What scanner do I need?

I am in a similar predicament and did not want to start a "new" thread. I live in Staten Island, New York and want to be able to monitor the NYPD, NYFD, EMS and perhaps some of the nearby agencies such as PAPD, TBTA, etc. I currently have the ancient Uniden Bearcat BC248CLT which is limited in functionality, including the inability to enter frequencies with 5 places to the right of the decimal point, amongst other limitations. Can someone advise which manufacturer, model scanner I should consider, that does not require a degree in engineering to program / maintain or should I be looking outside of the "scanner" world into something more professional? I need the ability to monitor multiple frequencies i.e. "scan" and the only option I have as far as placement is the desktop with antenna attached to the top / rear of the scanner / radio. I do not have the ability to use an external i.e. roof or other type of antenna. Any and all suggestions, assistance, etc. will be GREATLY appreciated. Also, I believe if I am to go the "scanner" route that 'ScannerMaster" is the place to go to for purchasing or is there another place(s) to shop at?? Thank you to all!!!

Scanner?

I live in Staten Island, New York and want to be able to monitor the NYPD, NYFD, EMS and perhaps some of the nearby agencies such as PAPD, TBTA, etc. I currently have the ancient Uniden Bearcat BC248CLT which is limited in functionality, including the inability to enter frequencies with 5 places to the right of the decimal point, amongst other limitations. Can anyone advise which manufacturer, model scanner I should consider, that does not require a degree in engineering to program / maintain or should I be looking outside of the "scanner" world into something more professional? I'd like the ability to monitor multiple frequencies i.e. "scan" and the only option I have as far as placement is the desktop with attached indoor antenna, I do not have the ability to use an external i.e. roof or other type of antenna. Any and all suggestions, assistance, etc. will be GREATLY appreciated. Also, I believe if I am to go the "scanner" route that 'ScannerMaster" is the place to go to for purchasing or is there another place(s) to shop at?? Thank you to all!!!

I am not from your area, but I looked at what you could monitor here: New York City, Much to my surprise, most of what you listed is NOT trunked, and looks like they might be monitored with your BC248CLT. The lack of 5 digits is not a real problem unless you are on the fringe of the reception area. If you have not already done so, go ahead and enter some of the things you want to monitor by entering as many values after the decimal as you can, and see what you can hear. Now if you want the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Trunking System, as well, then you will need a new scanner capable of EDACS trunking. The BC346XT is one reasonable choice, but it does have a fairly steep learning curve. Free software makes it a lot easier.
Someone from your area will be able to give you much better advice.

OK great, thanks for the initial help. SOME of the frequencies I want to monitor are listed here in RR with the .xxxxx (5 digits) and when I enter that frequency on my current BC248CLT, it changes it to another frequency (4 digits). When that happens, I do not always get what I am trying to receive and sometimes I get other 'traffic' or very low transmissions that are almost impossible to hear or understand who it is I am receiving. That is why I was thinking of getting a more 'modern' scanner but from what I've read, NONE seem to be easy to use like my current scanner, where you just punch up the frequency and off you go, now as you acknowledge, you have to 'learn' how to use these devices, acquire software, program, etc. - what ever happened to "user friendly?"

Scanning modern systems has become more complicated because the systems being monitored themselves have evolved to be quite complex compared to legacy simplex or even simple repeater based systems. However most of the complexity is around trunked systems. If you aren't monitoring trunked systems programming is much simpler. Any of the non-trunking scanners available today are still pretty simple to program. However even the trunking scanners available today are simpler than they were to setup a decade ago thanks to integration between RR and the software that can be used for programming.

Nitebeat said:

I do not always get what I am trying to receive and sometimes I get other 'traffic' or very low transmissions that are almost impossible to hear or understand who it is I am receiving. T

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That happens with ANY scanner. It happens when another agency is slightly higher or lower in freq than what you want, or another agency is so strong, it overloads your receiver.. Newer scanners can help, but not because they have 5 digits, but because they have PL tones. For example, Bronx Precincts 40, 41 have a 123.0 PL on 476.53750, so your scanner will only Open up when it hears 123.0 PL, Yes, there will be slight help with 5 digits but only very slight.
If you are interested in a newer scanner that is like yous, but has tones, 5 digits(I think), and probably slightly better selectivity to reject adjacent channels,. the BC125AT or BC75XLT are such scanners, but they won't get trunking systems such as Port Authority

OK Clint! Thanks once again, I will look into this further. Do you recommend 'ScannerMaster" as the source to procure said scanner or is there another source that is favored? Also, is the BC346XT your best and final suggestion for an "up to date" scanner that can "do it all" or are there alternatives? I am suspecting that no matter which one I get (of the ones that can handle the complex transmissions of multiple agencies) that I am going to have to either 'study' to learn to program / operate the device or hopefully hook up with someone that is already familiar with how to operate these scanners and just 'go to school' on that person (preferred method) and have them help me set it up!

You don't even need a scanner there if you have a smart phone get the app..it's free.

Which app????

Nitebeat said:

Which app????

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Any of the scanner apps...

I have the 5-0 app on my phone, it is OK but does NOT make everything I want to listen to available. Also, you can only listen to one frequency at a time (no scanning) unless I am missing something!

I noticed you said you had a desktop model so if all you want is NYPD, FD and EMS, you can't go wrong with a Uniden BC345CRS. I have one here in lower Hudson County on the Jersey side for when I'm up here and the reception is great. It's got 500 channels and you'd have to manually program them, but it's not hard. They're available on Amazon for about 80 bucks.

As mentioned above, you won't get the trunked systems like Port Authority or NYC DoITT but if you want basic public safety systems in NYC (outside of a few encrypted channels), it's a great scanner.

You won't have to worry about the extra digit thing, it's got it.

If you need the trunked systems, it's a whole new ball game with a whole different set of scanners, a lot of which are computer programmable.

Thank you sir!!

PS: You are sure it takes the frequency as thus: 470.XXXXX ? I read at least one review that said it only goes 4 places after the decimal and the pictured scanner only shows 4 digits?

Nitebeat said:

PS: You are sure it takes the frequency as thus: 470.XXXXX ? I read at least one review that said it only goes 4 places after the decimal and the pictured scanner only shows 4 digits?

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Yes. It will show a reduced sized and barely legible 50. I have every NYPD frequency, including Transit ops, programmed into mine and I have no problem.

You'll only get the usual problems involved with any scanner, most likely propagation issues, weather, etc. For example, where I am, I get Manhattan, SI and Brooklyn at all times without problem. I get the Bronx and Queens maybe 75% of time. I put that down to simple distance and propagation.

Don't forget, there are other scanners out there. If you prefer Whistlers, they have one close to the 345 in function. It's up to you. But I can vouch for the 345 and it's one of Uniden's latest modern analog scanners.

Hard to beat if you want cheap and simple.

Thank you very much! I had "eyed" the BC345CRS before. It is very similar to my current BC248CLT. The only reason I 'passed' on it was because I could not find a DEFINITIVE answer as to whether or not it would take the 5 digits after the "." because on my current scanner, when I enter the 5 digits, it 'changes' the entered numbers to something else and I end up either not receiving the intended channel or receiving very low transmissions or in some cases, nothing. SOOOOOOOO, with your 'positive' assessment of the 345CRS, I do think that I will purchase it. From what I hear from some "insiders" the NYPD / FDNY et al will remain for quite some time as they are because they told the FCC they cannot convert to the newer trunked / digital, etc. systems due to 'safety' concerns, costs, logistics, etc. and that they (at least the NYPD) cannot switch to a new system and have it NOT work 100% because of officer safety concerns, etc. Probably 99% of what I want to listen to is still on these 'older' systems. The PAPD is not and I guess for now, I'll have to use 'other' resources or just forego listening to them. As long as I can monitor NYPD, FDNY, EMS, TBTA, etc. I'll be alright!

Nitebeat said:

I have the 5-0 app on my phone, it is OK but does NOT make everything I want to listen to available. Also, you can only listen to one frequency at a time (no scanning) unless I am missing something!

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It depends on the feed you select and what the feed provider has chosen to scan. That is one of the limitations of the scanner app...you're at the mercy of the (gracious) feed owner.

n0xvz said:

It depends on the feed you select and what the feed provider has chosen to scan. That is one of the limitations of the scanner app...you're at the mercy of the (gracious) feed owner.

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Gotcha! Thank you!!!

Nitebeat said:

Thank you very much! I had "eyed" the BC345CRS before. It is very similar to my current BC248CLT.

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It does not do PL/DPL tones. Since you seem to have problems, which I do not believe will be cured with 5-digits, you might want to reconsider your choice.
I live in suburban area, and I would never buy a scanner without tones. This would be twice as important in a metropolitan area such as yours

captclint said:

It does not do PL/DPL tones. Since you seem to have problems, which I do not believe will be cured with 5-digits, you might want to reconsider your choice.

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Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!