KFDPro
Buy

Tactical OTAR

Rekey a group of radios over the air from the unit, using one radio on its USB cable as the RF modem.

Tactical OTAR sends a new traffic key to every radio in a group over the air. One radio plugs into KFDPro with its USB programming cable and acts as the RF modem; the others are reached over the air. Only the TEK travels over the air: each member receives its KEK and SEK by cable when it joins the group. We have tested it with APX 6000 radios. The radios need the Tactical OTAR option.

  1. KFDPro
  2. Radio's USB programming cable
  3. Modem radio
  4. Over the air · rekey and acknowledge
  5. The group

Create an OTAR group

  1. Store the keys the group will use in Manage keys: a TEK, a SEK and a KEK for the group's algorithm.

  2. Open Tactical OTAR › Manage OTAR groups and tap Add new OTAR group.

  3. Name it (up to 16 characters) and choose the algorithm. Then pick the TEK, SEK and KEK from the stored keys, and set the MNP (default 1000).

  4. Tap Create group. A group can be saved with no members and have them added later.

To delete a group, open it and tap Remove this group, or use Remove OTAR groups on the Tactical OTAR menu to remove several at once. Removing a group changes nothing in the radios.

After the group is created, only its name, TEK, MNP and members can change; the KEK and SEK are loaded into each member by cable and stay fixed. The unit holds up to 20 groups of up to 50 members each.

Add member radios

  1. Connect a member radio to the unit over three-wire or USB.

  2. Open the group's members and tap Add the connected radio. The unit loads the TEK, KEK and SEK, then sets the radio's KMF RSI and MNP.

  3. Repeat for each member. A radio can belong to one group; adding it to another moves it.

The result reads Member added with the radio ID and its message number, and says so if the radio was moved out of another group. A group holds up to 50 members. To take a radio out, tick it in the group's members and tap Remove 1 selected; a removed member keeps its keys, so change the TEK and update the group afterwards.

Rekey the group over the air

  1. To rekey with a new traffic key, edit the group and pick the new TEK. After a TEK or MNP change the members are no longer current.

  2. Connect the modem radio with its USB programming cable.

  3. Tap Update OTAR groups and choose the group. On the Update members screen, tap Update and choose:

    • Full update · all N members to rekey every member, or
    • Quick update · the N not current to rekey only the members that are not current.

  4. Each member shows Waiting, then Updating…, then Current, Failed (or Failed · could not decrypt, when the member doesn't hold the group's SEK) or Cancelled. The result is OTAR group updated, OTAR group partly updated or Unable to update OTAR group.

If the link to the modem radio fails, unplug the radio, plug it back in and press Update again: the radio accepts one connection per plug-in.