Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On 5/6/18 11:20 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too.Â* The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally)Â* a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally.Â* That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

That's why, when I sold my SIG X-5 to a guy in Virginia, I did it
through an FFL. I wanted an official paper trail.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:32:16 -0400, Keyser Soze wrote:

On 5/6/18 11:20 AM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too.Â* The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally)Â* a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally.Â* That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

That's why, when I sold my SIG X-5 to a guy in Virginia, I did it
through an FFL. I wanted an official paper trail.

I would have thought is was to avoid breaking the federal law and
opening yourself up to dying in prison ... broke.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 12:57:02 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.

Yeah, most of the public safety traffic has gone to P25 radio systems which are usually digital and encrypted, although they can be analog and unencrypted. As you say, there are local municipalities that are still on old analog UHF, but they will be moving to P25 as funds free up to move them.

The "frequency hopping" you mention is actually called trunking. You have a number of assigned frequencies (say, 15) and the radio system has a smart controller. One of the frequencies is used as a control channel. When a field unit wants to key up and talk, it is actually a request out over the control channel for a freq. The controller assigns that talk freq, and the unit then keys up on that freq. Instead of a radio being tuned to a specific channel, it tunes to a talkgroup. A talkgroup is just a collection of field radios, like police, fire, water, roads, admin, etc. When a radio that is tuned to the police talkgroup keys, it may be told to transmit on channel (freq) 8. All other radios tuned to the police TG are told over the control channel to also tune to freq. 8. They all then have their conversation. After a period of silence, freq 8 is freed up for other TGs to use.

For example this way you could have 25 TGs, but only 10 freqs. You essentially share the freqs. There are only so many freqs to go around, and the spectrum is crowded. This is more efficient, but the danger is that if it gets busy and all of the freqs are in use, you can get a busy tone when you try to key and not be able to talk for a few seconds.

There are several different "flavors" of trunking including MOTOTRBO, NXDN, P25, DMR, Tetra, etc. P25 is the "cadillac" open standard here in the US for public safety.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On 5/6/2018 2:31 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 12:57:02 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.

Yeah, most of the public safety traffic has gone to P25 radio systems which are usually digital and encrypted, although they can be analog and unencrypted. As you say, there are local municipalities that are still on old analog UHF, but they will be moving to P25 as funds free up to move them.

The "frequency hopping" you mention is actually called trunking. You have a number of assigned frequencies (say, 15) and the radio system has a smart controller. One of the frequencies is used as a control channel. When a field unit wants to key up and talk, it is actually a request out over the control channel for a freq. The controller assigns that talk freq, and the unit then keys up on that freq. Instead of a radio being tuned to a specific channel, it tunes to a talkgroup. A talkgroup is just a collection of field radios, like police, fire, water, roads, admin, etc. When a radio that is tuned to the police talkgroup keys, it may be told to transmit on channel (freq) 8. All other radios tuned to the police TG are told over the control channel to also tune to freq. 8. They all then have their conversation. After a period of silence, freq 8 is freed up for other TGs to use.

For example this way you could have 25 TGs, but only 10 freqs. You essentially share the freqs. There are only so many freqs to go around, and the spectrum is crowded. This is more efficient, but the danger is that if it gets busy and all of the freqs are in use, you can get a busy tone when you try to key and not be able to talk for a few seconds.

There are several different "flavors" of trunking including MOTOTRBO, NXDN, P25, DMR, Tetra, etc. P25 is the "cadillac" open standard here in the US for public safety.



Thanks for the explanation. I knew that trunking utilized freq hopping
but I never knew exactly how it worked. Learned something.

Are the freqs they use still in the UHF bands?

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


I liked the art of Massachusetts have a history of tough gun control.
Would Concord have happened?

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On 5/6/2018 2:36 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/6/2018 2:31 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 12:57:02 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too.Â* The one thing I don't think they mention in the
article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally)Â* a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who
owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally.Â* That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational
aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport.Â* I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well.Â* It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is
radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc.Â* The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also
has
a license to carry.Â* I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band.Â* I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all.Â* Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house.Â* Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.

Yeah, most of the public safety traffic has gone to P25 radio systems
which are usually digital and encrypted, although they can be analog
and unencrypted.Â* As you say, there are local municipalities that are
still on old analog UHF, but they will be moving to P25 as funds free
up to move them.

The "frequency hopping" you mention is actually called trunking.Â* You
have a number of assigned frequencies (say, 15) and the radio system
has a smart controller.Â* One of the frequencies is used as a control
channel.Â* When a field unit wants to key up and talk, it is actually a
request out over the control channel for a freq.Â* The controller
assigns that talk freq, and the unit then keys up on that freq.
Instead of a radio being tuned to a specific channel, it tunes to a
talkgroup.Â* A talkgroup is just a collection of field radios, like
police, fire, water, roads, admin, etc.Â* When a radio that is tuned to
the police talkgroup keys, it may be told to transmit on channel
(freq) 8.Â* All other radios tuned to the police TG are told over the
control channel to also tune to freq. 8.Â* They all then have their
conversation.Â* After a period of silence, freq 8 is freed up for other
TGs to use.

For example this way you could have 25 TGs, but only 10 freqs.Â* You
essentially share the freqs.Â* There are only so many freqs to go
around, and the spectrum is crowded.Â* This is more efficient, but the
danger is that if it gets busy and all of the freqs are in use, you
can get a busy tone when you try to key and not be able to talk for a
few seconds.

There are several different "flavors" of trunking including MOTOTRBO,
NXDN, P25, DMR, Tetra, etc.Â* P25 is the "cadillac" open standard here
in the US for public safety.



Thanks for the explanation.Â* I knew that trunking utilized freq hopping
but I never knew exactly how it worked.Â* Learned something.

Are the freqs they use still in the UHF bands?


Ah ... just did some reading on the trunked systems. Apparently there
are both handheld and home scanners that will operate on them as well,
automatically sensing and tuning to the "talkgroup". Pricey though.
Whistler and Uniden make some models.

Also learned that although legal for home use in all states,
Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, New York and Minnesota have laws
against using a scanner in your car.

Was just listening to an interesting police call. Someone was observed
at the Pilgim Nuclear Power Station driving around and taking pictures
of various parts of the plant. Before 9/11 the plant property was open
to the public and taking pictures, picnicking and bass fishing from the
breakwaters that led to the cooling system for the reactor was fine and
encouraged. After 9/11 the plant property was closed off and anyone
caught on it who was not authorized is subject to arrest.

Anyway, several cops responded and caught the intruder. Turns out he or
she is a student doing a paper on nuke plants and was taking some ill
advised photos on a cell phone. Cops and plant security investigated,
ran a background check in real time then deleted all the pictures along
with a stern lecture. Was interesting.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On Sun, 6 May 2018 12:56:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.



I guess they are more up to date here. The cops and fire went digital
in my county while I was still with IBM. I suppose there is still
something to listen to on UHF but my VHF scanner stopped being useful
decades ago. These days you really don't hear any voice at all on high
or low VHF most of the time but there is a lot of squalky stuff (I
assume some kind of digital thing). I haven't even turned it on for a
few years.
We do get the RSW approach on the internet tho and I listen to that
now and then. Since We can see the planes, it is somewhat interesting
for an aviation buff. Now that I am walking Deuce up on the power
line, too far from the house for my headset, it is not that handy but
when I was walking Ed out front it was pretty cool.
I keep thinking about getting a linear for my headset amp ... but that
would be wrong ;-)
I did buy an antenna sold to the drone guys that gets the range out
around 300' or more tho LOS. If I put it on the roof in back I might
get most of FPL covered. Right now it is in the front window so I
could hear when I was walking Ed.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

Bill wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


I liked the art of Massachusetts have a history of tough gun control.
Would Concord have happened?



Part not art and having instead of have

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On 5/6/2018 3:05 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 12:56:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.



I guess they are more up to date here. The cops and fire went digital
in my county while I was still with IBM. I suppose there is still
something to listen to on UHF but my VHF scanner stopped being useful
decades ago. These days you really don't hear any voice at all on high
or low VHF most of the time but there is a lot of squalky stuff (I
assume some kind of digital thing). I haven't even turned it on for a
few years.
We do get the RSW approach on the internet tho and I listen to that
now and then. Since We can see the planes, it is somewhat interesting
for an aviation buff. Now that I am walking Deuce up on the power
line, too far from the house for my headset, it is not that handy but
when I was walking Ed out front it was pretty cool.
I keep thinking about getting a linear for my headset amp ... but that
would be wrong ;-)
I did buy an antenna sold to the drone guys that gets the range out
around 300' or more tho LOS. If I put it on the roof in back I might
get most of FPL covered. Right now it is in the front window so I
could hear when I was walking Ed.



If your old Bearcat is VHF only, you should still be able
to get the aviation freqs. VHF is 30 to 300 MHz and the
assigned aviation freqs are from 118-137 MHz.

The fire and police around here are UHF ... 300 to 3000 MHz.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 2:36:42 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/6/2018 2:31 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 12:57:02 PM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.

Yeah, most of the public safety traffic has gone to P25 radio systems which are usually digital and encrypted, although they can be analog and unencrypted. As you say, there are local municipalities that are still on old analog UHF, but they will be moving to P25 as funds free up to move them.

The "frequency hopping" you mention is actually called trunking. You have a number of assigned frequencies (say, 15) and the radio system has a smart controller. One of the frequencies is used as a control channel. When a field unit wants to key up and talk, it is actually a request out over the control channel for a freq. The controller assigns that talk freq, and the unit then keys up on that freq. Instead of a radio being tuned to a specific channel, it tunes to a talkgroup. A talkgroup is just a collection of field radios, like police, fire, water, roads, admin, etc. When a radio that is tuned to the police talkgroup keys, it may be told to transmit on channel (freq) 8. All other radios tuned to the police TG are told over the control channel to also tune to freq. 8. They all then have their conversation. After a period of silence, freq 8 is freed up for other TGs to use..

For example this way you could have 25 TGs, but only 10 freqs. You essentially share the freqs. There are only so many freqs to go around, and the spectrum is crowded. This is more efficient, but the danger is that if it gets busy and all of the freqs are in use, you can get a busy tone when you try to key and not be able to talk for a few seconds.

There are several different "flavors" of trunking including MOTOTRBO, NXDN, P25, DMR, Tetra, etc. P25 is the "cadillac" open standard here in the US for public safety.



Thanks for the explanation. I knew that trunking utilized freq hopping
but I never knew exactly how it worked. Learned something.

Are the freqs they use still in the UHF bands?

Most of it are in the 800-900 bands, but there were (still are?) trunked system in lower bands as well.

Most of the old radio systems used 25Mhz channel spacings to broadcast their FM (frequency modulation) signals. They needed that much room to swing the frequency around to get the signal out.

Now with P25 for example, you can send your signal out over 12.5Mhz, and with Phase II P25, 6.25Mhz (narrowbanding). You can pack four voice transmissions in the bandwidth that used to carry only one. In heavily populated areas the spectrum is *that* crowded.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On Sun, 6 May 2018 15:22:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 3:05 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 12:56:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.



I guess they are more up to date here. The cops and fire went digital
in my county while I was still with IBM. I suppose there is still
something to listen to on UHF but my VHF scanner stopped being useful
decades ago. These days you really don't hear any voice at all on high
or low VHF most of the time but there is a lot of squalky stuff (I
assume some kind of digital thing). I haven't even turned it on for a
few years.
We do get the RSW approach on the internet tho and I listen to that
now and then. Since We can see the planes, it is somewhat interesting
for an aviation buff. Now that I am walking Deuce up on the power
line, too far from the house for my headset, it is not that handy but
when I was walking Ed out front it was pretty cool.
I keep thinking about getting a linear for my headset amp ... but that
would be wrong ;-)
I did buy an antenna sold to the drone guys that gets the range out
around 300' or more tho LOS. If I put it on the roof in back I might
get most of FPL covered. Right now it is in the front window so I
could hear when I was walking Ed.



If your old Bearcat is VHF only, you should still be able
to get the aviation freqs. VHF is 30 to 300 MHz and the
assigned aviation freqs are from 118-137 MHz.

The fire and police around here are UHF ... 300 to 3000 MHz.

I thought aviation was AM

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 8:10:15 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 15:22:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 3:05 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 12:56:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.



I guess they are more up to date here. The cops and fire went digital
in my county while I was still with IBM. I suppose there is still
something to listen to on UHF but my VHF scanner stopped being useful
decades ago. These days you really don't hear any voice at all on high
or low VHF most of the time but there is a lot of squalky stuff (I
assume some kind of digital thing). I haven't even turned it on for a
few years.
We do get the RSW approach on the internet tho and I listen to that
now and then. Since We can see the planes, it is somewhat interesting
for an aviation buff. Now that I am walking Deuce up on the power
line, too far from the house for my headset, it is not that handy but
when I was walking Ed out front it was pretty cool.
I keep thinking about getting a linear for my headset amp ... but that
would be wrong ;-)
I did buy an antenna sold to the drone guys that gets the range out
around 300' or more tho LOS. If I put it on the roof in back I might
get most of FPL covered. Right now it is in the front window so I
could hear when I was walking Ed.



If your old Bearcat is VHF only, you should still be able
to get the aviation freqs. VHF is 30 to 300 MHz and the
assigned aviation freqs are from 118-137 MHz.

The fire and police around here are UHF ... 300 to 3000 MHz.

I thought aviation was AM

It is. Has nothing to do with frequency band.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On 5/6/2018 8:10 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 15:22:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 3:05 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 12:56:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.



I guess they are more up to date here. The cops and fire went digital
in my county while I was still with IBM. I suppose there is still
something to listen to on UHF but my VHF scanner stopped being useful
decades ago. These days you really don't hear any voice at all on high
or low VHF most of the time but there is a lot of squalky stuff (I
assume some kind of digital thing). I haven't even turned it on for a
few years.
We do get the RSW approach on the internet tho and I listen to that
now and then. Since We can see the planes, it is somewhat interesting
for an aviation buff. Now that I am walking Deuce up on the power
line, too far from the house for my headset, it is not that handy but
when I was walking Ed out front it was pretty cool.
I keep thinking about getting a linear for my headset amp ... but that
would be wrong ;-)
I did buy an antenna sold to the drone guys that gets the range out
around 300' or more tho LOS. If I put it on the roof in back I might
get most of FPL covered. Right now it is in the front window so I
could hear when I was walking Ed.



If your old Bearcat is VHF only, you should still be able
to get the aviation freqs. VHF is 30 to 300 MHz and the
assigned aviation freqs are from 118-137 MHz.

The fire and police around here are UHF ... 300 to 3000 MHz.


I thought aviation was AM


It *is* AM using freqs in the range of 118-137 Mhz which are in the VHF
band.

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On 5/6/2018 8:43 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 8:10:15 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 15:22:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 3:05 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 12:56:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.



I guess they are more up to date here. The cops and fire went digital
in my county while I was still with IBM. I suppose there is still
something to listen to on UHF but my VHF scanner stopped being useful
decades ago. These days you really don't hear any voice at all on high
or low VHF most of the time but there is a lot of squalky stuff (I
assume some kind of digital thing). I haven't even turned it on for a
few years.
We do get the RSW approach on the internet tho and I listen to that
now and then. Since We can see the planes, it is somewhat interesting
for an aviation buff. Now that I am walking Deuce up on the power
line, too far from the house for my headset, it is not that handy but
when I was walking Ed out front it was pretty cool.
I keep thinking about getting a linear for my headset amp ... but that
would be wrong ;-)
I did buy an antenna sold to the drone guys that gets the range out
around 300' or more tho LOS. If I put it on the roof in back I might
get most of FPL covered. Right now it is in the front window so I
could hear when I was walking Ed.



If your old Bearcat is VHF only, you should still be able
to get the aviation freqs. VHF is 30 to 300 MHz and the
assigned aviation freqs are from 118-137 MHz.

The fire and police around here are UHF ... 300 to 3000 MHz.

I thought aviation was AM

It is. Has nothing to do with frequency band.



Beat me to it. :-)

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On Monday, May 7, 2018 at 6:43:23 AM UTC-4, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 5/6/2018 8:43 PM, Its Me wrote:
On Sunday, May 6, 2018 at 8:10:15 PM UTC-4, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 15:22:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 3:05 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 12:56:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.



I guess they are more up to date here. The cops and fire went digital
in my county while I was still with IBM. I suppose there is still
something to listen to on UHF but my VHF scanner stopped being useful
decades ago. These days you really don't hear any voice at all on high
or low VHF most of the time but there is a lot of squalky stuff (I
assume some kind of digital thing). I haven't even turned it on for a
few years.
We do get the RSW approach on the internet tho and I listen to that
now and then. Since We can see the planes, it is somewhat interesting
for an aviation buff. Now that I am walking Deuce up on the power
line, too far from the house for my headset, it is not that handy but
when I was walking Ed out front it was pretty cool.
I keep thinking about getting a linear for my headset amp ... but that
would be wrong ;-)
I did buy an antenna sold to the drone guys that gets the range out
around 300' or more tho LOS. If I put it on the roof in back I might
get most of FPL covered. Right now it is in the front window so I
could hear when I was walking Ed.



If your old Bearcat is VHF only, you should still be able
to get the aviation freqs. VHF is 30 to 300 MHz and the
assigned aviation freqs are from 118-137 MHz.

The fire and police around here are UHF ... 300 to 3000 MHz.

I thought aviation was AM

It is. Has nothing to do with frequency band.



Beat me to it. :-)

Do you know why they use AM?

Gun purchases in Massachusetts
 

On Mon, 7 May 2018 06:42:47 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 8:10 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 15:22:37 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 3:05 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 12:56:57 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 12:08 PM, wrote:
On Sun, 6 May 2018 11:20:24 -0400, "Mr. Luddite"
wrote:

On 5/6/2018 10:34 AM, Keyser Soze wrote:
Mr. Luddite wrote:


Describes the process:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/toughest-gun-law-america-120137258.html


Seems perfectly reasonable...



I think so too. The one thing I don't think they mention in the article
that would probably offend some is that when you buy a gun from a FFL
or privately (and do it legally) a record of that gun, it's model and
serial number is entered into a MA database so the state knows who owns
what ... again, assuming it was purchased legally. That's why I have
mentioned the chain of custody thing so often.

I recently bought a scanner mainly to monitor the recreational aircraft
that fly from a nearby airport. I also programed the local police and
fire frequencies in it as well. It's interesting that when a traffic
stop is made, the license plate (tag) and driver's license is radioed to
the dispatcher who checks to make sure registration and license is
current and for any warrants, etc. The dispatcher also reports back
to the cop who stopped the car if the person with that license also has
a license to carry. I didn't know they did that.

It is interesting that a scanner still works there. Cops are starting
to encrypt their feed and most are using frequency hopping digital
packet radio. My old Bearcat stopped working decades ago.


Some, like the MA State Police have used the freq hopping trunking
system for years but most of the smaller towns and cities still have
dedicated, assigned freq channels in the 400 to 500 Mhz UHF band. I
have my town, Plymouth and several other nearby towns programed and
receive them all. Bought a small UHF whip (only about 16") and mounted
it on the eve of the roof of the single story house. Works great.
Can hear both dispatch and the individual cop cars 5 by 5.



I guess they are more up to date here. The cops and fire went digital
in my county while I was still with IBM. I suppose there is still
something to listen to on UHF but my VHF scanner stopped being useful
decades ago. These days you really don't hear any voice at all on high
or low VHF most of the time but there is a lot of squalky stuff (I
assume some kind of digital thing). I haven't even turned it on for a
few years.
We do get the RSW approach on the internet tho and I listen to that
now and then. Since We can see the planes, it is somewhat interesting
for an aviation buff. Now that I am walking Deuce up on the power
line, too far from the house for my headset, it is not that handy but
when I was walking Ed out front it was pretty cool.
I keep thinking about getting a linear for my headset amp ... but that
would be wrong ;-)
I did buy an antenna sold to the drone guys that gets the range out
around 300' or more tho LOS. If I put it on the roof in back I might
get most of FPL covered. Right now it is in the front window so I
could hear when I was walking Ed.



If your old Bearcat is VHF only, you should still be able
to get the aviation freqs. VHF is 30 to 300 MHz and the
assigned aviation freqs are from 118-137 MHz.

The fire and police around here are UHF ... 300 to 3000 MHz.


I thought aviation was AM


It *is* AM using freqs in the range of 118-137 Mhz which are in the VHF
band.

If it is AM, my FM radio is not going to hear much.
(and it doesn't)