More on SCMPD "Plain Talk", Move to Digital in Chatham County, Talk of Encryption

I haven't seen the article in the online Savannah Morning News, but there is a front page article in the newspaper this morning about the move away from Signals and 10-Codes by the Savannah Chatham Municipal PD (SCMPD) and the agencies they dispatch for. The article states that change occurred on 4 June, 2007 and was made for interoperability reasons. The article very well illustrates the confusion that can occur due to different agencies using different codes and signals.

The article also mentions that SCMPD's radio system will switch to digital in mid-July. It also states that "the majority of the channels will be encrypted." It is important to note that I have heard some encrypted talkgroups being tested in the last few months, so the encryption is a definite possibility. I would hope that Chatham County has not jumped on the encryption bandwagon, but if they have I'll have more comment on that when it happens.

I will take exception to one line from this article: " That means no more casual listening for all those scanner junkies who like to tune into police chases and traffic stops." Whether the term "scanner junkie" is a quote from the SCMPD officer interviewed for the article or whether it was used by the author of the article, I do not like being referred to as a "junkie." That word carries so many negative connotations that it can easily be taken as an insult. I don't listen to law enforcement communications on a regular basis, but I do listen every now and then because I like to get an unfiltered version of what is happening, not the sanitized version of events that can come from public information personnel and news reporters. I am a radio hobbyist. Try using that term, or perhaps others that have been suggested such as "scannerist" or "radio monitor." My hobby is no less respectable than fishing, knitting, motorcycle riding, or stamp collecting and I would like to be treated with the respect that is offered to those that have many other hobbies.

Mac McCormick, KF4LMT
kf4lmt@comcast.net