Reimagining the police scanner in the era of the SDR
Taking scanning to the next level using distributed RTLSDR receivers & open source software
Presented by Gavin Rozzi
Cyberspectrum #23 @ DEF CON 2018
August 9th, 2018
SDR has the potential
to expand public knowledge while reducing cost & complexity
The problem with hardware scanners
Hardware scanners are expensive
Digital scanners especially those capable of newer digital protocols are pricey.
P25 Phase II scanner - $400
RTLSDR dongle - $25
Hardware scanners have limitations
Traditional scanners can only receive one transmission at a time. But large trunked systems could have activity on multiple channels at once, forcing users to miss out.
For many, new digital scanners are out of reach
As agencies continue to adopt radios that use digital modulation. Many scanner enthusiasts are unable or unwilling to obtaing digital scanners due to cost and complexity.
Live feeds aren’t much better
They compensate for some shortcomings and allow portability, but are still limited by the constraints
of hardware scanners.
Enter OC Radio Live
Using SDR & open source technologies, we can make scanning easier and more user-friendly.
OC Radio Live is a website that I created to use SDR to stream transmissions from local radio systems.
How scanning can be better with SDR
OC Radio Live features:
Time shifting, so simultaneous scanner calls on different channels are saved.
Multiple receiving sites can allow wide area coverage
Transmissions are stored and archived by talkgroup & scanlist
Unlike traditional scanner feed archives, no silence is recorded, only activity on channels.
These capabilities allow us to record the following types of systems using the site:
Aging 500 MHz Motorola Type II TRS
New State & County 700 MHz P25 Phase II systems
Analog VHF and UHF conventional channels
More Choices
Hardware scanners only offer a simple lockout and various banks of channels.
OC Radio Live has data on invididual channels, entire radio systems and custom scan lists for regions and types of radio traffic.
SDR can break down cost & complexity barriers to monitoring public safety radio systems.
SDR combined with web services can allow receiving setups previously not possible with past hardware radios.
Site demonstration + Q & A
📶 Reimagining the police scanner in the era of the SDR Taking scanning to the next level using distributed RTLSDR receivers & open source software Presented by Gavin Rozzi Cyberspectrum #23 @ DEF CON 2018 August 9th, 2018
