InterceptRadio.com Forums

Got a hit on 3217, Seattle PD Announcement Talkgroup:
"Getting a PDT activation at Battery ST & Fauntleroy towers are hot, all PDT units switch to PSOPS N1"

And a PDT is?

Something they don't like to talk about.

It is very similar to Lojack, but for tracking bank robbers.

I will PM specifics.

Ah, I heard that on PSOPS was wondering what they were doing. They chased it down to inside a mini-mart or something, and they had to call cars from pretty far away that were equipped with something special to track it. I think they figured out it was a bogus signal.... but it was odd traffic.

Did you mean 3216 instead of 3217or is there a TG I don't know about!? Last Monday, they had one, however I never heard any reference to a PDT but same scenario. They were up in Bellevue somewhere off of 520. Bellevue, Kirkland and Seattle were all up there, on PSOP N1, looking for it. This went on for about a half hour, after I came across them, and officers were reporting all kinds of signal strengths until one said he had 10 bars while sitting near an intersection and then it abruptly came to an end....then they found out why! An officer found it in the middle of the street in a cul-de-sac...squished! I almost got the impression that this was from a fairly fresh robbery somewhere, but I never heard the news for the day as to whether one had happened or not!

3216, but it's an Announcement Talkgroup, so it's +1. See Status Bits.

I've seen them + or - 3 but not 1. I have the Status Bit read on my BCT15 set to "Ignore", so it rounds everything down.

I had it on Status Bit: Yes. +1 is only seen on the Announcement talkgroups. +3 for a patch and +7 for a multiselect. Every once and a while you see +2 for an emergency.

If it's the same thing I'm thinking of it's probably Pro-Net which lost popularity in this area post LoJack.
3 antennas in a triangle on the roof. LoJack is 4 in a square.



It's not a secret. Public Safety doesn't like to talk about a lot of information that is readily available to the public.

_________________
I taste copper.
Comments, views, opinions - and trails of destruction - are my own.

Pro-Net is now Electronic Tracking Systems. Here is their website:
http://www.etstracking.com/

Part of the idea of these systems is deterrence. If you are a Blackhat, have been in custody, and even slept thru part Bank Robbery 101 then you know these systems exist.

How to defeat them and where they are is a different matter.

As a former user, I can assure you that the Pro-Net Technology was good. The new technology is far,far, far better and there is some really incredible stuff on the horizon. You are an idiot or want to get caught if you take on an institution with the current technology. With the new technology not yet rolled out it is really going to be a real problem for the badguys.

As background, PRONET was first deployed in California as a a non-lethal alternative to the exploding dye-pack given bank robbers up into the mid-80's. In particular, part of the motivation was from One darwin award winner who robbed the Wells Fargo at Market and Drumm/California, left the bank, shoved the dye pack down the front of his chinos and jogged down to the Embarcadero BART escalator at Market and Pine.

Just as he got on the escalator, the dye pack went off and blew one nut clean out of the bag and burned the other one beyond recognition. For along time after there was a orange stain on the escalator tread if you happened to get on that portion of the escalator tread.

He sued. He won. Alot. Like $750K- that was alot of money then (not shabby now but nothing to loose your head over so to speak). This jury award was one of the openings to sell this technology to Banks in California. That dye was a pain in the Azz anyway it really stained if you got it while it was still wet.

There was a story out of Southern California where a guy was killed when he put the pack in his ballcap and it went off. I was never able to substantiate that one- supposedly the bank settled out of court with the family who agreed to a non-disclosure.

Catching bank robbers- fun stuff.

Maybe so, but the PS guys who frequent here are friends and / or acquaintances whom I respect, who themselves will not talk about it (although they do discuss many other things here and elsewhere) so I will not be the loudmouth so and so who posts freqs, details etc.

Feel free to do so if you want.

You are correct about the brand, however it has not lost popularity as far as I have observed. Many banks still subscribe and we have an extensive network in place to receive.

On another note, I am pretty impressed overall with many of the trained officers with respect to their "foxhunting" skills. PD is not always "radio savvy", however many of the trained units do quite well.

Um... It has nothing to do with LoJack. But for what its worth, LoJack was around first, both serve their intended purpose, and neither have lost popularity.

You're right, each serve a different purpose. I don't hardly ever see Pro Net around here anymore though. To me, that's a decrease in popularity.

LoJack technology has evolved to be small enough to fit in a notebook computer. I think that's where I was headed with that.

_________________
I taste copper.
Comments, views, opinions - and trails of destruction - are my own.

I owe you an apology Taco! I do have it programmed as 3217 and not 3216. I knew I had seen the numbers somewhere in my scanner and it was KCSO SE radio on 23216.