 | Power grid technicians (Area 6 & 11, Tweezer Facility) |
30035 | Power grid technicians |
30037 | Electrical Maintenance |
30038 | Road construction crew, flaggers, Mercury area |
30042 | Building Maintenance |
30045 | Forklift operators |
30046 | Boom truck/crane operators |
30050 | Forklift/heavy equipment operators |
30058 | UAV Operations, Technicians |
30059 | UAV Operations, Crew Chief |
30064 | Weather Net |
30069 | ETS Base (Engine Test Stand) |
30076 | Radioactive "Shots" in Areas 6 & 11 |
30078 | Area 5 cargo transportation |
30079 | Landscapers |
30085 | JSCP candidate field training, Channel "300-1" |
30086 | JSCP candidate field training, Channel "300-2" |
30087 | JSCP candidate field training, Channel "300-3" |
30088 | JSCP training Ops |
30096 | JSCP candidate training, Camp Lead |
30093 | Field sensor monitoring crews in northern/central NNSS |
30097 | JSCP candidate training, Camp Lead, Instructors |
30105 | JSCP candidate training, Instructors |
30111 | Area 25 Security |
30126 | Nuke test training, equipment/diagnostic techs |
30128 | Fire & Rescue |
30133 | Outside contractors setting up targets in northern NNSS |
31204 | Emergency Interop Radio Patch (Nye County, NNSS Fire & Rescue) |
31211 | Security Central (some encrypted) |
31212 | Security, TAC-2 |
31213 | Security, TAC-3 |
31218 | LV DOE Facility, Building Security (mostly encrypted) |
31219 | LV DOE Facility, Building Security (mostly encrypted) |
322xx | Secondary TG ID's generated with general announcement from Fire Dispatch, MOC, MUNS Control etc |
32511 | Desert Rock UAV Flight Ops "Cyborg" |
32512 | Area 25 Control (Cyborg), Ghost Ops, Vulture Ops (UAV) |
32525 | Radio Technicians |
32537 | US Army radar or tracking units "Burro" visiting from Fort Irwin |
32538 | US Army radar or tracking units "Burro" visiting from Fort Irwin |
32601 | BEEF |
32606 | Amateur Radio Techs |
32607 | Amateur Radio Techs (Testing radios and antennas in 10m HAM band, eastern NTTR) |
33002 | Radio Techs (Servicing and testing radios, equipment and remote repeaters) |
34001 | Technicians servicing water lines |
35000 | OCC Net, Bird Dog ("Operations and Command Center", General Announcements) |
35002 | Fire Station 1+2, Rescue Net |
35003 | Controller Net, Chief Controller to other controllers, coordinating exercise |
35006 | SOC Net (Security contractor) |
35010 | Fire Dispatch Emergency |
36101 | Fire & Rescue Station 2, Dispatch (Area 6, mostly encrypted) |
36104 | Fire & Rescue Station 2, Command 1 (Area 6, mostly encrypted) |
36105 | Fire & Rescue Station 2, Command 2 (Area 6, mostly encrypted) |
36106 | EM Interact Radio Patch |
36126 | Fire & Rescue Station 2, vehicles |
38114 | Station 2 Fire Alarm |
38115 | Fire Station 1 and 2 Dispatch |
NTTR Trunking System (P25, UHF Air) |
Site | Location | NAC | Frequencies | Peers | |||||
01 | Tonopah, Radar Peak | 00Bh | 385.9125 386.3375 386.6500 387.2500 387.5500 | 02 03 04 08 10 | |||||
02 | Antelope Peak (TTR) | 00Ch | 385.8125 386.2500 386.5500 386.8500 387.3500 387.7250 388.7000 | 01 03 04 10 | |||||
03 | Cedar Peak | 00Dh | 385.7750 386.1875 386.4875 386.9125 387.2750 387.6625 388.1125 | 01 02 05 06 08 10 | |||||
04 | Halligan Mesa (Basecamp) | 00Eh | 385.6250 386.3750 386.7000 387.2125 387.5125 | 01 02 05 | |||||
05 | Bald Mountain | 00Fh | 385.7250 386.1250 386.5250 386.9375 387.3250 | 03 04 06 | |||||
06 | Papoose Mountain | 010h | 385.6750 385.9625 386.2750 386.5750 386.8875 | 03 05 | |||||
07 | Angel Peak | 011h | 385.6250 386.3750 386.7000 387.2125 387.5125 | 09 10 | |||||
08 | TTR | 012h | 385.8625 386.3000 386.6000 386.9750 387.4375 | 01 03 10 | |||||
09 | Creech AFB | 013h | 385.9125 386.3375 386.6500 387.2500 387.5500 | 07 10 | |||||
10 | Black Mountain | 014h | 385.0875 385.7000 386.0125 388.0000 388.5000 | 01 02 03 07 08 09 |
System Map |
This map shows the locations of the trunking repeater sites of both systems. Green marks are used for the NTTR system, blue marks for the NNSS, Nellis & Creech system. Click to enlarge.