New to AZ scanning

[kenkohl1]

Hi all, long-time scanner and DX listener, but new to AZ. Moving here I found many more departments using encryption than I anticipated. I was ready to buy the new Uniden SD200, have Scanner Masters program it, when they advised that most of the Metro is locked down. I am primarily interested in Phoenix and West Valley fire, PD, and state-wide Fire. Any guidance will be greatly appreciated. Should I spend the $1000?

 

[GlobalNorth]

Fire in Maricopa County is generally not an issue with most agencies under Regional Wireless Cooperative [founded by Phoenix], others under Topaz Wireless [founded by Mesa], some Rural Metro and a tiny handful of volly FDs [Wittman VFD]. RWC K-Deck four is encrypted, but that is used mostly for police shootings and agency assist for tactical operations.

Police? I used to be one in the Metro area and have no interest in listening to it now. Someone else can probably help with current operations in that venue.

There is no Statewide FD, short of wildland operations and it is a joint venture by State and Feds, depending on locations and resources.

This is the website to what some here call "The Big Board" [an irreverent tribute to Dr. Strangelove and George C. Scott]. It shows general FD calls in much of Maricopa County [EMS calls are excluded, ops involving the police, and some other calls are not shown]. See link: ArcGIS Dashboards [Agency and units are available via the link at the top of the page. Printing it as a reference is a good idea until you get familiar with the units].

Phoenix FD publishes their operations orders online and you can find out about aircraft operations, HAZMAT, EMS, commercial operations, etc.

If you have a relatively modern Windows or Mac computer, you can download Sentinel and program your BCD/SDS scanner yourself.

 

[GlobalNorth]

Ham Radio Outlet at 4300 West Peoria Avenue has the SDS100 and 200, along with the BCD536HP in stock usually.

 

[GlobalNorth]

Here are the Phoenix FD OPORDS:

Policies and Procedures

Find important policies and procedures from the Phoenix Fire Department.

www.phoenix.gov

 

[es93546]

Hi all, long-time scanner and DX listener, but new to AZ. Moving here I found many more departments using encryption than I anticipated. I was ready to buy the new Uniden SD200, have Scanner Masters program it, when they advised that most of the Metro is locked down. I am primarily interested in Phoenix and West Valley fire, PD, and state-wide Fire. Any guidance will be greatly appreciated. Should I spend the $1000?

I understand the SDS 200 is not very sensitive on the VHF - High band. Wildland fire, be it local, state or federal is on that band and will be long after the cows come home. There is some use of VHF High on local fire in the Phoenix area. The management of the Phoenix FD refused to go on the 700/800 bands entirely and that is a story unto itself. The Uniden 925P2, or whatever model it is, does not have the VHF High band problem, but only the SDS 100/200's handle simulcast.

 

[KB7MIB]

Fire in Maricopa County is generally not an issue with most agencies under Regional Wireless Cooperative [founded by Phoenix], others under Topaz Wireless [founded by Mesa], some Rural Metro and a tiny handful of volly FDs [Wittman VFD]. RWC K-Deck four is encrypted, but that is used mostly for police shootings and agency assist for tactical operations.

Police? I used to be one in the Metro area and have no interest in listening to it now. Someone else can probably help with current operations in that venue.

There is no Statewide FD, short of wildland operations and it is a joint venture by State and Feds, depending on locations and resources.

This is the website to what some here call "The Big Board" [an irreverent tribute to Dr. Strangelove and George C. Scott]. It shows general FD calls in much of Maricopa County [EMS calls are excluded, ops involving the police, and some other calls are not shown]. See link: ArcGIS Dashboards [Agency and units are available via the link at the top of the page. Printing it as a reference is a good idea until you get familiar with the units].

Phoenix FD publishes their operations orders online and you can find out about aircraft operations, HAZMAT, EMS, commercial operations, etc.

If you have a relatively modern Windows or Mac computer, you can download Sentinel and program your BCD/SDS scanner yourself.

Just FYI, Wittmann is not a volunteer department any longer. Several years ago, they merged with Sun City West as the North County Fire and Medical District, which is now part of the Arizona Fire & Medical Authority (AFMA).

Circle City/Morristown, a few miles up US 60 at SR74/Carefree Highway, is still volunteer to my knowledge.

Tonto Hills, a small deed restricted HOA-like community on Cave Creek Rd at the north end of the Town of Cave Creek, had a volunteer department. I don't know if they're still active.

John
Peoria

 

[speedway_navigator]

I understand the SDS 200 is not very sensitive on the VHF - High band

I looked for sensitivity specs but did not see any. Radios have better sensitivity at VHF than UHF or 800 so that surprises me.

 

[cfsimmont]

Hi all, long-time scanner and DX listener, but new to AZ. Moving here I found many more departments using encryption than I anticipated. I was ready to buy the new Uniden SD200, have Scanner Masters program it, when they advised that most of the Metro is locked down. I am primarily interested in Phoenix and West Valley fire, PD, and state-wide Fire. Any guidance will be greatly appreciated. Should I spend the $1000?

The time that I spent in the Phoenix area radio comms changed greatly. Now you can monitor most everything on 4 digital systems (Phoenix RWC, Mesa Topaz, AZWINS, and MCSO). Phoennix RWC dispatches fire units for about 20 different departments and districts including the City of Phoenix. With the Automatic aid/ Mutual aid system in place you will hear equipment from multiple departments dispatched on an incident. During a summer storm (Monsoon) things can get busy quick and you will hear a lot. Most Police departments in the valley (excluding the far east valley) use Phoenix RWC as well, but the list of police departments that have gone fully encrypted or partially is growing. Phoenix PD still has most A-Deck channels in the clear so you will hear dispatches for minor incidents, but major incidents will all be on encrypted channels. Phx RWC has multiple Interop channels available to use and you will hear units from multiple agencies on larger incidents, G-Deck is in the clear, however H-Deck is fully encrypted. Mesa Topaz provides FIre/EMS & PD comms for Mesa, Gilbert, Apache Junction, Queen Creek, Fountain Hills (FD only), Rio Verde (FD only) & Fort Mcdowell Reservation. Mesa Topaz operates similarly to Phx RWC but on a smaller scale. Fire operations are mostly in the clear but as for PD Mesa, Apahce Junction, Queen Creek have all gone encrypted and Gilbert is partially encrypted. AZWINS is the AZ Statewide system that is still working to complete buildout, AZ DPS and Highway Patrol use this system often and it is mostly not encrypted. DPS and Highway Patrol can also be heard on the UHF analog channels listed in the database. MCSO the Sheriffs Office for Maricopa County operates its own system and a majority of the channels including patrol are in the clear the last I knew. This was all accurate as of about a year ago, if anything has changed im sure someone will be able to clarify.

The SDS100 and 200 are great radios and with simulcast issues in the Phoenix area these radios are critical if you actually want to hear what is not encrypted. Keep in mind the scanner is only part of it, your antenna is also key to your listening success. the Remtronix antennas do work well on the 700/800mhz systems, but they do get compromised by interference in your house and vehicle as well as the shielding. Antennas mounted on the outside of the house (if possible) and your vehicle will offer better results. And by all means DO NOT PAY ANY COMPANY TO PROGRAM YOUR SCANNER!!!!!!! The SDS 100 and 200 already have the FULL US database loaded into the scanner as well as all of the data you need is located in the database here on this site you can download it with a subscription. Why pay someone else to do something you can do for yourself and you will be able to customize it the way you want it. Proscan is a great piece of software that you can use for the scanners that is a step up from the uniden software.

Good luck and ask questions if you have them, there are many here that likely know.

 

[EAFrizzle]

I understand the SDS 200 is not very sensitive on the VHF - High band.

This has been my experience with the SDS100 and 200 on analog VHF-hi, however, I'll admit that I probably have higher expectations than many when it comes to VHF analog. Neither of the SDS units give me the performance I want in that band segment, and one of the main things there is wildland fire response channels.

Fortunately, if you have an SDS scanner to deal with simulcast, you've got most things taken care of already. If you need better VHF analog performance, you can get that cheap enough in Uniden's basic models like the BC125AT and the BC365CRS. No need for the expense of the 325/996p2 or the x36 models unless you want more functionality.

Antenna is the biggest thing, no matter what scanner. External/outdoors is best, but stealth options are available for HOA problems. For 7/800 and UHF, the Remtronix 920s is hard to beat. That's on my SDS100 90% of the time.

Two thumbs up and extra 'YES!' to ProScan.

 

[speedway_navigator]

love your Bond. Ward Bond