Whistler WS1040 In Edmonton,Alberta

[newfie5150]

Hi was going to purchase a Whistler WS1040 to use in the Edmonton area for say police and fire ,first responders stuff like that .but I seem to seen on here that the 1040 will not work they say you need something like the Uniden SDS 100 to receive anything.Is this right?Thanks for the help

 

[N8IAA]

Hi was going to purchase a Whistler WS1040 to use in the Edmonton area for say police and fire ,first responders stuff like that .but I seem to seen on here that the 1040 will not work they say you need something like the Uniden SDS 100 to receive anything.Is this right?Thanks for the help

Wrong. According to the RR database, You will be able to receive anything on the EDACS system that shows an 'A' for analog. If you see a 'D', that's Provoice.

The P-25 system is Phase I which the 1040 will work on. The TGID's that show 'DE' are encrypted, and no scanner made will decode those.

Being that you are in Alberta, is it worth the extra cost to get the SDS 100. Plus pay for all the add on's?? Heck No!!

 

[Jay911]

Wrong. According to the RR database, You will be able to receive anything on the EDACS system that shows an 'A' for analog. If you see a 'D', that's Provoice.

The P-25 system is Phase I which the 1040 will work on. The TGID's that show 'DE' are encrypted, and no scanner made will decode those.

Being that you are in Alberta, is it worth the extra cost to get the SDS 100. Plus pay for all the add on's?? Heck No!!

1. The EDACS system is not long for this world if it's even still being used at all.

2. The P25 system is indeed Phase I but in the Edmonton area it uses a simulcast cluster (no comment on that particular choice of word). So, yes, an SDS will perform much better than other radios. I had several scanners with me when in the area a year or two ago and they were 90% deaf to the simulcast cluster.

 

[newfie5150]

So will I be able to receive Edmonton police and RCMP with the 1040?

 

[kayn1n32008]

So will I be able to receive Edmonton police and RCMP with the 1040?

RCMP: NO. They are fully transitioned to AFRRCS and are 100%, strapped encryption.

EPS: Yes, until they move off of EDACS, and the patches are taken down. Once EPS is on AFRRCS, they too will be 100% strapped encryption as well.

EFRS: They are on AFRRCS and not encrypted.

AHS EMS: No. They are encrypted for their dispatch, however, they have 4 or 5 mutual aid talkgroups that are not encrypted that are used by outside agencies to talk to EMS.

As Jay911 states, Edmonton has a 5 site simulcast cell that also covers Sherwood park, that uses a wave form that traditional scanners have a very difficult time decoding. If you want to listen to the Edmonton simulcast cell I would recommend the SDS100/200(depending if you want a portable or mobile scanner). Otherwise your other reliable option would be 2x SDR’s and appropriate software.

 

[newfie5150]

RCMP: NO. They are fully transitioned to AFRRCS and are 100%, strapped encryption.

EPS: Yes, until they move off of EDACS, and the patches are taken down. Once EPS is on AFRRCS, they too will be 100% strapped encryption as well.

EFRS: They are on AFRRCS and not encrypted.

AHS EMS: No. They are encrypted for their dispatch, however, they have 4 or 5 mutual aid talkgroups that are not encrypted that are used by outside agencies to talk to EMS.

As Jay911 states, Edmonton has a 5 site simulcast cell that also covers Sherwood park, that uses a wave form that traditional scanners have a very difficult time decoding. If you want to listen to the Edmonton simulcast cell I would recommend the SDS100/200(depending if you want a portable or mobile scanner). Otherwise your other reliable option would be 2x SDR’s and appropriate software.

 

[newfie5150]

Well if I need to buy a SDS100 I guess my scanning days are done .not will to spend $1200 on a scanner ..Thanks

 

[kayn1n32008]

Wrong. According to the RR database, You will be able to receive anything on the EDACS system that shows an 'A' for analog. If you see a 'D', that's Provoice.

For now. I doubt EDACS will be around for much longer. A year at the most.

The P-25 system is Phase I which the 1040 will work on. The TGID's that show 'DE' are encrypted, and no scanner made will decode those.

How well does the 1040 do with simulcast wave forms? The sites that cover the city of Edmonton are a 5 site simulcast using what ever wave form(WCQPSK or some variation of it) Harris uses for simulcast. The vast majority of the traffic in the city will use this site as will Sherwood Park.

Being that you are in Alberta, is it worth the extra cost to get the SDS 100. Plus pay for all the add on's?? Heck No!!

Well considering there is a ton of DMR and NXDN in use in Alberta, it depends on what the OP is ultimately interested in, wether the upgrades are worth buying or not.

 

[kayn1n32008]

Well if I need to buy a SDS100 I guess my scanning days are done .not will to spend $1200 on a scanner ..Thanks

you can buy a pair of cheap SDR USB sticks and use software like DSD+ to monitor AFRRCS.

 

[newfie5150]

What I’m asking if I buy the 1040 is it going to receive those frequencies or am I just wasting money?Or do I need to buy the SDS100?Just getting confused.Thanks

 

[kayn1n32008]

What I’m asking if I buy the 1040 is it going to receive those frequencies or am I just wasting money?Or do I need to buy the SDS100?Just getting confused.Thanks

If you are mostly going to be listening to the Edmonton simulcast site(site 252), you are going to be very frustrated with the 1040. If most of your listening is going to NOT be site 252, it will work fine. Keep in mind the EDACS system is going to be going off air in the near future.

 

[newfie5150]

If you are mostly going to be listening to the Edmonton simulcast site(site 252), you are going to be very frustrated with the 1040. If most of your listening is going to NOT be site 252, it will work fine. Keep in mind the EDACS system is going to be going off air in the near future.

Thanks for the info ..sounds like I should just wait and get SDS100 when the price ever drops ..I guess I would be very limited with the 1040

 

[Spitfire8520]

What I’m asking if I buy the 1040 is it going to receive those frequencies or am I just wasting money?Or do I need to buy the SDS100?Just getting confused.Thanks

It sounds like there may have been some misunderstanding. Encrypted means that no scanner will be able to monitor now or anytime in the future. This means that even if you have the SDS100, the only public safety traffic you will be able to monitor in the near future is Fire Rescue Services.

 

[newfie5150]

It sounds like there may have been some misunderstanding. Encrypted means that no scanner will be able to monitor now or anytime in the future. This means that even if you have the SDS100, the only public safety traffic you will be able to monitor in the near future is Fire Rescue Services.

So I guess we are out of luck ..as for a hobby

 

[robertmac]

So I guess we are out of luck ..as for a hobby

For anything worthwhile listening to, YES.