Greene County System

[Rolfman]

I'm looking to set my son up with my old Uniden BC246T. He lives in Greene County and looking at everything I think it will work just fine for him.

Have they gone through rebanding? We did several years ago out here in Utah and it is already set up for that but would like to know.

Any additional things to know about trunked systems out there?

Seems like you guys are having a heck of a time with the HP's new P-25 system. Any of you ever look in to something like Universal Trunker or just the old trunker programs? Was a huge help maping out our trunked system. Found all kinds of frequencies, talk groups, and system info, right down to the radio ids.

 

[SurgePGH]

I'm looking to set my son up with my old Uniden BC246T. He lives in Greene County and looking at everything I think it will work just fine for him.

Have they gone through rebanding? We did several years ago out here in Utah and it is already set up for that but would like to know.

Any additional things to know about trunked systems out there?

Seems like you guys are having a heck of a time with the HP's new P-25 system. Any of you ever look in to something like Universal Trunker or just the old trunker programs? Was a huge help maping out our trunked system. Found all kinds of frequencies, talk groups, and system info, right down to the radio ids.

Uh.... Greene County, PA??? Green County where??? You say you are in Utah but where is he??

 

[Rolfman]

Well since this is the Missouri Forum I thought it would be implied that I was refering to Greene County Missouri. But since there seems to be some confusion I supposed it should be cleared up now.

 

[zzdiesel]

Yeah around Springfield.

 

[foster_006]

Rolfman--

I just moved to Springfield. It'll probably take me a little bit to unpack and get organized, but I plan to set up my shack running UT! I'm not sure how anyone goes without it!

What scanner did you tap to run UT? I've got a Uniden 780.

 

[Rolfman]

I tapped my BC898T several years ago and used the old Uni Trunker. But now days I just dump the CC data from either of my Radio Shack Pro units in to Universal Trunker. I don’t decode very often, the systems are pretty static out here now days. Things were busy during rebanding but have settled. Occasionally they add a new site in other parts of the state.

Looks like you are in for it out there with that statewide P25 system. Looking at the forum chatter the few agencies coming online there are mostly going encrypted. We doged that bullet for now. When they rebanded, most of the agencies that were still analog went with Motorola Type II SmartZone gear since that was already being used in the major metropolitan areas. A few P25 users but not many encrypted.

Good luck and happy scanning.

 

[swmofirefighter]

We have just began talks of rebanding over to P25 compliant radios. Working on grants and the "how's and why's" right now. Our current 800 trunk is having a hard time finding parts when pieces go down and they've decided to start the migration to P25. When I find out more I'll pass it on.

 

[telxonmaster]

I was talking to a City Utilities employee yesterday, and he had just heard about some kind of upgrade to the "old" 800 system.
Hopefully they won't go encrypted, but if they do, I have faith that someone out there will be able to find encryption keys, or some alternative to listen in, and let the rest of us know!
I know alot of reporters rely on scanner monitoring to stay on top of local news, and can only imagine what encrypting everything would do to this ability. Like I already said, there are people out there way smarter than I, who will hopefully find a way around the encryption if the county decides to go that route

 

[wb0wao]

Telxonmaster - Even if someone actually gave you the key, you would still need an actual radio - not a scanner - to enter the key into. Then, the first time you turned it on, the radio would then connect to the system and not being an authorized radio, the system would then send a signal that would brick your radio. And the chances of someone figuring a way around the encryption is probably about the same as you hitting the power ball lottery a dozen times in a row! Basically, if they go to encryption, you are not gonna be able to monitor them. Oh, and it is VERY illegal to decrypt an encrypted transmission.

swmofirefighter - I hope your FD is only considering P25 for dispatch/admin. The local FD here tried P25 for fireground and it did not work out at all. The experiment lasted all of a week IIRC. The local Chief said that all fireground comms will be analog only!

 

[telxonmaster]

wb0wao- After reading several other posts on this forum on the topic of encryption, I realize it would indeed be very hard to bypass/ unlock the encryption. Hopefully they will not encrypt everything if/ when they upgrade. (and if they do, i'll just have to find other things to monitor that aren't encrypted, as will alot of other folks)

Thanks for the info, and we can all keep our fingers crossed!

 

[telxonmaster]

On another note, being I'm the geeky type, and love learning new things I just have to ask one more question:

With the new and coming P25 system, if they go encrypted (and yes I see the logic in them doing that), would it be possible to "clone" one of the P25 radios? I have a friend who is a county employee and would let me clone his radio (once they switch, of course) if it wouldn't mess his issue radio up. He is a geek like me, and when I mentioned cloning he was all for it.
All I would need of course is an unprogrammed radio capable of P25 trunking, the cable(s) and any software i'd need. I can find a radio for under $500 used on Ebay.

I don't know enough about the newer digital stuff, so I will post this and let someone more knowledgeable than I enlighten me and the rest of us!

Thanks,
Will

P.S. Even if this CAN be done, the chances of me actually doing it are slim. (can't afford a radio now anyway). It's a thirst for knowledge thing! and if I DID do this, i definitely wouldn't use it maliciously! (messing with government agencies is a BAD ida!, duh!)