KCFD has been sending units to the fire academy auditorium this morning. Dispatchers are asking fire personnel to bring in their mobile laptops and portable radios. Not sure if they're reprogramming/adding encryption or if it's just a simple training class. Just something to keep ears/eyes on. Last bit of information I received a while back is that KCFD will remain in the clear. That may have changed.
2023 - Kansas City Metro Area MARRS P25 Trunked Radio System
- Thread starter talkpair
- Start date
Attached is the MARRS Management Council meeting minutes from 3/1/23. Looks like all of the primary law enforcement dispatch groups are staying clear for now, but there are some agencies that are "talking about making changes (possibly adding encryption) but haven't decided yet". It wouldn't surprise me if Lenexa and Shawnee decides to go that route eventually.
Not sure. They were using those talkgroups a while back to evaluate and test the equipment. I haven't heard any testing for several months which leads me to believe it was a temporary thing. 33004 and 33005 are typically used for FD training scenarios.
bctrainers
Member
Hi, on ScanJoCo.us I have tagged numerous radios with 1677#### as their identifier as a Roaming Unit (there are many of them). This generally designates that the user's radio is not on their configured home site (JoCo unit is not on the JoCo MARRS site, or KCMO on the JoCo site) and is off-system (JoCo on WyCo, being transmitted back to JoCo). In some (read: many) instances, those units will be transmitting from KSICS or MOSWIN into KC MARRS. It's a bit convoluted, but that's how the system is currently configured.
Do note that RegCom's 15 and up are all encrypted. If anything pops onto ScanJoCo's RegComs in those ranges, it will be due to P25 propagation/radio delay on TrunkRecorder. The recording will be less than 0.1s and be digital noise/encryption sounds.
In JoCo - from what I've been told, PD 1 will likely remain clear for the foreseeable future. Everything else, such as PD2, PD3, Tac's, Admin, etc, for FD and PD, are encrypted. There has been chatter with some agencies considering strapping full-time encryption onto PD 1 and calling it a day. However, here in late 2023, I am unsure where that stands with a few JoCo agencies.
In my opinion, I believe that JoCo agencies have struck a near-perfect balance between public 'need to know' and 'operational security' with PD 1 / Primaries being in the clear, and the rest being encrypted. (Secretly, I was hoping that Missouri agencies would go the route of Primary in clear, rest encrypted... but the 'blanket' was pulled up on everything.)
Hopefully, it remains temporary - because how KCFD configured it was truly deafening and abrupt.
Last edited:
Yes it was very obnoxious. I highly doubt they'll ever make it a permanent/operational thing based on how their dispatch center operates. My understanding from one of their former dispatchers is the automated voice system failed miserably when it came to setting off "bells" at each fire station. My thought on it is "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" (referring to having a human dispatch calls vs a robot).Hopefully, it remains temporary - because how KCFD configured it was truly deafening and abrupt.
mgolden2
Member
Those agencies all had their own numbering system prior to being dispatched by KCFD, and that system was kept once KCFD took over their dispatching.
Just FYI if you don't know already JOCO LEO's will be going 100% encrypted January 24 2024 as far as I know Fire Dispatch will still be in the open.
Similar threads
