Johnston county

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anode505

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I'm a newbie, so bear with me.

PRO-106 and ARC500 software (Reg'd)

I'm having issues with the digital in this county. The analog is working fine, can hear all the school bus, animal control, EMS, etc just peachy keen.
But the digital is DOA. (could the whole county be THAT quiet? no traffic in an hour? EMS seems busy enough) Been using P-25 auto; is that wrong? (like I said, EDACS STD works fine with the analog)

I've been able to get the VIPER stuff to work (even digital TGs) on the Moto, but the county & town (in JoCo) aren't on viper as far as I can tell.

TIA,
Dave
 

jthorpe

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There is no scanner currently made or no scanner that will ever be made to monitor EDACS digital. I know it's a bummer but you will never be able to hear those talk groups. Johnston only uses a couple of VIPER Talkgroups. JCC 911 for mutual aid between Johnston and Wake fire departments and VPRJCLAW which is mutual aid between Highway Patrol and Johnston County Sheriff or other Departments.
 

KE4ZNR

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As JThorpe points out Johnston County uses a type of radio system (called EDACS Provoice) where, using a scanner, you can monitor the analog talkgroups but not the digital talkgroups. Unfortunately the majority of public safety traffic on the system is handled on the digital Provoice talkgroups.
The few VIPER Talkgroups JThorpe mentions are for interoperability purposes (JC911 for Fire/EMS calls where Garner may check in) and (VIPRJCLAW for SHP to Johnston County Sheriff).
Wish we had better news for you but if nothing else at least you now know it was not programming mistakes on your end.
Marshall KE4ZNR
 

Drafin

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Well jt's right (discounting the crystal ball statement of there NEVER being a Digital ProVoice scanner, there very well may never be but I hate using absolutes on subjective topics, never is a long time).

I'm in the same situation up here with Hickory. They are also a ProVoice system for law enforcement, but we can monitor garbage pickup and dog catchers.

Seems like the VIPER option would have been cheaper in the long run, but I guess some agencies have something to hide and have to go ProVoice.

Draf
 

KE4ZNR

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As far as Johnston County, I can't really ding them too much for going with Provoice. They had decided on an EDACS system years before VIPER was built out. They operated in analog mode for a bit then did the natural upgrade (for them) path to Provoice. It seems to work for them.

Hickory was kind of in the same boat for awhile. They also had their EDACS system in use before VIPER was fully built out. Yet, when they had the chance in the last couple of years to decide on an upgrade path they went with Opensky. :confused: Even though Catawba County uses a series of VIPER Talkgroups.

Yes, the main objective of VIPER is as an interop solution, not as a day to day primary use system (no matter what we Wake County folks are doing :D) but Hickory could have chosen something a little more compatible it seems.

I just want to meet the salesperson that sold them on Opensky as he deserves the "snowjob of the year" award. Hell of a salesman that person is.

Marshall KE4ZNR
 

Drafin

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You are right Marshall I meant to say Hickory is OpenSky instead of ProV.

Knowing the politics of this area it has always seemed (to me) that Hickory is one of "those" agencies. You know the type I'm talking about. The type that thinks that they can handle anything and need no help at all from any other agency and would prefer it if they were on an island and separated completely.

Plus the fact that I'm sure that the slick salesman sold them on the fact that it was unmonitorable and that if VIPER did not work out they would be locked into a new system anyway. Those two points and I'd have mentioned in passing that the state actually controls VIPER and if you own your own system then you are in control is the way I would have tried to sell it to them. Unfortunately a lot of administrators only know that when they push the button and talk someone on the other end can hear them and then they listen for a response. They have no idea about the technology and logistics involved. A lot of police do a lot of things well, but having been involved with it for over a decade I can tell you, technology is not the top of the list.

But I agree 100% on the snowjob comment Marshall, you are 100% correct.

Draf
 

anode505

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OK, sucks to be me :)

But just for my own edification, why is OpenSky/Province non scannable? Licensing?
 

KE4ZNR

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OK, sucks to be me :)

But just for my own edification, why is OpenSky/Province non scannable? Licensing?

Pretty much. One of the selling points of those system types is that "criminals can't listen in" :roll: because, as we all know, only criminals listen to scanners.
Wives & Husbands listening to their spouses that work in public safety? Of course not. Never happens.
Parents listening to their grown children that work in public safety? They don't exist. No scanners in those households.
Law abiding citizens that just want to know what is happening around them? Figments of some imagination.
In the the Opensky & Provoice salespersons world there is only one type of person that listens to public safety communications and that is the "Big Scarey Boogyman Criminal" that only wants to listen to "create mayhem". :roll:

Marshall KE4ZNR
 

radiostrobe

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Pretty much. One of the selling points of those system types is that "criminals can't listen in" :roll: because, as we all know, only criminals listen to scanners.
Wives & Husbands listening to their spouses that work in public safety? Of course not. Never happens.
Parents listening to their grown children that work in public safety? They don't exist. No scanners in those households.
Law abiding citizens that just want to know what is happening around them? Figments of some imagination.
In the the Opensky & Provoice salespersons world there is only one type of person that listens to public safety communications and that is the "Big Scarey Boogyman Criminal" that only wants to listen to "create mayhem". :roll:

Marshall KE4ZNR

Sounds like the same smoke that the local radio shop (who spec'ed out the system and just happened to win the contract) blew when they sold the new system to Wayne County!! Their employees would look you dead in the eye and deny that scanners could monitor the system and I am scared to think they actually believe that, I hope they just flat out lied about it instead of really not having enough knowledge to know that it could be monitored--when they are the ones putting this MULTI-MILLION dollar system together. They convinced the county powers that be that VIPER was evil and unreliable. Thank God they saved us from that demon and gave us a wonderful system that works sometimes like it should but we can't communicate with anyone else without an act of congress. Yeah, that's a lot better!! But back on point, the whole selling points of these systems is "security" not function and reliability.
 

yardbird

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Just relax!

In time there will be a scanner to monitor ProVoice

Some scanner genius will figure it out.

They said there would never be a trunking scanner but now look we have them in different models.

Makes you wander why an agency would go with a system that is not compatable with other systems around them.

(i.e. Hickory being Provoice and Catawba County being Viper) doesn't make sense

Oh well above my pay grade

Just my thoughts

David
 

SCPD

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There may not be a scanner that will but there's already software to use on your computer that'll decode ProVoice, NXDN, MotoTRBO, TDMA, etc from a discriminator tap on your scanner. And you don't even need a $400 scanner to do it.
 
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