DC10 CREW HAD A TRACK DEV AFTER DELAYED CONTACT WITH P50 DEP CTLR WHILE FLYING THE DRYHEAT 2 SID AT PHX.

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DEPARTED RWY 25R; DRYHEAT 2 DEP. I WAS TRAINING NEW FO (IOE) ON THE ACFT. RIGHT AFTER TKOF WE LOST THE DEP CTL FREQ. I TOLD THE FO TO GO BACK TO THE TWR FREQ AND ASK FOR THE FREQ. HE TURNED THE RADIO THAT HAD THE TWR FREQ TO AN UNKNOWN; AND NOW WE DID NOT HAVE ANY CORRECT FREQ IN THE BOX. I TOLD HIM TO GET THE FREQ OF THE CHART. HE AND THE FE LOOKED; BUT COULD NOT FIND. NOW WE WERE IN A JAM. I CONTINUED THE DEP; BUT WAS GETTING ANXIOUS; BECAUSE WE WERE SUPPOSED TO BE VECTORED AT THAT TIME. THE FO WAS TRYING TO FIND HIS CLRNC THAT HE COPIED DOWN. I WAS LOOKING ALSO. NOW; WE HAVE BEEN AIRBORNE 2-3 MINS. I STARTED TO LOOK ALSO. AS WE ALL LOOKED; THE ACFT TURNED OFF OUR HDG -- ABOUT 40-50 DEGS. THE FO FOUND THE TWR FREQ; BUT KEPT ROTATING THE KNOB THROUGH THE FREQ BECAUSE OF NERVOUSNESS; I FINALLY TUNED THE R FREQ AND CONTACTED THE TWR AND THEN DEP CTL. WE WERE GIVEN A HDG AND WAS TOLD THEY HAD BEEN TRYING TO CONTACT US. THE REASON ACFT TURNED WAS WE HAD BEEN OFF THE AIR FOR WHAT SEEMED LIKE HRS. ACTUALLY; 5-6 MINS; MAYBE LONGER; I WAS THINKING WE HAD BETTER TURN TOWARD PHX VOR; AS THAT WOULD BE THE LAST COM PROC. ALSO; I LEVELED OFF AROUND 6000 FT. WE WERE CLRED TO 7000 FT ON OUR DEP. I REALLY DIDN'T WANT TO TURN AS LOST COM; THOUGHT WE WOULD GET A FREQ AT ANY MOMENT. I WAS FLYING IN A GRAY AREA; FOR ME AT THE TIME. SHOULD I TURN; SHOULD I NOT. SO; I DID A HALF-HEARTED TURN AND LEVELED AS WE WERE SEARCHING FOR FREQ. WHAT I SHOULD HAVE DONE; WAS DO LIKE I BRIEFED. 'I FLY YOU GUYS FIX.' THAT'S ALWAYS FOR ENG FAILURE BRIEF (WRONG). WHEN I STOPPED MY CLB AND TURNED TOWARD PHX VOR; I LOOKED FOR TFC ON THE TCASII AND VISUALLY. NO ONE THERE. I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR WHAT HAD HAPPENED. IT WAS A SIMPLE MISTAKE THAT TURNED INTO AN ORDEAL. I SHOULD HAVE CHKED RADIOS BEFORE DEP. I SHOULD HAVE FLOWN THE ACFT AS CLRED WHILE THE REST OF CREW LOOKED FOR THE SOLUTION. I WAS TRYING TO DO IT ALL. THAT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN. TRAINING NEW FO WAS PART OF PROB. NOT FLYING THE 'NO RADIO' PROC AS REQUIRED BY THE FAR'S WAS A FACTOR ALSO. I LEARNED TO BRIEF THE 'LOST COM' AS WELL AS ENG FAILURE AMONG THE OTHER SUBJECTS TO BE BRIEFED. THAT'S ABOUT IT. A MINOR MISTAKE BECAME A MAJOR PROB. LUCKILY; I CAN WRITE YOU ABOUT IT. SUPPLEMENTAL INFO FROM ACN 570191: AFTER TKOF FROM RWY 25R OF SKY HARBOR INTL ARPT; TWR HANDED US OFF TO DEP CTL. OUR DEP PLATE WAS LOST ON THE COCKPIT FLOOR WITH THE FREQ THAT WAS NEEDED TO COM WITH DEP CTL. ALL 3 CREW MEMBERS WERE CONCERNED WITH FINDING THE LOST DEP PLATE TO USE THE CORRECT FREQ. DURING THE SEARCH; THE ACFT WAS FLOWN OFF COURSE AND DID NOT LEVEL OFF AT THE CORRECT ALT. AFTER CHKING ONTO THE CORRECT FREQ; WE WERE CLRED TO THE CORRECT HDG. AT NO TIME DID WE NOR ANY OTHER ACFT COME INTO CONFLICT. I KNOW THIS WAS A LESSON LEARNED TO ALL CREW MEMBERS. TO PREVENT THIS SIT FROM OCCURRING IN THE FUTURE; I WILL RECONFIRM THE CORRECT FREQ IN THE STANDBY RADIO; WRITE THE FREQ DOWN ON AN EASY ACCESSIBLE LOCATION; AND PAY MUCH MORE ATTN TO THE LOSS COM PROC ALONG WITH THE OTHER CREW MEMBERS WHILE MAINTAINING THAT AT LEAST 1 PERSON SOLELY FLY THE AIRPLANE.