Cape Coral / Fort Myers to go digital

[KOscanner]

Sure I can do that. I am sure that they are both CCPD Dispatch channels. I am not sure which one is North Sector, South Sector, etc. Thats why I just labeled them dispatch 2 and 3. Is that accurate enough for a submission?

 

[UFEMTFF]

Sure I can do that. I am sure that they are both CCPD Dispatch channels. I am not sure which one is North Sector, South Sector, etc. Thats why I just labeled them dispatch 2 and 3. Is that accurate enough for a submission?

Explain that in your submission, and the DB admin will label them the best way he can.

 

[scanfreq315]

Correction

Sorry for the further derail, but...

18480 is actually Cape PD Dispatch 2 (North), and 18320 is Cape Coral PD Teletype for dispatch 2.
18096 is Cape PD Dispatch 1 for South Cape, and is the original dispatch channel before they were split into North and South regions 6-9 months ago.

For the last decade, there hasn't been a day I've gone without listening to Lee County Public Safety.

 

[r_johnson2007]

From the News Press September 19, 2007

A $6 million grant from the federal government, obtained by the Cape Coral Police Department, is going to help streamline communication between all Lee County emergency crews from Cape Coral, to Bonita Springs, to Lehigh, to Fort Myers, and improve response times.

"We're going to have a better, more reliable system that won't have to come from local taxes," Cape Coral police Chief Rob Petrovich said. "It's a win-win all the way around."

The total cost for the digital system, which will have communication access throughout the county using a series of towers, is going to be about $8 million, so what's not covered by the grant will be covered by the county.

Are there any updates on this? Any progress? It's now mid 2008 and still no switch.

 

[K4IHS]

The original article indicated the target date was December 2008. I've not heard or read anything more...

<snip>The new system will solve these issues by creating more channels and digitalizing them so they will change automatically when a crew is driving from one area to another. It should also decrease response times &#8212; something every department tries to keep at below five minutes, Stadtler said.

Stadtler and Michael Bridges, the county's deputy director of public safety, estimated the first changes will happen in Cape Coral and Pine Island by December 2008. That will be the first phase of the project. The rest of the county will follow in an additional two phases that should be completed by 2010.
<snip>

 

[hoser147]

Keep the info coming I got family on both sides of the Bridge...........Hoser

 

[gcr33]

This will be the third upgrade of the system. From three individual systems, to a simulcast system and now "improved" digital simulcast is coming. Thank God it's not real money but tax dollars at work.

The original article indicated the target date was December 2008. I've not heard or read anything more...

<snip>The new system will solve these issues by creating more channels and digitalizing them so they will change automatically when a crew is driving from one area to another. It should also decrease response times — something every department tries to keep at below five minutes, Stadtler said.

Stadtler and Michael Bridges, the county's deputy director of public safety, estimated the first changes will happen in Cape Coral and Pine Island by December 2008. That will be the first phase of the project. The rest of the county will follow in an additional two phases that should be completed by 2010.
<snip>

 

[WiFI_AES]

and Another Agency Drinks The Digital Kool-aid, Thinking This Will Make Their Communications Better And More Reliable.

Win For The Salesman, Lose For The System Users.

Digital Systems Need More Sites And/or More Power To Equal The Coverage Performance
Of Analog Systems. And You Can Listen Through Some Static And Still Get The Message,
But When Digital Gets To Fringe Coverage, Forget It. Space Movie Sound Effects Instead Of
Recognizable Voices.

That Grant Money Came From Your Tax Dollars At The Federal Level, So This Is Your Tax
Dollars At Work...spending More And Getting Less.


Elroy

+1

_____

 

[WiFI_AES]

Actually, yes, it is. But you'd need a LOT of computing horsepower in order to get reasonable average times to break a given key. To crack a DES key in an average of five days, you need to be able to test over 90 BILLION keys per second.

And it's a FELONY to decrypt encrypted communications that you are not authorized to intercept.

Elroy

I tend to have a very different outlook and philosophy regarding this issue. If propagators of intelligence (if I can apply that term) don't want me to interception and/or hear their "signal," encrypted or not, then they need to find a way to keep it out of my home, my lab, and most of all restrict it from propagating through my brain cells. Once a signal enters my owned, bought and paid for private domain, it's in my space and it's open game. Although there will be those who are tempted to argue my point, the ultimate purpose of encrypted public safety communications is to keep the public ignorant and uniformed. Police state, Nazism, fascism etc.

99% of scanner buffs are good, law abiding citizens. And 99% of criminals who would misuse intercepted communications, if they could, couldn't program a contemporary scanner correctly and use it properly if their life depended on it.

Sure there's a legitimate need for secure communications, such as military or government... private phone calls etc. But as far as PUBLIC safety system encryption goes, I don't like the way we're becoming a nation of creeps and sneaks who operate in dark shadows. That was the way of the KGB, (still is actually).

 

[gcr33]

No matter what you say or think if they encrypt you will not be able to hear it without the key. The chance of you getting that without a connection to the radio shop is less then slim.

Why however do you guys jump on the encryption thing everytime some one goes digital? In Palm Beach and Broward Co. there are several digital agencies and they are not encrypted. In fact only the special units of the Sheriff in Palm Beach are encrypted. Stop the sky is falling routine.

I tend to have a very different outlook and philosophy regarding this issue. If propagators of intelligence (if I can apply that term) don't want me to interception and/or hear their "signal," encrypted or not, then they need to find a way to keep it out of my home, my lab, and most of all restrict it from propagating through my brain cells. Once a signal enters my owned, bought and paid for private domain, it's in my space and it's open game. Although there will be those who are tempted to argue my point, the ultimate purpose of encrypted public safety communications is to keep the public ignorant and uniformed. Police state, Nazism, fascism etc.

99% of scanner buffs are good, law abiding citizens. And 99% of criminals who would misuse intercepted communications, if they could, couldn't program a contemporary scanner correctly and use it properly if their life depended on it.

Sure there's a legitimate need for secure communications, such as military or government... private phone calls etc. But as far as PUBLIC safety system encryption goes, I don't like the way we're becoming a nation of creeps and sneaks who operate in dark shadows. That was the way of the KGB, (still is actually).

 

[WX4JCW]

I don't think it is a matter of saying the Sky is falling,in fact to not be concerned would be irresponsible, However as Elroy put it the Moto salesman want to sell what they can to these agencies, some agencies are good enough to not fall into the trap, but others in the state have fallen into it. But Until The Lee County System is installed it is a moot point, however....

as in the cases of most agencies going encrypted, it was done so quietly with not much fanfare catching most hobbyists off guard, The sooner the hobbyists down there have a handle on the situation well then if they know encryption is coming, then it can be fought.

 

[WiFI_AES]

No matter what you say or think if they encrypt you will not be able to hear it without the key. The chance of you getting that without a connection to the radio shop is less then slim.

Why however do you guys jump on the encryption thing everytime some one goes digital? In Palm Beach and Broward Co. there are several digital agencies and they are not encrypted. In fact only the special units of the Sheriff in Palm Beach are encrypted. Stop the sky is falling routine.

It is not a "the-sky-is-falling" routine. I do not believe that Lee County, upon implementation of their digital system, will immediately go encrypted. However, I will bet you anything that all equipment will be outfitted as encryption-capable. Or as pop-tech lingo would call it, "encryption ready," and I guarantee there will be a few channels that will operate exclusively in an encrypted mode.

As was pointed out earlier, encryption is about the ONLY real advantage to a fully digital system. Poor modulation, information traffic delay and exacerbated dead-zones take a back seat to the all-coveted secrecy element. Government agencies simply cannot resist esoteric technology that puts them "one up" on the public. It's like two grade school children who have just devised a "secret code" to prevent their notes from being read be the teacher should they be "intercepted," and feeling rather smug about it.

With almost any government project (local, state or federal), there is usually always some sort of palatable and pleasant sounding pretense for its existence. "It's faster, it's safer, it's more reliable, we can help you better" etc. It's the only way they can justify the cost of an otherwise foolish and/or deceptive idea and sell it to the public. I have nothing against digital systems. I do have something against the implementation of a more untested, more unreliable system in place of the currently proven and reliable system. The benefits of a digital system if any (other than encryption) simply cannot be justified no matter how you slice it.

In simple terms, it's a farce.

 

[K4IHS]

It's the end of 2008 and still no change in the Cape Coral, FL comms. There was an article in the News-Press newspaper where the safety director was quoted as saying the new digital service would already be in use when they move into a new comm building in July 2009...

 

[K4IHS]

It's the first week of March. Cape Coral is still running analog on the Lee Co. Public Safety trunking system.

 

[scanfreq315]

I received some information recently that suggests that this is going to be at least postponed due to budget constraints. To protect the officials involved, I wish not to reveal my sources (there are 2).
So, HAPPY SCANNING FOLKS, for now.

No word on when the switch will resume.

 

[K4IHS]

I wonder where the $6 million went?

 

[radiomanNJ1]

It's in the bank of MADOFF!!

 

[K4IHS]

And... I haven't seen Motorola on the list looking for "bail out money"!

 

[radiomanNJ1]

And Tyco Wireless Communications as they are now known, (I still like Tinker Toy) is a Bermuda based company.

 

[scanfreq315]

I received some more information this week from a different but related source; there is at least one "user of the radio system" who is expecting the switch to take place, and when it does there will be at least 1, if not more, encrypted channel(s).

Sorry, I have no more detail than that.