I just discovered a public Facebook group for a county I monitor. They are putting on Facebook what they hear on the scanner to keep everyone 'informed'. Isn't this what gives the hobby a bad reputation? And is this legal or not? (They do not list individuals' names.)
Scanners and Facebook
- Thread starter NikonFE2
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Perfectly legal as long as confidential info isn't disclosed
yeah mostly it’s people who probably wouldn’t be allowed on Broadcastify, I know of at least 2 that forced departments to encrypt because of their antics, St Lucie County FL being one
Technically, disseminating information to a third party that wasn't listening to it is illegal or at least it used to be. But I don't think that law ever was enforced and I'm not even sure if it's a law still?
It's just poor judgment I believe when people do stuff like that and it does lead to agencies wanting to go encrypted or hide their communications.
We've had a complete county, Johnson County, on our regional radio system that encrypted all law enforcement communications because one of the agencies in that county was getting sick and tired of having their audio streaming to whoever wanted to listen on a phone. So the whole county encrypted the law enforcement traffic as a result. every police department and sheriff's department radio is now encrypted.
It's a shame that so many people do things that are killing off the hobby they claim to like by doing things online that just hurt all of us. It's not bad having a Facebook group that people from the county who have the same interest talk on. But when somebody's posting information that's coming across the airwaves and just publicly putting it out there, that's not good at all.
Brian
COMMSCAN
It's just poor judgment I believe when people do stuff like that and it does lead to agencies wanting to go encrypted or hide their communications.
We've had a complete county, Johnson County, on our regional radio system that encrypted all law enforcement communications because one of the agencies in that county was getting sick and tired of having their audio streaming to whoever wanted to listen on a phone. So the whole county encrypted the law enforcement traffic as a result. every police department and sheriff's department radio is now encrypted.
It's a shame that so many people do things that are killing off the hobby they claim to like by doing things online that just hurt all of us. It's not bad having a Facebook group that people from the county who have the same interest talk on. But when somebody's posting information that's coming across the airwaves and just publicly putting it out there, that's not good at all.
Brian
COMMSCAN
I feel your pain. In the past year, I spent over $1K on SDS100 (with enhancements) and a 536HP to be able to monitor our Statewide Starcom21 P25 trunked system. Most, if not all, law enforcement, fire, and EMS agencies will be on this system which has been up and running for 10 years. Motorola owns it, and agencies pay xx dollars for the usage of their units on the system.
Fortunately, the agencies I monitor are switching over to TDMA Phase 2 from FDMA. This is all well and good, and for now, the only comms that are encrypted are certain surveillance and drug enforcement agencies in DuPage County. Main dispatch talk groups are in the clear, so we can hear what's going on around us.
I have been informed that DU-COMM and ACDC dispatch centers will eventually encrypt all communications, possibly within the next two years. Cook County agency talk groups are all encrypted and will remain that way permanently. I know it's expected and will happen in DuPage County, so I'm enjoying what I can for the time being. Then there will be no more except for the multi-cast VHF channels tied to fire dispatch talk groups.
For further details, if you're not familiar with Starcom21 in Illinois, here's the WiKi for them:
wiki.radioreference.com
Fortunately, the agencies I monitor are switching over to TDMA Phase 2 from FDMA. This is all well and good, and for now, the only comms that are encrypted are certain surveillance and drug enforcement agencies in DuPage County. Main dispatch talk groups are in the clear, so we can hear what's going on around us.
I have been informed that DU-COMM and ACDC dispatch centers will eventually encrypt all communications, possibly within the next two years. Cook County agency talk groups are all encrypted and will remain that way permanently. I know it's expected and will happen in DuPage County, so I'm enjoying what I can for the time being. Then there will be no more except for the multi-cast VHF channels tied to fire dispatch talk groups.
For further details, if you're not familiar with Starcom21 in Illinois, here's the WiKi for them:
STARCOM21 Statewide Illinois - The RadioReference Wiki
...which way are you going with this?
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