Large radio systems no longer monitorable - Time to retire the hobby?

[mikewazowski]

I posted in the Ontario forum asking about OPP and encryption and it was combined with a similar topic and closed off. So again I ask why was that topic closed to new replies? What is wrong with talking about encryption?

It was closed because there was already an existing thread on the same topic. Absolutely nothing to do with encryption.

 

[fxdscon]

I didn't realize there was a rule about no discussions on encryption. Where is this posted? What's wrong with talking about it?

This is the text that appears in the forum header by default (unless the reader has previously dismissed the header)… Notice the phrase "encryption AND streaming"

Effective immediately we will be deleting, without notice, any negative threads or posts that deal with the use of encryption and streaming of scanner audio.

We've noticed a huge increase in rants and negative posts that revolve around agencies going to encryption due to the broadcasting of scanner audio on the internet. It's now worn out and continues to be the same recycled rants. These rants hijack the threads and derail the conversation. They no longer have a place anywhere on this forum other than in the designated threads in the Rants forum in the Tavern.

If you violate these guidelines your post will be deleted without notice and an infraction will be issued. We are not against discussion of this issue. You just need to do it in the right place. For example:
https://forums.radioreference.com/r...ive-audio-feeds-scanners-wait-encryption.html

 

[belvdr]

It was closed because there was already an existing thread on the same topic. Absolutely nothing to do with encryption.

Have to agree that it would have been nice to have a reason when it was closed.

 

[a29zuk]

My county and some surrounding counties have gone to encryption. I hardly use my scanner anymore unless I go out of town.

I started out in this hobby years ago BCB DXing, shortwave listening, then scanning. I'm back to HF listening with a couple of desktop receivers. Recently I purchased a Tecsun PL-600 for portable use.

Jim

 

[Xray]

Personally I like to monitor aircraft so I'll never completely give up on scanning.
If LE goes encrypted I would be disappointed, I would have no need to invest in any more radios, but since there is nothing I can do about it I would not overly worry about it.
I remember the good old days when DEA/FBI stakeout surveillance could be easily monitored, I remember when government VIP's and even presidents could routinely be heard chatting on the phone via phone patches, was disappointing when they went unmonitorable but oh well, life goes on.

 

[GlobalNorth]

If your listening preferences don't evolve away from a denied service, then yes, it may well be time to find a new hobby.

 

[trentbob]

Why in encryption a no go topic? As soon as you bring it up it gets shut down. I'm not sure why we can't have a conversation about it.

I was just wondering what other people have done when a large public safety system gets encrypted. Have they moved on to SDR's, kept their scanners etc.

That would be an incorrect statement.

That's another incorrect statement.

Because I it has been posted this is a PRIVATE OWNED SITE AND THE OWNER MAKES THE RULES.

So let's clarify some things here, it is absolutely not true that you can't talk about encryption. It is a widely discussed topic and never gets deleted unless, as has been made very clear, you openly discuss one reason that many members feel that encryption is spreading more rapidly. That is NOT for discussion here or anywhere else on this forum.

What budd says here is absolutely true, how many times have we heard posters say this is a free country and I have freedom of speech, I can say what I want to say? Well... not on this forum you can't.

It's a privately owned forum, if you say something that's going to interfere with the operation of the business they have every right to eliminate your shared thoughts. You can have those thoughts, you just can't share them here. It's not like you're not warned or the moderators and CEO don't reinforce those guidelines regularly. How you feel about that is your business.

For majority of people here this is a hobby, for many like myself it has been part of my career as a newspaperman that started as a hobby when I was 11 and still is now 55 years later in retirement. Also tow truck operators and other businesses depend on listening to police calls, not to mention unfortunately, many volunteer firemen and First Responders who are locked out of encrypted systems. It's very unfortunate and sad that the hobby is dissipating and you will find conflicting views on that too.

I agree that choosing to take up Mahjong as a new hobby because you can't hear what you want to hear on the scanner anymore doesn't cut it. We want to hear the police on our police scanners. But there is plenty of things to listen to if you're into it.

It is what it is unfortunately.

 

[TailGator911]

So much more to listen to in the radio hobby other than public safety. It is the main source of monitoring for me when at home and on the road, but if my area were to go encrypted, there are other avenues to explore and have fun with. Not the end of the world.

 

[bob550]

Those of us who've been in the hobby long enough remember when we could monitor analog cell phones and eavesdrop on our neighbor's cordless home phones. I've monitored unencrypted FBI and DEA communications many years back. None of that is possible now, so we move on and evolve with the changes. However, my worry is that today's environment seems to beg for more transparency and accountability among our law enforcement agencies, not less. Encrypting routine police communications does make it appear that some departments are not interested in achieving that transparency. More secure forms of transmission, cell phones and MDT's, have been available for many years now for conversations requiring greater security. But why some agencies feel that all transmissions, no matter how mundane, should be withheld from the public is a discussion that we should all be having.

 

[Randy_Vick]

deleted ... repeat

 

[jonwienke]

The sky has been falling ever since crystal-controlled scanners were replaced by PLLs.

And somehow it still hasn't landed yet.

 

[RoninJoliet]

I agree with "bob550" , there are many police transmissions that I used to monitor that were very helpful to me and to warn my family members about bad roads, trees down in storms and big accidents that warrant going a different route but it's too bad it's not possible in my town now...

 

[n1das]

So much more to listen to in the radio hobby other than public safety. It is the main source of monitoring for me when at home and on the road, but if my area were to go encrypted, there are other avenues to explore and have fun with. Not the end of the world.

I 100% agree it is not the end of the world and there is so much more to listen to than public safety. My local PD (Nashua NH) flipped the E switch 6 months ago and I've had withdrawal symptoms as I have been listening to them for 30+ years. The secrecy and lack of transparency is troubling but I have since moved on from listening to that particular PD because there is still so much more to listen to.

The deployment of new digital modes over the years have not taken away from what I listen to. They have only increased what I can listen to because I have those digital modes too in my radios although not necessarily in my scanners. I have also been bitten by the digital radio bug on Amateur Radio and want to use digital modes. Encryption being used by public safety agencies represents collateral damage to my listening hobby but is not the end of it at all. Far from it. Generally if something near me is transmitting, I'm usually trying to find it.

With more and more radio systems employing encryption, this has also prompted me to make some of my own radio communications more secure. I no longer use analog GMRS/FRS and MURS for local simplex type use and instead use Motorola DTR/DLR 900MHz FHSS digital radios for that purpose. They are my professional quality digital replacement for GMRS/FRS and MURS for my local on-site simplex type use with family and friends. They outperform conventional UHF portables on simplex and totally blow FRS away. They are not monitorable on any consumer grade receiver (i.e., scanner) so don't even bother trying. Aside from occasional light use of FRS with my nephews once in a blue moon, I don't use analog at all anymore for my non-ham radio communications.