B727 CREW EXECUTED A MISSED APCH WHEN THEY HAD COMS FAILURE AT SLC.

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BEING VECTORED FOR APCH TO RWY 16L AT SLC. NOT YET CLRED FOR APCH; NOT GIVEN AN INTERCEPT HDG. APPROX 12 NM FROM THE RWY; SLOWING TO 180 KIAS; CAPT'S NAV RADIO ON ILS FREQ AND #2 NAV ON VOR. CAPT COMMENTS THAT APCH CTLR APPEARS TO BE TAKING US THROUGH THE LOC. I AGREED AND COMMENTED ABOUT TERRAIN. SWITCHED #2 NAV TO ILS AND ATTEMPTED CONTACT OF APCH. UNABLE TO HEAR ANYTHING ON ASSIGNED FREQ. CAPT BEGAN R-HAND TURN AS I SWITCHED TO ANOTHER FREQ. IMMEDIATELY UPON SWITCHING FREQS; WE HEARD CTLR URGENTLY DIRECTING TURN TO 210 DEGS AND CLB TO 12000 FT. CAPT AGGRESSIVELY MANEUVERED ACFT AND WE RECEIVED VECTORS BACK FOR SECOND APCH AND LNDG. WE NEVER RECEIVED ANY GPWS WARNINGS NOR SAW ANY RADIO ALTIMETER READINGS. ON SECOND APCH; CTLR GAVE SPECIFIC LOST COM INSTRUCTIONS. GIVEN THE TERRAIN AT SLC; THE APCH PLATES SHOULD HAVE SOMETHING SPELLED OUT. ALSO; MAINT LATER CONFIRMED #1 COM RADIO WAS FAULTY. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 432996: ACR ABCD WAS ADVISED THAT THE NEW ATIS WAS IN AFFECT. I SELECTED ATIS ON THE #2 COM RADIO; WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY MONITORING APCH ON THE #1 COM RADIO. BOTH OF MY COM VOLUME SWITCHES WERE IN THE 3/4 MAX VOLUME POS. COM #1 AND #2 RADIO HEAD CTL VOLUME SWITCHES WERE AT MAX. THE CAPT STATED THE VECTOR APCH CTL HAD US ON WAS TAKING US THROUGH THE LOC COURSE FOR RWY 16L (AT SLC). THE FO VERIFIED THIS ALSO ON THE #2 NAV. THE CAPT IMMEDIATELY EXECUTED A CLBING R TURN TO ASSURE TERRAIN AVOIDANCE; WHILE THE FO ATTEMPTED WITHOUT SUCCESS TO CONTACT APCH ON PRIMARY FREQ (125.7). HE THEN SELECTED THE SECONDARY FREQ (124.3). WE IMMEDIATELY HEARD A RADIO CALL FOR A CLBING R TURN TO HDG 210 DEGS AND 12000 FT. WE WERE ALREADY IN THE CLBING TURN WHEN THE FO ONCE AGAIN ESTABLISHED RADIO COMS WITH APCH CTL. AT THIS POINT THE #2 COM WAS SELECTED AS THE PRIMARY RADIO; BACKED UP BY THE #1 COM RADIO. APCH CTL VECTORED US BACK INTO THE LNDG SEQUENCE FOR AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG. ACR MAINT IN SLC DID VERIFY THAT THE #1 COM WAS NOT FUNCTIONING PROPERLY AFTER IT WAS REMOVED FOR INSPECTION. ADDITIONALLY; NEITHER BEFORE NOR DURING THE EVASIVE MANEUVER DID THE GPWS OR RADAR ALTIMETER ACTIVATE. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING INFO: THE RPTR INDICATED HIS AIRLINE DOES NOT HAVE ANY SPECIFIC GUIDANCE ABOUT SPECIAL PRECAUTIONS AT SLC. OTHER AIRLINES HAVE A DETAILED SET OF CAUTIONARY NOTES ON THEIR TAILORED 10-7 PAGES. THE PLT STATED THE ACFT RADIO JUST WENT DEAD. THEY WERE OUT OF COM; AS MEASURED ON THE ATC TAPE FOR 37 SECONDS. THIS TOOK THEM ABOUT 1 MI E OF THE LOC COURSE. THE CREW ATTEMPTED TO CONTACT SLC TWR ON THE OTHER TWR FREQ OF 132.65. IT WAS DEAD BECAUSE THEY WERE USING #1 RADIO. THEY THEN ATTEMPTED CONTACT WITH #2 RADIO. THIS WAS IMMEDIATELY SUCCESSFUL. THE TWR HAD BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT THE FLT ON GUARD; 121.5. AIRLINES DO NOT MONITOR THIS FREQ ON A ROUTINE BASIS. THE FLT WAS BEING VECTORED AT A 90 DEG INTERCEPT ANGLE. IT TOOK ABOUT 1 MI TO MAKE THE TURN IN; AFTER THEY REALIZED A COMS FAILURE HAD OCCURRED.