Wilmington, NC - Law enforcement agencies encrypting radio trasmissions

[RohnsRadio]

i was going to stay out of the discussion but i could not let this go. this is a quote from the article mentioned by thecop.

“Back when this law was written, Joe Blow could not buy a scanner and program it himself. Now you can buy a scanner that’s the size of a Garmin…The law was not written in a time when [scanners] were totally obsolete or did not exist. Criminals are getting savvier in how they conduct their business,” Brewer said.

LOL! really? another example of someone writeing about what they dont understand. I have been programing scanners for 20+ years..
reminds me of when Lenoir County went trunked. the county manager they had then, told the county that people could not monitor a trunked radio system. boy was he wrong. and they "discovered" this very soon after they had spent BIG MONEY for a system that would not even cover the county much less the city. yes , yes i know that was 10-15 years ago and much has changed.

the point is , people in decison making postions that dont know what they are talking about and listening to salesman. Lenoir County will be upgradeing its trunked system soon (i'm told by the fall) to a APCO P-25 system. and no one will discuss it with me but i can assure you that at least some of the radios will be able to go secure.

scrambleing is here....... like it or not. and it is not going away.

and as long as government makes the information available they ARE meeting the law. as was said it DOES NOT have to be real time.

no i dont like it either but that is they way it is.

that is all i will say about the subject.

 

[doublescan]

Interesting thread. I usually skip the big "E" threads because they seem to get very lengthy, or get shut down. Someone here did seem to be leaning towards what I think about this encryption stuff-that it's not about officer safety as much as it is about CONTROL. Civilian police agencies are run by politicians, who generally love control and want as much of it as possible.
Whether it be the 'current administration' or those in the past, whoever can control what the public knows will last the longest, hear less criticism and possibly not even face as many lawsuits. For the record, I was a f/t dispatcher for twenty years, then (and now) only wanted encryption for the situations that were higher-risk, stakeouts or swat team actions. A traffic stop is dangerous anytime, but routine activity shouldn't warrant scrambling. Technology has made it easier, of course, and these "apps" that feature live feeds hastened it in my opinion.
Just my two cents.

 

[RayAir]

With a quality digital TRS like this, secure communications are assured.

Honestly, of the 5 or so radio systems I've used in my life, this one (Harris OpenSky) is the most technologically advanced and has offered me 100% reliability so far. I've used conventional analog repeater systems, Macomb County P25 and Motorola SmartNet 800.

Forget what you've heard about OpenSky. Harris perfected it.

 

[LIScanner101]

We still don't really understand your motivation for being here......

 

[RayAir]

The trend is, public safety is moving towards encryption. Is it a good idea, or not? That's what this thread is about, Working in public safety for many years (fire services and police), I see the need for information security.

I'm just reporting on the trend. Sure, I to was pissed off over the years as we lost the ability to monitor many forms of radio communication. But judging by the trends, encryption is 1000% more prevalent than it was in the 90's.

I remember when a lot of fire service and police were on VHF Low band. With a scanner antenna up 30", that had 6' low band radials on it, I could hear low band from quite a long distance away (not skip).

Unfortunately, communications systems technology is many years ahead of scanner technology.

DSD has made great strides. I cant believe no scanner maker has MotoTRBO ability. The Chinese have even stolen the technology standard and they make $100 DMR walkie talkies.


With the ability to easily add encryption to new Motorola P25 radios and Harris ( Leading global supplier of secure radio communications and embedded high grade encryption solutions for military , government, and commercial organizations), encryption will only become more prevalent.

Like it, or not.

 

[bfperez]

We still don't really understand your motivation for being here......

Shilling for Harris and cheerleading their painfully bad radio system.

 

[bfperez]

With a quality digital TRS like this, secure communications are assured.

Honestly, of the 5 or so radio systems I've used in my life, this one (Harris OpenSky) is the most technologically advanced and has offered me 100% reliability so far. I've used conventional analog repeater systems, Macomb County P25 and Motorola SmartNet 800.

Forget what you've heard about OpenSky. Harris perfected it.

Las Vegas Metro PD would disagree with you, as would Pennsylvania.

I don't buy that it's topography given that numerous states have managed to make P25 systems work on 700/800 despite the presence of mountains, low lying areas, long flat stretches, etc.

 

[JoeyC]

Las Vegas Metro PD would disagree with you, as would Pennsylvania.

Don't forget Milwaukee.

 

[theoldcop]

Why did you remove your location? I believe it was Harris Open Sky Country.
Personally, just about all of your posts make it appear as though you have been employed by Harris to defend what they might consider slights against their system. At the very least you might be employed by a contractor looking to work their way into a municipal contract.

I consider every one of your posts suspect.

With a quality digital TRS like this, secure communications are assured.

Honestly, of the 5 or so radio systems I've used in my life, this one (Harris OpenSky) is the most technologically advanced and has offered me 100% reliability so far. I've used conventional analog repeater systems, Macomb County P25 and Motorola SmartNet 800.

Forget what you've heard about OpenSky. Harris perfected it.

 

[MTS2000des]

What does OpenSky have to do with Wilmington, NC? Are they not on the Motorola VIPER 9600 system anyway?

 

[LIScanner101]

I think Ray_Air is just a troll.

 

[RayAir]

Sorry you feel that way. Wilmington, NC made the correct and informed decision. That is my belief. By going encrypted they are reducing liability and assuring information security. A wise choice.

Other note of local importance:

During last months committee meeting I attended, the MPSCS is going to be adding more AES-256 enc TGs.

That's all I'm going to say.

 

[LIScanner101]

Imagine if I - an avid surfcaster - were to go to my favorite surf fishing site and began singing the praises of restricting beach vehicle access and beach closures.

Of course, that would be foolish. That's all I'm going to say.

 

[djewel6]

What does OpenSky have to do with Wilmington, NC? Are they not on the Motorola VIPER 9600 system anyway?

PD wise no but NHREMS (EMS in NHCO) is on VIPR now all of Brunswick is on VIPR.. Honestly Im surprised NHCO hasnt joined in completely yet considering the state is backing alot of the costs and all the neighboring jurisdictions that border are now using it..

 

[Twanchese]

public information police an fire an ems are public information

they don't have wright to encrypet those police channels they are fcc public freqs and are public information call fcc an report them this is public information not wright call an report there ***

 

[Twanchese]

your violating our wrights to listen to public information police /fire /ems /ships /air planes/ etc/ these are fcc channels you can be made to open these channels going to call fcc an report you .not wright this is usa we have wrights here an your stepping on our wrights

 

[Twanchese]

this is public information police/fire/ems/air traffic/ open air freq fcc rule it is not wright to encrypt an can be made to open these channels going to call fcc an report them have a nice day

 

[sfd119]

I'm all against Encryption on day to day usage but I have to address this.

they don't have wright to encrypet those police channels they are fcc public freqs and are public information call fcc an report them this is public information not wright call an report there ***

They do have a "wright" to encrypt these channels. FCC regulates the channels but they're not public channels. You have to apply, pay money to get a lic, abide by plenty of rules. Would you mind me sitting there on your protected (encrypted) Wifi (public freq) snooping your traffic?

your violating our wrights to listen to public information police /fire /ems /ships /air planes/ etc/ these are fcc channels you can be made to open these channels going to call fcc an report you .not wright this is usa we have wrights here an your stepping on our wrights

No where does it say we have a right to listen to those channels.

this is public information police/fire/ems/air traffic/ open air freq fcc rule it is not wright to encrypt an can be made to open these channels going to call fcc an report them have a nice day

With all do respect, brush up on your language/spelling skills. It could help you with a compelling argument.

 

[KE4ZNR]

What does OpenSky have to do with Wilmington, NC? Are they not on the Motorola VIPER 9600 system anyway?

The VIPER P25 9600 system still has limited coverage areas of Wake & Durham counties
only. New Hanover County has their own Moto P25 system that has been on the air for a few years now. As djewel6 said some New Hanover County area using 3600 VIPER Mixed Mode for Mutual Aid purposes but the majority of Public Safety Comms in that area take place on the New Hanover PS P25 System.

The Statewide VIPER system (which currently sits on a 4.1 Mixed Mode Analog/Digital 3600 platform) can't be fully migrated to P25 until all sites have been rebanded (which a majority of the sites have been) and all users have radios that (a) have the necessary flash for P25 capability and (b) have had their radio templates updated with the correct P25 talkgroups.

Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[LIScanner101]

this is public information police/fire/ems/air traffic/ open air freq fcc rule it is not wright to encrypt an can be made to open these channels going to call fcc an report them have a nice day

"Wright" lol