richmond tweed (lismore)

[soot_e]

Hi all, Can anybody tell me if richmond tweed police have gone digital or is still analog? I used to listen to via a hand held scanner but let a friend borrow it and never seen it again. I was told about 5-0 RADIO and used that app for a while but recently it has become unusable due to it being extremely scratchy. Also seems to have been merged with firecom so transmissions overlap each other sometimes. Time to buy another scanner but not sure whether i need to go digital or not... cheers in advance for any help you may have

[Phantom]

Digital vs Analogue....
Well a digital scanner will be no good to you if what you are trying to listen to, is encrypted.
Find out if the place you are wanting to listen into has gone digital AND encrypted and there, my friend, you will find the answer to what you are searching for...

[soot_e]

Thanks for your reply Phantom but where can one find such information? The fact that 5-0 Radio still has a "far nrth coast pol and firecom" stream makes me think that there mite not be any encryption.

[Phantom]

What you hear thru those apps is completely dependant on what the person on the other end has tuned in. I would not take for granted what the person has advertised as being tuned is always correct

[soot_e]

Okay... So i had the app running earlier tonight and heard some calls come in from local cars so im pretty sure its safe to say no encryption. That just leaves the question DIGITAL OR ANALOG

[soot_e]

anyone?

[blacktown]

Channel Papa is analog
The Police Radio Network Techs are slowly working on digital upgrades at various sites .... there is a stack of new frequencies allocated for that purpose (i have already posted about this elsewhere) ... but it takes time, people, resources and money
Same thing is happening on Channel Oscar (Mid North Coast) and November (Hunter), as well as the South Coast (Channel Sierra)
As digital clear comes up and is tweaked to eliminate black spots, the analog will be switched off,
The longer term trend is for Regional Encryption ... has already happened in the Bowral-Goulburn-Yass-Wagga area
Likely to happen quite rapidly on those three channels i mentioned.
Channel Papa is more complicated as it adjoins the border with Queensland (who have already committed to P25 Phase 2 trunking for the Commonwealth Games). Presumably cars will have a trunked radio to access both sides of the border
I suspect you have a 1-2 year time frame then flick
I live in Sydney - we have been encrypted since 2008. You will get use to it

[fire_rescue]

Was at Tweed Heads yesterday Police are on p25 its not encrypted you can still listen thru p25 scanner or dsd. RFS have moved to p25 not encrypted and NSW Fire and Rescue still on analogue 419.1500