Middlesex county: EDACS or digital?

[ob123]

Hello, I was trying to program my BCD396t and I was wondering whether to program it as EDACS or P25 beacause it says it is EDACS standard but when I look at all the talk groups it says mode "d" witch is digital? Can anyone help me out?

Thanks

 

[elk2370bruce]

The Middlesex County EDACS system was ornginally a completely monitorable analog system. All law enforcement agencies, hazmat, emergency management, and half of public health are now digital PRO-VOICE and CANNOT be monitored with any commercial scanner. There are no non-PRO VOICE digital talk groups. All of the parks, recreation, roads, snow plows, and transportation remain all analog talk groups and can still be easily monitored. Hope this helps.

 

[ob123]

Ok, so I can't monitor any thing with my apco-25 scanner for hazmat and emergency management?

 

[Joseph11]

No. You can only monitor parks, recreation, roads, snow plows, and transportation, like Bruce said.

 

[ob123]

Is the problem that it is encrypted because i dont know why I would be able to monitor it? What is provoice?

 

[robbinsj2]

Digital scanners only work on the APCO P25 digital format. This system uses a different digital format, M/A-COM Provoice. No scanners can decode this format, whether it is encrypted Provoice or clear Provoice.

To answer your original question, program it as EDACS and you'll be able to receive any analog communications.

 

[GM]

Once in a blue moon, you may be able to hear analog communications on the HazMat and Emergency Management talkgroups, however 99% of the time, they are running in the EDACS Pro-Voice digital mode. This is a non-P25 digital compliant mode, and is not monitorable with any scanner on the market today. MA/COM has also indicated that they will not release the technology available to make it a monitorable format for scanning purposes. I am also told that several of these ProVoice talkgroups that Middlesex County uses utilize digital encryption on a part-time or full-time basis, so we're all out of luck. Besides, I'd rather hear the Roads Dept. curse off the bad drivers out there during a snowstorm-it's pretty entertaining if you ask me.

Damn, I see that Jim beat me to the punch on this.