Question about monitoring maine state police

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Kwnickgraykw

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Does anybody know if you can hear the maine state police with a digital radio that allows encryption? Was looking into getting one but I wanted to be able to monitor them by digital and not analog like I do now

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k1xd

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A digital capable scanner will allow you to monitor most talk groups used by the Maine State Police. There are a few talk groups that are encrypted, but not many.
 

Kwnickgraykw

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I'm very new to digital and I'm looking into getting a digital 2 way that will function in digital and also analog so I can still use it in analog mode for work. And does anyone have a list of the digital talk groups for the maine state police???

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KB1VLA

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You need a scanner to monitor the MSCOMNET system, a commercial radio can't be programmed to monitor the system. The system parameters (freqs/TGs) are in the DB.
 

Septa3371CSX1

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I'm very new to digital and I'm looking into getting a digital 2 way that will function in digital and also analog so I can still use it in analog mode for work. And does anyone have a list of the digital talk groups for the maine state police???

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Depends on what band you need. If you use VHF at work then any 9600 baud P25 radio in VHF will work (XTS, APX, etc). You won't have too much trouble finding a used XTS 2500 or 5000 VHF model as there are plenty of those available. If you need UHF for work then you'd need a dual band APX radio in VHF and UHF. Any model you get can be programmed to passively monitor. You won't be able to monitor encrypted transmissions but you will be able to monitor any clear transmission on any talkgroup you program into the code plug.

I personally recommend Motorola Swap Net group on Facebook if you're still looking for a radio. You can get a good deal on there.
 

toastycookies

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You need a scanner to monitor the MSCOMNET system, a commercial radio can't be programmed to monitor the system. The system parameters (freqs/TGs) are in the DB.

If commercial radios cannot be programmed to monitor the system then how can they listen to their own system?

P25 commercial radios can be programmed to monitor this system very easily.
 

Kwnickgraykw

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From what I've been reading is that when monitoring the MSCOMMNET sometimes you can't hear hear radio traffic I'm looking for mainly the primary channel for all four zones such as zone 1a 2a 3a and 4a. The reason for wanting the digital 2 way is to be able to monitor our state police digitally because of how awesome the audio is which I'm a big fan of, and still want to be able to talk on analog channels also.

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KB1VLA

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If commercial radios cannot be programmed to monitor the system then how can they listen to their own system?

P25 commercial radios can be programmed to monitor this system very easily.

So any digital radio can access the system without approval of an administrator? It was my understanding that only authorized radios would have access, and a scanner is the only way to passively monitor the system.
 

Kwnickgraykw

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Do you know what and how to program a digital 2 way to monitor the mscommnet system in digital?

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Septa3371CSX1

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Do you know what and how to program a digital 2 way to monitor the mscommnet system in digital?

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With a Motorola radio you'd need Motorola CPS software and a computer running Windows XP. To get the radio to passively monitor the system you need to program the talkgroups into slots above Channel 16 so it doesn't affiliate. Read the sticky post in the Motorola forum on here for more info. Once you get a radio you can also post in there for help on programming or find someone to program for you.
 

Septa3371CSX1

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Motorola XTS3000 VHF 136 174Mhz 255CH P25 Digital Radio w Mic H09KDF9PW7BN HT | eBay

Could anyone tell me if I can program this radio to monitor the mscommnet???

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So far looking at the flash code this unit is not capable of trunking thus it will not work on MS Comm Net. For reference use akardam.net Motorola Flashcode Decoder R04.08.02 to decode the flash of any radio you may want to purchase to determine if it will work or not.
 

nhfirefighter

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Something to keep in mind with regard to trying to monitor the MSCOMMNET system with a two-way radio. While there are plenty of sites with instructions on the internet on how to "no affiliate" monitor a trunking system with a motorola radio this generally applies to system built on a motorola trunking format with motorola hardware.

MSCOMMNET is built with Harris infrastructure and it has been documented on those same websites most motorola radios are incapable of following Harris trunking controllers using the "no affiliate" method. Since the system ID's and NAC's are different on Harris systems (MSCOMMNET included) you generally need an advanced system key purchased from Motorola to make them work.

Not saying it can't be done, I'm sure someone, somewhere could possibly make it work but is it really worth the risk of potentially creating a situation where a radio could accidentally affiliate with the system which could put lives at danger?
 

Kwnickgraykw

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So would it be better for me to purchase a digital scanner that will that will do 9600 baud trunking?

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Septa3371CSX1

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So would it be better for me to purchase a digital scanner that will that will do 9600 baud trunking?

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With MS Comm Net being a system of single sites versus simulcast sites, a P25 Phase I capable scanner should be good. My Pro 106 and Pro 651 worked good with the system when I was up there in August with no LSM issues since there are no simulcasts.
 

Kwnickgraykw

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Thanks I appreciate the input! Now I just need to find myself a digital scanner and figure out programming it.

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mainetrunk

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For listenning to our p25 trunk system, I'd go with the R-S pro 106..
If you push the TUNE button, and enter the control channel only,
the scanner will read the system for you..
As soon as all the info shows up in front of you,
push STORE..
You have officially stored the system..
But---1st you have to designate a scanlist to it..
Its pretty easy---that's IF you want to go that route of easiness..
That's why I do all of my scanners--by hand...
Yes-- there will be editting, but it is worth it...
Remember--the encryption cannot be messed with..
 
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