Covington City gone digital?

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jwilliamh

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I'm receiving a report that Covington City has gone digital however I'm too far to confirm (I'm in northern Virginia). Can anyone in that neck of the woods confirm and determine what type of digital they have switched to.

Thanks in advance!
 

csxfanimrkva

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Covington Digital

I'm receiving a report that Covington City has gone digital however I'm too far to confirm (I'm in northern Virginia). Can anyone in that neck of the woods confirm and determine what type of digital they have switched to.

Thanks in advance!

Unless something has changed, people up there said they went NXDN.
 

Ghstwolf62

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Covington PD and Alleghany county SO have switched to Rolling Code Encryption on a Nexedge digital system. While being used off and on for the last few weeks the official switchover was 11/15. This was submitted but not entered in the DB
As a note at around 2010 this evening the County's Nexedge crashed and they fell back to analog.

It was forecast to last about 2 weeks but it seems to have failed earlier. LOL

The new system is being used as conventional and on their old channels of .975 and .300 along with Simplex on input and output on each.

As soon as they get it fixed I would imagine they'll be back to it again.

The first transmission tonight was "Welcome back to scanner land" by one of the deputies. You could feel the enthusiasm dripping off his voice.

I can only confirm about Covington because when the system crashed tonight one of the deputies told Dispatch to call Covington and let them know if they didn't turn off the digital and switch back to analog then county and city wouldn't be able to communicate tonight.

Fire/Rescue for County is still analog and in the clear. I'm guessing Covington is as well but don't know for sure.
 

Ghstwolf62

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Just as an update

While there has been some unit to unit digital traffic today for the most part Dispatch and everything is still transmitting on the backup analog system.
 

Ghstwolf62

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I know they have their reasons and were sold this by the vendor, but why not use this as a secure tac channel and leave the working analog as is?

My opinions

I think its a matter of several things.
1 Their analog frequencies which they used to use for analog are what they're using for the Nexedge encrypted digital system. They didn't get new freqs for the Nexedge system. The two channels they did have were for the west side of the county on .300 and the east side on .975. They've combined them into one channel now but each by themselves didn't cover everything.
2. They can't get any more freqs out here. There are no 450+ or 800 channels available and 150 is out of the question due to STARS grabbing all of those. Low band is all that is left which they don't want except for fire plus due to something called a "Quiet Zone" their power levels except low band are severely limited.
3. The SO is paranoid over everything and I mean everything like barking dog complaints etc. I was wrong about figures a while back and it was apparently only about 450,000.00+ they had in grant money for a digital system and the SO wanted something no one AT ALL could listen in on. That's why they not only picked Nexedge but advanced rolling code encryption on top of it. I was about to buy an NX-300 when I got told not to waste my money.
4. The two remaining channels are east county channels and won't work county-wide so they are just sitting there and have been for a while since County and Clifton Forge merged dispatching.
5. They are and have been using both input and output frequencies on the two main channels in simplex digital mode for local secure tac channels. Then again they use Channel 14 and 23 on their CBs too. :)

So there are no channels to use for each except mixed mode which they are doing again tonight. Some traffic digital and most analog.

See more in PM
 

kc4jgc

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. Low band is all that is left which they don't want except for fire plus due to something called a "Quiet Zone" their power levels except low band are severely limited.

You're referring to the National Radio Quiet Zone (NRQZ), centered on the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Green Bank WV and a USN facility in Sugar Grove WV.

Details here:
National Radio Quiet Zone
 

rod223

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nexedge radio

I bought a NEXEDGE handheld and what I have heard sounds more like voice scrambling. If it was rolling code there would be a ticking sound. The bad news is I have to find the right code from a list of over 32,700 codes. Does anyone know how I could speed up the process since I can only program sixteen codes at one time.
 

Ghstwolf62

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I bought a NEXEDGE handheld and what I have heard sounds more like voice scrambling. If it was rolling code there would be a ticking sound. The bad news is I have to find the right code from a list of over 32,700 codes. Does anyone know how I could speed up the process since I can only program sixteen codes at one time.

I don't know about what it should sound like etc. I just mentioned that someone that definitely knows said it was advanced rolling code encryption. It has a basic option of encryption I know but not sure what that is.

It would be nice if its simple to do and I was going to buy a Nexedge radio to do it when I learned of the encryption. Then figured not much point in it.

If you figure it out please let us know. I would love to be able to listen in again.

Good luck with it
 

Ghstwolf62

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I know it's been said a thousand times on here...but it is a federal offense to even try to decode encryption.

But what he's describing sounds like voice inversion or scrambling as he put it. I may be 100% in the wrong but deciphering that I always thought was perfectly legal especially since there has been a guy making the equipment to do so openly selling it for years. (Analog, not sure if it does any kind of digital)

I have in years past seen directions on how to contact said person and purchase said equipment on this site as well. So makes me wonder if its illegal why has it always been okay to post info on it here?
 

gcgrotz

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I know it's been said a thousand times on here...but it is a federal offense to even try to decode encryption.

Right, and that includes voice inversion. It doesn't matter what someone "thinks" is legal or not, you can't do it. Only if the system administration gives you permission (written) and they give you the code you need.

People sell cellular and GPS jammers and CB amps too but that doesn't make them legal.
 
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brownlab

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I have been following this thread and have nothing to add except that I feel that any local law enforcement agency that encrypts has something to hide. That includes the DC police. At least you still have Fire and Rescue plus STARS and if something is really going on, I am sure you will get more on STARS than the locals. I sometimes monitor Warren County which is around the size of Allegany population wise and when you get down to it, what are you really missing? Drunks, baking dogs, and domestics calls? Still I feel for you because I know how frustrating it is not to be able to monitor your local police department (which you pay for). Happy New Year.
 

Ghstwolf62

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I have been following this thread and have nothing to add except that I feel that any local law enforcement agency that encrypts has something to hide. That includes the DC police. At least you still have Fire and Rescue plus STARS and if something is really going on, I am sure you will get more on STARS than the locals. I sometimes monitor Warren County which is around the size of Allegany population wise and when you get down to it, what are you really missing? Drunks, baking dogs, and domestics calls? Still I feel for you because I know how frustrating it is not to be able to monitor your local police department (which you pay for). Happy New Year.


I think its frustrating because I have been listening since my teen years, just miss it. Wherever I've lived I've been able to monitor. Plus for several years I had it part and parcel with running ambulance in LA County.

Always had LaCoFd, LASO, plus a few local departments for our response area. Kept informed on what was going on which came in handy in running calls more than once. You get a call over county for a head injury at 123 Main while LASO gets a call for a 415F, 390 at 123 Main then you kinda know to wait for that 97 call from LASO before going in. (fight call with drunk) (arriving) LOL

Then driving OTR trucking I had the thing all over the country listening.

Out here though I think it is very shortsighted and rather stupid of them. Since it's small town like people often call in with info on calls that benefits the SO. Now for the most part they don't have that. Except of course when it crashes which it did again last night btw. They only got it up and running again a couple hours ago. :)

I've been able to help them more than once over the years, people often call in stuff like who a loose horse or cow belongs to and sometimes information on suspects which have been broadcast. Usual stuff. (and no I didn't chase the call or anything else) They get lots of help called in by citizens who heard something on the scanner. And yes there are those who listen to one to avoid the cops like everywhere but still.

But now not only have they lost that but they've angered a lot of the citizens out here over not being able to listen any longer. Like I said shortsighted and stupid.

But then again these are the people who use 10-21 for barking dog complaints and kids skateboarding in parking lots. Maybe stupid already applied.

You're right in STARS and the local FD. It's so funny over the years when SO is all 10-21 hush hush about something and fire gets dispatched to stage at their station and 10-21 dispatch when they get there and then on the fire tac channels they are all talking between themselves and other responding members about what it's all about. Then about a 1/2 hour too late county tells them to shut the blank up on the radio.

It has left me laughing my rear off more than once.

So yeah not knowing why 5 cop cars are down the road in our complex or who's fighting who amongst the neighbors is missed. :)

Happy New Year to you too as well everyone else here.
 

Ghstwolf62

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Well as an update the system crashed a few nights ago, again.
They've been on analog ever since and last night when a unit asked whether they were on analog or digital because everyone seemed to be doing whatever they wanted the dispatcher replied that the Sheriff himself has posted a note that all communications are to remain analog until further notice.

As a side note units are using the ERT channel and ERT Tac channel for private conversations. Not sure if that is one and the same or not.

Maybe someone has got the idea finally to leave routine comms open and use the ERT tac channel for sensitive information.

Yeah I know, wishful thinking :)
 
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