I am new to the world of scanning. For the past 20 years or so, I have done ride a longs with both police and EMS. I know that a lot of law enforcement have moved to a trunk system and they don't show up on apps on my phone. I am looking for a scanner that will allow me to get police, fire, and EMS from nearby cities. It seems like the SDS100 keeps popping up in my searches, and if I add the 820S Remtronix antena I should be able to get all 3. However, that is not a small cost and wanted to make sure that it is worth the investment. If there is another system that doesn't include me building out something, I am all ears. Thank you
Choosing a rookie scanner
- Thread starter uonwuegbu
- Start date
Let's start with this. In which "nearby cities" are you interested?
Denver, Commerce City, Arapahoe County, Brighton, and maybe Littleton.
scanlist
Scanning since the 70's to today.
Denver, Denver Fire, Commerce City, Arapahoe County and Littleton are encrypted and cannot be monitored.
The only law agencies that are monitorable in the metro area are Boulder, Boulder County, Brighton, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Clear Creek County and Gilpin County. All area fire agencies are monitorable except Denver Fire that is totally encrypted.
At this time law agencies to the north in Weld county are monitorable.
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The only law agencies that are monitorable in the metro area are Boulder, Boulder County, Brighton, Federal Heights, Northglenn, Clear Creek County and Gilpin County. All area fire agencies are monitorable except Denver Fire that is totally encrypted.
At this time law agencies to the north in Weld county are monitorable.
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So what would you recommend for a scanner that could pick up those along with Denver Health EMS, both ops and Tac channels?
The remtronics antenna isn't magic, it's still limited by the laws of physics. It's a marginal improvement, serious improvement is gained by using an outdoor and elevated antenna. It really depends on exactly how the trunked system works in your area.
Look at this link, then find the other cities you wish to monitor on their respective pages. Tell us exactly which towers are closest to your home (where ever you will be monitoring) for each of the systems (hopefully it's all the same system) you wish to monitor.
Arapahoe County, Colorado (CO) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference
Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference for Arapahoe County, Colorado (CO)
www.radioreference.com
Is Greeley PD still available on the Weld County simulcast? Our daughter lives out there and we were thinking about setting something up for her maybe.
Spitfire8520
I might be completely clueless! =)
The metro area has a lot of simulcasts with Denver, Aurora, Adams County, Douglas County, and Boulder. If you are interested in any of those areas and want to listen on the move, then the SDS100 is really the only option unless you want to deal with simulcast distortion. There are plenty of posts, videos, etc. that discusses this in detail if you want to learn about it.
It kind of sounds like you might be more interested in law enforcement, so the warning I have is that law enforcement is only ever going to encrypt more radio traffic as time goes on. It is going to be up to you to decide if having a scanner will be worth it as it will lose the ability to monitor anyone that decides to go encrypted over time. There is a good chance that law enforcement agencies that do not have a feed in a scanner app are encrypted.
It kind of sounds like you might be more interested in law enforcement, so the warning I have is that law enforcement is only ever going to encrypt more radio traffic as time goes on. It is going to be up to you to decide if having a scanner will be worth it as it will lose the ability to monitor anyone that decides to go encrypted over time. There is a good chance that law enforcement agencies that do not have a feed in a scanner app are encrypted.
scanlist
Scanning since the 70's to today.
Word on the street is Denver Health is planning to encrypt all their talkgroups in the near future. Broadcastify has a feed for them currently.
Greeley and all Weld Law are open with the exception of TAC groups. No word on if this will change at this time. SDS series Uniden scanners or Unication paging receivers are necessary since the majority of communications are phase 2 and simulcast.
Also note ALL Larimer County law agencies are encrypted.
Failed to mention earlier that Colorado State Patrol is also monitorable.
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Greeley and all Weld Law are open with the exception of TAC groups. No word on if this will change at this time. SDS series Uniden scanners or Unication paging receivers are necessary since the majority of communications are phase 2 and simulcast.
Also note ALL Larimer County law agencies are encrypted.
Failed to mention earlier that Colorado State Patrol is also monitorable.
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Thank you for this info.
So it sounds like it doesn't make sense to jump into this at a $700 price point, as a lot of first responders are either currently encrypted or have plans to go encrypted. I really appreciate all of the feedback, have a great weekend.
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- Dec 19, 2002
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Possibility of hearing USFS. LE uses local systems (usually ENC) in their area instead of VHF.
State fire another option. Troopers are in the clear as far as I know.
--- To learn about what's available, spend time going through all posts in this forum as well as the Utah RR database.
If everything you want turns out to be non trunked. A Uniden 996 could be a less expensive scanner. If trunked, best option is SDS. The RR database can be downloaded to the SDS.
Read the SDS forums on how to import.
scanlist
Scanning since the 70's to today.
It makes no sense to drop $450 to $700 on a scanner if the agencies one is interested in is secret squirrel.
The remaining open agencies in the area are currently on Broadcastify.
The remaining open agencies in the area are currently on Broadcastify.
ScannerSK
Member
I just verified Greeley PD is available on the "Weld County Sheriff" feed. This is good to know as I was trying to find a feed for Greeley PD last week.
That's great! Thank you for letting me know, I'll let her know. Although phone apps are great, we still might try and find something for her out there. I know it's simulcast so that makes it tougher but when we were there in late October, I used both my Unication G5 and my BCD536 and was able to get the Weld CO simulcast pretty good on the 536. ( I was quite surprised actually). Anyway again, thanks.
scanlist
Scanning since the 70's to today.
There are parts of the city where the pre SDS series scanners have a difficult time with the simulcast array.
Unication G4 would be my reccomendation from personal experience. VHF/UHF is no longer used in the area so no need for a G5.
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Unication G4 would be my reccomendation from personal experience. VHF/UHF is no longer used in the area so no need for a G5.
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While that would obviously be mine to listen to the weld county stuff, (Mine worked great out there) I think the highway patrol (or state police whatever they're called out there) are on DTRS as well as some of the rescue stuff. When we were there we were riveted to the receivers I had listening to a rescue taking place. I could obviously use two knob positions for her but to listen at the same time that would not be possible on the G4.
At her apartment the 536 worked well inside but, we didn't use it while out and about or try any other locations with it. I can on occasion find a used G4 for less than a SDS series scanner. Thank you for that info. I can see looking at the map where issues could come up.
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