New at this

[GeorgiaPeach]

Hello guys!!! Thanks Larry (N81AA) for pointing me in the direction of my fellow peaches
Can boys BE Georgia peaches? Hmmmm

I played with my scanner all weekend and am having great luck with the Police service bank. I'm picking up dispatch for Baldwin, Jones, Monroe, and Putnam counties pretty clearly. No fire and no rescue though which is wierd. I haven't heard anybody chatting on the frequency I was hoping my closest Skywarn repeater was supposed to be on. Is it possible they just aren't chatting b/c the weather has been uneventable, COLD but uneventful lately? Or maybe I have the frequency wrong?
Nothing for GA DNR which I was also hoping for since I live close to the Piedmont NWR.

I still can't figure out how to scan all the frequencies out there. If I push the scan button it is only scanning the channels and frequencies that I programmed into the unit when I bought it. I still need to figure out how to scan ALL the channels.

Any thoughts or tips from you guys would be greatly appreciated!!!

Lisa

 

[N8IAA]

Hey, Lisa. Not real familiar with the Pro-404, but it is a basic conventional scanner. Have you looked in the RR database for the DNR and forestry for your area? I am sure that the Piedmont NWR is going to be patroled by federal rangers. Maybe someone can chime in on that. You will find that the DNR, forestry, and feds are not always busy with comms. When I listen to DNR in the summer, it is pretty much non-stop as I live very near Lake Lanier. Now, it is is an occasional check on someone hunting, or such. One way to program your scanner, is to have the local county/city SO's/PD's in one bank, the FD in another, and the other stuff you listen to in the rest of the banks. This way, you can turn them on and off to find who is the busiest.
HTH,
Larry

 

[N8IAA]

Skywarn repeaters will be real quiet unless there is an outbreak of severe weather. I believe the 404 has a search area in the ham radio frequencies of 50, 145, and 440MHz. You will find the majority of ham activity in the 145-147 portion of the 2m band. Most of it will be early in the day for the morning commute, and in the evening when everyone is headed to the house. Sometimes there are local nets.
FD is not always as busy as the SO's and PD's. Unless you live in the MetroATL. Then you have to decide whether you listen to pd or fd, or a combination of both. My county went digital and encrypted on the PD/SO and city PD's. Can only listen to the fire department. Something else you can listen to is the Georgia State Patrol. Their base frequency is 154.680, and the mobile is 154.800. Let us know how else we can help
Larry

 

[CapStar362]

never even heard of a 404? and yes Skywarn only comes on when Warnings and Watches are issued.

im in Clayton County and my simplex Pro-83 picks up everything but a couple of things clayton county based

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

Thanks Larry. I'll try the GSP frequencies tonight, I've been looking for those.
And I did figure out how to scan the channels, the PRO 404 has a 'tune" button instead of a search button that was throwing me but I finally got it going.

I feel like I have a bad case of ADHD these days. I'm scanning everything and listening to everything.LOL
Last night I made myself just put it on my local police and listen for a while. It was actually fun figuring out the 10 codes that they're using,etc (they seem to be using a little different setup then the 10 code list I pulled off the internet, I think it might be closer to the list that GSP is using)

I heard last night on one of the HAM stations that there was an actual Ham club meeting in Macon in a couple of weeks for a Christmas party. An actual HAM club!!!!!!!!! I sure wish I could see that

 

[N8IAA]

Thanks Larry. I'll try the GSP frequencies tonight, I've been looking for those.
And I did figure out how to scan the channels, the PRO 404 has a 'tune" button instead of a search button that was throwing me but I finally got it going.

I feel like I have a bad case of ADHD these days. I'm scanning everything and listening to everything.LOL
Last night I made myself just put it on my local police and listen for a while. It was actually fun figuring out the 10 codes that they're using,etc (they seem to be using a little different setup then the 10 code list I pulled off the internet, I think it might be closer to the list that GSP is using)

I heard last night on one of the HAM stations that there was an actual Ham club meeting in Macon in a couple of weeks for a Christmas party. An actual HAM club!!!!!!!!! I sure wish I could see that

The Christmas parties just have food at them Been to quite a few in my 25 years as a ham. Lot's of ham radio talk. Very little scanner talk. I was known as the scanner guy at the local club's meetings:lol:
As far as the GSP, you will hear the base better than the mobiles, unless they are really close. Right now, I'm listening to De Kalb and Cobb counties. Not a lot of traffic. More fire call outs when the weather gets as cold as it is. People not using common sense with space heaters. I keep one bank in my analog scanner just for the GSP. That always runs in the background. I've been scanning longer than hamming. Usually more fun

Larry

 

[GeorgiaPeach]

Larry

I think I might just go to the Golden Corral that night and try to grab a table nearby so I can eavesdrop. Or maybe I'll just take the ham test so I can talk on there

I input a bunch of stuff last night but didn't hear much. I ran through all the channels a couple of times through and didn't pick up anything but the preprogrammed stuff. I was hoping to play around with this 404 model for a while and really learn the basics before I upgraded but now I'm wondering if I need a better model. I meant to look last night to see what the scan rate is on this model, maybe it isn't scanning fast enough OR maybe I need a better antannea. I still have the "rubber duckie" that came with the unit, I thought it would be okay since I was picking up so much police traffic but at this point I would think I would have heard SOMETHING else. No fire, No EMS, no DNR. I'm going to try GSP tonight to see if I can hear something. I'm not picking up anything out of Macon but after doing some research it looks like they are in the 800 mhz range which my scanner doesn't get. Will definately need to upgrade to pick up that action!!

 

[N8IAA]

You will definitely need a better antenna than the rubber duck. RS sells a telescoping antenna with a black coil in the middle, and an extended rubber duck. At home you might want to get the RS magmount antenna to increase signal strength. As far as upgrading, if you want to hear the Macon/Bibb trunked system, the minimum you need is an analog trunktracker. But, to really monitor, you will need to get a scanner that does digital and P-25. The Macon PD is 'D'igital. If you need help deciding, there will be many responses as to what scanner works the best.
HTH,
Larry

 

[ranger821]

Larry has hit it on the head. You need an antenna outside the house and up in the air. Macon, Forsyth, Millidgeville, Eateton should be available to you with the outside antenna. RS has a discone for 26 bucks that I use here in Florida. Up about 15 feet. In your area there is a lot of little hills and valleys so it needs to be as high as you can get it. I have fished a lot on Lake Sinclair in my years. My wife's brother had a place on the lake that we went to for many years on vacation. He has since pasted and his wife is in the Nursing home there in Gray. She sold the place a few years back. I would take advantage of the sale at radio shack on there Digital Scanners. The prices are as low as I have seen them in years for a digital scanner. I purchased a Pro 197 on Black Friday and I am really enjoying it. If you go that route, I suggest you buy a programming cable and some kind of programming software. I use Win500. They can be a bear to program. I amby no means an expert on that portion of it. I am still learning trunking. Wife is a GEORGIA PEACH, born and raised in Macon.

 

[b7spectra]

I've got kids that are GRITS (Guys/Girls Raised In The South) even though my lovely YANKEE (Long Island, NY) wife says they are not Southerners!

Next time we have a ScanIn, you are definitely invited (sorry folks about the Shoot & Scan - I've never heard back from the people who wanted to help us with it).