Hello from newbie with a question

[mnca711]

Hey everyone

Newbie here. Need little help. First let me start off with basics. Name is Manuel and I'm from Lodi- Stockton Ca area. Now with what i need help.

I used to have a Kenwood tk-3170 which was a wonderful radio. I work in security so i had it with my job frequency and all local pd, fire etc.... Well everything went digital and radio wasn't worth me keep around (sold it) since it didn't do what i wanted to do. Meaning work as a scanner but also was able to communicate with my job.

So my question and hope im even asking in the right forms is what radio would i be able to use to communicate with my job and also be used as a scanner for my area which is using digital frequency.

I know i can just buy a scanner but that wouldnt let me communicate with my job and thats what im looking for.

Hope my question makes sense and if you need anymore information please feel free to ask.

Thanks and hope someone out there can help me out.

 

[bob550]

Hi Manuel, and welcome to the forum. What you're asking, as I understand it, is that you'd like a single radio that will allow you to transmit/receive on the specific frequencies required for your job, and also serve as a digital scanner. Your Kenwood tk-3170 must have operated within the same frequency bands as your local PD, and so you were able to also receive their transmissions as well. Also, I would think that capability would only be possible if your Kenwood was professionally programmed by a local radio shop. However, a scanner, by nature, allows you to receive transmissions over a wide frequency range generally not found on the average business band portable radio. To do what you want, you'd be best with a portable two-way radio for your job, and a dedicated digital-capable scanner for general reception. Finding one radio to do what you want would be a challenge.

 

[teufler]

A two way radio that is analog and digital is going to be EXPENSIVE. Digital, most likely a trunking system to monitor and that gets more complicated. A Bob550 suggested, a dedicated scanner with a radio for business would be better. Some of the newer hand held scanners are small and light, so carrying weight should not be a problem. Getting a hand held scanner, liker a Uniden 396xt, and a duty radio to talk on, will be far cheaper than trying to get a do everything radio. Even the police now, in the large digital trunking systems, unless their radio is set for scanning all the groups that may talk, they are forced to carry a scanner to be able to hear everything. Information is power, lack of information is control. Several agencies I have talked with were concerned about the new radios that offered interoperability. Then they found out that the radios can be limited to what they have had but the dispatcher could control the radios to allow conversations with other agencies. So much for interoperability. Some officers have resorted to cross talking, where they transmit on their frequency and listen on a scanner to the other agency. A scanner is your best bet..

 

[mnca711]

Thanks teufler and bob550. I will look into the suggestions given by both. I know its not going to be cheap. What happen to the good old days. Thanks again

 

[N8IAA]

Thanks teufler and bob550. I will look into the suggestions given by both. I know its not going to be cheap. What happen to the good old days. Thanks again

First, you don't need a trunking radio. All of the frequencies you monitor are conventional P-25, and analog.
What you need is a HT that does conventional P-25 and analog in the 450-512MHz range. No, they're not cheap, but you may want to look at E-bay and see what they are going for used.
I looked at the antenna farm.com site, they had a Yaesu /Vertex that ran $1000 new without programming software.
Hopefully, when you get a radio, you have someone who can program it for you.
Larry

 

[DickH]

Hey everyone

Newbie here. Need little help. First let me start off with basics. Name is Manuel and I'm from Lodi- Stockton Ca area. Now with what i need help.

I used to have a Kenwood tk-3170 which was a wonderful radio. I work in security so i had it with my job frequency and all local pd, fire etc.... Well everything went digital and radio wasn't worth me keep around (sold it) since it didn't do what i wanted to do. Meaning work as a scanner but also was able to communicate with my job.

So my question and hope im even asking in the right forms is what radio would i be able to use to communicate with my job and also be used as a scanner for my area which is using digital frequency.

I know i can just buy a scanner but that wouldnt let me communicate with my job and thats what im looking for.

Hope my question makes sense and if you need anymore information please feel free to ask.

Thanks and hope someone out there can help me out.

If you need it for work, your employer should provide it. For other freqs. a scanner will do.