First responders and others involved special-mission airborne communications in the U.S. know (or should know) about the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide, or its acronym “NIFOG,” developed by the Department of Homeland Security in 2011. The rest of us probably never heard of it. Nevertheless, proper use of NIFOG is important to all of us, especially in times of national disasters.

NIFOG, developed to provide programming and channel-naming guidance, is the nation’s radio guide during national disasters and emergencies. Spanning all three FM bands, VHF, UHF and 7-800MHz, NIFOG provides a common channel framework for radio communications. Unfortunately, the document is complicated, making it time-consuming and difficult for individual operators to develop a workable code plug to input NIFOG into their radios.

“While the National Interoperability Field Operations Guide has been available for years, the programming, zone and channel plans have always been up to the operator, which has left a serious disconnect in its implementation,” explained Jim Huddock, business development manager of Technisonic Industries (Booth 1311).

To help alleviate this disconnect, Mississauga, Ontario-based Technisonic did the arduous work of creating a new common NIFOG plug for America’s airborne first responders, and offers it free for the asking. “We see this code plug as one of the most useful tools we can provide our operators,” Huddock said.

To obtain the electronic, APX-based code plugs and cockpit cards in a printable format, contact Huddock at jhuddock@til.ca.