Denver and ESK and Nextel????

[k0pwo]

Saw some info on another site saying that denver is expecting to go to esk during the nextel rebanding. Nextel's rebanding is due to take the next 3 years to complete according to the info posted in both MRT magazine and radio resource magazine. So where do the people with this july of 2005 information get their info. I am just curious where this info came from.

In addition, from the info I have read from sereral online sources. Most of the dept's that have turned on esk on their systems have quickly turned it back off because of timing and other issues. Has anyone read or heard of this? Of course there are a few depts that are running esk on their systems and have been for quite some times. Notably a couple of depts in southern texas.

Anyhow, what have you all heard and if you have heard that it is coming soon, then what are your sources and where is Denver getting the money to convert each and every pd mobile radio that is currently a MDX ???

Thanks,

Dave

 

[n4voxgill]

Colorado is in the group to be re-banded first. Negotiations start with this group this summer. Here is a site with a lot of good information and charts showing dates.

http://www.apcointl.org/frequency/800hp.htm

 

[eyes00only]

Have not checked your link yet, but the original post was in reference to DENVER. I would really be *%^&*% if I could not monitor Denver! Also, if the DTRS system becomes unmonitorable, I will be happy that I didn't spend $500 on a scanner. I'll check out your link in the morning (oops it is morning :lol: ).

Jerry

 

[BobWeb]

Why would the DTRS become unmonitorable? I know the 96 can deal with 700, or so I've been told.

 

[firescannerbob]

I believe that while the Pro96 can monitor 700mhz, it can't track it. Sort of like monitoring the DTRS with a BC250D. You could listen, but not track.

 

[RF-Intel]

Saw some info on another site saying that denver is expecting to go to esk during the nextel rebanding. Nextel's rebanding is due to take the next 3 years to complete according to the info posted in both MRT magazine and radio resource magazine. So where do the people with this july of 2005 information get their info. I am just curious where this info came from.

I have been talking about this date as my personal estimate. Since Denver has already been in negotiations with Nextel, they could begin re-banding as soon as July.

Simply, how could they not rationalize doing at least the ESK feature upgrade at re-banding? To do otherwise on a feature that they have said they are implementing would be a giant waste of time and money. Whether they turn it on or not is questionable.

However, mobiles aside, they would likely still have issues doing it in a reasonable time frame. I don't think we will see it as soon as July, but I think the capability will be there at re-banding.

 

[SCPD]

I'd love to know what their true intention is for this feature. I agree that they'd be fools (if it's something they want) not to set up the radios when they have to all come in.

But are they really planning on turning it on, or do they just want to have it in their back pocket in case of more idiots that transmit? It's really too bad that the M/A-Com engineers designed the feature to be all or nothing. They should have designed a feature that can prevent TX (by changing the in-bound signaling required to get on). But I think M/A-Com still resents the fact that someone made an EDACS scanner. They've always been anti-scanner.

Besides being a major bummer for all of us, it seems like ESK is going to cause problems for their interoperability plan. Lakewood already uses Denver's system as a backup to theirs and Aurora can switch over to Denver. All those radios would have to be set up with ESK also.

And if they ever really set up a true wide area coverage system where the radios can switch from site to site automatically between Denver and the other EDACS systems, again they'd all have to have ESK in the radios.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they won't really turn it on full time. I wonder if it would do any good for monitors to do like they did in Phoenix, which worked. They lobbied to not have encryption on the main channels and the police announced (officially) that they wouldn't do that (Our request would be for no ESK).

I still think that it does more good than harm to let the few (compared to the whole population) people listen that want to (not talking about very sensitive stuff). I think when people are educated about what public safety people do every day, they appreciate them more.

I don't know if Denver officials agree with that, but that's what I think. Also, Boulder does agree with that and doesn't mind people listening. And they even have a conventional system that is much easier to break into and TX. Hopefully no idiots just read that.........

 

[k0pwo]

Last time I was down at EEB they had boxes and boxes of equipment from ma-com and I was told that it was all networking equipment to set up the wide area network so that all the metro area 800mhz edacs systems can network together into one wide area system that all radios can use seamlessly. That is Denver's main goal and desire. The repeaters for denver's public safety system have been able to pass provoice for some time so I can only assume that they could also turn on esk all this time but haven't because the mobile units in the patrol cars could not do esk. In addition, I am not sure what type of radio arvada and westy are using these days in the patrol cars. I would assume they have stepped up to orions by now, but I don't know. If they are still using the old mrk's then they also are not able to do esk. Lakewood on the other hand and Aurora are all ready to go esk radio wise if they choose to ever. If the wide are network is installed and someday it works like it suppose to, how it has been explained to me by edacs techs, its all or none when it comes to esk on the network. Unlike the provice which can be passed through the network regardless of which system it is actually being transmitted thru the esk must be on or off on all the networked repeaters. So it is my opinion that denver will flash the esk feature when they reband, however, they probably in my opinion will not turn it on for quite some time. Since I beleive that the network option is still their highest priority.


Dave

 

[BobWeb]

I believe that while the Pro96 can monitor 700mhz, it can't track it. Sort of like monitoring the DTRS with a BC250D. You could listen, but not track.

Hmmm, that would suck. I was thinking I remembered a post where someone said it would track correctly with like 7 table entries or something like that, but I could be mistaken. I hope I am remembering correctly.

 

[SCPD]

The 2nd page of this explains how the feature to stop you evil eavesdroppers works. You might have to zoom in because the font is really bad.................

http://www.macom-wireless.com/Chann...tepro controller & edacs security key.pdf

 

[RF-Intel]

I believe that while the Pro96 can monitor 700mhz, it can't track it. Sort of like monitoring the DTRS with a BC250D. You could listen, but not track.

Hmmm, that would suck. I was thinking I remembered a post where someone said it would track correctly with like 7 table entries or something like that, but I could be mistaken. I hope I am remembering correctly.

Nope, sorry! Pro-96 will not track 700 MHz voice channels properly. Been there, tried that. You can hear the voice channels if you scan them in FM mode however.

I have been assured that the BCD396T should properly track 700MHz upon it's release...

 

[BobWeb]

Darn, guess I'll have to buy a 396 then, assuming it actually does support 700 tracking.