Sentinel: Does Sentinel list encrypted channels from the database?

[Aviation_Scanner]

As the thread title says, does Sentinel list encrypted channels from the RR database?
If so, I suppose I will need to remove/avoid them on my favorite lists from within Sentinel?

 

[n1chu]

Whatever the submitter has included should be listed. At least that’s how Radio Reference runs the database that Sentinel uses. But does Sentinel scrub Radio Reference’s database? A quick check of Sentinel should answer your question. The database lists an upper case E after the mode of transmission if the frequency or talkgroup is encrypted full time and a lower case e if it’s part time or certain segments of an agency are encrypted. Ex: police Dept has the lower case e listed… dispatch may be encrypted part time or a division of the police dept (detectives, SWAT) is encrypted full time. There are variations.

Uniden includes in their scanners the ability to ignore encryption automatically and resuming scanning. But there are many forms of encryption, some of which the newer Uniden scanners do not recognize. And even some that are recognized will be heard from time to time. I have heard encrypted transmissions with my SDS100 and SDS200 that the Uniden scanner are supposed to ignore. But only once or twice in all the years I’ve been monitoring. I’ve been running these newer scanners since their original release dates.

Bottom line, in all practicality, since encrypted signals can’t be understood, you can either choose not to include them or Avoid them in your programming, or do neither. Instead, let the Uniden scanner do the ignoring for you. I do not believe other scanner manufacturers have the ability to ignore encryption but since I only run Uniden products, I will leave that to others better informed.

 

[hiegtx]

As the thread title says, does Sentinel list encrypted channels from the RR database?
If so, I suppose I will need to remove/avoid them on my favorite lists from within Sentinel?

ProScan has a setting in the “import” process to exclude encrypted channels when processing the import items you’ve selected. In some of your other posts, you stated that you are using SRC536. I don’t have that software but I suspect ARC can exclude encrypted items.

 

[n1chu]

ARC has full editing capabilities, so yes.

 

[gcopter1]

Sentinel lists everything, but it does not make a distinction of what is or isn't encrypted.

Some departments encrypt part time thus, it would be a bad idea not to list channels just because they are encrypted.

 

[10-43]

Whatever the submitter has included should be listed. At least that’s how Radio Reference runs the database that Sentinel uses. But does Sentinel scrub Radio Reference’s database? A quick check of Sentinel should answer your question. The database lists an upper case E after the mode of transmission if the frequency or talkgroup is encrypted full time and a lower case e if it’s part time or certain segments of an agency are encrypted. Ex: police Dept has the lower case e listed… dispatch may be encrypted part time or a division of the police dept (detectives, SWAT) is encrypted full time. There are variations.

Uniden includes in their scanners the ability to ignore encryption automatically and resuming scanning. But there are many forms of encryption, some of which the newer Uniden scanners do not recognize. And even some that are recognized will be heard from time to time. I have heard encrypted transmissions with my SDS100 and SDS200 that the Uniden scanner are supposed to ignore. But only once or twice in all the years I’ve been monitoring. I’ve been running these newer scanners since their original release dates.

Bottom line, in all practicality, since encrypted signals can’t be understood, you can either choose not to include them or Avoid them in your programming, or do neither. Instead, let the Uniden scanner do the ignoring for you. I do not believe other scanner manufacturers have the ability to ignore encryption but since I only run Uniden products, I will leave that to others better informed.

I assume I am hearing the leading edge of encrypted traffic when there is a digital bleep for a split second and scanning resumes.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

ProScan has a setting in the “import” process to exclude encrypted channels when processing the import items you’ve selected.

This is one of the many reasons I prefer it over Sentinel for favorites lists editing. Only prerequisite for the OP is they'll need an RR premium sub to utilize the RRDB web import service

 

[hiegtx]

This is one of the many reasons I prefer it over Sentinel for favorites lists editing. Only prerequisite for the OP is they'll need an RR premium sub to utilize the RRDB web import service

For direct imports from the main, online, database, yep, premium is needed. But not needed if the import, instead, was from Sentinel’s database. (Offhand, not sure if the Sentinel database import has the “encryption exclusion” option is available.)

 

[RandyKuff]

Sentinel does not have that capability...

 

[mc48]

You should program in the encrypted TG's so that you can Avoid them, if you don't the radio will stop on those TG's momentarily if you ever use the ID search function.

 

[ofd8001]

And if you are watching the scanner, you may see a momentary "hit" when the scanner lands on an encrypted channel, so you might know if there is activity on a given talkgroup. For whatever it is worth.