Orange County....
Re: Orange County....
It is against the law to decrypt digital encrypted transmissions so there isn't a scanner available for that. As you probably know, all law enforcement agencies in Orange County are encrypted so you are out of luck.
Re: Orange County....
Charlie,
Kings is right... and it's been a hot debate between the OCSO and the local LA/OC media. There is NO scanner that will decrypt encrypted radio transmissions. Dont get this confused with P25 digital radio transmissions. OCSO is encrypted and thus un-monitorable. (With a scanner anyway...) The media feels that they should be able to monitor PD/SO comms, for obvious reasons. Freedom of the press, etc...
FYI, Border Patrol is also encrypted. As far as I know, OCSO and Border Patrol are the only law enforcement around (worth monitoring) that uses full-time encryption. There are some other federal three-letter agencies who also use full time encryption.
~Chad (318)
Kings is right... and it's been a hot debate between the OCSO and the local LA/OC media. There is NO scanner that will decrypt encrypted radio transmissions. Dont get this confused with P25 digital radio transmissions. OCSO is encrypted and thus un-monitorable. (With a scanner anyway...) The media feels that they should be able to monitor PD/SO comms, for obvious reasons. Freedom of the press, etc...
FYI, Border Patrol is also encrypted. As far as I know, OCSO and Border Patrol are the only law enforcement around (worth monitoring) that uses full-time encryption. There are some other federal three-letter agencies who also use full time encryption.
~Chad (318)
Re: Orange County....
Of course those "OC" people just HAVE to have the most expensive and complex radio system...lol
Re: Orange County....
March ARB is is like a 50/50 bar. You can listen to the Tower,Approaching Aircraft,Ground Control and Aircraft to Aircraft on conventional frequencies with a typical scanner.The Fire Dept along with Maintenance and Security Police went P-25 Digital about 2 years ago. The frequencies are listed in the frequency section of our group. There is also an excellent example of how to program a Pro-96 to receive the frequencies.I have not heard or read about RPD going P-25.You used to could listen to OC Special Ops when they would come into Riv Co on 460.025 but it was so rare that the traffic was minimal.
Thanks,John in MoVal
Thanks,John in MoVal
Re: Orange County....
Charlie (and all),
The easiest way to explain P25 to someone new to radio is to compare the old analog cellphones to Nextel. If you have ever used a Nextel phone, P25 sounds and 'acts' like that , where as analog cellphones (which are no-longer produced) are more like analog conventional communications. Just about everything in Riverside County (as-far as public safety is concerned) is analog and mostly conventional. RSO is analog EDACS trunked.
P25 is a protocol that uses data sent over radio as opposed to voice, in order to use less spectrum bandwidth. (Very basically) when you talk on a P25 radio, your voice is converted to data packets which are sent over the air to the other radio which converts the data packets back to voice so the guy on the receiving end can hear what your saying. The data sent over the air takes up very little radio spectrum bandwidth. In the future with more radio users needing radio spectrum bandwidth, the use of data instead of voice will free up more room so everyone can do what they need to do.
The trade-off (at-least for now) is that the voice quality of P25 communications is poor and people are not used to it. There have been problems in other parts of the country with fire departments who have switched to exclusively P25 communications as part of a city-wide ‘upgrade’. The complaint is that when a firefighter is working in a burning building (for example) and is attempting to talk on the radio to other firefighters or the IC, he is completely unintelligible using a P25 radio. It was easier to hear said firefighter in the same situation on an analog system. I believe this is part of the reason that on San Diego’s RCS trunk system, 99-percent of the fire comms remain analog.
Riverside County is currently planning/building-out a NEW Motorola P25 trunking system to replace their aging GE EDACS system. I’m not sure if this new system will be JUST RSO (and other county-related users) or if other area agencies will also use (share) this system. Multiple agencies on large, complex county built/owned trunked radio systems appears to be a trend around the nation. Don’t be surprised if other local cities with their own radio systems like Murrieta, Hemet and Riverside City jump on the counties new system. It makes sense if you think about it. In terms of interoperability, everyone will be able to talk to eachother if need –be. In terms of saving money, the county’s radio system will be maintained by county employees as opposed to city employees. The FCC may force the cities to move to a P25 system in the future and the counties P25 system is an immediate solution to that.
As of right now, only the highest-end scanners have the ability to monitor P25 transmissions. When the new RSO P25 system goes on-line, you will all have to upgrade to scanners that will monitor P25. The Uniden 996T and 396T are good examples of scanners that will do this. I am not a big fan of Radio Shack products. In the mean-time, I really like and endorse Uniden’s non-P25 scanner, the BCT15.
For more information on P25, go to www.google.com and enter “APCO P25” or just ask me…
~Chad (318)
P.S. Don’t confuse P25 with encryption, 800MHz rebanding, VHF fire narrow-banding or trunking… those are all other issues.
The easiest way to explain P25 to someone new to radio is to compare the old analog cellphones to Nextel. If you have ever used a Nextel phone, P25 sounds and 'acts' like that , where as analog cellphones (which are no-longer produced) are more like analog conventional communications. Just about everything in Riverside County (as-far as public safety is concerned) is analog and mostly conventional. RSO is analog EDACS trunked.
P25 is a protocol that uses data sent over radio as opposed to voice, in order to use less spectrum bandwidth. (Very basically) when you talk on a P25 radio, your voice is converted to data packets which are sent over the air to the other radio which converts the data packets back to voice so the guy on the receiving end can hear what your saying. The data sent over the air takes up very little radio spectrum bandwidth. In the future with more radio users needing radio spectrum bandwidth, the use of data instead of voice will free up more room so everyone can do what they need to do.
The trade-off (at-least for now) is that the voice quality of P25 communications is poor and people are not used to it. There have been problems in other parts of the country with fire departments who have switched to exclusively P25 communications as part of a city-wide ‘upgrade’. The complaint is that when a firefighter is working in a burning building (for example) and is attempting to talk on the radio to other firefighters or the IC, he is completely unintelligible using a P25 radio. It was easier to hear said firefighter in the same situation on an analog system. I believe this is part of the reason that on San Diego’s RCS trunk system, 99-percent of the fire comms remain analog.
Riverside County is currently planning/building-out a NEW Motorola P25 trunking system to replace their aging GE EDACS system. I’m not sure if this new system will be JUST RSO (and other county-related users) or if other area agencies will also use (share) this system. Multiple agencies on large, complex county built/owned trunked radio systems appears to be a trend around the nation. Don’t be surprised if other local cities with their own radio systems like Murrieta, Hemet and Riverside City jump on the counties new system. It makes sense if you think about it. In terms of interoperability, everyone will be able to talk to eachother if need –be. In terms of saving money, the county’s radio system will be maintained by county employees as opposed to city employees. The FCC may force the cities to move to a P25 system in the future and the counties P25 system is an immediate solution to that.
As of right now, only the highest-end scanners have the ability to monitor P25 transmissions. When the new RSO P25 system goes on-line, you will all have to upgrade to scanners that will monitor P25. The Uniden 996T and 396T are good examples of scanners that will do this. I am not a big fan of Radio Shack products. In the mean-time, I really like and endorse Uniden’s non-P25 scanner, the BCT15.
For more information on P25, go to www.google.com and enter “APCO P25” or just ask me…
~Chad (318)
P.S. Don’t confuse P25 with encryption, 800MHz rebanding, VHF fire narrow-banding or trunking… those are all other issues.