CREW TUNES VOR INSTEAD OF ILS AND BEGINS WHAT THEY THINK IS AN ILS APCH TOWARD THE VOR.

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ENRTE FROM MSL TO ANB; LEVEL AT 5000 FT. WE PLANNED ON SHOOTING THE ILS 5 INTO ANB. ATC ASKED US HOW WE WANTED TO INITIATE THE APCH INTO ANB. IT WAS NOT CLR ON OUR OPTIONS ON SHOOTING THE APCH FROM ATC. THE CAPT ASKED FOR A VECTOR TO INTERCEPT THE LOC BUT BIRMINGHAM APCH (BHM) SAID THEY WERE UNABLE AND ASKED HOW ELSE WE WOULD LIKE TO GET ESTABLISHED. THE CAPT AND I DECIDED THE 7 MI DME ARC OFF THE TALLADEGA VOR (TDG) TO INTERCEPT THE LOC. ONCE ESTABLISHED ON THE ARC; WE WERE CLRED FOR THE APCH AND TO MAINTAIN 4000 FT. THE CAPT WAS DISCUSSING THE APCH WHEN ATC TOLD US RADAR CONTACT LOST AND TO RPT ESTABLISHED ON THE LOC INBOUND. THE FO CALLED FOR THE LOC FREQ. THE CAPT PUSHED THE BUTTON ON THE FLIP-FLOP RADIO. THE FO DIALED IN THE 049 DEG RADIAL AT THAT TIME. THE CAPT MISINTERPRETED THE FREQ AND PUSHED IT BACK TO THE VOR FREQ. THE NEEDLE WAS COMING ALIVE AT THAT TIME. I; BEING THE FO; CALLED NEEDLE ALIVE AND TURNED INBOUND. THE CAPT TURNED HIS HSI TO THE 049 DEG RADIAL INBOUND AND TUNED HIS NAV RADIO INADVERTENTLY TO THE VOR FREQ. SINCE WE THOUGHT WE WERE INBOUND ON THE ILS; WE STARTED OUR DSCNT DOWN TO 2200 FT. ON THE DSCNT WE WERE GOING THROUGH THE BEFORE LNDG CHKLIST AND THE CAPT WAS REBRIEFING ME ON THE APCH AND THE ALTS FOR THE APCH. DURING OUR DSCNT; THE CAPT AND I NOTICED THE COURSE NEEDLE SWINGING. WE BOTH ASKED EACH OTHER IF WE SAW THE NEEDLE SWING AND DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO EXECUTE A MISSED APCH; AND I NOTICED THE NAV FREQ WAS TUNED TO THE TDG VOR. WE CHANGED FREQ TO BHM APCH AND TOLD HIM WE WERE MISSED APCH AND WE WOULD LIKE TO SHOOT THE APCH AGAIN. HE THEN TOLD US HE HAD A TARGET 3 MI NE OF TDG VOR AT 3100 FT AND ASKED US TO IDENT. HE TOLD US WE WERE AT AN UNSAFE ALT AND TO EXPEDITE A CLB TO 5000 FT. UPON REACHING 5000 FT; ATC ASKED US IF WE WOULD LIKE VECTORS FOR THE APCH AT 5000 FT TO TRY IT AGAIN. REACHING 5000 FT; THE CTLR TOLD US HE THOUGHT WE SHOT AN APCH TO THE TDG VOR AND ALSO WONDERED WHEN WE CALLED THE LOC INBOUND SO EARLY. HE GAVE US VECTORS TO INTERCEPT THE LOC INTO ANB AND EVERYTHING AFTER THAT POINT WAS UNEVENTFUL. THE CAPT AND THE FO DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY ATC GAVE US VECTORS FOR THE APCH THE SECOND TIME WHEN THEY SAID THEY COULDN'T THE FIRST TIME. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: RPTR SAID THEY HAD BEEN CLRED FROM MUSCLE SHOALS DIRECT TO THE TALLADEGA VOR (APPROX THE TDG 310 DEG RADIAL). THEY WERE THEN CLRED FOR THE ILS APCH VIA THE TDG 7 DME ARC. HE WAS UNABLE TO EXPLAIN WHY BHM TRACON COULD NOT OFFER VECTORS THE FIRST TIME BUT COULD AFTER THEIR MISSED APCH.