InterceptRadio.com Forums

This was originally sent to a couple friends several days ago:

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463.800, 463.9875 & 462.4625 DMR CC10 repeaters seem to be a high-profile Las Vegas area Capacity+ system (I haven't found a license that incorporates all three freqs) currently in-use for some 'reality-TV/Contest' type production.

Even right now at 0300L, several of the on-camera people -- Austin, Michael, Johnny, Justin, Joe, Merlin & Adonis seem to be awake, as production is saying things like "tell Johnny to take two steps to his left!" "Merlin is coming out of the Graffiti room," "Ask Joe is he's ready for his OPF(?) Interview." Plus talk of wardrobe, changing wireless mic batteries, 5-minute warnings, lighting, camera angles, etc. Kinda sounds like what production comms from a live show like 'Big Brother' would be like, instead of a regular movie or TV show shoot where they frequently stop filming or re-shoot scenes.
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Since the above, COMINT over the past couple days indicated that it's not a 24/7 event, and the "contestants" are pretty much sequestered when production isn't taking place -- having their meals delivered, being given iPods with podcasts to keep themselves entertained in their rooms, being given access to cellphones (telephone calls only?) briefly each day, and the ability to occasionally go to the swimming pool or gym, but under the escort of a production assistant, who must ensure the contestants don't have any interaction unless it's being covered by camera. Mention of "the long hallway, by Bazarre Meat" allowed me to determine they're operating out of The Sahara (former SLS) without having to drive around & RDF the Cap+ system inputs. It's likely they're actually using the old W Resort spaces at The Sahara, which has it's own pool & small health club, so that the they can film in-private & the normal public casino/resort operations of The Sahara aren't infringed.

So them the big question has been WHAT reality TV production could this be? "Contestants" only being male (per first names mentioned) started to lead to some disturbing conclusions about drag queens, which in-turn greatly attenuated my interest in snooping around at The Sahara to gather ground-truth (though it was very nice for WilRobinson to eagerly volunteer to embed himself there).

Despite a lot of joking around and harassment (a producer screaming & swearing at two production assistants for letting the contestants each was escorting pass each other in a hallway, talking about how contestant "Adonis" doesn't like anything white in his food, and uses expensive hair gel that they joke looks like mayonnaise...), they are actually opsec-aware in that if someone asks over the air for the room # of a particular contestant, the info is sent to them via SMS, not given-out over the air.

Today, one of the production assistants finally revealed to me what this is, by mentioning "Magic Mike."

I did a Google Search, and found these hits, amongst others:

https://tvline.com/2021/04/09/magic-mik ... ing-tatum/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/rev ... 406126002/

Production generally takes-place in the evening/night -- 2130L right now & it's still going-on, but they have weekends off. I'm monitoring the Cap+ system by scanning in just conventional DMR mode, as there aren't many other users of the system, so I don't know Time Slot or Talk Groups. Other system (or at least radio freq in DMR mode) users, rarely heard are a limo service for a strip club, and what seems to be security patrol for a very affluent HOA in Henderson.


/-/ooligan
Henderson Nevada

Hooligan, if you have a Uniden 325P2/996P2/436/536/SDS100/200 then you could simply put in the frequencies from lowest to highest and use LCNs 1, 2 and 3. Ideally, it'd be best to have another DMR scanner to just scan the frequencies. Then if the Uniden is able to trunk-track the system then it'll be pretty obvious as both scanners should be heard in concert. If the Uniden doesn't pick up conversations properly then you could easily just reshuffle the LCNs and repeat. Even with light traffic it should be easy to determine the LCNs and wouldn't take but a few minutes.

Then it'd just be a matter of deciphering the TGIDs.

I volunteer WilRobnson to use his shiny new Uniden 436HP (along with appropriate Addicted thong and flip-flops) to figure this system out.

Thong URL: https://addicted.es/en/underwear/1665-a ... thong.html

Thanks Nick,

Since the Cap+ system has very few other users, I was following all the traffic just fine scanning them conventionally but maybe I'll try to monitor it as a Cap+ system.

WilRobnson advised he's got years of consulting work done with the male stripper community and is "in tight" with them, so he'll gather further information on this male stripper contest as-soon as he checks-in at the Sahara.

Sigh....

_________________
President-in-Exile, Seattle Area Radio Communications And Scanner Traffic Intercept Crew (SARCASTIC)
Don't feel bad if you can't use your STD100/200; there are still people using Digital Frequency Search!
Bunnery definition for the under-fives

Meanwhile, Somewhere near Gulfport...

Wilrobnson is dancing! There's a $25 cover...

ANOTHER TV production taking-place in Vegas that just wrapped is BattleBots
https://battlebots.com/

It was using Caesar's Entertainment's production studios located in a big, semi-permanent tent on
Koval Lane at Flamingo (RIP 2Pac! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51RsdV2h1yM ), just behind
the Bally's Hotel & Casino. I suspect they provide basic services like Safety, Production Assistants,
etc. using Caesar’s radios & perhaps the individual production company then has to bring fewer
personnel to the set in Vegas. I’ll compare these freqs/DCS codes/channel use to the last production
I targeted at the same location, which was the Hell's Kitchen TV show in Summer 2019.

https://www.caesars.com/caesars-entertainment-studios

My mobile monitoring post was the top level of Ellis Island Casino parking structure, directly across Koval Lane
from the target. https://www.ellisislandcasino.com Despite only being about 300' away, the damned
exhaust fans for the Ellis Island BBQ joint: https://www.ellisislandcasino.com/ellis-island-bbq were smoking
me out with BBQ-sauce scented beef & pork fumes non-stop -- you'd never guess it by looking at me (though
I'm not as fat as most radio-geeks), but I'm a %$#(& vegetarian, so I only tolerated about 45 minutes worth
of the BBQ smoke assault before I abandoned my post & went inside Ellis Island for cheap hookers & blow (which reminds
me -- hey Wil, Candy says hello, and to tell you "The pills worked & the rash is gone, you're a life-saver & see you soon!").

Anyway:

468.5125/DCS464 - Channel 12, Audience ops — parking, box office, ushers, etc. Somehow, I can hear these guys from my car in southern Henderson, at least 10 miles away.

466.5625/DCS532 — unknown use, but confirmed by signal strength & background audio.

477.875 — hot mic to capture audience audio

461.2125/DCS243 — “Lockjaw is in Box B, Jackpot is in Box A”

466.0875/DCS743 — (BRS 36) Production channel

461.0875/DCS723 — (BRS 11)

461.1625/DCS054 — (BRS 14) Channel 3

461.3725/DCS506 — (BRS 22) “We’re going to do that quick interview with the Whiplash team now.” Portable camera team?

466.3625/DCS532 is the “Mic Talk”(??) channel — “OK, ready… let’s roll!” “We’ll be doing an interview with Red.”

All simplex.

Safety Team is on channel 13.

BattleBot robot/team names heard: Ribbot, Whiplash, Jackpot, Lockjaw.

I never did hear any sort of IFB, camera control, etc. so those guys may have been on a wired intercom or FHSS like DECT.

Also:
456.3875/DS532 -- Ellis Island Casino security, simplex
456.5875/DCS464 -- Ellis Island, simplex. Mostly jabbering in mexican, and since this was around 9PM last Saturday, likely
Ellis Island Casino Ops (slot techs, hosts, custodians) & not Ellis Island hotel housekeeping/engineering.

Nice on-scene report. Thanks!

- CP

_________________
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Chris Parris
Federal Wavelengths columnist
The Spectrum Monitor Magazine
chrisparris@thefedfiles.com