P25 Phase II

Status
Not open for further replies.

evan11a

Newbie
Joined
Mar 28, 2020
Messages
3
Hi,
A bunch of agencies in my county are switching over to "P25 Phase II" and or going encrypted. Just confirming there is no way that we can listen to this unless we have the keys or passwords that were set by the system administration.

Thank You.
 

RaleighGuy

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Jul 15, 2014
Messages
13,250
Location
Raleigh, NC
Hi,
A bunch of agencies in my county are switching over to "P25 Phase II" and or going encrypted. Just confirming there is no way that we can listen to this unless we have the keys or passwords that were set by the system administration.

You can listen to Phase 2, depending on the scanner you have, but you can not listen to encryption, even with the key/password, on a scanner.
 

marksmith

Member
Joined
Jun 20, 2007
Messages
4,331
Location
Anne Arundel County, MD
Phase II alone is not a problem. There are a half dozen scanners at least that can monitor phase II.

There are some fine points.

If the signal is encrypted no scanner can monitor. Generally most systems have a mixture of encrypted channels and unencrypted ones.

Additionally, some systems deploy simulcast technology. While many scanners can scan phas1 or phase 2, there are only a couple that will reliably scan simulcast systems.

What you need to do is look up the systems you want to scan, and then get input on the forum on what you can listen to and what the best scanners are.
 

jonwienke

More Info Coming Soon!
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Messages
13,416
Location
VA
Phase II and simulcast limit your options regarding which scanners will receive them. There are a number of scanners that receive P25 Phase II, but only the SDS100 and SDS200 will reliably handle simulcast.

Encryption is an entirely different thing, if that happens, you are 100% SOL. No scanner has the capability to decrypt, even if you have the correct key. You'd need an authorized system radio, the key, and of course permission to use it. Unauthorized transmit-capable radios can be bricked by an over-the-air command if they are detected on a system.
 

evan11a

Newbie
Joined
Mar 28, 2020
Messages
3
Great. Thank you all to answered. Looks like I am out of luck. There goes my hobby, Darn!
 

jonwienke

More Info Coming Soon!
Joined
Jul 18, 2014
Messages
13,416
Location
VA
Not necessarily. 100% encryption is the exception rather than the rule.
 

Blackink

Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2012
Messages
1,116
Location
Central Vermont
Great. Thank you all to answered. Looks like I am out of luck. There goes my hobby, Darn!
You're not out of luck if the system is going P25 Phase II, you'll just need a scanner that can receive this signal and there are many out there.
If they are going to encrypt their channels/frequencies, then you're out of luck.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top