south plainfield n.j.

[notpolcorrect]

I think it stinks that we cant listen anymore to see what is happening in south plainfield, I can understand it in a way , but I like to know whats going on in the town when something is happening, especially if they are looking for someone in my area, so I can be forwarned, I figure we are taxpayers, and so to speak pay them, we should have the right to know what is going on in south plainfield. blah.

[GM]

For those interested in listening to South Plainfield Police, looks like their ProVoice channels aren't working quite right, as they are using the UHF 453.3250 PL 114.8 as we speak. Not sure if this is a temporary shift (as it has been in the past) or possibly a radio technician upgrade/software tweaking to the TRS system. I don't currently hear any activity on their ProVoice TG's either.

[GM]

Well folks, looks like we have yet another monitorable TG for South Plainfield. TG 14-034 in analog mode was heard during a mutual aid fire recently for a brief period, and I missed the name of the talkgroup. Anyone out there know what this may be used for?

[GM]

A reliable source of mine tells me that South Plainfield Police have switched talkgroups again, and that they are now utilizing the SPPD Tac ENC TG's on their line-up full time. So, I guess that makes them in line with the others that have gone to the "other side" in the monitoring world...

[CM1]

Full-time encryption...that's a bit unnecessary. If I were a tax payer there I'd better see some huge benefits in the crime stats after 1 year of "radio silence" or I'd be asking lot's of questions why the money was wasted and continues to be wasted with no "payback" to the public!

[LYNJ_OEM3298]

Not to be an alarmist here nor do I want to engage in a long, often rigorous discussion on encryption the pros and cons etc. I am also not going to get into a dialog here of discussing all aspects, political or otherwise of this issue.
However, the writing is on the wall as more and more counties, towns, agencies and departments are Slip Sliding Away to that "other side" in the monitoring world, the dark side, the un-monitorable side.
As towns and agencies centralize and regionalize to save costs especially into newer systems and the newer 700 MHz systems. There is a trend I have noticed that with the newer digital technologies, as these agencies switch, the urge to “hide” their communications from the general “scanning” public. (Whether, by persistent radio sales persons and/or by politicians and government pressure i.e. Home land Security etc.)
. I believe this trend is a means to an end. That end being mostly ALL Public Safety Communications will have moved to the “dark side” and “hide”. I’ll give it to 2021 before a good percentage of this “Hiding” is accomplished and in place. It may be way sooner if another terrorist attack on us takes place or other domestic issue. Time will only tell.
In conclusion, I like most other scanner listeners are upset of this prospect or loosing those things we liked to hear on the scanner. Not to mention them here but I truly believe there are things more sinister afoot. This “Hiding” or going over to “The Dark Side” is all part of that well hidden and sinister process. What is being done technology wise to monitoring and scanning hobby is no different than going door to door collecting “UN-authorized receivers” from the public, save the man power.


Thanks for reading.

[johnls7424]

So is it offical YTD that SPPD is using an encrypted system. I have their talkgroup and frequency plugged in. All I hear is radio silence.

[GM]

Yes, South Plainfield PD is using all four of their assigned talkgroups on the Middlesex County TRS in ProVoice digital encrypted mode. Even if you have a radio that can handle ProVoice digital, unless you have the proper encryption keys loaded into it (which is not likely unless the System Administrator has authorized your radio) then you're out of luck for monitoring. See the W2SJW - Home webpage to hear what it would sound like on the Radio Sounds section under ProVoice.

[johnls7424]

Must be alot of problems with the encryption in South Plainfield. A few friends of mine who are on EMS and the FD say when the police try to key their mics to talk to them all they hear is either dead radio silence or jibber jabberish. Making the dispatcher go crazy. In the near future SPPD may just go to the new 700 mhz radios or to a strictly all digital radio system w/o encryption.

[GM]

For about a year, South Plainfield PD was using one of the County-wide Mutual Aid Police Inter-op talkgroups on the Middlesex County TRS, in the ProVoice digital clear mode (and portable radios transmitted in analog mode). Recently, the police dept. switched back to the assigned ProVoice ENC talkgroups. Keep in mind that South Plainfield is going to have trouble with the County TRS due to where the primary repeater towers are located (closest ones are Piscataway and Woodbridge), despite the fact that Vehicle Repeaters were installed about a year ago (as I was told for the fire dept.). Eventually, the County will be switching to 700 MHz freq's, (no time frame at this time) but not sure yet what mode that will be in (P25 or OpenSky2). As a back-up, the twp. has access to their former UHF freq's (though it does receive heavy interference from an agency in Mercer County, hence the original reason for the switchover from UHF to 800 MHz.)

[johnls7424]

To GM:

Have you been listening to South Plainfield lately? Are you nearby to receive radio frequencies from the Borough of South Plainfield?

I live here in the Borough

[GM]

I listen to South Plainfield Fire, OEM and EMS on their analog talkgroups, but a reliable contact that feeds me information tells me the info I had posted earlier. As such, I do not (and would not be able to) monitor the police dept. (I tend to monitor more juicy stuff than regular police dispatches anyway, but that's my personal preference)

[johnls7424]

To GM:

Do you forsee the borough ever switching off of their encrypted talkgroups that use provoice anytime soon? I know you said they were having trouble with their old UHF frequency ( 453.3250), but in the new 700 mhz can any scanner pick up those frequencies?

I have a Radio Shack Digital Pro 106

[johnls7424]

Also, does the borough of South Plainfield EMS on the talkgroup monitor under this or is it pro voice as well?

[KC2ZHY]

Originally Posted by johnls7424

Also, does the borough of South Plainfield EMS on the talkgroup monitor under this or is it pro voice as well?

I believe routine EMS dispatch is ProVoice while their tactical / operations are Analog, but S Plainfield has been switching back and forth from digital to analog frequently due to the incomprehensibility of ProVoice in some areas of the Borough.

That being said, have you considered putting up a South Plainfield live feed??

[GM]

I have not heard any news of South Plainfield Police switching off of the ProVoice TG's in favor of something else. Eventually, when Middlesex County activates their 700 MHz TRS, ALL county agencies and subscribers to the current 800 MHz EDACS TRS (South Plainfield, Jamesburg, Highland Park, and any others that join the network [rumored Carteret and Milltown in the near future]) will automatically switch over to the 700 MHz platform, as they already have the equipment in place to do so.

As far as other departments with South Plainfield, EMS has their Main Dispatch primarily in ProVoice digital mode, however, it is patched in to the VHF freq. for the most part. So, what you hear on the VHF freq. is what you would hear on the ProVoice TG, with the very few instances of hearing analog voice on the TG without it being patched from the VHF freq. (source of the transmission comes from an 800 MHz portable in that case and not the VHF freq.) The EMS Ops 2 talkgroup is analog only, and monitorable with no modifications.

With reference to intelligibility issues that the Police Dept. is having with ProVoice, as KC2ZHY said, it is something that is constantly being monitored and tracked, but I have not heard any solutions to the issue at this time. A simple solution would be to install a low power repeater in the borough, but that costs $$, and it's something that is not feasable at this time I've been told. Time and grant money can change that though in the future, so keep that in mind.

[puzzleriddle]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...ayee4w&cad=rja

Harris EDACS to P25 Migration

[johnls7424]

Can any modern day scanner even pickup 700 mhz radio frequencies?

[DJ88]

Uniden's 996T, 996XT, 396T, 396XT, and Home Patrol can receive them. I can only speak of Uniden though. I don't know which Radio Shack and GRE scanners are capable.

[johnls7424]

I have the Radioshack PRO 106 Digital Scanner, can it pickup 700 MHz?