recommendations for a hh scanner for northern NJ

[w2edv]

Hi All,

I live in Wayne and I have a 996T in my shack. I want to purchase another scanner for use in my car. I'm a Skywarn Spotter and it would be helpful. Here are my questions:

1. I want to scan Bergen, Passaic and Morris, Police, Fire, VHF Air Band, Amateur HF, EMS and have WX and SAME. What hh scanner do I need? Its' been quite some time since I researched for the 996T and I can't tell by looking at the database here if I really NEED a digital trunking scanner, or if an analog trunking scanner would suffice. I don't want to sheel out for digital if I don't need it. I've noticed that GRE scanners have a Skywarn mode.

2. I'll mount the hh in my car and stow it when I exit, along with my VFH/UHF and GPSr. I use a dual-band stick on a hatchback mount and it uses a PO (PL259 type) mount. Any antenna recommendtaions? I don't want mag mount - I was hoping to use a similar side-of-the-hatchback mount (on the other side of the hatch from the Rx/Tx antenna).

thanks for any advice/recommendations,

[bezking]

I can tell you right now you are not getting HF and 800 mHz on the same radio. No manufacturer makes a radio like that. (Well, actually, the Icom R8900 will do that, but it is enormous (needs to be rackmounted), can't trunktrack, and I believe it costs around $20K).

Otherwise, most of the NJ State Police Omnilink system is Analog, except for a few agencies, which you can see here: New Jersey State Police Trunking System, Statewide, New Jersey - Scanner Frequencies As for your local agencies, you will need to find them in the database and check. If you aren't sure, just find what you want to monitor in our database, post it here, and we can show you how you can tell.

[w2edv]

Bezking - Thanks for the reply
I got a bit carried away re HF & 800MHz...

Anyway, here is a listing for Wayne, NJ where I live:
-------------------
Frequency License Type Tone Alpha Tag Description Mode Tag
500.81250 WIL599 RM 192.8 PL Wayne Fire 1 Fire Ch. 1 Dispatch FM
501.06250 WIL599 RM 192.8 PL Wayne Fire 2 Fire Ch. 2 FM
476.45000 WPSH811 RM 162.2 PL Wayne EMS 1 EMS Ch. 1 FM
476.57500 WPSH811 RM 162.2 PL Wayne EMS 2 EMS Ch. 2 FM
471.28750 WPYW893 RM 71.9 PL WaynePolice1 Police Ch. 1 FM
471.31250 WPYW893 RM 71.9 PL WaynePolice2 Police Ch. 2 FM
472.15000 WQEK857 RM 71.9 PL WaynePD10 Car-to-Car Tactical FM
471.33750 KZV273 RM 71.9 PL Wayne Water Water Department (Police Ch. 3) FM
471.38750 KZV273 RM 71.9 PL Wayne Roads Road Department (Police Ch. 4) FM
-------------
This is the next town over, Oakland:
Frequency License Type Tone Alpha Tag Description Mode Tag
46.56000 KDG727 BM 156.7 PL OaklandFD Lo Fire FM Fire Dispatch
151.37750 WQAX325 BM 123.0 PL OaklandFD Hi Fireground 1 FM Fire-Tac
45.56000 KDG727 BM 100.0 PL OaklandPD 56 Police FM Law Tac
45.98000 KMJ813 RM 100.0 PL OaklandPD 98 Police FM Law Dispatch
-----------------------------
this is straight analog, right? I thought that if I saw APCO-25, then we are talking digital, such as I saw the NJ State Police have. The unit I've been looking at is the GRE PSR-300. Does that "sound" like the type of scanner I should be looking at? Based on the other requirements I listed above (and I was thinking about my 996T where I can search Amateur HF and VHF airband - forgot about no 800MHz).

thanks for helping me sort this out.

Earl

[Alarmguy]

You would be better off with a digital capable radio. Wayne is going to a Ma/Comm APCO 25 digital trunking system. It is supposed to be up and running by the end of 2010, with Ma/Comm track records I would doubt it. They are installing a similar system in Fort Lee and it was supposed to be online long ago so figure more like another 2 years. If you want to monitor Morris County Trunk you will need an APCO 25 capable scanner. Several Morris towns are Digital APCO25 non encrypted systems: Montville, Lincoln Park, Parsippany. If you are looking for a handheld the Uniden BCD396XT would be worth looking into, since you already have a 996T they are quite similar.

[w2edv]

thanks, AlarmGuy,

Yes, I see how the similarity would help. But I do have a follow-up, and I know I'm getting into opinion here, but would I be better off with the 396XT, the GRE PRS-500 or the RS Pro-106? I believe the latter 2 are the same radio, but what do you think in general?

Also, would the rubber duck be sufficient for in-car use, a replacement hh antenna, or do I need to mount an external antenna on my car (this would not be a problem)?

thanks
Earl
w2edv

[NYRHKY94]

w2edv: I run a Uniden 796 digital scanner for my Northern Bergen County feed (based in Ramsey) and it does a "decent" job on the 1 digital PD I cover (Franklin Lakes). However, whenever I travel back down to Bergen (will be there again in a couple weeks), I always use my Pro-106 to monitor the area as it decodes digital much better than my Uniden (in my opinion). When it comes to digital decode, the GRE-based units are ready to go out of the box, while the Unidens often times require some tweaking (less so with the newer firmware).

I would tend to agree with the other posters that you should go digital with your new HH if the money is there. It makes sense for future purposes and also any travel you might do. As far as the antenna situation goes, I just use the rubber duck on my Pro-106 while I'm in Bergen and it works fine for me. If however you prefer to mount one on your mobile, Larsen makes a very good tri-band that is only 16" high and offers solid performance in my experience.

[w2edv]

Mike,

thank you very much for the advice!


w2edv

[Chauffeur6]

Originally Posted by w2edv

I thought that if I saw APCO-25, then we are talking digital, such as I saw the NJ State Police have.

Just FYI, the NJSP trunked system is nearly all analog, not digital. There are a handful of talkgroups that are P25 digital, but they are mostly the Delaware Toll Bridge Commission, which I suspect you wouldn't listen to anyway. Everything else is clear analog. The PSR-300 will track the NJSP system just fine, along with the NJ Transit trunked system as well, if you're interested in that.

That being said, I do agree that if you have the cash, it's a better idea to go with a digital capable model so you'll be prepared for any changes in the near future.

[w2edv]

thanks, Chauffer6!

[w2edv]

All,

I see these fundaental differences when I compare the features/prices of the PSR-500/Pro-106 and the Uniden 396XT:

1. The audio on the 500/106 is superior
2. The 500/106 are larger and heavier than the 396
3. The 396 has better battery life
4. The 396 will do EDACS
5. The 500/106 are more sensitive.
6. The 396XT is a newer device, therefore technically more modern.

All 3 units have plastic cases.

Difficult decision - I think at this point (subject to change), I'm leaning towards the 396XT.

thoughts?

w2edv

[pdfdems286]

i have both. sad to say that since i got my bcd396xt, i have not picked up my psr-500. i thought the 500 did edacs too <?>. i can with almost 99.9 percent safely say that if i could have just one scanner,the bcd396xt would be it. you can't ask for a better scanner.pm me if you have any question's. i'll be happy to discuss them with you. happy monitoring !.

[robbinsj2]

The 396XT does EDACS ESK, the 106/500 does not. Otherwise they have the same capability on EDACS. ESK is, I believe, pretty rare -- I'm not aware of any EDACS in NJ using it, is anyone else? I doubt we'll see any new EDACS (think P-25, TETRA, and OpenSky if it's still alive), and I don't expect many major changes to individual EDACS like adding ESK.

Their ages are virtually the same. The 396XT did come out about 12-months after the 106/500 but they're all the latest generation from their respective manufacturers. User-installable firmware updates available these days blur the line of exactly how old a radio model is. I'll bet the hardware technology within the 106/500 and 396XT is very very similar, the final differences have more to do with firmware, including what patents do and don't allow firmware to do with the hardware, and mundane things (display specs, shielding & basic board layout, energy efficiency, speaker specs, etc.).

So I suggest you take EDACS and relative ages out of the decision-making process and compare on the other merits. I have a certain allegiance to one manufacturer but it's irrelevant here (plus I'm leaning towards buying a scanner from the other maker in the next couple months).

Or, buy the 106 and pick up a 396XT from a place with a generous return policy and carefully compare them side-by-side for a little while, as long as you have the discipline to not fall in love with and keep both of them.

Jim

[w2edv]

thanks, Jim. Good advice

w2edv

[pdfdems286]

the 396xt will :

decode fire tone out's
decode the fire tone out tone.
do fm broadcast radio.
will now do radio i.d. w/firmware update.
has 25,000 channel's without v-folder's.
has 7 backlight choice's.
is pretty small and thin.
has excellent digital decode.
has excellent audio.

plus a pleth. of other stuff too.

[w2edv]

thanks very much. The squeaking sound you hear is me leaning towards the Uniden.... Still not made up my mind totally, though.

In anyone's experience, could I expect a sale on tehse scanners, especially the Uniden, with the Holidays coming up?

w2edv

[pdfdems286]

at the risk of feeling the wrath of paul aka upman, unidens don't go on sale. true,you can get the gre a little cheaper. scanner master has unidens and acc's at decent price's.their customer service cannot be beat. cei <usa scan> has about the cheapest unidens.

[robbinsj2]

I don't think there's anything there to upset UPMan, it's the nature of the arrangement. Uniden dealers, not the Uniden corporation, set retail prices and they used to sell them well under MSRP (I haven't checked MSRPs in a while to be sure that they still do). There are enough dealers and prices are consistent enough that I'll bet they're being sold pretty close to dealer cost, so there's not much room for sales.

Radio Shack is almost the only dealer of Radio Shack-branded scanners, so they can set prices more as they please and can build in enough room to discount models a few times a year. They have sales often enough that I would be hard pressed to ever buy a RS scanner at regular price.

With a similar distribution arrangement, I suspect GRE models will be like Uniden but they haven't been on the market long enough for me to recognize trends.

To answer the question, I would think a sale on the 106 is reasonably likely in the next couple months. I wouldn't expect to see a sale on the 500 or 396XT, at least not one which gets you more than $20 off the regular price.

[w2edv]

thanks, Robbinsj2

w2edv

[w2edv]

All,

I have just this evening purchased a slightly used 396XT via eBay and expect the unit to arrive by Friday. I feel that I got a pretty good deal. I chose the 396 because I already own the 996T so I have at least some familiarity with the interface. I'm also somewhat familiar with BCTool and I felt the longer battery life, the slightly larger display and smaller size were best for me. Who knows, I might eventually pick up the 106 or the 500.

thanks to everyone for their advice and thoughts; I appreciate them greatly.

73
w2edv

[Highpockets]

Originally Posted by w2edv

All,

I have just this evening purchased a slightly used 396XT via eBay and expect the unit to arrive by Friday. I feel that I got a pretty good deal. I chose the 396 because I already own the 996T so I have at least some familiarity with the interface. I'm also somewhat familiar with BCTool and I felt the longer battery life, the slightly larger display and smaller size were best for me. Who knows, I might eventually pick up the 106 or the 500.

thanks to everyone for their advice and thoughts; I appreciate them greatly.

73
w2edv

Good luck with your new purchase. Does BCTool support the XT models.