It's been a long time since I've done any real upgrading to new technology for scanners, so I am certain my questions will seem like they just stepped off the good ship S.S. DUH. But here goes:
1) About a year ago I bought a HomePatrol scanner, based on the ease of programming it supposedly offered. It took a while to adjust to this new curve but I finally got it nailed. However this was also my first experience with digital systems. I bought it to listen to Connecticut State Police. No problem receiving them, but wow, talk about awful audio. I tried a couple other departments and they all sound the same. Terrible audio, swishy and very indistinct. Both dispatchers and field officers all sounded muffled and swishy, and after a while I just gave up on it. My question is, is this typical of all digital systems? Do all scanners and receivers provide this low quality digital system audio, or is it just a function of the HomePatrol? I would like to get a 996XT for use with the remote head in my vehicle, but I don't want to spend the money on something if the sound quality is going to be identical to what I couldn't stand to listen to before.
2) Here on RR I've read up, as much as I could, on scanners with a discriminator tap. The forums nicely detail a lot of "how"s and "how to"s, the software involved, etc. But I still can't find out the answer to my one basic question: why? Why examine the data in the data channel? Is there an advantage to it?
Thanks in advance for any answers and advice.
1) About a year ago I bought a HomePatrol scanner, based on the ease of programming it supposedly offered. It took a while to adjust to this new curve but I finally got it nailed. However this was also my first experience with digital systems. I bought it to listen to Connecticut State Police. No problem receiving them, but wow, talk about awful audio. I tried a couple other departments and they all sound the same. Terrible audio, swishy and very indistinct. Both dispatchers and field officers all sounded muffled and swishy, and after a while I just gave up on it. My question is, is this typical of all digital systems? Do all scanners and receivers provide this low quality digital system audio, or is it just a function of the HomePatrol? I would like to get a 996XT for use with the remote head in my vehicle, but I don't want to spend the money on something if the sound quality is going to be identical to what I couldn't stand to listen to before.
2) Here on RR I've read up, as much as I could, on scanners with a discriminator tap. The forums nicely detail a lot of "how"s and "how to"s, the software involved, etc. But I still can't find out the answer to my one basic question: why? Why examine the data in the data channel? Is there an advantage to it?
Thanks in advance for any answers and advice.
