Uniden scanner which 1 to buy?

[dss56]

I have a BCD996XT and a BCD396XT both work great.

I see Rhode Island police and some other agencies have gone to encrypted audio on their frequencies.

Is there a scanner out there that would be able to receive the RI encrypted police and other frequencies?

thanks

 

[kh6sz]

I have a BCD996XT and a BCD396XT both work great.

I see Rhode Island police and some other agencies have gone to encrypted audio on their frequencies.

Is there a scanner out there that would be able to receive the RI encrypted police and other frequencies?

thanks

In short, NO.

 

[dss56]

Thanks is there anything in the works that might work in the near future?

 

[kh6sz]

Thanks is there anything in the works that might work in the near future?

I don't forsee any scanner manufacture making a scanner that will decode encrypted transmissions. That gets into all kinds of legal issues.

 

[marksmith]

It's actually a violation of federal law if you could do it, which you can't.

Mark
536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

 

[dss56]

Thanks again for the info. So what if starting soon lots of states and towns incorporate this it will either put the scanner makers out or someone will come up with something.

I had someone ask me to program his scanner from RI and I told him police are encrypted audio.

thanks

 

[Nasby]

Thanks again for the info. So what if starting soon lots of states and towns incorporate this it will either put the scanner makers out or someone will come up with something.

I had someone ask me to program his scanner from RI and I told him police are encrypted audio.

thanks

Yep. And there in lies the problem.
Happy Holidays!

 

[jonwienke]

Thanks is there anything in the works that might work in the near future?

The whole point of encryption is to make it mathematically impossible to decrypt unless you have the encryption key. You can listen to the frequency, but you can't get intelligible audio without the key, even if you have a radio that is otherwise capable of decryption (which scanners aren't).

 

[UPMan]

Even if scanners were capable of handling encryption (no law against that), you would then have to convince the agency to give you their decryption key (no possibility of that).

Moot point, though, as there are no scanners made that allow you to enter a decryption key for encrypted channels.

 

[AZ645]

What does the media do then? Find other ways to respond to events?

 

[UPMan]

In Fort Worth, TV stations are issued actual radios by the department locked to some specific channels they are allowed to monitor.

 

[Nasby]

What does the media do then? Find other ways to respond to events?

For many areas its just "tough luck" for the media.
The local government agencies using encryption just don't care.

 

[Skypilot007]

Even transmissions in the clear on P25 phase II systems sound like they are encrypted most of the time because the modern day scanners with all the wiz bang options can't properly decode a linear simulcast phase II system with out distortion. It's tough luck for us even when they're in the clear !

 

[jonwienke]

Even transmissions in the clear on P25 phase II systems sound like they are encrypted most of the time because the modern day scanners with all the wiz bang options can't properly decode a linear simulcast phase II system with out distortion. It's tough luck for us even when they're in the clear !

Actually, no. I monitor 2 counties that simulcast, and while reception is not always perfect, the majority of the time transmissions are readable. The county I live in has occasional garbles, but the other one has nearly perfect reception because I'm only getting signal from one tower. Simulcast makes good reception more difficult, but not impossible.

 

[marksmith]

Actually, no. I monitor 2 counties that simulcast, and while reception is not always perfect, the majority of the time transmissions are readable. The county I live in has occasional garbles, but the other one has nearly perfect reception because I'm only getting signal from one tower. Simulcast makes good reception more difficult, but not impossible.

My experience is similar.

Mark
536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

 

[Skypilot007]

Actually, no. I monitor 2 counties that simulcast, and while reception is not always perfect, the majority of the time transmissions are readable. The county I live in has occasional garbles, but the other one has nearly perfect reception because I'm only getting signal from one tower. Simulcast makes good reception more difficult, but not impossible.

Try using a scanner in a mobile application. It's terrible, almost useless on phase II systems. Uniden and Whistler both know what needs to be done to fix the problems. Will they do it?

 

[marksmith]

Try using a scanner in a mobile application. It's terrible, almost useless on phase II systems. Uniden and Whistler both know what needs to be done to fix the problems. Will they do it?

This also has something to do with the systems you monitor.

I use an HP-2 in 2 different vehicles and daily monitor a Phase 2 system and it is clear as a bell in terms of reception.

I have no problems with a 436 or 536 monitoring this P2 system, and it also comes in great on an old PSR800.

I have more difficulty with a Phase 1 simulcast system. Actually cannot receive it at home because I am between towers, but receive pretty well when I am mobile.

Mark
536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

 

[jonwienke]

I run my scanner in my vehicle all the time in simulcast territory.

Yes, there are occasional garbles and dropouts in certain locations, But I get most traffic clearly.

I've taken the time to set the optimal manual threshold level for each simulcast site in the Favorite Lists I use.

 

[SIGG]

So for the sake of clarity - would it be technically possible for a scanner to be manufactured that could handle encryption? From reading this thread it seems that one does not already exist.

I'm thinking of say a volunteer fire department who had encrypted comms (I know, unlikely) but wanted their members to be able to listen for calls and would give out the encryption key for that purpose. Is that actually possible?

 

[UPMan]

Theoretically, yes. But, you'd still need to get the encryption key(s) from the agency(ies) you want to monitor...