Beginners question

[bobsav21]

I;ve had regular scanners for a long time but I would like some help with "trunking '

Simply put What is the cheapest way for me to listen to Cambridge Police and fire, Boston police and fire.
On these new trunking channels.

I like uniden equipment but will go with the " shack" if i have too.

Thanks

Bob

[AlabamaRS]

are they analog or digital?

[bobsav21]

I don't know that's why I'm asking for help from someone familiar with the systems in the Boston area.

Bob

[jnewell]

Trunking isn't new...digital would be new but with budgets what they are I don't see a lot of agencies upgrading anytime soon, absent some huge federal windfall. Unfortunatley I don't speak Uniden so my recommendation is limited to GRE/RS. A Pro 93 or 95 handheld or their equivalent desktop/mobil would do fine. You can probably find 93s cheap but you will probably run out of memory pretty quickly, and neither is re-bandable. You might check the Wiki here for analog trunking scanners that are re-bandable. I'd also check to see that they are supported by software that will allow downloads from the RRF database (again, the 93 and 95 and their sister scanners don't). You need trunking but you don't need digital for most of what you want.

The answer to Alabama RS's question is that there is very little digital in MA (Lexington is the only town that comes to mind) and not even all that much trunking outside the MA SP (but there are exceptions, and Cambridge is one of them).

EDIT: I've seen Pro 160 scanners, which are Uniden for RS, on closeout at a few local stores for something around $150. These would be a good unit and the price isn't bad for a new scanner with guarantee.

[bobsav21]

Thanks for the info, It's a little clearer now. The pro 160 looks like a good deal,but I was looking for a Hand held unit.

Thanks

[RKG]

Boston Police and Fire are not trunked. You can find the fire frequencies from Boston Sparks Association - Boston, MA.

While Cambridge operates a trunked system, you can hear a simulcast of Police and Fire Dispatch on conventional channels: Police on 470.3125/131.8 and the Fire Dispatch on 471.3125/146.2. Cambridge's fireground channels are 800 conventional: 855.5625/DPL125 ("Ch. 14") and 854.4875/DPL125 ("Ch. 16").

[eyes00only]

Originally Posted by bobsav21

I like uniden equipment but will go with the " shack" if i have too.

Thanks

Bob

Just a FYI. There is no such thing as a Radio Shack scanner. They sell scanners made by Uniden & GRE.

JK

[bobsav21]

I can hear the simulcast but not the other channels they switch to.
They are using a Motorola Type IIi Hybrid system.
Im looking at the uniden 396xt but was wondering is there is a less expensive mobile that will do the same
thing.
Thanks
Bob

[jwb8734]

If you are looking for a scanner there are a few place you check out. I would recommend calling ScannerMaster. There are in Natick so you are supporting a local company and they are well aware of the radio systems in this area and would know what equipment you would need. And even at that they have a programming service to pre-program it for you.

You may want to check out Scan New England for more of the Massachusetts area scanning community.

[RKG]

Originally Posted by bobsav21

I can hear the simulcast but not the other channels they switch to.
They are using a Motorola Type IIi Hybrid system.
Im looking at the uniden 396xt but was wondering is there is a less expensive mobile that will do the same
thing.
Thanks
Bob

Cambridge is a Type II system.

If you want to listen to fires, all you need are Chs. 1, 14 and 16, all of which are patched to the conventionals. Trunked Ch. 4 is a patch of MetroRed, trunked Ch. 5 is EMS, and everything else on the fire side would be administrative.

I'm not trying to push you off trunked equipment, but only want you to know that you don't need it to listen to the ops traffic on the systems you ID'd.

[Pfdjr521]

Originally Posted by RKG

Cambridge is a Type II system.

If you want to listen to fires, all you need are Chs. 1, 14 and 16, all of which are patched to the conventionals. Trunked Ch. 4 is a patch of MetroRed, trunked Ch. 5 is EMS, and everything else on the fire side would be administrative.

I'm not trying to push you off trunked equipment, but only want you to know that you don't need it to listen to the ops traffic on the systems you ID'd.

Also Cambridge will be going digital sometime this year, so you will need a digital scanner to monitor Cambridge.