Snow plow crews are some of the best ... the comments they make on idiots blowing past them while plowing are comedy gold!
The "Encryption" Elephant in the room....
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Snow plow crews are some of the best ... the comments they make on idiots blowing past them while plowing are comedy gold!
ohiodesperado
Member
Here's a question. What are you planning on doing when departments transfer to FirstNet? That is cellular based and may NEVER have scanners able to us it because it's built on technology that is used in consumer cellular systems. So like back in the day, scanner's will not even get those frequencies let alone be able to decode the data stream.
TailGator911
Silent Key/KF4ANC
LEOs and fire fighters and anybody familiar with mutual aid communications are very 50/50 about encryption for the simple fact that it's a hindrance to those who don't have it if somebody else is using it during a major crisis. Emergency personnel all have to be on the same page for it to work. Either all encrypted or none encrypted, otherwise it can be chaos, and downright dangerous to our first responders. I have several relatives in law enforcement and the emergency medical field and they all agree, and dislike encrypted communications. I think if all Broadcastifiers would set their internet transmissions on a 15-minute delay it would prove to be beneficial to all. Those who listen to their cell phone apps purely for entertainment purposes would be satisfied and those who listen for their own nefarious reasons would be ...umm, arrested. lol And, police and emergency folks would not be so apt to listen to those slick-talkin Motorola sales people yacking in their ears about digital encryption. Just sayin....
JD
kf4anc
JD
kf4anc
hardsuit
Member
Discussing Encryption is Fine, however Complaining about it is Pointless.
If Your City/County has gone Encrypted, chance is good that a Neighboring City/County Largely does not Encrypt.
and many Agency maintain a Analog 700/800 MHz backup.
If it turns out that your County is all Encrypted then perhaps you should Broaden your Horizions.
there is ALOT of RF Spectrum to Monitor out there, from LW, SW, HF, MW to High UHF, SHF and SHHF.
this is where a LW/SW radio becomes Important and a Scanner like the R30 with HF & MW reception becomes Important.
ICOM R30 can also tune Above 1.3 Ghz to 3.4 Ghz and even DIGITAL modes.
Personally, I find MILAIR and HF Utility Monitoring just as Exciting as Scanning , Local PD on P25.
which is why , I have Both kinds of Receivers in Constant Operation. However, I generally use more HF at Night when its Quieter in RF Noise.
Consider going to more Airshows in your Area and become Part the Airshow Scanning Community.
and Consider Monitoring VHF Marine at Water Events in your Area.
Scanning is NOT Ending, still Plenty of RF Spectrum to Listen to with the RIGHT Radio and If you Know Where to look.
If Your City/County has gone Encrypted, chance is good that a Neighboring City/County Largely does not Encrypt.
and many Agency maintain a Analog 700/800 MHz backup.
If it turns out that your County is all Encrypted then perhaps you should Broaden your Horizions.
there is ALOT of RF Spectrum to Monitor out there, from LW, SW, HF, MW to High UHF, SHF and SHHF.
this is where a LW/SW radio becomes Important and a Scanner like the R30 with HF & MW reception becomes Important.
ICOM R30 can also tune Above 1.3 Ghz to 3.4 Ghz and even DIGITAL modes.
Personally, I find MILAIR and HF Utility Monitoring just as Exciting as Scanning , Local PD on P25.
which is why , I have Both kinds of Receivers in Constant Operation. However, I generally use more HF at Night when its Quieter in RF Noise.
Consider going to more Airshows in your Area and become Part the Airshow Scanning Community.
and Consider Monitoring VHF Marine at Water Events in your Area.
Scanning is NOT Ending, still Plenty of RF Spectrum to Listen to with the RIGHT Radio and If you Know Where to look.
It says a lot when this thread gets moved from the Uniden Tavern to Genera Scanning. The point of my thread was not so much about encryption, but how the decision to spend 700 dollars or more on a scanner, currently being made by Uniden must give weight to the encryption issue. Guess we don't want to stifle any potential Uniden sales by leaving it over there....
The main reason for the latest rush to encryption, and this is loaded with irony, is Broadcastify. Yes, the very company that started out as a radio hobbyist website, then adding live streaming, will most likely account for the demise of the hobby. There have been way too many major incidents of late where police and public safety traffic has been pulled from Broadcastify and aired nationwide before the police are done with the incident or their investigation. This is detrimental to ongoing investigations and to the public safety. Police like to control the release of information, for many good reasons. Public safety agencies nationwide have had enough. It was bad enough that they had to worry about a small segment of the population carrying scanners. Now anyone with a smart phone can monitor their communications with the press of an app. Couple that with the intense scrutiny of the police and nit wits shooting video at every scene and in many cases interfering, and encryption is a no brainer.
Once again, we can thank ourselves. And if I want to listen to baby monitors, aircraft, railroads, road crews, or mall security, I have a perfectly good Pro-2006 that can do the job.
The main reason for the latest rush to encryption, and this is loaded with irony, is Broadcastify. Yes, the very company that started out as a radio hobbyist website, then adding live streaming, will most likely account for the demise of the hobby. There have been way too many major incidents of late where police and public safety traffic has been pulled from Broadcastify and aired nationwide before the police are done with the incident or their investigation. This is detrimental to ongoing investigations and to the public safety. Police like to control the release of information, for many good reasons. Public safety agencies nationwide have had enough. It was bad enough that they had to worry about a small segment of the population carrying scanners. Now anyone with a smart phone can monitor their communications with the press of an app. Couple that with the intense scrutiny of the police and nit wits shooting video at every scene and in many cases interfering, and encryption is a no brainer.
Once again, we can thank ourselves. And if I want to listen to baby monitors, aircraft, railroads, road crews, or mall security, I have a perfectly good Pro-2006 that can do the job.
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Did you read what I wrote? I was agreeing with you.
I literally said some people use it for buses or whatever and the rest of us prefer Fire EMS and police.
mule1075
Member
Think you need to read up on what Firstnet actually is and does.
Beat me to this . LMR will likely last my lifetime .
A handful of agencies were locking down almost 20 years ago before the internet was even much of a blip on the radar. But the big massive push now is because of streaming. Thank the owner or owners for this of killing the hobby
K9JLR
Member
It's a choice you'll ultimately have to make for yourself. If you're just looking primarily to monitor LE communications, then yes, this should be a consideration before you invest heavily in a higher dollar flagship scanner that, ideally, could serve its purpose for 10+ years forward. The reasons individual departments or agencies have chosen to encrypt are multi-factorial and differ from one to another.
In my area, ironically, the opposite happened. The city PD switched to a new DMR system in early 2015, along with the university's Office of Public Safety. The each initially encrypted for almost two years. However, when the county sheriff and several municipalities, all dispatched by the county 911 center, switched over to DMR about a year or so later, the other two agencies removed their encryption for interoperability and audio quality reasons (at that time scanners were just becoming available with DMR, though DSD scanner software programs already offered said capability).
In my area, ironically, the opposite happened. The city PD switched to a new DMR system in early 2015, along with the university's Office of Public Safety. The each initially encrypted for almost two years. However, when the county sheriff and several municipalities, all dispatched by the county 911 center, switched over to DMR about a year or so later, the other two agencies removed their encryption for interoperability and audio quality reasons (at that time scanners were just becoming available with DMR, though DSD scanner software programs already offered said capability).
Oh joy! Another thread on encryption. 
Firstnet is more for sharing data and giving firstnet users priority on the cell network. Its there to supplement, not replace existing networks. Last year when my county was demoing Firstnet we had a series of Macro Burst and a Tornado come through our area. AT&T (network that firstnet relies on) lost 22 sites in our County and rendered the phones useless in the affected areas. Firstnet is not the end all be all, its there as another tool in the tool box.
Why is there a need to 'blame'? There are compelling reasons to encrypt - privacy of personal information, HIPPA, safety (like keeping ambulance and incident chasers out of the way, etc.) Just because hobbyists are ruffled is meaningless.
I wasn't assigning blame. I was replying to someone assigning blame. But, the persons responsible are those who make the choice to encrypt.
As for HIPPA, those concerns have been long since debunked.
For some of us, this isn't so much a hobby. I am in the minority as I am against all encryption of domestic government voice radio traffic. If they want to conceal it... MDT, cellular, and other data networks are at their disposal.
n1das
Member
I'm not worried about it one bit. FirstNet (AT&T) and Verizon's equivalent can augment public safety communications but not replace them entirely. Public safety radio systems as we know them will still be used. LMR will still be around for a long time.
I'm not a FirstNet user but my Sonim XP8 ruggedized smartphone is FirstNet ready. It has Band 14 for FirstNet users.
Sonim XP8 - Sonim
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As I have mentioned on many occasions, I worked in TDCJ-ID for around twenty-two years as an Associate Clinical Psychologist. I have administered many different types of tests, including objective personality inventories and Projective measurments. I have administered countless WAIS protocols as well.
Yes, you are pretty close to being accurate about their inability to program a police scanner. I am surprised some of them could chew gum and walk at the same time. However, I have met some incredibly intelligent offenders during my career.
The case that comes to mind about police scanners was a well-organized escape from these 7 worms! Like most with Antisocial Personality disorder, they twisted things to suit their criminal exploits. This group even prayed for God to protect them while they were "on the ground." I met one of them, but he was in Safekeeping. His name was Murphy. He whined more than many I've encountered. 'Texas 7' Chronology
These chickenshits killed an Officer in the DFW metroplex near Christmas.
Thanks for letting me share.
Also, I have run across several who maintained their Ham license.
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