anne arundel county digital

Joshheartbrake · Jun 19, 2018

im listening to anne arundel county and it has some analog talk groups and some digital p25 talk groups,
why does the analog talk groups sound so much better than the digital talk groups.
analog can be full of static but it at least i can hear there voice more clear with very little static in the background , i can actually understand what they ar saying on analog
but with digital it sound like mumbles , there is no static at all but its so hard to hear the wrods there saying most the time, i cant understand digital and think its horrible , i also listened to charles and prince georges county and i still dont like it, does anyone else feel the same way about digital ???

i mean sometimes it sounds amazing clear but ussualy people just talk quitely on it or mumbles. and it sounds really robotic and very hard to decode.

hill · Jun 19, 2018

I am just the opposite, as I feel the digital sounds better and is easier to listen to. I can't wait until AA County transitions to a new radio system that is pure P25 and don't have listen to crackle. With my main interest being the fire side it is very tiresome to listen to all the crack and pops.

maus92 · Jun 20, 2018

Joshheartbrake said:
im listening to anne arundel county and it has some analog talk groups and some digital p25 talk groups,
why does the analog talk groups sound so much better than the digital talk groups.
analog can be full of static but it at least i can hear there voice more clear with very little static in the background , i can actually understand what they ar saying on analog
but with digital it sound like mumbles , there is no static at all but its so hard to hear the wrods there saying most the time, i cant understand digital and think its horrible , i also listened to charles and prince georges county and i still dont like it, does anyone else feel the same way about digital ???

i mean sometimes it sounds amazing clear but ussualy people just talk quitely on it or mumbles. and it sounds really robotic and very hard to decode.

That is distortion caused by signals from multiple towers arriving at different times. Reception quality varies depending on your location relative to the tower sites. Motorola subscriber units are designed to tolerate differences in signal timing, but scanners not so much - except for the new SDS100, which improves simulcast reception, particularly P25 digital reception. It made a huge difference for me on the AACo SmartZone hybrid system, and on P25 Phase 2 systems like Maryland First and PG County.

troymail · Jun 20, 2018

When you start listening to digital (initially and for a period after), it sounds terrible to your ear/mind.. everyone who has listened to analog for a long time feels this way - including the users of the system.

However, over time, your ear (and mind) 'adjust' to the sound and eventually you get to the point where it just sounds 'normal'.

If fact, I agree with others in that, while initially you feel digital sounds terrible and analog and clear. Later, as you become used to the digital and listen to it more and more, occasionally, you'll find yourself trying to monitor some older analog channels or systems - with all of their static, etc. - and 'switch sides' saying analog is terrible - digital sounds so much better. Trust me - it will happen.

As for radios - I've never had problems with ANY scanner receiving the Anne Arundel system - analog or digital - the only exception is when I'm near a cell tower.

maus92 · Jun 20, 2018

At my home in Annapolis, the digital channels on the AACo system are good quality about 50% of the time. The other half vary from slightly distorted to warble city. With the SDS100, I have yet to experience extreme warbling, with only a few instances of significant distortion. Definitely made an improvement for me. Digital reception using consumer grade scanners is highly variable depending on location. Noise and/or interference can ruin an otherwise good signal.

I cannot regularly receive any adjoining jurisdictions (or First sites) trunked systems using any of my scanners, the G5 or SDR dongles from my home. Occasionally I can get Calvert or Greenbury Point depending on the weather.

troymail · Jun 20, 2018

Location can potentially make a difference (as Josh has attested to trying to receive Calvert and it is analog). However, what he is describing is the difference between analog and digital... just takes getting used to...

On a related note, here on NC VIPER, most of the time, the digital voices are very good. However, there are occasionally some horrible sounding voice calls - I heard one last night where the caller had someone talking very loudly or closely in the background and you couldn't make out (clearly) what the caller was saying. The dispatcher even had them repeat it. There are also a couple of specific radios in the county that sound terrible each time they transmit. I've heard it for a while and have narrowed it to a couple of specific units. Sometimes it's the user (too close or too far from the mic) and other times, it seems it's poor or damaged equipment....

There's always lots of variation and possibilities....

Joshheartbrake · Jun 20, 2018

maus92 said:
That is distortion caused by signals from multiple towers arriving at different times. Reception quality varies depending on your location relative to the tower sites. Motorola subscriber units are designed to tolerate differences in signal timing, but scanners not so much - except for the new SDS100, which improves simulcast reception, particularly P25 digital reception. It made a huge difference for me on the AACo SmartZone hybrid system, and on P25 Phase 2 systems like Maryland First and PG County.

How is the SDS100 ? I’m thinking about getting one , what makes it different then my bearcat bc325p2? Other than being newer and water proof ?

maus92 · Jun 20, 2018

Joshheartbrake said:
How is the SDS100 ? I’m thinking about getting one , what makes it different then my bearcat bc325p2? Other than being newer and water proof ?

You should read the Uniden forums on this site - they are pretty comprehensive about describing the radio. The SDS100 is a SDR scanner that was designed to receive simulcast systems, particularly those using the P25 spec waveform. I found that it improves reception of the AACo simulcast and its P25 TGs - that alone justifies its cost for me.

Joshheartbrake · Jun 20, 2018

maus92 said:
You should read the Uniden forums on this site - they are pretty comprehensive about describing the radio. The SDS100 is a SDR scanner that was designed to receive simulcast systems, particularly those using the P25 spec waveform. I found that it improves reception of the AACo simulcast and its P25 TGs - that alone justifies its cost for me.

Ok thanks , I’ll prob order one then.

I just don’t like the way digital sounds most the time , it sounds like there drunk and i can’t understand barely anything they say, sometimes it sounds clear but ussauly pg county sounds like bunch of garbage on my scanner especially when they talk fast , it just sounds like blah blah blah blah... blah blah blah ,like moans that barely sound like words or numbers . It is horrible when they say street names I can never understand what street they have announced on dispatch.. it’s either too quite or mumbly garbage . I feel on analog I can hear them perfectly fine even with very little static

troymail · Jun 20, 2018

Joshheartbrake said:
I just don’t like the way digital sounds most the time , it sounds like there drunk and i can’t understand barely anything they say, sometimes it sounds clear but ussauly pg county sounds like bunch of garbage on my scanner especially when they talk fast , it just sounds like blah blah blah blah... blah blah blah ,like moans that barely sound like words or numbers . It is horrible when they say street names I can never understand what street they have announced on dispatch.. it’s either too quite or mumbly garbage . I feel on analog I can hear them perfectly fine even with very little static

The only thing you can do is get used to it -- most things are already there - and the rest are right behind.

Joshheartbrake · Jun 20, 2018

troymail said:
The only thing you can do is get used to it -- most things are already there - and the rest are right behind.

Yea I’m going to have to , Calvert is changing to digital soon , right now it’s all analog . I just wanted to know if other people in my area around southern Anne Arundel or pg county had problems understanding the mumbles sometimes that digital seems to have . I was in Washington DC earlier and I was listening to the fire department and was trying to understand what was going on and I couldn’t understand anything at all maybe a few words I could understand but that’s about it

troymail · Jun 20, 2018

Like I said earlier, the more and longer you listen, the easier it gets. Some of it is the digital and other aspects are "lingo"....

Having said that - occasionally, I have to think a few seconds sometimes - "what did she say?"... but that's mostly because I usually not listening 100% - it's just "background".

marksmith · Jun 20, 2018

maus92 said:
You should read the Uniden forums on this site - they are pretty comprehensive about describing the radio. The SDS100 is a SDR scanner that was designed to receive simulcast systems, particularly those using the P25 spec waveform. I found that it improves reception of the AACo simulcast and its P25 TGs - that alone justifies its cost for me.

Good to know. Have one ordered.

Mark
536/436/ws1095/996p2/996xt/325p2/396xt/psr800/396t/HP-1/HP-2 & others

Joshheartbrake · Jun 22, 2018

troymail said:
Like I said earlier, the more and longer you listen, the easier it gets. Some of it is the digital and other aspects are "lingo"....

Having said that - occasionally, I have to think a few seconds sometimes - "what did she say?"... but that's mostly because I usually not listening 100% - it's just "background".

What does it mean when Anne Arundel fire says on tucker bravo ? I hear them say that at the end of a dispatched call , they will say the time then on tucker bravo . I’d Anne Arundels only dispatch channel 1A dispatch? I see that 1b is tac1 and 1c tac 2 and so on , in Calvert they tell us to switch to tac # in Anne Arundel I don’t hear that, all I hear is tucker bravo or some lingo .

maus92 · Jun 22, 2018

Joshheartbrake said:
What does it mean when Anne Arundel fire says on tucker bravo ? I hear them say that at the end of a dispatched call , they will say the time then on tucker bravo . I’d Anne Arundels only dispatch channel 1A dispatch? I see that 1b is tac1 and 1c tac 2 and so on , in Calvert they tell us to switch to tac # in Anne Arundel I don’t hear that, all I hear is tucker bravo or some lingo .

They are saying "Talk Group Bravo." "Bravo" (zone 1, knob position B on the radio) is the response channel used for Medical calls in the northern areas of the county. Technically it is a Tac channel, but operationally it is referred to as "Bravo" within the county. Perhaps Calvert's radios use another knob position or descriptor on their radios, so "Bravo" doesn't make sense for them.

Joshheartbrake · Jun 22, 2018

maus92 said:
They are saying "Talk Group Bravo." "Bravo" (zone 1, knob position B on the radio) is the response channel used for Medical calls in the northern areas of the county. Technically it is a Tac channel, but operationally it is referred to as "Bravo" within the county. Perhaps Calvert's radios use another knob position or descriptor on their radios, so "Bravo" doesn't make sense for them.

If bravo is for the northern end of the county , what fire group should I listen to for southern part of county that boarders Calvert ( friendship,Lothian ,dunkirk) and up to Annapolis ? I know that 11D S is the police group for the south county.

troymail · Jun 22, 2018

Joshheartbrake said:
If bravo is for the northern end of the county , what fire group should I listen to for southern part of county that boarders Calvert ( friendship,Lothian ,dunkirk) and up to Annapolis ? I know that 11D S is the police group for the south county.

See:

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=187

Joshheartbrake · Jun 22, 2018

troymail said:
See:

https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=187

Thanks , now you can see how I’m having a hard time understanding the digital, I actually thought t said tucker bravo lol. I hope your right about me getting warmed up to it in the future and understanding it better .

troymail · Jun 22, 2018

...and that was analog ("talkgroup Bravo").

Remember I mentioned earlier that part of understanding is just learning the terminology and 'lingo' that is used... you'll need that whether analog or digital...

Once you get used to that lingo, it becomes much easier to listen.

maus92 · Jun 22, 2018

Just a note on the AACo listings on RRDB. The Bravo and Charlie TGs are for EMS responses, but the "Medical / Local" label isn't really accurate. You will hear dispatchers sometimes refer to an EMS response as a "Rescue Local" - "Medical" is not a term used to dispatch a response.

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