Radford PD

[POSTAL24060]

Anyone know where Radford PD has gone. A story in the Roanoke times said they went "digital" but no specifics maybe they meant encrypted.

 

[brownlab]

It is possible the Radford PD is now using a digital system called MOTOTRBO since many of the smaller counties and cities (such as Staunton) now use it. This is just a guess on my part but if you call the Radford Police, they should tell you. It should not be a state seceret. No current scanner can decode TRBO but you can decode it through a digital speech decoder solfware which you run on your laptop and scanner.

 

[dtscho]

I think I found the story:

http://blogs.roanoke.com/theburgs/news/2012/12/09/scanner-swap-radford-police-go-digital/

The Radford City PD does not have emission designators for digital, but oftentimes agencies seem to switch to digital without adding the designators to the license.

(Radford University PD does have emission designators for Project 25 and NXDN.)

Dave

 

[POSTAL24060]

So I should be able to monitor Radford University with a pro 197. Any way to search for Radford pd with the pro 197.

Thanks for your help.

 

[BigLebowski]

Listen to all of the licensed frequencies for digital voice, and then if you can take some recordings and post them here MotoTRBO and P25 have distinct sounds and we should be able to identify what it is based on the recordings. If it is P25 then you should be able to receive it with a digital scanner.

 

[BigLebowski]

I was in the area today and monitored Radford PD in analog for the brief time that I was in the area. I was also searching all frequencies licensed to the city of Radford and Pulaski County.

So what gives? Has anyone actually heard them in any digital mode or are we speculating based on this news article?

 

[W4UVV]

Radford University

So I should be able to monitor Radford University with a pro 197. Any way to search for Radford pd with the pro 197.

Thanks for your help.

My database shows Radford University using MOTOTRBO.

MOTOTRBO basic comes with two channel trunked capability. More channels are possible if extended capacity is selected.

 

[BigLebowski]

My database shows Radford University using MOTOTRBO.

MOTOTRBO basic comes with two channel trunked capability. More channels are possible if extended capacity is selected.

Radford University, as posted above, is licensed for NXDN not MotoTRBO.

And to clarify, MotoTRBO is not automatically a 2-channel trunked system, it is simply two separate voice paths (6.25khz) on one 12.5khz channel. Trunked operation is possible with several repeaters, but those systems are still somewhat rare.

 

[POSTAL24060]

Just an update. After scanning all frequencies for Radford pd and listening with open squelch it does appear that the sound I'm hearing is MOTOTRBO.

 

[BigLebowski]

Just an update. After scanning all frequencies for Radford pd and listening with open squelch it does appear that the sound I'm hearing is MOTOTRBO.

Can you elaborate any further? What frequencies is MotoTRBO active on? Is there also analog traffic on these frequencies?

 

[JRayfield]

With a simple software 'key', a MOTOTRBO repeater can be set up as a two-slot (2 virtual channels) trunked repeater. This is Capacity Plus trunking. All mobiles and portables, except for the lower-end XPR3000 series units, come standard with Capacity Plus trunking capability.

John Rayfield, Jr. CETma

Radford University, as posted above, is licensed for NXDN not MotoTRBO.

And to clarify, MotoTRBO is not automatically a 2-channel trunked system, it is simply two separate voice paths (6.25khz) on one 12.5khz channel. Trunked operation is possible with several repeaters, but those systems are still somewhat rare.

 

[POSTAL24060]

No voice traffic at all only digital sounds. They are still on the same frequency 460.27500.

 

[tvfd230]

Radford City and Radford University are not using a MOTOTRBO system. It is a Kenwood NEXEDGE system that is not trunked. Radford University upgraded their radio equipment on a grant and the City of Radford followed suite. Radford University Police have been operating on the digital side for some time however Radford City Police have not been although their radios are capable of the NEXEDGE. The radios are setup on a mixed mode and can operate on the analog conventional channel if needed.

The big problem with the deployment of a system like this is 1) It is not P25 compatible 2) Would cause issues for fire paging since they use two tone paging and carry Minitor V pagers.

 

[JRayfield]

So they'd have the same problem with paging if it was a P25 system.

It's odd how that argument (analog paging) is always used against MOTOTRBO and NexEdge, but it's never used against P25. Yet it applies just as much to P25 as to any other digital system.

John Rayfield, Jr. CETma

Radford City and Radford University are not using a MOTOTRBO system. It is a Kenwood NEXEDGE system that is not trunked. Radford University upgraded their radio equipment on a grant and the City of Radford followed suite. Radford University Police have been operating on the digital side for some time however Radford City Police have not been although their radios are capable of the NEXEDGE. The radios are setup on a mixed mode and can operate on the analog conventional channel if needed.

The big problem with the deployment of a system like this is 1) It is not P25 compatible 2) Would cause issues for fire paging since they use two tone paging and carry Minitor V pagers.

 

[gcgrotz]

They did have that problem here in Charlottesville/Albemarle with the P25 system. At first they just continued using the seperate fire and rescue freqs. Eventually they went to a common UHF narrowband analog paging system which is simulcast for very good coverage. They also re-broadcast the response talk group on a second UHF frequency. It is working well for them but I can see a small jurisdiction having $$ problems.