Digital scanner

[dxing440]

Our city police just swapped to digital from VHF analog. Is there a scanner that will receive this digital signal, is it the same as digital trunked systems?

 

[silentnomore]

Our city police just swapped to digital from VHF analog. Is there a scanner that will receive this digital signal, is it the same as digital trunked systems?

Have you checked radioreference.com for your city? They are usually pretty good about supplying information about upgraded systems and how to monitor them. I have a GRE PSR500 scanner that will monitor nearly everything - analog, digital, P25, trunking, etc.

 

[Wire Weasel]

Probably not. This is the new nationwide Public Safety Standard that all agencies are being forced to switch to by Homeland Security for inter-agency connectivity and security. The digital systems include ENCRYPTION and all they have to do is turn that function ON and most agencies are choosing to use the encryption. There neither is no will ever be any scanner that will be able to decode the encryption. So yes, you will be able to receive the frequencies your local agency will be using but all you may hear is a bunch of jumbled noise because of the encryption. If your local agency doesn't choose to utilize the encryption mode..... then they are idiots.

Good luck

 

[Grogan]

What?

 

[BJ radionut]

Yes! That's where they are headed....
The other way to get around us listening (if they can't pay for the total system)...As here in Indiana is to transmit the calls via DATA burst straight to the Laptops equipped cars and now never transmit voice at all...
All my scanner hears now is Fire Calls from the local volunteers who can't afford to buy into the Statewide system....and a couple small city(town Marshall's)
Otherwise "FAX" sounding Data bursts and lots of carriers with no voice....

Get use to it....now you know why unless you wish to pay $500 every couple years for a new scanner....
You'll Hear Nothing! Nothing!
All the Best
BJ

 

[KingCobra_CDX882]

Do check with radio reference.
Most departments just use plain P25..
Many with frequency hopping P25.
Not many actually scramble..

so long as your department doesn't scramble their signal..
then there are many digital P25 scanners you can get
( base, portable & or mobile )

http://forums.radioreference.com

 

[dxing440]

Im gonna have to learn more about these systems, i never looked into trunk tracking when it came around. Now im lost for sure.
Radio reference has nothing on pell city alabama yet, the old freq (159.090) now has the data burst on it every minute or so. Guess Ill look around for a good scanner Thx everyone

 

[IMD262]

Im gonna have to learn more about these systems, i never looked into trunk tracking when it came around. Now im lost for sure.
Radio reference has nothing on pell city alabama yet, the old freq (159.090) now has the data burst on it every minute or so. Guess Ill look around for a good scanner Thx everyone

Pell City has switched to a Motorla MotoTRBO digital system that can not be scanned by any current scanner.

 

[Se7en]

Pell City has switched to a Motorla MotoTRBO digital system that can not be scanned by any current scanner.

That's Crazy they went into TRBO territory? Couldnt one use a motoTRBO to RX there info WITHOUT logging into there system? IV'e been told DMR digital along with Encrypt is nearly impossible to decrypt compared to lets say P25 DES.

 

[555]

Can you say dongle

 

[jopcobra89]

Get use to it....now you know why unless you wish to pay $500 every couple years for a new scanner....
You'll Hear Nothing! Nothing!

Might as well buy a digital scanner now and save your money in the future because there will never be a scanner produced that will decode digital encryption. It would take a high speed computer 30,000 years to decode an active P25 encryption key... and that key can be changed throughout the entire system in a second.

Given that technology is advancing so rapidly in the encryption field... in 5 to 10 years that 30,000 years search period will probably rise to 1 million years. There is a much greater emphasis to progress encryption than to decode or hack it.

There are still MANY analog and nonencrypted digital transmissions out there. Most rural municipalities rely on analog equipment dating from the 80s and 90s and probably will continue to do so for many years to come due to lack of upgrade funds. Many larger municipalities still using analog trunking will keep it active for as long as they can due to their investment in it. Many municipalities on digital will keep it "clear" for awhile since they really don't understand the implications of encryption and are kind of afraid of using it on a widespread basis... especially when networking different groups.

Once encrypted systems become simple and affordable everyone will start jumping on the bandwagon... but that's still quite a few years off. Unfortunately scanning in 2013 is nothing like it was in 1993... and scanning in 2033 will be nothing like 2013. All it's going to do is go downhill. Might as well enjoy things while you can!