BCD436HP/BCD536HP: bcd436hp help

[dlow8]

Hello everyone! This is my first post. Let me start by saying I am new to all of this, and really interested in learning. I live in a small town in Eastman Georgia. I am looking to set up something for my parents to monitor the local police/sheriff/fire department. If I'm being honest, we are all nosey in this small town (ha). I searched amazon and decided on this bcd436hp scanner. It had great reviews, so I purchased it. I am not sure if I am doing something wrong, or if it simply does not work well in my little town. I have set the location via zip, turned on all of the settings (police tac, fire talk/tac etc) but I am unable to hear anything. I get a few scratchy words here and there, but its as if it is not getting the signal properly. I have adjusted squelch, hooked up the sentinel software and updated my firmware and database. I then googled the frequencies and noticed that the main one I am looking for has nxd48e next to it. I googled/went to the uniden website and purchased a key for the nxd add on for this scanner. I went thru a long process of adding in these keys. However, this has not helped with reception. Can anyone please advise what I may be doing wrong. Here is a link to the frequencies I need to obtain. Dodge County, Georgia (GA) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference . They are in my database, I have a hold on my county/area to narrow the scanned area. Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

[werinshades]

If you look under the Mode column, you'll see NXDN48E. The capital E indicates full time encryption which can't be monitored on a scanner

 

[hill]

You can't get law enforcement on NXDN they are encrypted. The E at the end is fulltime encrypted.

A small e would be partime encrypted.

 

[werinshades]

You can get law enforcement on NXDN they are encrypted. The E at the end is fulltime encrypted.

A small e would be partime encrypted.

I think you meant "can't?"

 

[hill]

Yea I saw it after posted and edited it.

 

[dlow8]

Thank you for your answers. I still have a few questions though.
1. What did the nxdn upgrade actually do? If the messages are encrypted, did it do anything?
2. If I had the encryption key (would it be possible to hear it then?) note: I do not want to do anything that is illegal.
3. There are people in my area who can hear these channels. How is this possible if it is encrypted?

I’m learning a lot. Thanks for the help.

 

[donc13]

Unless you receive permission and the key from the agency itself, it is illegal to decrypt the transmissions and it would also require additional equipment to decrypt the audio.

 

[hill]

Scanners don't have the ability to receive encrypted transmissions, as there is no way to enter the encryption key and they don't have encryption in the radio.

No one that is not part of an agency would ever be provided the encryption keys.

 

[engine183]

It would appear that you should be able to hear your local Fire Dept. The RR page does not show them as encrypted.

154.415 WZM830 RM 127.3 PL Eastman Fire Fire Dispatch FMN Fire Dispatch

Also the County Fire looks to be clear.
155.985 WQRP697 RM 167.9 PL Dodge Fire Assn Fire Association FMNE Fire-Talk
157.450 BM 167.9 PL Dodge EMS Tac2 EMS FMN EMS-Talk

Have you tried them?

 

[n1chu]

Thank you for your answers. I still have a few questions though.
1. What did the nxdn upgrade actually do? If the messages are encrypted, did it do anything?
2. If I had the encryption key (would it be possible to hear it then?) note: I do not want to do anything that is illegal.
3. There are people in my area who can hear these channels. How is this possible if it is encrypted?

I’m learning a lot. Thanks for the help.

1)The NXDN upgrade allows for reception of a certain type or mode of a digital transmission. Here are numerous modes of digital radio. Encryption (or scrambling) can be available as an option and used either full time or partially. It’s up to the agency and whoever is calling the shots for that agency. In some cases the local police have encrypted without first telling the townspeople what they were up to and received pushback. They probably compromised and used the encryption for certain types of calls (sensitive and proprietary) or just certain divisions.

2)No. the scanner does not have the capability to recieve an encryption code. You would need to be running the same type of radio as the encrypted agency, and have permission from that agency.

3)Anyone who has the ability to hear, in the clear, any encrypted transmission obviously has the encryption key and the type of radio it would work in. It certainly isn’t coming from a scanner. Further, if anyone was caught receiving encrypted signals in the clear without the agency’s permission, there are stiff fines and penalties per FCC regulation.

The upper case E infers Full Time Encryption and a lower case e infers either Part Time or only certain divisions of the agency are encrypted either full time or part time. But the Radio Reference database only shows what was submitted to them by us, the people who support RR. Sometimes the information we submit may be wrong, or changed and never been updated. That is rare but it could be the data submitted for your local police, which is showing full time encryption was accurate when first published but has since changed. The local RR forums page (each state has their own page) would be a better place inquire concerning present conditions in your town. Who knows, maybe there is a way to listen to the encrypted police. Some departments update their radio systems but continue to use the old system and broadcast dispatches in the clear. The local forum would be better able to field your questions.