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Strange Radio Silence on Local Scanner Frequencies for EMS Fire and Police

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posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 09:34 AM
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I've known for years that the Michigan State Police had changed their radio frequencies and switched to a digitally encrypted system. Local departments, particularly the fire, EMS as well as local city and town police departments, continued to use the same frequencies with unencrypted analog signals, the same as they have for decades.

I have always have keep 2-way communications in my survival preps. I had felt that you not only needed to be able communicate with your own people, but you needed to monitor the real time local situation by scanning the communications of police and emergency response teams. So for years I have been monitoring what I can, the local fire departments, the public and private EMS services and a few local police departments. I can cover three counties along a major interstate.

There was always EMS responding to elderly problems like falls, difficulty in breathing, along with fires, auto accidents and criminal activity of various types. This was especially true on summer weekends with regular coordination with the medi-vac helicopter service as well as the usual activity.

I would listen on the weekends, esp. the big holiday weekends, but something changed after this last 4th of July weekend. The scanner became near dead silent in the following months. We've had some good rain storms, so I assumed that my out door antenna had shorted out and failed to receive and signals. So I switched it over to my CB base antenna, a half wave that was up farther than the other antenna, one that had no problems. I even was able to pick up clear signal from a hand held transceiver I have, but still radio silence.

After carefully monitoring at all hours I find one local EMS service making a very few brief broadcasts, but no chatter on any other frequency I have on the scanner. The radio traffic slowed after the COVID shut down, but it was steady and the usual reports were still coming in, but not lately.

This local radio silence is very strange. I suspect they may have switched to a smart phone app, there hasn't been any talk of switching the whole system to digital signals, I'd still pick that up unless they left their analog frequencies all together.

I have noticed, after searching this subject that many local and state police departments are going digital and interestingly enough, they don't allow the press (or public) to monitor the encoded signals, for public safety of course. Featured were cities like Atlanta, Denver and New York, I guess you could have expected that to happen in those cities.

Atlanta[/ur l]

[url=https://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/360/police-scanners-have-gone-silent-in-denver-but-will-the-public-suffer-as-a-consequence]Denver


New York

There is a redit comment about Minneapolis scanner radio silence too, but I can get that to load at the moment, plus I have to get off the computer for a bit. I'll get deeper with this later.

edit on 13-9-2020 by MichiganSwampBuck because: Messy Links - Can't Fix



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 09:47 AM
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a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

My personal opinion in these uncertain times I can't blame them for going 'skilpad' (tortoise), if that is indeed the case.



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 09:50 AM
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Perhaps they changed from an analog system to a trunked, digital system.



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 09:55 AM
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a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I'm going to take a guess that they are trying to keep bad people from tracking their locations and actions and have switched to a more secure system. We've learned that groups like ANTIFA monitor police scanners to learn where they are doing and their locations. I can't blame them.



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 10:20 AM
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Don’t want to tip off,

Breaking and entering
Looting
Murder

As to where you are and what your doing



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 11:36 AM
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originally posted by: RKWWWW
Perhaps they changed from an analog system to a trunked, digital system.


I thought the same, but there would have been local news coverage and millage proposals, etc., but not a word about any of that locally.



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 11:37 AM
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a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Hello MB, have you looked at Radio Reference to see if the frequencies have been changed? I see (in Manistee county that all the state freqs are 800 MHz digital (Motorola P-25 phase 1 digital). What brand and model of scanner do you have? Could be the local LE has gone to 800 MHz digital and are not obtainable without the right scanner.

In several years, (I have heard 1, 2, 5 years etc.) the whole USA is going to Motorala P-25 Phase 2 digital encrypted. Nothing will be heard for LE, EMTs, nothing...

BTW, I own 2 digital scanners, Uniden Bearcat BC996T and a Uniden Bearcat BC996P2. Even with those at least one third of what I receive is encrypted.

Michigan in Radio Reference



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 11:40 AM
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originally posted by: Stan71
a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I'm going to take a guess that they are trying to keep bad people from tracking their locations and actions and have switched to a more secure system. We've learned that groups like ANTIFA monitor police scanners to learn where they are doing and their locations. I can't blame them.



Very likely, but they still have to communicate. Also, I find it hard to believe that there is such a threat locally and that the EMS would go off the air. I just can't believe that they all went off the old system unless there was a phone app that they dispatch from, otherwise it would mean big money to switch over.



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 11:47 AM
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a reply to: NightFlight

In one of the bigger city's police force, they changed to narrow band and I lost them due to that. Other local broadcasts have been analog, and I listened to those. I programed them manually into a Baofeng VHS/UHF transceiver. I plan on programming a scanner I have to other frequencies, like MI-DNR, US Forest Service, Utility line services, and some private networks around here. I will put the local repeater towers on that too. I'll report on that soon.

edit on 13-9-2020 by MichiganSwampBuck because: Typo



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 11:52 AM
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This was posted on Reddit 3 months ago from Minneapolis . . .


Posted by3 months ago Does anyone else have radio silence on all the police and fire scanners? Is this knew to the current rioting happening in the city?


LINK
edit on 13-9-2020 by MichiganSwampBuck because: Typo



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 12:04 PM
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a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

Even with the frequency on narrow band, you shouldn't have lost them unless your scanner is old enough that four digits after the decimal cannot be programmed, if indeed the frequency changed. I have four analog scanners going, 3 Radio Shack 2052's and a Radio Shack 2022 and they all will receive narrow band broadcasts. The BaoFeng (I have 2) can be programmed for narrow band but the audio is terrible. If you are retired like me, I don't have the funds to buy new radios as the systems change. You could get an SDR radio for your computer that would decode many digital systems. If you need portable a Uniden SDS 100 would be a good one but they are pricey.

I'm sorry, I could go on for paragraphs on different radios, I apologize...
edit on 9/13/2020 by NightFlight because: my dyslexia hit again...



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 12:25 PM
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LINK



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 12:32 PM
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a reply to: NightFlight

I changed to narrow band and it didn't help. They were at the limit of my receive anyhow. Still, no fire, EMS, no nothing. Very strange. Cool about the radio stuff though.



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 06:32 PM
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Over here in South Australia, they have a pager feed for EMS/Fire. If anyone is interested what goes on down here, see below link.

www.sascan.net.au...



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 06:33 PM
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I know the big city near where I live switches to a private frequency for the purposes of discretion. They even say it sometimes, " switch to secure frequency".



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 09:01 PM
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a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

We (they-us-Paramedics go to cell phone (personal and city) or text or go to secure channels.

You guys out there? You aren't getting 1/2...cause we(they, us) go 10-3 off-personal...and comm on cells only



posted on Sep, 13 2020 @ 09:22 PM
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Encryption with the flip of a switch. As needed.
You don't have the chip, you don't hear anything after the flip.

Cannot blame them for all of the spins the MSM would put on anything said, if they could sneak their dirty beaks in there.



posted on Sep, 14 2020 @ 12:01 AM
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a reply to: MichiganSwampBuck

I will put it as simple as i can say. After 9/11 it was realised we had a comunication issue.
Yes cell phones filled a huge void with privacy. And repeater towers also were noticeably less melted after click the mic to a doctor on our happy way to an E.R..

Motorola offered a ( walky talky ) that had a phone keypad on them. But it wasn't required as the Motorola rep programmed every individual radio via computer. EMS, FIRE And Police had a pier to pier ( select radio to another radio ) NO APPLICATION TO DATE WILL HEAR THE CHATTER it's a cell phone on steroids. We got 50 miles out of it.

So what im saying is, you're not privy to hearing a secret BACKCHANNEL that we use. It's there. But you won't hear us.

Edit: i used to be able to say ( without Channel 4 hearing ) hey! Officer Dan! He bit me😭😭
And gosh damn Dan always showed up. Then I'd key up on a such


Back channel
hey Dan?
Yes said Dan.
Care to meet up at Danny's?
And a 5 am dinner transpires.

It's in place🤗
edit on 14-9-2020 by Bigburgh because: But technology is catching up.



posted on Sep, 14 2020 @ 06:35 AM
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a reply to: Bigburgh

I've been in to radio communications for many years and have seen this trend coming for a long time. However, I've never read or heard anyone say anything about the local switch over that seems to be happening now.

As far as my activity on analog two-ways goes, I have a number of ways to encrypt my conversations, not everything I would do would be legal in every instance, nor is it anything all that high tech, but I doubt that Uncle Charley (the FCC) will be after me and triangulate my position when I transmit. The enforcers at the scene might though, it would be tricky to stay under the radar with private coms these days, esp if not sanctioned by the man.

It will now be up to the people to form a civilian group that monitors real time activities and gets the word out. Two-way radios are just one of many ways to report in real time. Any plan like that will only work with an organized and dedicated group that is outside of the established authorities, basically an underground resistance movement.

We must have actionable intelligence to work with, not all lies and propaganda. An underground news/press corp with a regular report being issued to the public is needed. Some group must be around to monitor the situation and report the truth, lord knows the MSM wouldn't be out there doing the job. It's time to get organized and get some truth in reporting to the people so they can make the best decisions for their own welfare.

With all the bad guys, bad cops, and crazies running around, it's time to start taking action. The only way to take action is to have accurate intelligence to work with from people you trust on the ground. No official sources seem to be willing or able to do it, so we need an underground vigilante news service to get the real information out to the people.



posted on Sep, 14 2020 @ 07:51 AM
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One poster here got close. It does indeed stem from 9/11/01, but it's not just about 'better comms', it's about "agency interoperability", hence P-25 and digital encryption. It's federally funded, so you won't see it in your municipal CAPEX, CIP and bond issuance disclosures. Like E-911 (phase 1 and 2) this migration is also required by federal mandate. Some locations have longer to get there than others. Others are just in violation for not being there already. I am prohibited from going into a lot of detail, especially on how it works.

The lying and manipulative MSM hasn't helped the speed of this migration one bit. Some municipalities are tripping over themselves to get away from the lying MSM vultures and pot stirrers. They (the lying MSM) create mountains of unnecessary litigation and costs because of highly partisan incomplete reporting where people don't get the whole picture only the spin doctored version to sell advertisements.

The delay in some of the major cities is largely due to endemic corruption which wastes the federal funding requiring them to come up with the additional funding themselves.

The encryption today is far more sophisticated than that of the early days, and it is dynamic now, not static. Used to be all someone needed to do was to get their hands on a radio to figure out the encryption (with some pretty advanced equipment). Now, this (hack) no longer works.

Regarding why some agencies seem to have moved to P-25 / digital encryption while others haven't; it's just an illusion. You cannot separate Police, Fire and EMS. It's all or nothing. They all need to talk to each other, and they all get dispatched from the same point. What you are hearing is 'back channel' comms, not operational ones. That, and outside comms to entities like volunteer Fire and EMS, etc. Also unit to unit comms between volunteer units. Again, all dispatch is consolidated; it has to be.

Enjoy your scanners while you can, because soon they will be nothing more than paperweights. Kind of a sad day really. I always thought a great leap forward with scanners was when they figured out how to handle "trunked" radio system technology. This was a huge hurdle because the frequency changed for every call. Prior to this the frequency publications knew the different frequencies (from a spectrum analyzer), but not which one would be used. I could go into some details about how they figured this out, but I probably shouldn't.

That is all.



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