Naughty "Radio-As-A-Scanner?"

[emeraldislegod]

Hey guys, I've seen a few posts wagging a finger at theoretically programming trunking radios to use as a "scanner only" with p25 systems. Forgive my ignorance, but how does Uniden do it? Is it because there aren't any "I/O" freqs, just banks of freqs, and you risk keying-up in their net? MY whole reason for wanting to know this is, a) the Astro iii is ALOT tougher, and has better battery life than any Uniden I've ever had; and, b) they're about 300 bucks cheaper than a Home Patrol. PLEASE reserve spanking for your kids, and simply explain "why." THANK you!

 

[emeraldislegod]

No, SERIOUSLY....

I REALLY would appreciate the information! I wasn't scolding; I TRULY don't know! Anyone???

 

[kd7rto]

Motorola could make their trunked subscriber units capable of receive-only, and they would sell a few to hobbyists if they were to do so, however they choose not to. They seem to believe that they would lose more business than they would gain if their customer base thought that they were enabling anybody willing to fork over a few greenbacks to listen in.

 

[n5ims]

The Uniden is designed from the ground up as a receive-only device so their coding will never attempt to activate the transmitter (which isn't there anyway) so it should never interfere with a trunking system. This is also why on a networked system you may not hear trunkgroups that are active on other sites on that system, but have no active users on your local site (their radios will affiliate with the system so it'll know they're there and sent that talkgroup to the site while your Uniden can't affiliate with the system so it'll never know you're there).

A Motorola (or other brand that's compatible) was designed as a two-way device from the beginning so its circuits and code are built for that purpose. They are made for authorized users to access the system so all assumptions are that someone with a radio on that system are allowed to transmit as well as receive (although not necessarily on all talkgroups).

A scanner is designed to not interfere with users on a sytem so programming can be done by inexperienced folks and if they don't do things exactly right they system will continue to work fine (although the scanner may not). A system radio is designed to be programmed by properly trained folks that understand what each entry does and how it may affect the system. If they make an error in their programming of a radio they can cause the system to fail, possibly costing folks their lives.

The error may not even be one that is easily noticed like duplicating a radio-id. This doesn't sound like much, but that mistake may switch channels on a SWAT officer's radio when the duplicated ID's radio turns on and switches to the trash truck dispatch channel to tell the trash dispatch that they're starting their route. That SWAT officer probably won't get the expected response when they say "Subject's firing their weapon" on the trash channel.

 

[rdale]

Where are you finding Motorola trunked radios for $150?

 

[emeraldislegod]

THANK you! This makes sense..

The Uniden is designed from the ground up as a receive-only device so their coding will never attempt to activate the transmitter (which isn't there anyway) so it should never interfere with a trunking system. This is also why on a networked system you may not hear trunkgroups that are active on other sites on that system, but have no active users on your local site (their radios will affiliate with the system so it'll know they're there and sent that talkgroup to the site while your Uniden can't affiliate with the system so it'll never know you're there).

A Motorola (or other brand that's compatible) was designed as a two-way device from the beginning so its circuits and code are built for that purpose. They are made for authorized users to access the system so all assumptions are that someone with a radio on that system are allowed to transmit as well as receive (although not necessarily on all talkgroups).

A scanner is designed to not interfere with users on a sytem so programming can be done by inexperienced folks and if they don't do things exactly right they system will continue to work fine (although the scanner may not). A system radio is designed to be programmed by properly trained folks that understand what each entry does and how it may affect the system. If they make an error in their programming of a radio they can cause the system to fail, possibly costing folks their lives.

The error may not even be one that is easily noticed like duplicating a radio-id. This doesn't sound like much, but that mistake may switch channels on a SWAT officer's radio when the duplicated ID's radio turns on and switches to the trash truck dispatch channel to tell the trash dispatch that they're starting their route. That SWAT officer probably won't get the expected response when they say "Subject's firing their weapon" on the trash channel.

Thanks for the info! This makes sense!

 

[emeraldislegod]

Where are you finding Motorola trunked radios for $150?

Right here: MOTOROLA ASTRO SABER III Model: HO4UCH9PW7AN w/ NMN617B 800Mhz | eBay

 

[fordcobra04]

Where are you finding Motorola trunked radios for $150?

Looked on eBay lately...? You can find them for as little as 100 bucks at times...

 

[gewecke]

Looked on eBay lately...? You can find them for as little as 100 bucks at times...

Yes old out dated, but not new motos with those features!

73,
n9zas

 

[FFPM571]

That Astro saber is not P25

 

[lafd55]

That Astro saber is not P25

Aren't all Astro Sabers digital capable hence the "Astro" part....

 

[lafd55]

And judging by the Serial number on that radio it appears to also have the bigger 1-Meg vocon that would be able to take the most recent firmware of R07.xx.xx

 

[kayn1n32008]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9780; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.8+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.600 Mobile Safari/534.8+)

Digital capable yes, P-25 not necessarily. Look at the ASTRO saber page on batlabs for more info

 

[lafd55]

Where on the page is it? Motorola Astro follows Project 25....
http://www.dvara.org/p25/GuideASTRODigitalRadios.pdf

 

[FFPM571]

No not all astro radios are P25 they have to have that option added to the flashcode.

 

[Josh]

LOL That one appears to be VSELP!

 

[kayn1n32008]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (BlackBerry; U; BlackBerry 9780; en-US) AppleWebKit/534.8+ (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/6.0.0.600 Mobile Safari/534.8+)

No not all astro radios are P25 they have to have that option added to the flashcode.

Besides the proper flashcode, you also require the radio to have the appropriate HARDWARE for P25.

Look here: http://www.batlabs.com/astrosab.html

 

[bezking]

You need to have P25 in the flashcode to use it on any Motorola radio. The name has nothing to do with it; Motorola would gladly have sold you an Astro Saber that is only compatible with analog.

Now, back on topic please

 

[FFPM571]

the batlabs link you quote is over ten years old and outdated. I am well aware of what is needed for a P25 radio. Im putting it in simple terms.

 

[mancow]

With 6.xx firmware it is. I use one every day.

That Astro saber is not P25