New Scanner

I am presently moving to Tabor, SD in Bon Homme county. I am looking to buy a scanner for this area. I am also new to the scanner hobby, so do not understand all I have read. I am wanting to buy something that is not over kill for the area, but still has good capabilities.

Any information would be helpful.

Check out the Uniden BC125AT. It's a good analog scanner. If you find you like the hobby, you can always upgrade to a more expensive analog trunking/digital scanner.

Use this website's database to input the frequencies into the 125AT.

Welcome to the hobby!

BonHomme CO

If you want to listen to state traffic, you will need a P25 phase 1 scanner (see RR database for info)

I do not know if any of the local stuff has migratted to the state system, someone local will have to chime in on that.....

In tabor you looking at a mix of digital and analog traffic. So a good P25 phase one scanner will do the trick for you

For a handheld, I'd suggest a Uniden BCD396XT, for base/mobile I'd suggest a Uniden BCD996XT. You can get the 396XT used on Ebay for under $200 (just nabbed a second one for $186), or a used 996XT on Ebay for under $250. There are new phase 2 scanner versions out, but no indication that the statewide system might ever upgrade to phase 2. Don't buy the 396T or 996T as they had a "motorboating" noise issue that was improved, but not eliminated by firmware upgrades.

Law enforcement in Bon Homme County is on the states digital system. However, their talk groups are encrypted. Fire\Ems are paged out on analog. Fire\ems traffic is a mixture of analog and digital. The fire talk groups are in the clear. Highway Patrol dispatch talk groups are in the clear. HP car to car traffic is a mix of in the clear and encrypted.

When you get your scanner, you should plug in Vermillion, Turkey Ridge, Tripp, and Mitchell state radio communication talk groups, the same Inter-agency talk groups, and Mitchell, Vermillion HP car to car talk groups. SD Game fish and Parks, and DOT are also on the digital system. You can also pickup up Yankton, Charles Mix, and Huchinson County's law enforcement, since they are also on the states system and in the clear.

You should also be able to pickup traffic from Knox County Nebraska, and Nebraska state patrol as well. Knox County is on analog, and NE state patrol is on the Nebraska state wide system. You should be able to pick up the Niobrara digital tower over there.