NEWBIE needs alot of help

[ANYTHING_ELSE]

ok first let me say hello my name is jim and from new jersey ,i have listened to scanners since i was 7 years old as my dad is was police he is since retired but i used to get a kick out of hearing my dad on this small box ,,, anyway its been many years since i have held a scanner and well it looks like i have missed many things so my question is can someone please recomend any place or book that i can go to learn about any and all new features and especially this trunking i am hearing about and if possible in laymans terms as i am not well educated in electronics ...thank you all in advance ,if this helps i have not listened to scanner since 1995 and they had already been able to direct program as i remember my first scanner you had to use special chips for each freq... so basically i am starting from scratch guys and would luv to learn all about the newest and koolest (himt hint)things as i too am now retired and have NOTHING TO DO
HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU

 

[Bentley]

Hi Jim...Welcome to radio reference...after reading what you are looking for, you are definitley in the right place. Radio Reference is #1 in the scanning community for info. That said, lets get you started...on the top right side (to the left of the search box) of this page you will see "Wiki" click that. It will take you to the messiah of scanning, it is a wealth of knowledge. It will basically tell you all about the newest and most up to date information on everything from kinds of scanners to kinds of antennas. Everything scanner related can be found in the radio reference Wiki

Where in NJ are you ? I am in Lacey Twp. Ocean County. If you need help programming, I would be more than happy to help you out.

Do you have a scanner yet? Or are you in the market for one? Depending on where you live/what you want to monitor will depend on which scanner to purchase. But we can get to that later. As far as the wiki...it is a lot of reading, but it will definitley clear things up for you.

HERE is a direct link for the trunking wiki, if that is all you are interested in learning.

As far as direct entry vs. crystal scanners...100% (to the best of my knowledge) of scanners on the market today are direct entry scanners. Crystals are obsolete, most scanners are able to handle at least 1000 channels, and some can handle as many as 5500 channels or more. Most of the newer scanners dont even depend on direct entry either, they are progammed totally through your computer! In the past 10 years or so, the scanning technology has exploded just as the hobby itself has.

Good Luck with reading (you have alot of it ahead of you) lol! And keep us posted on your progress as well as any questions that should arise!

 

[Highpockets]

Welcome aboard! Very nice people here, you'll get plenty of help. It will help the people here when wanting to help you if they knew where you live, County, town, and what you want to listen to.

 

[ANYTHING_ELSE]

Hello guys and thank you for quick response ,well i have three scanners that are all radio shack but are from the mid 90's so after i have brought myself up to speed on all the new gadgets thats when i wil start looking for a modern day scanner ,i am in bergen county ,dumont ... i was raised in nyc and i really enjoy listing to the emergency service calls which are the more serious and more interesting and not just the regular 911 calls ..well any and all suggestions are welcome and i am very thankfull for all the help guys

 

[Highpockets]

Hello guys and thank you for quick response ,well i have three scanners that are all radio shack but are from the mid 90's so after i have brought myself up to speed on all the new gadgets thats when i wil start looking for a modern day scanner ,i am in bergen county ,dumont ... i was raised in nyc and i really enjoy listing to the emergency service calls which are the more serious and more interesting and not just the regular 911 calls ..well any and all suggestions are welcome and i am very thankfull for all the help guys

The rr database here has frequencies listed for your town and other bergen county, when you start asking questions and need help from locals in your area, go to the New Jersey Forum and it may be easier to find help. Do any of the scanners you have work, and are you listening to anything now?

 

[Bentley]

After looking at the Dumont freq's which by the way can be found HERE it doesn't appear that there are too many departments that are using the new 'digital' system in your area. Only a newer digital scanner will pick up digital frequencies. More and more departments are switching over to digital so your luck of living in a virtually digital free area may be short lived. But, even with a digital scanner, some of these departments are using what is called 'encryprion' there is no scanner on the market today that is able to receive digitally encrypted transmissions. So, many of us are left in the dark when a town or city we have monitored in the past switches to digital with full time encryprion. If they do not use encryption but are using a digital signal, then you will be able to monitor them with a digital scanner.

 

[ka3jjz]

and there's also the NNJ-Scan yahoo group - very active bunch there. I would also keep the BergenScanner website handy in case you can't find a frequency on the database (just click on the blue).

My home was originally in Waldwick, and still have family in Hawthorne and Bergenfield.

73s Mike

 

[WayneH]

Moved to the General Scanning forum.