Affiliation question

[737mech]

If I were to acquire a Motorola 700/800 apco phase 2 mobile radio and program it to rx only could I avoid affiliation of a phase 2 system and monitor the system?

 

[riveter]

No, the APXs will not track talkgroups or break squelch on TRSs in TX Inhibit/RX Only modes, in my experience. However, the no-affiliate scan method (scan from conventional personality) works just fine. Read up on that before you buy though, be very careful with that.

 

[PSNY]

I am curious about something along these lines as well. Trunking systems are still somewhat Greek to me, and even more so are all these different modes and whatnot. Say for instance, an agency you work for uses Motorola apx on that new 700/800 band and you clone the radio into another apx you personally own, from what I believe I'm reading, if that new radio you just cloned everything into is set up for tx inhibit, the radio will not scan the systems? Would the radio have to affiliate with the system in order to be able to monitor it? Is it possible to clone the radio and not have it interfere with the system in any way if the tx wasnt inhibited? Would the system get all funked up with a cloned radio just merely turned on and monitoring?

 

[phillydjdan]

If you scan the channels you want while sitting on a conventional channel it will work just fine. I do it every day. No affiliation at all.

 

[DanRollman]

If I were to acquire a Motorola 700/800 apco phase 2 mobile radio and program it to rx only could I avoid affiliation of a phase 2 system and monitor the system?

Not really. For Motorola brand radios, there are back-door methods that require simultaneously scanning conventional channels (somewhat slowing down your scan) and hacking system keys, but not recommended, and if you do it wrong you can have a major problem.

Better to just get a Relm or Harris phase 2 radio, which has a true "receive only" programming option that avoids affiliation, doesn't require a system key, and doesn't require any of the jury rigging you have to do to use a Motorola radio as a scanner.

Dan

 

[buddrousa]

I am curious about something along these lines as well. Trunking systems are still somewhat Greek to me, and even more so are all these different modes and whatnot. Say for instance, an agency you work for uses Motorola apx on that new 700/800 band and you clone the radio into another apx you personally own, from what I believe I'm reading, if that new radio you just cloned everything into is set up for tx inhibit, the radio will not scan the systems? Would the radio have to affiliate with the system in order to be able to monitor it? Is it possible to clone the radio and not have it interfere with the system in any way if the tx wasnt inhibited? Would the system get all funked up with a cloned radio just merely turned on and monitoring?

I am sure the software would catch you if both radios were to affiliate with different sites at the same time. From the looks of the data streams the radios send a request to and receive a reply back from a controlling server. I am not sure but I know our local state wide system logs all UID's and has found some things that should not be where they were.

 

[MTS2000des]

I am sure the software would catch you if both radios were to affiliate with different sites at the same time.

We use GenWatch 3 with CloneWatch to alert us to cloned radios registering on different talkgroups in different zones, "impossible drive", etc. And of course, one can always look at the reports from the ATIA and use the detailed information captured in the zone core to make a nice, air tight case against the criminal who intrudes on our system.