Multiple Cities

[LeoRapture]

Hello, fellow Ohioans, My name is Leo. I am in the market for a digital scanner. I would like to spend about 150 bucks and am interested in hearing state patrol/police/ems/fire stations in these 2 counties:

Sandusky County, Ohio (OH) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Seneca County, Ohio (OH) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

You can probably guess I am new to this world, and don't quite understand how things work. I have been doing research, so I understand reading the frequencies, and all that, but am still clueless to actually find out the other info, like "open sky", "trunking", 800mhz and so forth. So, could you please explain to me what kind of scanner I need to be looking for here to make this happen. I would appreciate it. I'm not demanding suggestions, but they are also welcome. Thanks again!

 

[jmsanders83]

Hi. Digital scanners are priced new at $349.99+. You might be able to find one used on eBay at a cheaper price, but $150 would probably still be hard to do. I could be wrong. I haven't checked eBay in a while.

I'm a huge scannermaster fan. Check out their selection of new digital scanners here:
https://www.scannermaster.com/Digital_Scanners_s/269.htm

The Uniden Home Patrol and GRE PSR800 are the easiest to learn. They come preprogrammed with the data from radioreference.com. It is as simple as inputting your zip code and selecting what types of agencies you want to hear.

If you are interested in studying this web site and being patient with the learning process, you will find the other digital scanners to be more customizable in terms of you controlling what you want to listen to and how the data is programmed.

If you are adamant that you do not want to spend $350-$490 on a digital scanner, you could get an analog scanner for now. You wouldn't be able to hear the Ohio MARCS system, which is used by state agencies like the Ohio Highway Patrol, and some local agencies like Sandusky County EMS.

Many agencies across the state already have a digital system, are investing in a digital system, or are joining the state's MARCS digital system. So my suggestion is to spend more and buy digital now.

Here are some high level answers to your other immediate questions:

800MHz is a frequency band used heavily by public safety agencies. On a side note, it is also used by some cellular companies, however cellular cannot be monitored with any scanner. Most digital radio systems, like Ohio MARCS operate on an 800 MHz set of frequencies. Some now use 700 MHz to some extent as well.

Trunked means that a radio system consists of more than just one frequency/channel. So instead of one police department using one frequency and one fire department using another frequency; a city, county, or state government might buy a system that has a total of up to 28 frequencies per tower site. Every department on the system shares the frequencies and a computer system controls which frequencies a radio uses at any time. It allows the radio system to be more flexible and it allows for greater interoperability.

OpenSky is a specific type of 800 MHz trunked radio system not used very often at all. The State of Pennsylvania is the largest user of this type of system that I know of. The State of New York tried to implement it and the project, to my knowledge, was scrapped. OpenSky cannot be monitored with any scanner.

There are many flavors of trunked radio systems. Where you live, the system you will encounter the most right now is the Ohio MARCS system, which you can learn more about here:
Ohio MARCS - Multi-Agency Radio Communications Trunking System, Statewide, Multi-State - Scanner Frequencies

Josh

 

[Nasby]

If you check Ebay, you may be able to find a used Radio Shack PRO-96 or PRO-2096 for around $150.00. But if you can, I would save up and get one of the newer digital scanners from Radio Shack, GRE or Uniden.