Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 15; Flight Crew Total 240; Flight Crew Type 40
Situational Awareness; Communication Breakdown
No Specific Anomaly Occurred All Types
Flight Crew Became Reoriented
Procedure; Airport; Human Factors
When approaching the Somerset Airport (SMQ) under an IFR flight plan; it was VFR conditions and we canceled our IFR flight plan to continue the approach and landing at the airport under visual conditions.  We were cleared to switch over the common traffic advisory frequency and we did.  We attempted to turn on the airport lights by clicking the mic 5 times but nothing happened.  We tried multiple times by clicking fast and slow but could not get the lights to turn on.  We entered a standard pattern at the airport as we COULD see the beacon.  We looked in the airport facility directory but there was nothing published about the lights.  We also checked the approach plates but no further information about the lights.  We finally were able to get a hold of someone at the front desk in the FBO and they turned on the airport lights.  As it turns out; the lights were on a different frequency that was unpublished.  There was no NOTAM in regards to the airport lights.  We further found out after we landed that the airport lights frequency have been switched multiple times in the recent past.  I feel like this is extremely dangerous as we were under an IFR flight plan and flying at night.  Had there been any sort of emergency; we would not have been able to land (most likely).  There should either be a NOTAM about the lights or they need to be published.
No additional information was provided.
C177 pilot reports inability to activate the runway lights at SMQ during a night visual approach.  Communications are eventually established on Unicom and the runway lights are turned on.