Orlando Digital

[n2hbx]

Setting The Record Straight

Oh Larry, Before we start a flame war here, lets examine Your History, I have it on good authority that YOU are a service tech for the Motorola Dealer that installed this Monstrosity of a radio system, Did Jerry Schulist your boss send you here to quash the anti encryption argument,
it is kinda funny how you try to shoot down the argument with black helicopters when you have absolutely nothing to lose, Hope the XTS5000 you have in your trailer works well.


FYI Winter Park went over 3 years ago and being such a small department, that the switch was done without fanfare, and frankly no one cares about winter park was the reason.

The reason i bring this up is that if we are going to try to muddy the discussion why not be honest to the people as to why You are in here trying to call us freaks, or is honesty out of the question? or am i incorrect.

It is not a matter of whether we have a right to listen or not, I am sure that will eventually be settled in court at some time, as a US Citizen who has served my country in the military and in Public safety, my feeling on this is that as a citizen we have a RESPONSIBILITY to challenge our Government in a legal debate and through the court system if neccessary if we feel something is not correct.

The Major reason that stuff like this happens is that the general public is #1 Apathetic, #2. Uneducated, #3. Really don't care #4. Afraid

So as a Responsible Citizen I am excercising my right to Disagree and Challenge something that i feel is Unneccessary, Unwarranted, Irresponsibly Sold, Potentially Dangerous, and Contrary to good community relations

You want honesty? OK, I can handle that. Here ya go...

I don't hide the fact that I work for the company that maintains the radio systems for OPD, Orange County, et al. Most of the people that know me already know that. So much for the "OH MY GOD!" factor...

My company has no real interest one way or the other if the PD wants to use clear, secure, digital, analog, or tin cans and string. We're contracted to maintain the system that the customer has in place. Period. We didn't even sell the system. That was Motorola Government Systems in response to the desires of the customer.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed are my own and may not necessarily reflect those of my employer, nor does my employer influence my opinions. I think I'm probably old enough to formulate an opinion on a subject by myself.

I don't have a problem with anyone disagreeing with the decisions made regarding the radio system operation, or anything else for that matter. And I apologize if anyone got the impression that I was "preaching" to them, as that was not my intent. Having said that, I still stand by my opinions in the same way that others here stand by thiers.

BTW, I don't have an XTS radio so I can't listen to OPD either. That's OK. I prefer to listen to the FD anyway, and my MTS2000 works just fine for that.

Guess we'll just have to agree to disagree....

Larry

 

[WX4JCW]

Ok Larry I can live with that, thanks for being honest

I can Handle an honest debate, and thanks for understanding that while we disagree we can be civil. I get a little fired up with the whole thing that we are nosy,a criminal, etc because we listen to a scanner.

Fire is better anyway, in a way i miss the job, but the time came for that chapter to close
and fyi I mostly monitor fire, and ems.

some things about the OPD switch just fired me up in the way that it was handled, from what we hear about OCSO is that it may be done differently, but only time will tell.

BTW I apologize, I know Jerry S from my RMA Days and worked shortly coordinating RMA's radio needs since radios were my interest, and he is a good guy.

 

[n2hbx]

Not a problem. It's good to see someone passionate about their hobby.

My personal impression is that Orange County is going to have a much more difficult time with digital migration due to the large number of non-digital capable subscriber units out there, particularly with SO. Lots of analog Spectras and MTS portables. FD has been buying XTS portables, and there are a few XTL mobiles out there. My guess is that OC is waiting to see how the rebanding radio replacement is going to turn out. Last unofficial estimates I heard was OC is at least 2 years out from going digital.

Yes, Jerry is a good guy. He gave me an opportunity when I was down to my last unemployment check. Eleven years later, I'm still here. Time flies when you're having fun.

Larry

 

[WX4JCW]

Guys as Passionate as I am about this i will be out of the loop on this for a while, I have just recieved news my younger brother was in a very bad accident, he should not have survived but thankfully he did so far, but he has a broken back and neck and is in ICU in Shreveport, LA, so please accept my apologies but i need to focus on this

 

[n2hbx]

Accident

Rest assured that our prayers are with you and your brother, Jason.

Larry

 

[WX4JCW]

thanks,
collapsed lung,broken - ribs femur, neck,back,arm
ruptured spleen, torn liver,intestinal damage but still alive at LSU Shreveport
news reports had him traveling at 100mph but we found out from shreveport pd that he wasnt sprrding, he was pasing a car and the right front tire blew, but since he did not have a seatbelt on he was ejected 40 feet

no new news on the digital system btw
Orlando was supposed to ave a follow up meeting with Joe and the media but no word on that yet

 

[ElroyJetson]

I have every right to know what the employees of my government, acting in the service of the general public, are up to and are doing while on the job in every instance except for when they are currently involved in a sensitive situation that REQUIRES privacy.


In a very real sense, these public servants are MY employees, as I am a taxpayer and a
citizen. I have every right to know what they're doing while on the job.

The SLERS system came to be by means of quite a bit of under the table negotiating. I have no doubt of that.


Elroy

 

[WX4JCW]

but Elroy you know that falls on deaf ears, it is just sad to see such an amount of distrust between the powers that be and the part of the public that is passionate about the hobby.

in a similar context i was reading on the storm chaser forums about the arrest in texas last week, the passions are running the same over there, they feel the same way.


Does the government fear us? Or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government is our servant, not our master! - Thomas Jefferson

 

[ElroyJetson]

In my position with the company I work with, I'm probably going to be able to get formal authorization to have my own radio on the P25 system, for monitoring and for direct
communication with some of our customers who will be on that system if they're not already.

And I've got a ready-to-go P25 radio and the means to program it.


Elroy

 

[WX4JCW]

good deal

 

[Patch42]

At the risk of dragging this thread back to the original topic, does anyone know what talk group 1865 is supposed to be? I keep getting a mix of semi-clear voice and what I assume is fully encrypted talk. It makes this talk group very annoying.

I'm also wondering if anyone else is getting the same very poor reception of the the FD talk groups as I am. I would say 50% or more of the conversational exchanges are illegible. I can tell it's supposed to be in the clear, but it sounds like the digitizing has gone haywire. Perhaps it's just my reception, though I used to get perfectly clear reception on the analog system. Is anyone else getting poor quality like this?

 

[WX4JCW]

At the risk of dragging this thread back to the original topic, does anyone know what talk group 1865 is supposed to be? I keep getting a mix of semi-clear voice and what I assume is fully encrypted talk. It makes this talk group very annoying.

I'm also wondering if anyone else is getting the same very poor reception of the the FD talk groups as I am. I would say 50% or more of the conversational exchanges are illegible. I can tell it's supposed to be in the clear, but it sounds like the digitizing has gone haywire. Perhaps it's just my reception, though I used to get perfectly clear reception on the analog system. Is anyone else getting poor quality like this?

I Live Near the 408 and Primrose, it is the same as You, however when i hook up to the mobile outside it clears up - where are u

keep in mind that the simulcast sites are close relatively speaking so that may be an issue
try turning the attenuator on, moving the unit to another location

and we are always on topic but the topic may change

 

[Patch42]

I listen mostly at home, about a mile north of John Young and the 417. At work, about half a mile west of the airport, I get about the same (lack of) quality as at home.

I've tried changing the attenuator setting. At first I thought it helped to turn it on, but after a while I wasn't so sure so I turned it off again. It doesn't seem to make much difference.

Some transmissions are perfectly legible, others are a complete mess.

 

[james32746]

At the risk of dragging this thread back to the original topic, does anyone know what talk group 1865 is supposed to be? I keep getting a mix of semi-clear voice and what I assume is fully encrypted talk. It makes this talk group very annoying.

I'm also wondering if anyone else is getting the same very poor reception of the the FD talk groups as I am. I would say 50% or more of the conversational exchanges are illegible. I can tell it's supposed to be in the clear, but it sounds like the digitizing has gone haywire. Perhaps it's just my reception, though I used to get perfectly clear reception on the analog system. Is anyone else getting poor quality like this?

OIA Landside Operations is on that TG

 

[WX4JCW]

James,

how does the PSR-500 Compare to the uniden in monitoring Orlando Digital?

 

[james32746]

James,

how does the PSR-500 Compare to the uniden in monitoring Orlando Digital?

From my location in Lake Mary, the Uniden BCD-396T seems to receive the Orlando P25 system better and actually receive decodable system audio (even though 95% unreadable due to a extremely weak signal, tons weaker than the old Motorola system) than the PSR-500. In addition, the BCD-396T in the Forest City area (434/436 area) seemed to pick up the Orlando digital system ok and the PSR-500 used at the parking lot of the Steak and Ale on 436 (near I-4) in Altamonte did not pick up the system at all most of the time.

 

[WX4JCW]

Thanks

 

[Patch42]

OIA Landside Operations is on that TG

Any idea why I'm hearing a mix of clear and encrypted comms? Or is some of it just breaking up so badly it sounds encrypted?

 

[Bolt21]

Any idea why I'm hearing a mix of clear and encrypted comms? Or is some of it just breaking up so badly it sounds encrypted?

It's possible that the radio user forgot or has not been instructed to set the radio to "secure" (encrypted) comms.

 

[WX4JCW]

It could be a mix of encrypted and clear traffic, as Bolt21 is right in what he said, no big shocker there though