KSP "motorboating"

[voxiso]

Since last night out of no where I cannot hear KSP post 2 or 16 all I get is that loud digital noise what can be causing this?

 

[N8IAA]

Since last night out of no where I cannot hear KSP post 2 or 16 all I get is that loud digital noise what can be causing this?

Encryption maybe? Doesn't sound like motorboating, but it can be loud.
Larry

 

[ShawnCowden]

Any update on this and possibly all KSP radio traffic going encrypted

 

[voxiso]

Well I noticed today if I move the scanner around I do not get the digital noise and are able to hear the transmission fine but I have never had this issue before It just started out of no where.. Do you guys think a better antenna would fix this issue?

 

[902]

I'm not in Kentucky and don't know your exact situation, but I'd like to interject that if you're listening to P25, your scanner would need to be in "carrier squelch" FM (at least on the ones I have). Could it be possible that the band opened sometime last night and you are hearing a non-P25 system coming through? I am aware that the Kentucky and Tennessee area has some very strong NXDN and MotoTRBO implementations. Your scanner won't decode either of those and would give you a motorboating noise in the FM mode.

If that is what's happening, chances are that KSPs radios are programmed to only decode their system, so they would not likely be affected by it, unless the signal level of the offending system(s) become so high that they overtake the KSP system. That kind of interference is very common on VHF, where one system's output might be another's input. It's less common on UHF because of the standardized pairings.

Out of curiosity, what frequencies did you have this coming through on?

 

[voxiso]

I'm not in Kentucky and don't know your exact situation, but I'd like to interject that if you're listening to P25, your scanner would need to be in "carrier squelch" FM (at least on the ones I have). Could it be possible that the band opened sometime last night and you are hearing a non-P25 system coming through? I am aware that the Kentucky and Tennessee area has some very strong NXDN and MotoTRBO implementations. Your scanner won't decode either of those and would give you a motorboating noise in the FM mode.

If that is what's happening, chances are that KSPs radios are programmed to only decode their system, so they would not likely be affected by it, unless the signal level of the offending system(s) become so high that they overtake the KSP system. That kind of interference is very common on VHF, where one system's output might be another's input. It's less common on UHF because of the standardized pairings.

Out of curiosity, what frequencies did you have this coming through on?

460.0625 and 460.21250 those are the nearest towers to me I tried other towers that is not as close and got the same results.. But If I move the scanner around while hearing the digital noise the noise stops and it comes in fine.. So I am not sure if it is a antenna issue or what...

 

[902]

Well, I don't know for sure if your issue is not having a sufficient signal level to start decoding, or that you're hearing something your scanner cannot decode. I suppose either is possible.

I can say that in or around Kentucky you have these non-P25 digital systems within propagation distance
NXDN narrow systems
WNQA716 - Logan County
WQOX539 - Maury County

NXDN wide systems
WQOH298 - City of Williamsburg
WQNC416 - Carroll County
WQCH954 - Houston County

and DMR
WQKS271 - Loveland City Schools

These are all on 460.2125 MHz (sorry, I didn't have time to check the other frequency).

Anything P25 would be KSP.

I don't know where you are in relation to any of those, but under conditions it would be possible to receive some of them.

 

[Dusco25]

Well, I don't know for sure if your issue is not having a sufficient signal level to start decoding, or that you're hearing something your scanner cannot decode. I suppose either is possible.

I can say that in or around Kentucky you have these non-P25 digital systems within propagation distance
NXDN narrow systems
WNQA716 - Logan County
WQOX539 - Maury County

NXDN wide systems
WQOH298 - City of Williamsburg
WQNC416 - Carroll County
WQCH954 - Houston County

and DMR
WQKS271 - Loveland City Schools

These are all on 460.2125 MHz (sorry, I didn't have time to check the other frequency).

Anything P25 would be KSP.

I don't know where you are in relation to any of those, but under conditions it would be possible to receive some of them.

I am in the western part of the state 35 or so miles from Ind. I guess it was just stopped getting a good single for what ever reason.. I put a different antenna on it and it seems fine now.. weird..

 

[W8RMH]

An antenna tuned for the frequency you are trying to receive will always be an improvement. You may also have some RF interference in your home which is interfering with the signal.

 

[sovereign06]

Well it could be phase 2 im over in Pike County no Problems hearing them. A few of the smaller PD are going encrypted like coal run village next to pikeville and i think p berg is. Now left beaver in floyd county as i know of are now using a pager system and short range radio's. You may be able to put a discriminator tap on your scanner and thin use your computer and a program to hear encrypted stuff not sure though.

 

[unitcharlie]

If you want to monitor KSP I would recommend programming ALL the "B" and "A" freqs for the Posts you want to hear... At any given time a specific transmitter may be down or there is 10-3 on "B" and the entire Post will be switched to "A".... If the TX is down then traffic will still be audible on other "B" freqs.... Program the freqs as CONVENTIONAL with the NACs in the proper box, I don't make a distinction between FM and NFM in my scanners and have no troouble hearing all the KSP traffic I can handle.... If you use WIN500 and are having trouble send me a copy via email and, as the opportunity presents itself, I'll look thru and see if anything needs to be tweaked or changed.... The motorboating is a sign that the scanner is not decoding the freq in question, this could be because the scanner is in the wrong spot, your antenna is bad, it is Tuesday....

 

[902]

Well it could be phase 2 im over in Pike County no Problems hearing them. A few of the smaller PD are going encrypted like coal run village next to pikeville and i think p berg is. Now left beaver in floyd county as i know of are now using a pager system and short range radio's. You may be able to put a discriminator tap on your scanner and thin use your computer and a program to hear encrypted stuff not sure though.

I don't see any Phase 2 emissions on the licenses at this point. That doesn't mean they're not doing it, but they're supposed to add the emission designator to the license when they do or they may get fined.

The crypto thing has been debated ad nauseum in other parts of our forums. The very short answer is "no, you can't," but please do search for the threads to dig deeper into the "why not?"

I do a lot of driving, and trying to figure out who's on what - like what you're doing - has been a lot of fun for me. Have a safe trip.