How Do I Monitor MDT Systems?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
488
Location
Louisville, KY.
How would one go about monitoring MDT radio traffic? They have been using a two way MDT system here in Louisville for a while, it's 800 MHz I think. I know it can be done because someone set up a live stream for CHP's MDT CAD in Calafornia and I was wondering how I could pick up MDT traffic here. I know I'll need a PC and an 800 MHz scanner, what else?
 

bfeeny

Member
Joined
May 7, 2007
Messages
24
Location
Royal Palm Beach, Fl
Monitoring CAD and monitoring MDT are two different things. Many public saftey organizations have CAD monitoring online so the public can view and see what is going on.

MDT traffic is alot more than whats on CAD. Inquiries of criminal records, license plates, etc are done via the MDT, and this is to my knowledge always encrypted and illegal to decrypt.

Brian
 

Zaratsu

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jan 5, 2008
Messages
359
Location
Eastern Connecticut
easy, there are three steps

1. graduate acadamy
2. pass urine test (this is the tough one my friend)
3. get hired to be Barney Fife


The health benefits are excellent
 

zz0468

QRT
Banned
Joined
Feb 6, 2007
Messages
6,034
Bluegrass1dcr1 said:
How would one go about monitoring MDT radio traffic?

You don't. Encryption requirements are rather stiff if the user agency wants to connect to any external law enforcement databases like NCIC, or those run by state agencies.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
488
Location
Louisville, KY.
bfeeny said:
Monitoring CAD and monitoring MDT are two different things. Many public saftey organizations have CAD monitoring online so the public can view and see what is going on.

MDT traffic is alot more than whats on CAD. Inquiries of criminal records, license plates, etc are done via the MDT, and this is to my knowledge always encrypted and illegal to decrypt.

Brian

OK so how do I monitor non-encrypted CAD traffic? What sort of soft/hardware would I need?
 

SkipSanders

Silent Key
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
1,059
What they're telling you is that there IS no 'non-encrypted' CAD traffic. By it's nature, it's connected to systems which by federal law REQURE it to be encrypted for privacy.

There might be a very few systems that aren't. They'd be very old, and they're still not easy to do anything with, because they're 'forms/frame' based, and send raw data to be inserted into forms without sending the formatting that would let you put things in order.

The more modern systems are called MCT for Mobile Computer Terminal, and again, those are effectively all encrypted, and most are via Nextel or other commercial systems that are themselves non-monitorable.

The CAD systems you find online are put up by the agencies themselves, and are NOT, in fact, 'live' streams of all traffic, they are carefully sanitized to include only certain items.
 

ka5lqj

Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2003
Messages
427
Location
Near Lakeview, LA (Caddo Parish)
Simply put.....

Hi,

I would suggest that unless you want to be "Big LeRoy's Date to the Prom, 24/7 in a
FEDERAL "Cross-Bar Hotel", you forget about trying to "decode" any MDT or MCT "traffic".

It's like a sick bird....Ill eagle, LOL!

Now, it's just as illegal to "monitor" a businesses radio/computer traffic. I know here
that Center Point Energy (Natural gas) and AEP/SWEPCO (Electric) use a computer in
their service vehicles to transmit data back and forth to their trucks. The service guys
can send a "completed job assignment", "at customer's home", "leaving for next service
call", and even, "I'm going to lunch now". This is all done to protect the customer's home
from being broken into by theives who hear on a scanner that the "customer not home".
It's part of the "Privacy Act". Some companies who still use analog radios, have gone to
using just a "service call number per truck", this eliminates the address given out. It also
enables the service guy to call "dispatch" and ask that their # 6,7,and 8 calls be telephoned
to see IF the customer is home ahead of time, saving a "busted trip" and gas, nowdays.

Respectfully,
73,

Don/KA5-LQJ
Shreveport, LA.
 
Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
488
Location
Louisville, KY.
OK so much for that idea. FYI I had no intension of "decrypting" anything, I thought they were saying that CAD (dispatch updates ect.) were sent in the open and MDT traffic(license/warrent checks ect.) were secure but since all is encrypted there's nothing to be done.Thanks anyway.
 

Bill_White

Member
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
260
Location
Perry, N.Y. FNØ2xr
You should have gotten into the hobby a little sooner..
15 or so years ago there was a program that would decode/display MDT traffic.:eek:
Everything I see now is encrypted.
 

alifeva

Member
Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Messages
16
Location
East
MCT's transmit via wireless so your best bet would be to buy Linux and make acquaintance with a computer hacker. Your friend will have to run a wireless signal sniffer (for example http://www.kismetwireless.net/index.shtml or air snort http://airsnort.shmoo.com/) You'll also need the right software so somehow you will have to find out what company your local PD went with so you can give em a call and find out about ordering a trial. So many variables involved but theoretically it is possible but your going to need a lot of inside information but possible nonetheless. When your all done you probably will have committed over 5 felonies and several misdemeanors. Not sure how many federal laws are involved but I'm sure quite a few. So don't try this at home.

PS if your wondering what the new systems are looking like and to get an idea of what an officer sees heres a link http://www.cts-america.com/images/content/prod/full/v6_MCT.jpg

Hope this paints a clearer picture
 

grem467

Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2002
Messages
884
Location
Houston, TX
alifeva said:
MCT's transmit via wireless so your best bet would be to buy Linux and make acquaintance with a computer hacker. Your friend will have to run a wireless signal sniffer (for example http://www.kismetwireless.net/index.shtml or air snort http://airsnort.shmoo.com/) You'll also need the right software so somehow you will have to find out what company your local PD went with so you can give em a call and find out about ordering a trial. So many variables involved but theoretically it is possible but your going to need a lot of inside information but possible nonetheless. When your all done you probably will have committed over 5 felonies and several misdemeanors. Not sure how many federal laws are involved but I'm sure quite a few. So don't try this at home.

PS if your wondering what the new systems are looking like and to get an idea of what an officer sees heres a link http://www.cts-america.com/images/content/prod/full/v6_MCT.jpg

Hope this paints a clearer picture

MDTs dont use 802.11 so those products are useless... and im sure the cell provider would have something to say about hackign their OTA encryption, much less the encryption layer used by the MDT application.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top