Hey David,

Not sure who to ask this of so I thought I would start with you and perhaps you can determine who best to forward this to.

For the past year I have known that the City of Mobile was going to change their radio system over to the County's system. They have been replacing the radios over that past few months and have just about got everything in place for the switch: I understand the switch is going to start in September and will be completed by the first of next year.

While I like the idea of the City and the County using the same system for several reasons, I do have a concern that I wish to explore. That is the use of encryption to keep folks like myself from monitoring police comms. It is my understanding that ALL police comms will be encrypted. Can this be verified by someone on your staff?

If indeed ALL police comms are to be encrypted how will this effect the newsroom? I know you monitor local law enforcement on your scanners, I have heard various references to it via your own radios. Yeah, I monitor those on occasion as well <Grin>. Has anyone there made arrangements to get a couple of the new radios with the the transmitting function locked out?

I also understand that the Sheriff's office will be doing the same thing as soon as they get all their radios swapped. So you might want to check there as well as to a time frame for that change.

I would also be interested to know if there are any plans to cover the story? I haven't seen or heard anything about this in any news outlet. I would think that this would make an interesting story considering the cost involved. These radios are NOT cheap nor are the new repeaters that have been put in place.

For those that don't know "Repeaters" are big transmitters that receive a signal from a small transmitter and re-transmit that signal using more power and great height to get the signal out farther.

Thanks David.

Wayne
N4SZY

Wayne

Yes, the City of Mobile is 'upgrading' their radio system to a digital system. As you know with digital there is no gradual drop off in the signal. You either have a signal or you don't.

The system that they are switching to is a proprietary digital system, Ma/Com ProVoice. There are NO scanners on the market that will scan this system. The only way to monitor them is to get actual radios, with the transmit function disabled, through the City. I have been told that the portable models(like walkie-talkies) run around $4000.00 plus programming, desktops run higher. You can find used ones cheaper but the downside is they are used with no warranty. Even used they are pricey and that's a big risk with no warranty.

The City has all the hardware is in place, they have installed the new tower and repeater in the Springhill area, and are expected to start the switch in August.