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    For M/A Com/Harris/GE, etc: there are two software packages that program all current and past radios. One package is for conventional programming and the other for trunked programming. The trunked package is in upwards of $2,500. The conventional package is more reasonable though is still several hundred dollars. The benefit is you do not need multiple versions for each radio (unlike Motorola).

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UglyViking

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All thread hijacking is welcome here. Good center basis for knowledge. I think more keywords increases SEO anyways and so more people might be able to find the thread and find the solution to their problems I hope.

Thank you @UglyViking for the help. I followed your instructions and I'm encountering the same issue. You are correct, I am indeed using a board from their website that I bought and loaded with the firmware from their fork on the Github. Again, it is able to read my radio, but alas, even after your instructions, I have not been able to use OmahaComms' KFDTool fork. When I sequentially plug in the arduino, then the arduino to the radio with the correctly soldered adapter, I still achieve the same result when I attempt to Detect MR. When I go to Keyload and generate and load, it gives me an error 'Error Parsing SLR'.

I don't know how to access the debugger to give you guys more information, either. I have emailed OmahaComms twice, but they haven't responded. I've done a lot of experimenting at this point and I'm very dumbfounded as to why I haven't been able to make this last bridge to my comms setup.

Again, you guys rock! Thanks for all the info so far and so forth.

Also, in my amateur novice opinion, I would definitely only enable the options you need on PCIssue to prevent overlap and I think you have a good instinct to indeed reduce redundancies to prevent conflict and strange things happening.
You need to set your SLN and Key ID in order to generate the key and attach it to the radio. So, first step is to open PCC, under Global you should see go to the second page (">>" on the far right), and you should see "Keys Table", with the mode set to SLN. Add a key there (just a new key on row 1 for this example).

Then flash the radio with the updated codeplug. From there, go to your keyloader, set both SLN and Key ID to 1 (since that is the key we set in the previous set), then generate the key and upload it to the radio.

Remember that you need to hold onto that key to use the same key across all radios you're programming together for obvious reasons. That cryptographic key needs to be kept secure from potential attack, as otherwise it can be used to listen in on your communication. Obviously your threat model will dictate the importance of this, but in my eyes if it's important enough to have the crypto radio, it's important enough to keep the key secure. Many ways to do that, you can google how to keep secure data safe.

Hopefully that helps.

Also, as @PPDE_607 mentioned, comms and logistics on instagram is a fantastic resource. He was instrumental in getting me up and running and helping remove a few roadblocks.
 
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I actually still haven't gotten encryption fully solved yet. I'm not sure my software is figured out. I tried to follow the instructions from the contributors in this thread and also from Comms&Logistics, but sometimes this information conflicts. Regardless, I've tried every combination of downloads. Is there something stopping someone from literally re-zipping or uploading their KFDShield software from the correct version on the Github fork with whatever working combination of files swapped in the directories? Because I think however I've been trying to use the software hasn't been working. I've double checked my cable and I think my soldering is good on the pins. But I want to rule out the program first by just downloading someone else's install that has worked for encrypting their radios. If there's any reason this can't be done let me know.

Thanks guys! Doing this at the request of @chunkyhenry
 

radio_tirpitz

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Jan 5, 2024
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@kitsapkilldeer I'm using a KFDShield, and it sounds like you are as well, in which case you can't use the KFDTool software as stated in the documentation from Omaha comms (assuming you bought and didn't DIY a board).

The software is available from their Github repo here. Download "Release V1.5.5" From the released sidebar (see first attached screenshot), then download the SW.V1.5.4.zip (screen two) and fw/ino/kfd-avr from the main (you can download via the code dropdown, see first screen).

That should allow you to generate and upload keys via the KFDShield.

As a question for others following this thread (and sorry about the thread hijacking but it seems to overlap), does anyone have documentation about the options for PCIssue? I'm curious to what some of the options do (eg. Emergency Disable, Custom Icons, etc.) and also if there is any reason to be concerned about selecting all the options?

Generally speaking, more options means more potential conflicts, issues, and attack vectors. I'm wondering if I should disable functions I'm not using on the radio (keypad support/programming) to reduce potential issues.
no matter what i do after following your directions, i get the timed out waiting for data pop up
i tried to run self test and i get the pop up
 

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UglyViking

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no matter what i do after following your directions, i get the timed out waiting for data pop up
i tried to run self test and i get the pop up
Sorry, Just now seeing this, email must have gotten lost in the mix.

In the screenshot provided it says there is no connected container. Can you list the steps of what you're doing so I can better understand where the failure is happening?

Are you sure you flashed the Arduino correctly?
 

otobmark

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Mar 19, 2003
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I had similar issue and it traced back to having software keys enabled in radio. I missed a box somewhere. Usually you cannot mix software and hardware (key loaded) keys in a radio—ie load all encryption keys with keyloader. So, make sure your radio does not have software keys enabled.
 
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