Im in the market to get a new digital scanner soon as my area (Collin Co)PAWM is going to swap before long. My question is what if any Fed stuff is worth adding? I dont want to waste time with anything encrypted, so are there any to add as far as FBI, DHS, FEMA that would not be encrypted?
For the most part I just listen to local PD FD and havent really messed with anything else as I hear most of what I want with just this. But I want to see if there is any other "necessary" channels to add for any sort of emergency/disaster, etc.
Much of the FBI traffic is encrypted most of the time, as are postal inspectors. Many of the
others are hit and miss, as far as encryption goes. TSA, generally, has been encrypted, but their signal is not strong enough for me to receive, so I don't have them programmed at this time.
I do have many of the frequencies programmed, including those that are often encrypted. However, that's only in the 396XT, which will ignore the scrambled transmissions either completely, or quickly move on. That way, since many of them are only part-time encryption, I may hear any that are 'in the clear' (not encrypted). The PSR-500 would stop on the encrypted signal (instead of skipping them), and you'd hear what some have described as something like "R2D2 on steroids". So, I don't have it set up with these.
Your "just in case" programming could well include the inter-op channels, especially the 700 & 800mhz ones, found
here. The
Dallas and
DFW Airport sections of the NCTCOG P25 project would also be a good one to include. This regional system will be used to coordinate activities for the Super Bowl, and (when in full operation) would also be used for any area emergency or disaster that spans multiple cities or counties. See also this
thread. For federal related frequencies in general, see
this thread, in addition to the main "
sticky" thread currently active.
