Lexington County Sheriff Dept.

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ebelling

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I was getting ready to program my scanner with the Lexington County Sheriff Dept. and notice that it was all encrypted. Is it worth while putting these talkgroups in, and is all the conversations encrypted. Also is their system digital or analog.
 

evan

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There is no point in programming any of the digital talkgroups-they are 100% encrypted. 17616, their only analog talkgroup, is worth programming as it is occasionally used when they do ops with other agencies that don't have capabalities to use their encrypted channels. You can still listen to all municipal agencies that are dispatched by the county on 19248 and 17872.

Speaking of 19248, Lexington PD is now using it for dispatch. During their transition to Palmetto 800, 460.2000 was crosspatched with 19248, but it has since been deactivated.
 
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lugoffman

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hey i was at the barnyard fleamarket today in lexington, and i ran into a friend that used to be on the pageland police department and is now on the lexington sheriff department we was talking and i had my scanner (pro97) with me and i asked him to key up on his radio well he did and i got a frequency from it and it worked and he switch to what he called there private channel and keyed up on it and i got that one to i didnt write it down because i didnt have a pen but it worked and he invited me and my wife over to dinner and whan i go over there i will have him do it again and see if that frequency is in the rr data base so my question is are they all incryped or just some cause he also called into dispatch and told them he was 10-4 i heard that but not the dispatcher but i heard them on his radio he also invited me and my wife to dinner this week and when we go over ther i will have him do it again and i will write the frequency down
 
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evan

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I wouldn't be surprised if they had a simplex private channel that is analog and/or digital and unencrypted. Richland Co. SD is reported to use 853.4875 as a "direct" channel. It could also be one of the ITAC/SC TAC frequencies.

Your Pro-97 will find the frequency he is transmitting on even if it is encrypted, but you shouldn't be able to understand what they are saying.

I'm not sure how you could have heard him talking to dispatch even if it was unencrypted as LCSD uses digital talkgroups and the Pro-97 is not capable of decoding digital audio. Perhaps he was using 17616? Let us know what you find out.

To those of you who know a lot about radios: it's my understanding that the input transmission is encrypted by the radio, correct? Is it possible for the repeater to encrypt the audio that comes in unencrypted?
 

lugoffman

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evan said:
I wouldn't be surprised if they had a simplex private channel that is analog and/or digital and unencrypted. Richland Co. SD is reported to use 853.4875 as a "direct" channel. It could also be one of the ITAC/SC TAC frequencies.

Your Pro-97 will find the frequency he is transmitting on even if it is encrypted, but you shouldn't be able to understand what they are saying.

I'm not sure how you could have heard him talking to dispatch even if it was unencrypted as LCSD uses digital talkgroups and the Pro-97 is not capable of decoding digital audio. Perhaps he was using 17616? Let us know what you find out.

To those of you who know a lot about radios: it's my understanding that the input transmission is encrypted by the radio, correct? Is it possible for the repeater to encrypt the audio that comes in unencrypted?
i will let you know cause that is odd cause i put that frequency in that the rr data base has that said its encryped and all i here is a dieasal noise i did this just for spite but my pro97 isnt a digatal scanner and i know that but i just wonder i tell you what i will let you know what i get from him this week and some one with a digatal scanner put it in and see what they get that is weard though cause mine isnt digital i just cant figure it out if his radio is digital and the dispatch is digital and my scanner is not how did that happen i was right beside of him when we did this but my scanner isnt digital thats some wered stuff
 

Caesar

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evan said:
There is no point in programming any of the digital talkgroups-they are 100% encrypted. 17616, their only analog talkgroup, is worth programming as it is occasionally used when they do ops with other agencies that don't have capabalities to use their encrypted channels. You can still listen to all municipal agencies that are dispatched by the county on 19248 and 17872.

Speaking of 19248, Lexington PD is now using it for dispatch. During their transition to Palmetto 800, 460.2000 was crosspatched with 19248, but it has since been deactivated.


lex pd can still be heard on the UHF input freq 460.500 or 465.000 whicher it is but that is it, otherwise they are palm800..
 

lugoffman

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Caesar said:
lex pd can still be heard on the UHF input freq 460.500 or 465.000 whicher it is but that is it, otherwise they are palm800..
yea i know but when i used signal stocker it was a frequency of somthing like this 800 somthing point 4 somthing i didnt have a pen i knew i should of wrote it down ut any ways the other one was somthing else but it was a 800 frequency to ill get with him and ill let you guys know im really puzzeled cause i got a pro97 and its not digital and every one seams to thank that there frequency is encrypted im just wondering if there tring to pull a fast one on all of us lol !!
 

Caesar

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lugoffman said:
yea i know but when i used signal stocker it was a frequency of somthing like this 800 somthing point 4 somthing i didnt have a pen i knew i should of wrote it down ut any ways the other one was somthing else but it was a 800 frequency to ill get with him and ill let you guys know im really puzzeled cause i got a pro97 and its not digital and every one seams to thank that there frequency is encrypted im just wondering if there tring to pull a fast one on all of us lol !!


my 396 switches from p25 to enc (for encrypted) anytime i lock onto a lex co sd talk group with them talking, they are encrypted...my pops use to be with them, it is digital encrypted
 

qball

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evan said:
To those of you who know a lot about radios: it's my understanding that the input transmission is encrypted by the radio, correct? Is it possible for the repeater to encrypt the audio that comes in unencrypted?

Evan,

The traffic from a radio in the field can transmit encrypted traffic. It also can operate in the clear mode on the same talk group but continue to hear encrypted traffic from the radio system. It is all in how the radio and the system are programmed.

It is my understanding that LexCo uses strapping....meaning the radio users have no choice but to operate in the encrypted mode based on the channel on which they are operating and its programming.

In your example with LexCoSO: yes, the portable radio would be transmitting the encrypted traffic to the system. If you were standing next to him with close call enabled and he transmitted on an exncrypted talkgroup, you would here none of the transmitted audio.

Q
 

ebelling

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Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why Lexington County decided to go encrypted. Seeing as most systems in the Midlands are wide open.
 

Caesar

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ebelling said:
Just out of curiosity, does anyone know why Lexington County decided to go encrypted. Seeing as most systems in the Midlands are wide open.


Jimmy Metts! :)
 

evan

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Caesar said:
Jimmy Metts! :)
That's exactly right. Metts decided he didn't want anyone to be able to hear anything his department does. Every year he asks county council for more money, yet spends it on unnecessary things like encryption. Back in 1999 there was a website started called the Lexington County Secret Police to protest the switch and even an article in The State newspaper, but I don't think enough citizens really understood what it all meant so not many people spoke up.
 

lugoffman

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evan said:
That's exactly right. Metts decided he didn't want anyone to be able to hear anything his department does. Every year he asks county council for more money, yet spends it on unnecessary things like encryption. Back in 1999 there was a website started called the Lexington County Secret Police to protest the switch and even an article in The State newspaper, but I don't think enough citizens really understood what it all meant so not many people spoke up.

i was told that, thats were all the major crimes was and the sheriff didnt want every one knowing all his screw ups lol!!! oops did i say that
 

Caesar

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lugoffman said:
i was told that, thats were all the major crimes was and the sheriff didnt want every one knowing all his screw ups lol!!! oops did i say that


I was talking with Kerry Johnson earlier this week, he is going around for support, he is running against jimmy again. don't think he'll win but at least it keeps metts on his toes
 
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