Isanti County

I just purchased a HomePatrol 1 scanner thinking this would be the easier route than having to program one in.

Anyone have any tips on getting the Isanti channels to come in better? I hear some of dispatch and fire calls, I also hear the highway department. I see the Isanti County Law Tac ENC come across but I can't ever hear anything? I also would like to hear car to car - I have all of the channels programmed in the scanner, I just can't hear anything!

I have bought 2 new antennas one was purchased off an ebay seller who makes them specifically for HP1 and the other was the diamond SRH789. I also just ordered the 800 MHz 2.5db SMA Antenna from scanner master.

I have also done all of the updating on the scanner!

kattocat said:

.....Anyone have any tips on getting the Isanti channels to come in better? I hear some of dispatch and fire calls, I also hear the highway department. I see the Isanti County Law Tac ENC come across but I can't ever hear anything? I also would like to hear car to car - I have all of the channels programmed in the scanner, I just can't hear anything!

I have bought 2 new antennas one was purchased off an ebay seller who makes them specifically for HP1 and the other was the diamond SRH789. I also just ordered the 800 MHz 2.5db SMA Antenna from scanner master.

I have also done all of the updating on the scanner!

Click to expand...

Good for you for updating everything. Do you live in Isanti County? I assume that you do. You might not even need another antenna, but since you bought them, give them a try.

As far as the ENC talkgroup, if the tag is correct, that means it is an encrypted talkgroup and you won't hear it. However, just because it was tagged ENC does not necessarily mean it is encrypted or it encrypted all of the time. I can't begin to tell you the number of times I have seen an ENC talkgroups pop up and I hear them loud and clear because they are not encrypted.

One thing that I am a huge advocate of is to switch from TRUNK SCAN to TRUNK SEARCH. That way you will hear other traffic that is being carried on your local sub-system. You just never know who will pop up from time to time in your area.

The other thing that bears asking is who else do you want to hear? If you are in Cambridge and decide that you want to hear all of the calls in Rochester MN, that isn't happening on your HP-1. It sounds to me like you just want to hear what is going on around you in Isanti county. Select TRUNK SEARCH and "let her rip." Also, try the various antennas and even moving the HP-1 in different locations in your listening area. Sometimes moving a few inches can make a HUGE difference on 800 mHz!

You might try installing a cheap scanner antenna outside. I put steel siding on my home 18 mos. ago and it did make a difference. My outside antenna would bring in 10-12 tower sites, now I am using a indoor "back-of-set" antenna and hear about 5 tower sites only.

Secondly, I have seen/ listened to a HP-1 and the number of "channels" it is scanning is horrendous. You could be scanning an unknown number of obsolete/ unwanted RR, Fire, schools, business, and utility channels, keeping your scanner from receiving what you want.

"I also would like to hear car to car"
My understanding of the MN ARMER system is all calls go thru a tower first, no direct simplex "car-to-car".

Are you thinking of 6016 and/or 6018?

Isanti County Talkgroups

DEC HEX Mode Alpha Tag Description Tag
6000 1770 D ISNT SO ADM Sheriff Admin Law Tac
6002 1772 D ISNT SO TAC3 Sheriff TAC 3 Law Tac
6004 1774 D ISNT SO TAC4 Sheriff TAC 4 Law Tac
6006 1776 D ISNT SO TAC5 Sheriff TAC 5 Law Tac
6008 1778 D ISNT SO TAC6 Sheriff TAC 6 Law Tac
6010 177a D ISNT SO ROAM Sheriff Roam Law Dispatch
6012 177c D ISNT SO PTCH Sheriff Patch Interop
6014 177e D ISNT SO DISP Sheriff Dispatch Law Dispatch
6016 1780 D ISNT SO C2C Sheriff C2C Law Tac
6018 1782 D ISNT SO C2C Isanti Co C2C Law Tac
6020 1784 D ISNT SO JAIL Isanti Co Jail Corrections
6022 1786 D ISNT LAW TAC County Law Tac ENC Law Tac
6024 1788 D ISNT LAW TAC County Law Tac ENC Law Tac
6026 178a D BRAHAM PD Braham PD Adm Law Tac
6028 178c D CAMBRG ADM Cambridge PD Adm Law Tac
6030 178e D ISANTI PD Isanti PD Adm Law Tac
6032 1790 D ISNT CO FIRE County Fire Dispatch Fire Dispatch
6034 1792 D BRAHAM FIRE Braham Fire Tac Multi-Tac
6036 1794 D CAMBRG FIRE Cambridge Fire Tac Fire-Tac
6038 1796 D DALBO FIRE Dalbo Fire Tac Fire-Tac
6040 1798 D ISANTI FIRE Isanti Fire Tac Fire-Tac
6042 179a D ISNT HWAY 1 County Highway 1 Public Works
6044 179c D ISNT HWAY 2 County Highway 2 Public Works
6046 179e D ISNT HWAY 3 County Highway 3 Public Works
6048 17a0 D BRAHAM WKS Braham Public Works Public Works
6050 17a2 D CAMBRG WK 1 Cambridge Public Works 1 Public Works
6052 17a4 D CAMBRG WK 2 Cambridge Public Works 2 Public Works
6054 17a6 D ISANTI WKS 1 Isanti Public Works 1 Public Works
6056 17a8 D ISANTI WKS 2 Isanti Public Works 2 Public Works

Anyone heard any groups above 6056 ??
Or any odd numbered groups ??

I haven't

It also helps if you go into the advanced menu on the unit and lock out all the towers except the one closest to you.