[TrunkCom] Fwd: Scanner buffs adjusting to new technology

[JEFFREY MICHAEL KENYON]

I think that you should either go digital or analogue, if you plan to
simulcast.  Of course, encryption is another story, but if you want to put
say an analogue talk group on and put the same information  over a digital
you'd be tiing up two repeaters  that will cause more busy signals.  Once
you hear digital you'll be amazed at never hearing static again.  I had
always trained  self to expect static when the police switched over  to the=
 car
to car talk around, but with the digital system that has never happened,
and it will never happen.
I don't know though how digital would work in terms of listening to
systems from far away on a scanner though rather it be conventional or
trunking.





On Wed, 23 Jan 2002, thepolishdude wrote:

> --- In 4phun-scan@y..., "Vic Healey" <jw@s...> wrote:
>     =20
>       Dave Hilton of York monitors his scanners at his home. Below,=20
> right, is his equipment.  (Craig Osborne/Staff photographer)=20
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> Scanner buffs adjusting to new technology
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> By BRAD MORIN
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> Democrat Staff Writer
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> DOVER =97 When police departments switch to digital radios, scanner=20
> buffs will be left in the dark. But the blackout may be temporary, as=20
> digital-capable scanners are almost ready to hit the market.
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> Most New Hampshire police departments still use analog radios, which=20
> hobbyists, the media and others can monitor with scanners. Agencies=20
> that have switched to digital, such as the New Hampshire State=20
> Police, cannot be heard.
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> But Uniden =97 a company that makes the popular Bearcat brand of=20
> scanners =97 will begin selling a digital-capable scanner late this=20
> year, according to company spokeswoman Jennifer Ainsworth.
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> "The people I know who are pure hobbyists are dying to get their=20
> hands on one," said Parks Christenbury, a local radio technician.
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> One of those scanner enthusiasts is David Hilton of York Village,=20
> Maine. He has an antenna tower in his back yard with amplifiers that=20
> allow him to pick up 550 frequencies at any given time and receive=20
> broadcasts from all over northern New England. He believes scanners=20
> will continue to keep pace with digital technology.
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>     =20
> "They haven't failed us yet...It may be a costly thing at first, but=20
> the people that want it will get it," Hilton said. He recalls that=20
> when the New Hampshire forestry network went digital, all he could=20
> pick up was a buzzing sound.
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> Hilton listens mostly to fire departments, but he said people should=20
> also be able to listen to police departments to find out what their=20
> tax dollars are doing. Scanner listeners can also serve=20
> as "neighborhood watchdogs," he said.
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> At least one police department is considering a plan to broadcast in=20
> analog to accommodate the scanner hobbyists. Portsmouth Police Chief=20
> Brad Russ said he would like to broadcast in both digital and analog=20
> because some scanner listeners have given useful tips to police.
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> "I'd like to broadcast in analog for anything that isn't super-
> sensitive," Russ said. "We get a lot of good information from=20
> citizens who listen to the scanners."
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> Portsmouth's plan is to switch over to digital communications by the=20
> end of the calendar year. Russ said this idea to simulcast would=20
> depend on what the technicians say when they upgrade Portsmouth's=20
> dispatching system. Russ said he likely would not order the simulcast=20
> of digital and analog if it will be costly.
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> Dover Police Chief William Fenniman said he is less concerned about=20
> the wishes of scanner hobbyists than the ability of criminals to=20
> listen in on police communications. Fenniman referred to one gang of=20
> burglars from Massachusetts who were hitting Dover and other New=20
> Hampshire communities about seven or eight years ago. They were using=20
> scanners to learn when police were responding to the burglar alarms,=20
> he said.
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> "These organized gangs, as a method of operation, carry police=20
> scanners," Fenniman said.
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> Fenniman said the Dover Police Department is in the process of=20
> changing its radio over to a digital system right now, and it should=20
> be complete by the end of the year. He acknowledges that police have=20
> plenty of ways to keep their communications confidential, both=20
> through the use of cellular phones or mobile data terminals =97 devices=
=20
> in their cruisers that are similar to laptop computers.
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> Technology allows for the digital radio traffic to be encrypted, but=20
> Christenbury said it would be expensive for police departments to do=20
> so.
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> The digital radio upgrade is being paid for with help from federal=20
> grants under a program known as LawNet. In Strafford County, for=20
> example, the sheriff's office will get $651,467 worth of equipment=20
> for its dispatch center and an additional $696,000 will be going out=20
> to the 13 individual communities.
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> Not only is digital reception better, but it allows agencies to=20
> communicate with one another =97 a term known as "interoperability."
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> The need was highlighted by the 1997 Carl Drega killing spree in=20
> Colebrook. Drega shot two state troopers, a newspaper editor and a=20
> judge. Police encountered difficulties in trying to capture him=20
> because multiple agencies were responding on incompatible radio=20
> frequencies.
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> U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., worked to secure the federal funds for=20
> the Granite State's digital radios.
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> "I'm hopeful that, when we're finished, we'll have the most=20
> technologically advanced communications in the country," Gregg said=20
> Thursday in an interview with Foster's Daily Democrat.
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> Christenbury, employed as a radio technician with the Rockingham=20
> County Sheriff's Office, has been consulting with other law=20
> enforcement agencies in the area. He said most agencies already have=20
> digital radios for their cruisers, but are waiting for the system to=20
> be up and running before adding the portable digital radios, which=20
> cost about $3,000 each. By the end of the year, most agencies should=20
> be on digital radios, Christenbury said.
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> Christenbury said the switch to digital radio will not be the death=20
> knell for scanner listening. Even though police will be going=20
> digital, many people listen to fire departments, railroads, aircraft=20
> and businesses, he said. When digital scanners come out, Christenbury=20
> said they will likely cost $300 to $350, about the same as a high-end=20
> analog scanner.
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> And computers have now become a scanning tool that allow people to=20
> listen in on communications from far away. From his home in York,=20
> Hilton will often listen to the fire departments in New York City at=20
> www.thebravest.com. Hilton said he tried to log on during the Sept.=20
> 11 terrorist attacks, but too many people were trying to get on the=20
> site.
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> "It just got overwhelmed," he said. "As soon as it made national=20
> news, everybody tried to get on."
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> Democrat Staff Writer Brad Morin can be reached at 742-4455, Ext.=20
> 5311 or bmorin@f...
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> Vic Healey
> ki4je
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> This email has been pre-scanned by Norton AntiVirus 2002 and is=20
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> --- End forwarded message ---
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