On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 09:05:13 GMT, "bluddihun"
wrote:

I'm trying to monitor the Ge/Edacs digital trunked radio dispatch system in
use by a local pd but to no avail. I hate to consider this a possibility,
but is it the case that there is simply NO WAY to monitor digital trunked
radio?

i had thought that also, but the way one has to program with little or
no information of local systems, its really difficult to do, but it
will pay off. if youre lucky some of the pre-progged (9) will work.
living in mississippi on the coast, no one seems to have the complete
info. i found some at radioreference.com
once i found with a minimum setup you also have to make sure you are
in ID/SEARCH and not ID/SCAN which is somewhat counter-intuitive, I
started getting some edacs noise. I bet somebody's gonna make a
killing off the sw to program these things. I know the one that uniden
is so proud of ($70) is not worth a crap - from what I've seen of it.
I think if they had some sort of flow-chart showing the implications
of actions it would be more clear, but right now, it looks like a rats
nest. I used to write tech manuals, and I learned it is sometimes
extremely difficult to show effects of certain actions on paper
without hands=on experience. this is a new kind of scanner philosophy

Billy, N5WE
Mississippi

Vancouver BC
Damn ge/edacs.
wrote in message
...
On Mon, 27 Dec 2004 09:05:13 GMT, "bluddihun" wrote:

I'm trying to monitor the Ge/Edacs digital trunked radio dispatch system
in
use by a local pd but to no avail. I hate to consider this a possibility,
but is it the case that there is simply NO WAY to monitor digital trunked
radio?

What area? Your IP is showing Shaw in Alberta??

MA/COM (x-ComNet/x-Ericsson/GE) EDACS can take the form of:

1) Older AEGIS digital - NO longer supported
2) Newer "Provoice" digital is IMBE vocoder same as P25

Unfortunately the digital EDACS systems at this time are STILL
UNMONITORABLE
even if they are in the clear (not encrypted).

Uniden & GRE could easily add ProVoice with a little work on their present
P25
setup's, but seem to be reluctant to support them.

AEGIS will NEVER be supported, and neither is support for the proprietary
OpenSky IP based digital format likely to come to a scanner.

EDACS systems can also employ a simple XOR'd "encryption" ala EDACS
Security Key
(ESK) to the control channel so that scanner can not even decode the
control
channel. ETrunker has a version that can at least see the activity even
with
this simple "encryption."