CPD scanner question

[bondsquad]

Hi all -

I apologize if this is something obvious or that has been addressed; I'm new to the forum.

I'm just wondering what the thinking is behind scanner streams that include multiple frequencies, particularly in a city like Chicago where one is quite likely to hear something on a particular zone, but then not hear anything else about it afterward once the scanner picks up a transmission on another freq.

I'm also just curious about how/why radioreference happens to have discreet streams for the zones that it does. Is this just because the person who has kindly agreed to broadcast them has a preference for those zones?

Thanks...

 

[werinshades]

I'm just wondering what the thinking is behind scanner streams that include multiple frequencies, particularly in a city like Chicago where one is quite likely to hear something on a particular zone, but then not hear anything else about it afterward once the scanner picks up a transmission on another freq.

I'm also just curious about how/why radioreference happens to have discreet streams for the zones that it does. Is this just because the person who has kindly agreed to broadcast them has a preference for those zones?

Thanks...

Since i'm a regular CPD listener, you bring up some interesting points. If I hear something of interest, I have the capability to put the scanner in the manual mode and stay tuned. From a "stream listener", I could understand the frustration. To answer part 2, yes most have a preference. If you live in the city, the tendency is to listen to your home zone. If you're streaming from outside the city, the tendency is to listen to the "rougher" areas of the city. Unfortunately, this would encompass 10 of the 13 Zones.

 

[bondsquad]

Cpd

Indeed. That's exactly why I asked.

I've lived out of town for the past 6 years, but I grew up mostly in 23 / Town Hall (zone 2) and used to listen to it a lot. I miss it and wish I could monitor it remotely. I'm probably better off than most like me since I also worked downtown (and still telecommute for a company that's in the loop) and lived in 18 for a long time, so I don't mind listening to zone 4 (18 and 1).

It's less interesting to me to listen to districts I don't know well. And even where I live now, I don't know the area anywhere near as well as I know zone 4 in Chicago.

As for the multi-freq 'stream listening', nothing would drive me crazier than hearing a district/citywide simulcast and then completely lose it and have no idea what's going on.

Do you listen to a particular zone werinshades?

 

[werinshades]

Indeed. That's exactly why I asked.

I've lived out of town for the past 6 years, but I grew up mostly in 23 / Town Hall (zone 2) and used to listen to it a lot. I miss it and wish I could monitor it remotely. I'm probably better off than most like me since I also worked downtown (and still telecommute for a company that's in the loop) and lived in 18 for a long time, so I don't mind listening to zone 4 (18 and 1).

It's less interesting to me to listen to districts I don't know well. And even where I live now, I don't know the area anywhere near as well as I know zone 4 in Chicago.

As for the multi-freq 'stream listening', nothing would drive me crazier than hearing a district/citywide simulcast and then completely lose it and have no idea what's going on.

Do you listen to a particular zone werinshades?

I hvae one scanner dedicated to Zone 6, but run 6 scanners regularly. City-wide 1-6, CFD fire, CFD EMS, another scans the rest of the Zones. I have it pretty well covered...

 

[bondsquad]

werinshades...

As you can see, I've been on an 8 year hiatus from these boards (!!!) but I was glad to see you're still active here. I just re-read your response to my oh-so-old post, though. Might I ask whether you still listen to all of the Chicago radio traffic? Is it just for fun? Do you use physical scanners or SDRs?

 

[werinshades]

werinshades...

As you can see, I've been on an 8 year hiatus from these boards (!!!) but I was glad to see you're still active here. I just re-read your response to my oh-so-old post, though. Might I ask whether you still listen to all of the Chicago radio traffic? Is it just for fun? Do you use physical scanners or SDRs?

Yes I'm still here and still listen to CPD amongst other things. It is just for fun, been in the hobby for 40+ years and have 7 scanners at the moment. The SDS100 has been a welcomed addition and since it decodes simulcast systems very well, I started listening to the Illinois State Police regularly again. ISP used to be on VHF-Lo band and some Districts used to use one frequency for Mobile, 1 for Base. District-Chicago then went to an Edacs trunking system, and we all thought the listening days were over...which fortunately it has not. Then the entire state went to a Statewide simulcast system and for many years, digital scanners had trouble properly decoding these systems. Now we have the SDS100 and hopefully soon a mobile version. We have to be smart as encryption is always a possibility with any system, and recently an application for Tetra at O'Hare was found. It's constantly evolving and Uniden and Whistler play catch up. It's getting very expensive and systems are getting more complicated to program which might have turned some people off.

 

[bondsquad]

I'm with you. I moved to another locale several years ago and found them to be on a P25 trunking system (9 counties on the same system) and I just couldn't spend the money. I now have a relative working in public safety and want more urgently to listen, so I'm in the process of setting up a makeshift computer-based scanner (that I have since learned is termed SDR), but it's quite the enterprise given that you need both the trunking and digital decoding software, the latter of which doesn't seem to be in much supply other than a single shareware tool. I still listen to Chicago Zone 2, though (now that someone is streaming it), which I enjoy because I know the 19th district better than I do the place I've now lived for 14 years.

 

[Blunt630]

I can pick up CPD traffic all the way out here in the burbs... non-stop traffic may I add.