Football plays by FRS

[WSDD519]

I was sitting at the computer last night when I thought I heard someone calling football plays on the scanner.  I turned it up and listened again and sure enough, I heard someone calling plays. This was on GMRS/FRS channel 5.  I live not far from the town stadium and school has started back recently.  Apparently, the high school football team was practicing and one of the coaches was calling plays down to the sidelines from the pressbox.  I don't remember the exact names of the plays...but they're interesting.

Other than that, I hear a couple of kids every now and then playing with their radios....holding down the call button, of course.

[Davichko5650]

1 hour ago, WSDD519 said:

I Apparently, the high school football team was practicing and one of the coaches was calling plays down to the sidelines from the pressbox.  I don't remember the exact names of the plays...but they're interesting.

 

The other teams just need a voice intercept operator to listen in - easier than trying to steal signs off the sidelines!

[FlatTop]

All they need to do is install some of them there privacy codes. 

[Guest]

20 minutes ago, JoCoBrian said:

All they need to do is install some of them there privacy codes. 

That would not do anything to keep conversations private.  It would only keep them from having people break into the conversation.     Tones do not make things private at all.  

[amaff]

1 hour ago, JoCoBrian said:

All they need to do is install some of them there privacy codes. 

I read this as a joke, but maybe it isn't.

[BoxCar]

1 hour ago, JoCoBrian said:

All they need to do is install some of them there privacy codes. 

If my receiver doesn't use a code, they can have all they want on theirs, I'll still hear them.

[WRUU653]

It was definitely a joke people.

[H8SPVMT]

10 hours ago, JoCoBrian said:

All they need to do is install some of them there privacy codes. 

If you know how to set up a code scan on your radio that won't last long either.

 

[FlatTop]

23 hours ago, WRXP381 said:

That would not do anything to keep conversations private.  It would only keep them from having people break into the conversation.     Tones do not make things private at all.  

No way?  Are you sure? (twas a joke)

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, JoCoBrian said:

No way?  Are you sure? (twas a joke)

Sorry.  I hear it every day.  People have no clue privacy tones are not private.     I’ve had some pretty heated exchanges with midland and rugged owners about that.  

[FlatTop]

50 minutes ago, WRXP381 said:

Sorry.  I hear it every day.  People have no clue privacy tones are not private.     I’ve had some pretty heated exchanges with midland and rugged owners about that.  

When someone tells me they are using privacy tones, for privacy, I simply explain that's not how it works and I leave it at that.  I just don't care they are mistaken. 

[WRQC527]

1 hour ago, WRXP381 said:

Sorry.  I hear it every day.  People have no clue privacy tones are not private.     I’ve had some pretty heated exchanges with midland and rugged owners about that.  

It doesn't help that Motorola actually supposedly trademarked and marketed the acronymn "PL", as in "Private Line tone", leading many folks down a garden path to believing that they really did make conversations private. But like Flat Earthers, no matter how much you insist, they won't believe you.

[back4more70]

If they switched to MURS, they could have plays called "clean up on aisle 7" and "Whopper with cheese" and no one would be the wiser.

[Davichko5650]

On 8/14/2024 at 12:20 PM, WSDD519 said:

I was sitting at the computer last night when I thought I heard someone calling football plays on the scanner.  I turned it up and listened again and sure enough, I heard someone calling plays.

Just saw on our local news that the U of M Gophers will have radios, one offensive player, one defensive for suchlike fun.  I've not a clue what band they'd use. on air up until the 15 second mark on the playclock or ball is snapped.

[amaff]

That's what the NFL does too. I don't know what the rules are but if it's at all allowed, they'll be encrypted.

It was allowed by the NCAA for the 2024 season.

[WRXB215]

2 hours ago, amaff said:

I don't know what the rules are but if it's at all allowed, they'll be encrypted.

That ^^^^ If they aren't encrypted, they will be useless. I doubt there is a rule against listening to an open radio signal. "Joe! He said he's running xyz..."

[FlatTop]

When you find out the other team is listening, send in fake plays. 

[amaff]

4 hours ago, WRXB215 said:

That ^^^^ If they aren't encrypted, they will be useless. I doubt there is a rule against listening to an open radio signal. "Joe! He said he's running xyz..."

Eh, not really. Signs and signals from the sideline have always been unencrypted. That doesn't mean they're not in code that isn't easily decipherable.

They did that in Formula 1 a while back. Some teams started encrypting their comms so other teams couldn't listen in. The TV rights holders didn't like that because they couldn't play messages on the broadcast, so they banned encrypted radios. So they talk in code. What one team calls "plan A" over the radio won't necessarily correspond with any other team's plan A. And won't necessarily even be that team's actual plan A. Maybe they call plan A "option charlie".

Those sort of games have been in sport for....ever, basically.

Maybe the Astros should have used an encrypted trash can