New and looking for help!
- Thread starter OrcaFin
- Start date
Welcome to the RR forums. Let's have a look at the database shall we? Assuming you want to listen to emergency services in your area I hate to be the bearer of bad news but you're NOT going to be able to hear them on a Baofeng of any sort. To listen to the trunked radio system linked below at the very least you'll need a P25 Phase-I trunk tracking scanner. With that said my recommendation goes to the Uniden SDS100 with free Uniden Sentinel programming software to overcome a pesky issue well documented on these forums known as simulcast distortion you'll likely face if you're within listening range to two or more towers on the Colorado Springs Simulcast.
IMPORTANT: Colorado Springs Police are FULLY ENCRYPYED as is every talkgroup on the system ID'ed as mode "DE"meaning you CANNOT listen to them on ANY SCANNER. Only mode "D" talkgroups can be monitored (Fire, Hospitals, Utilities, Public Works)
And I'll assume you're unfamiliar with how trunked radio systems work so I'll include the links below you can read at your perusal
wiki.radioreference.com
wiki.radioreference.com
Colorado Springs
| State of Colorado DTRS Project 25 Phase I | All City of Colorado Springs communications, including CSPD and CSFD, are on DTRS. These talk groups are in the El Paso county section of the database |
IMPORTANT: Colorado Springs Police are FULLY ENCRYPYED as is every talkgroup on the system ID'ed as mode "DE"meaning you CANNOT listen to them on ANY SCANNER. Only mode "D" talkgroups can be monitored (Fire, Hospitals, Utilities, Public Works)
And I'll assume you're unfamiliar with how trunked radio systems work so I'll include the links below you can read at your perusal
Trunked Radio Systems - The RadioReference Wiki
Trunking Basics - The RadioReference Wiki
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There is a LOT to monitor in El Paso County, for now the 2 SO Dispatch TG's are clear. There is a huge amount of Fire Talkgroups, plus EMS, plus a lot of other stuff. However the UV-5R is utterly useless. If you are looking for a very low cost option, you could always get a couple RTL SDR dongles and DSD+ or other P-25 SDR decoding software. However, that will only work on a computer.
If you want an actual scanner that works for the springs, your ONLY option is the SDS100, that's the only scanner that supports simulcast. (Much of the springs is covered by a very wide-area multi-cell simulcast system. There are other non-simulcast sites, but you would be missing a lot if you can't monitor the main simulcast site; a massive number of radios in the springs affiliate it.)
If you want an actual scanner that works for the springs, your ONLY option is the SDS100, that's the only scanner that supports simulcast. (Much of the springs is covered by a very wide-area multi-cell simulcast system. There are other non-simulcast sites, but you would be missing a lot if you can't monitor the main simulcast site; a massive number of radios in the springs affiliate it.)
Man I wish these Baofeng POS radios didn't exist. People who are not versed in radio/scanner world fall for that "scanner" radio garbage all the time.
