wb7ely
Member
Somebody said fire too and my fire channels are all silent. King and Snohomish..
PSERN and SERS Encryption
- Thread starter k1sah
- Start date
Greetings, you might find this odd, but there are some people out there who like listening to Fire Departments. From South Snohomish County, I have no problems listening to all Fire Departments in Snohomish County and King County. There have always been radio changes that the hobbyist has had to adapt to. Seattle Fire was once on UHF, then VHF, then 800 Trunk, and now P25.
wb7ely
Member
Greetings, I do not mind listening to the fire freqs . I've been listening to SFD since the seventies, and yes VHF, UHF, and then 800 meg trunking. It's just not the same as listening to a nice police pursuit in Lynnwood. There's a small Snohomish fire simulcast on 154.450 and another WSP simulcast on 155.550. I am not going to get a P25 scanner for awhile. Just too disappointed.
superfreak
Member
What is that fire simulcast?
You know... it's that super-secret NIFOG fire tactical operations unit for WA.
superfreak
Member
What page? I can't find it.
superfreak
Member
Simulcast- Multiple sites transmitting the same traffic on the same frequencies, useful around here because frequencies are hard to come by. PSERN has a few simulcast cells. SNO911 has a North and South cell. A good way to cover a large area with limited spectrum. Voted receive (or in the case of P25, lowest error rate)
Multicast, single sites, repeating the same traffic on different frequencies. Less hardware (comparators, controllers etc) but not as spectrum efficient. SNO911 has 3 multicast sites (Or ASRs or stand alone sites). Traffic can be on that one site, or on that site plus a simulcast cell etc. It all depends on what talkgroups are affiliated to what sites.
Seattle Police to enhance encryption to radios in early 2026 to improve safety and protect the public’s sensitive information - SPD Blotter
Seattle Police will keep main dispatch channels open, but will enhance encryption on radio channels used for tactical communications and sharing sensitive and personal information. In Quarter 2 of 2026, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) will enhance encryption to radios used for tactical...
spdblotter.seattle.gov
They already have Encrypted Tac channels.Seattle Police to enhance encryption to radios in early 2026 to improve safety and protect the public’s sensitive information - SPD Blotter
Seattle Police will keep main dispatch channels open, but will enhance encryption on radio channels used for tactical communications and sharing sensitive and personal information. In Quarter 2 of 2026, the Seattle Police Department (SPD) will enhance encryption to radios used for tactical...
Just means they are going to E the rest of the tac channels.
Seattle Fire posting on their Facebook saying they will be encrypting all talk groups except DISP 4 (locution) And DISP 5 (rigs to FAO) starting Q2 2026
freqseeker
Member
Wilrobnson
Rock or Something
From the King County Council getting the opportunity to hear, via the internet, live tactical comms during the Boston Bomber manhunt in 2013, through today, with people live-tweeting every bit of radio traffic, this should come as no surprise to anyone.
You should be thankful you'll still get something, as the original thought from the Council was to encrypt everything, SPD ERT down to the landfill.
You should be thankful you'll still get something, as the original thought from the Council was to encrypt everything, SPD ERT down to the landfill.
freqseeker
Member
I agree 100%. It was ok when it was just hobbiests. Streaming made it available to dummies and criminals alike.
Streaming ruined the scanner hobby. It really makes no sense ,to spend $500-$600 or more for a scanner that going to be a paper weight soon. Whatever in the clear to listen to now, likely wont be in the clear in 5 years.
dang, what are they hiding ?
piercescan
Member
Thats super weird...
