396 is more than twice the price of 246. Scanning in NY (brooklyn, manhattan) how much interesting stuff am i giving up by going with the less expensive model. I really want to listen to police, fire and emt. If 246 can handle all those things in nyc than I think it's the one for me.
BCD 246t vs 396t in NYC
- Thread starter pgb205
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hi i would get the digital scanner there are quite a few digital freqs aroung nyc . example 417.200 i think its homeland security. 172.900 tsa or faa freq is digital also there is a correctional detention center in brooklyn ny called metrotech all digital.
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True, the Feredal Protective Service Police and some others (TSA, Federal Bureau of Prisons, etc) are digital but not very interesting to listen to.
Not entirely sure the status of the FBI in NYC and if they've made the switch yet or are still analog..(perhaps SCANdal can chime in here) but even when I hear the FBI out of Newark, the conversations aren't that interesting..maybe the are running a license plate or are in the process of a moving surveillance.
Again it depends on what you want to listen to. NYPD and FDNY are conventional analog. That should keep you busy enough.
Not entirely sure the status of the FBI in NYC and if they've made the switch yet or are still analog..(perhaps SCANdal can chime in here) but even when I hear the FBI out of Newark, the conversations aren't that interesting..maybe the are running a license plate or are in the process of a moving surveillance.
Again it depends on what you want to listen to. NYPD and FDNY are conventional analog. That should keep you busy enough.
SCANdal
Silent Key
I assume you're talking about the Uniden BC246T?
Oh, yes, SCANdal.
pgb205,
Let's review. In reverse order, in the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, you're interested in monitoring emergency medical technicians. They would work for:
- FDNY*EMS (analog),
- the volunteer corps (all analog),
- the hospital based services (all analog, to my knowledge - unless using NexTels or similiar type services, which no scanner can decode),
- the private services (a mixed bag of stuff ranging from analog when operating as 9-1-1 units to NexTels to 220 MHz LTR trunked systems. I don't make an effort to listen to these services since the bulk of the non-9-1-1 work being done is routine transfers), and
- FDNY and NYPD, as first responders (see below)
Then there's fire. That would cover:
- Fire Department of the City of New York (analog except for one portable channel, F9)
- the volunteer companies (all analog).
Lastly, there's the po-po. In the counties of New York and Kings we have...
Sea Gate Police (analog)
City of New York
- New York City Police Department [NYPD] (analog, except for the now rare digital testing on Citywide 4)
- Department of Environmental Protection [DEP] Environmenal Police (analog)
- Department of Health and Mental Hygiene [DoHMH] Police (analog)
- Health and Hospitals Corporation [HHC] Police (analog)
- Department of Homeless Services [DHS] Police (analog)
- Department of Sanitation [DSNY] Police (analog)
State of New York
- Division of State Police [NYSP] (analog)
- State Parks Police (analog)
- Department of Environmental Conservation [EnCon] Police (analog)
- Mental Hygiene Police (analog)
- Metropolitan Transportation Authority [MTA] Police (analog)
Regional Agencies
- Port Authority of NY & NJ Police Division (analog)
- Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor Police (analog)
Federal Agencies
- Department of the Army at Fort Hamilton - Military Police (digital)
- National Railroad Passenger Corporation [AmTrak] Police (analog)
- Department of the Interior - Park Police (analog)
- Postal Service [USPS] Police (analog)
- Department of Veterans Affairs [VA] Police (mixed analog and digital)
Railroad
- New Jersey Transit Corporation Police (analog)
Most all of the above listed agencies have, to one degree or another, access to the NYC DoITT 800 MHz trunked system, which is analog.
I restricted my listing to your literal request. By "police" one could mean law enforcement and under that umbrella could be included correction, courts, parole, etc., etc., etc., the vast majority of which are analog.
Now, since Sybex tilted the conversation in that direction...federal law enforcement, is quite active in Brooklyn and Manhattan through the...
-Department of Homeland Security [DHS]
-- Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] (mixed analog and digital)
-- Federal Protective Service [FPS] (digital)
--Transportation Security Administration [TSA] (digital)
-- Coast Guard [USCG] (analog)
-- Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] (mixed analog and {some} digital)
-- Secret Service [USSS] (mixed analog and {mostly} digital)
- Department of the Interior
-- Rangers (analog)
- Department of Justice [DoJ]
-- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives [ATF] (mostly digital)
-- Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA] (mixed analog and {mostly} digital)
-- Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] (mixed analog and digital)
-- Marshals Service [USMS] (analog)
- Postal Service [USPS]
--Inspection Service (mixed analog and digital)
As with the City above, there are numerous other smaller agencies that have some sort of enforcement component (i.e. Commerce Department, State Department, etc.) not listed.
It would be fair to say that whatever isn't digital among the federal services will migrate toward that mode of modulation at some point in the future. When? I don't know. In terms of state services - the coming of the Statewide Wireless Network (SWN) and it's OpenSky modulation scheme (unmonitorable by any current consumer grade scanner) will likely mean that State agencies, while monitorable now, won't be in five to seven years or so. The local services, IMO, will remain analog for time immemorial. It has worked. It works now. And it will continue to work for a long time. My impression is that the radio gurus in the two primary services (PD and FD) know that and are of the mindset "why mess with success?"
Bottom line: At minimum a dual trunktracking, PL/DPL decoding, analog scanner purchased brand new today will see many years of fine service (barring any physical abuse) in the two boroughs sought. Depending on how much of a scannerphile you are (or will become) will determine how many more features (in order of priority: alphanumeric channel IDs, CloseCall/Signal Stalking, digital decoding, and a distant, distant last: weather alerting) you want to pay for.
Good luck with your decision.
SCANdal
Oh, yes, SCANdal.
pgb205,
Let's review. In reverse order, in the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn, you're interested in monitoring emergency medical technicians. They would work for:
- FDNY*EMS (analog),
- the volunteer corps (all analog),
- the hospital based services (all analog, to my knowledge - unless using NexTels or similiar type services, which no scanner can decode),
- the private services (a mixed bag of stuff ranging from analog when operating as 9-1-1 units to NexTels to 220 MHz LTR trunked systems. I don't make an effort to listen to these services since the bulk of the non-9-1-1 work being done is routine transfers), and
- FDNY and NYPD, as first responders (see below)
Then there's fire. That would cover:
- Fire Department of the City of New York (analog except for one portable channel, F9)
- the volunteer companies (all analog).
Lastly, there's the po-po. In the counties of New York and Kings we have...
Sea Gate Police (analog)
City of New York
- New York City Police Department [NYPD] (analog, except for the now rare digital testing on Citywide 4)
- Department of Environmental Protection [DEP] Environmenal Police (analog)
- Department of Health and Mental Hygiene [DoHMH] Police (analog)
- Health and Hospitals Corporation [HHC] Police (analog)
- Department of Homeless Services [DHS] Police (analog)
- Department of Sanitation [DSNY] Police (analog)
State of New York
- Division of State Police [NYSP] (analog)
- State Parks Police (analog)
- Department of Environmental Conservation [EnCon] Police (analog)
- Mental Hygiene Police (analog)
- Metropolitan Transportation Authority [MTA] Police (analog)
Regional Agencies
- Port Authority of NY & NJ Police Division (analog)
- Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor Police (analog)
Federal Agencies
- Department of the Army at Fort Hamilton - Military Police (digital)
- National Railroad Passenger Corporation [AmTrak] Police (analog)
- Department of the Interior - Park Police (analog)
- Postal Service [USPS] Police (analog)
- Department of Veterans Affairs [VA] Police (mixed analog and digital)
Railroad
- New Jersey Transit Corporation Police (analog)
Most all of the above listed agencies have, to one degree or another, access to the NYC DoITT 800 MHz trunked system, which is analog.
I restricted my listing to your literal request. By "police" one could mean law enforcement and under that umbrella could be included correction, courts, parole, etc., etc., etc., the vast majority of which are analog.
Now, since Sybex tilted the conversation in that direction...federal law enforcement, is quite active in Brooklyn and Manhattan through the...
-Department of Homeland Security [DHS]
-- Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] (mixed analog and digital)
-- Federal Protective Service [FPS] (digital)
--Transportation Security Administration [TSA] (digital)
-- Coast Guard [USCG] (analog)
-- Federal Emergency Management Agency [FEMA] (mixed analog and {some} digital)
-- Secret Service [USSS] (mixed analog and {mostly} digital)
- Department of the Interior
-- Rangers (analog)
- Department of Justice [DoJ]
-- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives [ATF] (mostly digital)
-- Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA] (mixed analog and {mostly} digital)
-- Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI] (mixed analog and digital)
-- Marshals Service [USMS] (analog)
- Postal Service [USPS]
--Inspection Service (mixed analog and digital)
As with the City above, there are numerous other smaller agencies that have some sort of enforcement component (i.e. Commerce Department, State Department, etc.) not listed.
It would be fair to say that whatever isn't digital among the federal services will migrate toward that mode of modulation at some point in the future. When? I don't know. In terms of state services - the coming of the Statewide Wireless Network (SWN) and it's OpenSky modulation scheme (unmonitorable by any current consumer grade scanner) will likely mean that State agencies, while monitorable now, won't be in five to seven years or so. The local services, IMO, will remain analog for time immemorial. It has worked. It works now. And it will continue to work for a long time. My impression is that the radio gurus in the two primary services (PD and FD) know that and are of the mindset "why mess with success?"
Bottom line: At minimum a dual trunktracking, PL/DPL decoding, analog scanner purchased brand new today will see many years of fine service (barring any physical abuse) in the two boroughs sought. Depending on how much of a scannerphile you are (or will become) will determine how many more features (in order of priority: alphanumeric channel IDs, CloseCall/Signal Stalking, digital decoding, and a distant, distant last: weather alerting) you want to pay for.
Good luck with your decision.
SCANdal
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