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Is it true that, on the EDACS radio system, the special investigations bureu talkgroups are encrypted? That is what the alpha tag states on radio reference.

I don't think so, unless they count trunked as encrypted

It has not been encrypted whenever I have listened to it. During the Soboba shootings several years ago the dispatcher referred to the channel as "Encrypted 13" --- However, units came up on it and everything was in the clear. Maybe in the past it was, but I've been listening since 2005 and never logged encrypted comms on the EDACS system.

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brandon wrote:It has not been encrypted whenever I have listened to it. During the Soboba shootings several years ago the dispatcher referred to the channel as "Encrypted 13" --- However, units came up on it and everything was in the clear. Maybe in the past it was, but I've been listening since 2005 and never logged encrypted comms on the EDACS system.

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Well because it's 100% analog, I didn't think so. Otherwise, then we're talking ProVoice digital which can't be monitored-encrypted or not.

cvrules90 wrote:

brandon wrote:Well because it's 100% analog, I didn't think so. Otherwise, then we're talking ProVoice digital which can't be monitored-encrypted or not.

EDACS is not "100% analog". RSO's EDACS system is capable of a digital mode known as Aegis, that can be encrypted. Aegis audio quality is poor, so it never became popular to use. But it's there. And so are the encryption keyloaders.

BTW, Provoice CAN be monitored with DSD software.

But for monitoring ProVoice, a scanner alone is not sufficient. That's what I was attempting to get across.

On the HTs, the readout says encrypted, but I have never heard any traffic that actually was ever since they switched to EDACS. Maybe it was planned for the future and never added, or else the function is there on some special HTs like for SIB but rarely used. A lot of staff have the idea that because it's trunked, that no one can hear what they are saying over the radio, not realizing anyone with $100 can get a scanner that can hear everything. There used to be a radio-telephone function on the system, where you could dial phone numbers from the unit radio or HT, which was kinda cool, except for the whole conversation was broadcast over the air.

sp1989 wrote:On the HTs, the readout says encrypted, but I have never heard any traffic that actually was ever since they switched to EDACS. Maybe it was planned for the future and never added, or else the function is there on some special HTs like for SIB but rarely used. A lot of staff have the idea that because it's trunked, that no one can hear what they are saying over the radio, not realizing anyone with $100 can get a scanner that can hear everything. There used to be a radio-telephone function on the system, where you could dial phone numbers from the unit radio or HT, which was kinda cool, except for the whole conversation was broadcast over the air.

So it was like a car speakerphone/cell phone kinda thing (except broadcast). That definitely sounds cool and something I would want.

cvrules90 wrote:So it was like a car speakerphone/cell phone kinda thing (except broadcast). That definitely sounds cool and something I would want.

It was just the standard issue EDACS mobiles and portables. The phone interconnect is just an automatic phone patch that the radio users could bring up. Back in the early 90's, it was kind of cool. Not many people had cellphones yet. Not so much today, since phone calls are not at all private. If you're familiar at all with a ham radio autopatch, it was exactly like that. No one does autopatch anymore.

And many other EDACS radio systems have/had that feature I believe.