Ok so to piggyback off of the other thread - Opsec. You should already have a brief understanding of what opsec is so let’s get into it. This isn’t just about P25 - it’s just the first topic to focus on due to the news that was reported.
P25 and how it is a dead giveaway
P25 is essentially encryption of broadcasted radio waves. To the layman that doesn’ t know what he’s looking for or listening to this is garbled gibberish - not even intelligible by any stretch of the imagination however this is not common practice for most radio operators. Bear in mind that most local branches of enforcement are utilizing this but not extremely widespread which in rural areas normally means some sort of specialty operator in the region conducting some sort of work.
How to find it?
Easy, radio scanners. You see ‘radio’ is a vast spectrum covering much more than AM or FM. It covers our cell phones, previous terrestrial television broadcasts which have been phased out but also digital broadcasts (more complex signals, but broadcast over radio waves nonetheless). Now what you would need to familiarize yourself is the basic ARRL bandplan chart and frequency allocation as if you are dealing with something - chances are they have to play by the rules and therefore there you go. The rules are right there.
Now that you know WHERE to look, the hardware is actually pretty easy. You can either hand-scan it with a shortwave radio that’s a boombox-type, or you can get handheld units. These units are listed as shortwave radios as they stretch below and above the normal frequencies we’re used to reaching so any sort of radio won’t exactly do. I personally like to use SDRs or software defined radios (SDRplay are my personal favorites. Very cheap and effective if you pair it with the right antenna and eliminate sources of electronic noise - ballasts are very common sources of interference for future reference) which allow you to control a radio much more effectively by being able to switch what software you want to use thusly making scanning a lot easier and not just that - you can actually record the data you’re hearing in realtime if you want a reference later on. It’s very simple and well documented by the authors. At this point you’ll be looking for this noise, thusly signifying two things. THERE ARE FOXES IN THE HENHOUSE AND THEY ARE FUCKIN` CLOSE ENOUGH YOU PICK UP THEIR PIDDLY-ASS LITTLE SIGNAL THAT PROBABLY ISN’T EVEN COMING FROM A LARGER ONE BROADCASTING IN YOUR AREA. To double check this see if there are any public agencies that use P25 and on which frequency if so. This is all easily documented and public info, good starting points are the FCC, radio enthusiast groups and sometimes the city in question.
So all and all what does this tell us? We know where in a vast spectrum to look, what to listen for and what it means. As with everything there is variables in alllll of this but this is the nuts and bolts basic to know to do the dew.
I’ll be adding more shortly but this is a starting point to sort of differentiate itself from the other thread. If you would like to try to check out large swaths of the radio bands by yourself I suggest online SDRs which will allow you to tune to whatever frequency you want granted their antenna supports it.
This one is by far my favorite resource of online SDRs - be sure to consult the map so you know exactly where the tower is located and what part of the world’s traffic you’ll be getting because it sure as shit won’t be local more than likely. Consider this a starting point to familiarize yourself.
