WA Radio Scanner Users' Group

slipknot wrote:would it be digital and ecrypted or only digital without encryption?

Maybe in an effort to put paid to this thread. Train Control for suburban passenger trains in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and I think, Adelaide have agreed to migrate to a GSMR system using 1800 MHz. As it is GSMR it is fully encrypted and therefore unable to be scanned. Without limitation, shunting and yards radios will remain conventional, whether analogue or digital remains to be seen. At this stage it is Train Control only, but is subject to change.

R

Thanks for the info rustynswrail

At a guess, Id say it would be Digital without encryption.
There is a few benefits over an analouge system such as better audio quallity, 6.5k spacing and the way a digital system works.
I think everyone is correct when they say Police are the only people that really need encryption. for PTA, FESA ect. it would just be more cost to the tax payer with little more benefit to the services using it.
The bottom line is the majourity of scanner users listend to the police, and some used it to break the law. so the police going encrypted was just a matter of time.
I think most people would agree with me when i say the majourity of people that use scanners to listen to FESA, SJA and transperth do it as a hobby and not to commit offences.

nra555 wrote:At a guess, Id say it would be Digital without encryption.
There is a few benefits over an analouge system such as better audio quallity, 6.5k spacing and the way a digital system works.
I think everyone is correct when they say Police are the only people that really need encryption. for PTA, FESA ect. it would just be more cost to the tax payer with little more benefit to the services using it.
The bottom line is the majourity of scanner users listend to the police, and some used it to break the law. so the police going encrypted was just a matter of time. I think most people would agree with me when i say the majourity of people that use scanners to listen to FESA, SJA and transperth do it as a hobby and not to commit offences.

As I stated in the post two up from yours, the platform will be GSMR, it is FULLY encrypted, as is the algorithm that drives it. GSMR, like several other systems cannot be cracked (by the average scanner user at least).

And generally speaking, a digital signal is far superior to any analogue. Just compare a digital TV signal to an analogue. As to 6.25 kHz spacing, GSMR uses a 200 kHz wide carrier. Therefore the audio quality is further improved. What lets GSM and GSMR down is the high level of compression.

What some of us have to get into their brains is, suburban train control, (if all goes according to plan) will migrate to GSMR at 1800 MHz, it will NOT be able to be scanned. It is not going P25, or anything else. Get use to it people the days of analogue train control are numbered.

R