Air carrier taxiing to the gate at den experienced difficulty with radio equipment frequency selecti...

Narrative:

After clearing 35L; I contacted ground and relayed our gate information; received taxi clearance M to cn to ramp; and acknowledged the clearance. I looked up the ramp frequency on the company chart and looked over to VHF 1. The flight deck lighting conditions made it appear the control head light indicating the active frequency was for the window closest to me so I tuned the far window to ramp. I completed my after landing flow and attempted my company ground call. I received no answer so I checked the switch on VHF 2. It indicated correctly so I tried company again. Still no answer so I checked the company chart; which showed I was on the correct frequency. I tried company again and this time received an answer. As I checked the ATIS slip to confirm the gate was the same; the captain said we had switched to ramp too early mentioning taxiing traffic ahead. I looked up saw an aircraft exiting the ramp turning north and one coming from our right; which was slowing to a stop. I looked at VHF 1 saying I didn't intend to switch windows so I flipped the switch toward me and attempted to reach ground; but I was still on company. I pushed the button on the communication control panel for VHF 1 as I checked VHF 1 again and noticed I was on tower because I had changed the window that was on ground control to ramp. I started looking up ground control on the company airport chart; but we were approaching the gate so I contacted ramp control for clearance to the gate and then began wondering what had just happened. Preventative measures:'I check the active window on the radios 98% of the time by checking the switch position on the radio; but it seemed very clear which indicator light was on. If; like the -300; the inactive window lined out; or if the control head had a single window you changed frequencies on and used an arrow switch to move it to the active window like our navigation radio; it would greatly assist in preventing error.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Carrier taxiing to the gate at DEN experienced difficulty with radio equipment frequency selection and appropriate procedures to follow regarding ATC and company requirements.

Narrative: After clearing 35L; I contacted Ground and relayed our gate information; received taxi clearance M to CN to ramp; and acknowledged the clearance. I looked up the Ramp frequency on the company chart and looked over to VHF 1. The flight deck lighting conditions made it appear the Control Head light indicating the active frequency was for the window closest to me so I tuned the far window to Ramp. I completed my after landing flow and attempted my Company Ground call. I received no answer so I checked the switch on VHF 2. It indicated correctly so I tried Company again. Still no answer so I checked the company chart; which showed I was on the correct frequency. I tried Company again and this time received an answer. As I checked the ATIS slip to confirm the gate was the same; the Captain said we had switched to Ramp too early mentioning taxiing traffic ahead. I looked up saw an aircraft exiting the ramp turning North and one coming from our right; which was slowing to a stop. I looked at VHF 1 saying I didn't intend to switch windows so I flipped the switch toward me and attempted to reach Ground; but I was still on Company. I pushed the button on the communication control panel for VHF 1 as I checked VHF 1 again and noticed I was on Tower because I had changed the window that was on Ground Control to Ramp. I started looking up Ground Control on the company airport chart; but we were approaching the gate so I contacted Ramp Control for clearance to the gate and then began wondering what had just happened. Preventative Measures:'I check the active window on the radios 98% of the time by checking the switch position on the radio; but it seemed very clear which indicator light was on. If; like the -300; the inactive window lined out; or if the control head had a single window you changed frequencies on and used an arrow switch to move it to the active window like our NAV radio; it would greatly assist in preventing error.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.

Attributes
ACN	978013
Time
Date	201111
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	DEN.Tower
State Reference	CO
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	B737-700
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 121
Flight Phase	Taxi
Flight Plan	IFR
Component
Aircraft Component	Communication Systems
Person 1
Function	First Officer
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 161 Flight Crew Type 2000
Person 2
Function	Captain
Qualification	Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 301 Flight Crew Type 6600
Events
Anomaly	Aircraft Equipment Problem Less Severe Deviation - Procedural Published Material / Policy Deviation - Procedural Clearance Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown

Air carrier taxiing to the gate at den experienced difficulty with radio equipment frequency selection and appropriate procedures to follow regarding ATC and company requirements.