Blaine Border Patrol and local Police

[arockwel]

A few years ago the Blaine sector Border Patrol went digital. Are they also encrypted? I'm also interested in hearing the local cities (Blaine, Lynden, Sumas) that use the same dispatcher and wondering if they're also encrypted, too. Are they still running off 163.625?

 

[Marv_Ellis]

A few years ago the Blaine sector Border Patrol went digital. Are they also encrypted? I'm also interested in hearing the local cities (Blaine, Lynden, Sumas) that use the same dispatcher and wondering if they're also encrypted, too. Are they still running off 163.625?

I haven't noted anything, analog or digital, on 163.625 for a long time (a few years?).

The USBP and the local PDs dispatched by the BP Sector (Blaine, Lynden and Sumas) moved to the Dept of Justice Integrated Wireless Net (IWN) some years back. It is a P25 compliant system (digital trunked). The freqs and talkgroups are in the radio reference database.

As for what there is to hear, it's mainly encrypted. The BP Sector dispatch (780) side and USBP comms are encrypted, but the local PDs comms are often? sometimes? in the clear (obviously difficult to determine if it's encrypted).

 

[Marv_Ellis]

As for what there is to hear, it's mainly encrypted. The BP Sector dispatch (780) side and USBP comms are encrypted, but the local PDs comms are often? sometimes? in the clear (obviously difficult to determine if it's encrypted).

I just re-read my own post and realized it may be unclear as to what I mean. One may hear half of a conversation in the clear, and the other half garbled (encrypted). When I am using the PRO-106 I can hear the garbled audio, so I can tell I'm hearing half of a conversation. With the BCD396XT, the encrypted (garbled) audio is muted, so one cannot even tell if a channel is active or not. You just hear sporadic comms in the clear. I was just trying to emphasize that estimating the ratio of encrypted comms to unencrypted comms is difficult.

Most of the comms I monitor that are in the clear seem to be the local PDs (ID'd by unit numbers).

Clear as mud? Good. My work here is done. :lol:

Paul

 

[arockwel]

Thanks SiouxCity: So bottom line is if I buy a scanner that can receive digital trunked communications I should be able to hear the city police some/most of the time, but usually not the Border Patrol.

Also, are these the freqs and talkgroups you're referring to: http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=3509.

 

[SCPD]

IWN is about 99.2% encrypted.

 

[Marv_Ellis]

Thanks SiouxCity: So bottom line is if I buy a scanner that can receive digital trunked communications I should be able to hear the city police some/most of the time, but usually not the Border Patrol.

Also, are these the freqs and talkgroups you're referring to: U.S. Dept. of Justice: Integrated Wireless Network (IWN) Trunking System, Various, Multi-State - Scanner Frequencies.

You're welcome. Yes, those are the freqs and talkgroups I'm referring to.