New user, want suggestions opinions and thoughts

[IndianaJones1234]

I have been listening to the local “Region” scanning using an ap called Police scanner. The Ap offers no control other than picking an area and hoping to hear what’s going on. The Ap has been great as I’ve heard all the action going on in my neighborhood and the entire Region live including a few police chases….one that was a few blocks away and I even heard the cop cars roar past my block. It’s been pretty great knowing what’s going on. The Ap offers a $40 a year cost and I’ll likely get it. I wondered should I buy a home unit/portable unit? I have not a single clue about anything to do with scanners. All opinions thoughts and comments are appreciated and I thank you in advance for your time.

 

[VASCAR2]

It would help to know where you live or what Agencies you want to monitor. In many metropolitan areas which use trunked radio systems have simulcast towers which can be a challenge for cheaper scanners. Some areas have encryption so a scanner can’t monitor. Some areas put a delay on their radio transmission from five to thirty minutes before being heard over an app. You might be able to listen to Broadcastify for free on this website.

A scanner will give you a lot more flexibility and after using police scanners for decades I really don’t listen to online scanner apps. If I want to hear something for a short duration at a distant location I might use an online feed like broadcastify.

Here is a link to Vigo County Indiana on broadcastify. You can search for specific area and see if there are Agencies being covered by broadcastify.

Vigo County Indiana Live Audio Feeds

Vigo County Indiana Live Audio Feeds

www.broadcastify.com

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Welcome to the RR forums. If you're looking for a scanner recommendation please reply with your city (we already know your state) and agencies you're aiming to monitor so we can have a look at the database & identify potential pitfalls (encryption, simulcast distortion, among others) which may hinder your monitoring efforts. Hard to make a recommendation without knowing this info

 

[JethrowJohnson]

Do ya want one you can take with you or a base one for your house? And which agencies do you want to monitor?

 

[IndianaJones1234]

I just want to know what’s going on in the area also what is going on with my neighbors next door. They call the police all the time. The police are continually at my neighbors house. They had 3 squad cars and 4 officers show up but by the time I was aware the call was over…..no but the Ap I have is in real time. I heard a police chase go past my street and I was able tune in live as it happened and heard their speculations….Hey call the next town over I think he is heading East…..also they have some kind of electronic voice announcement system. The system announces the calls and time…..it’ll say something like burglar alarm 6752 Whatever street time 6:55am (it will be the current time) I can hear dispatch hey 5234 are you responding to burglary in progress? 10-4 in route…..then I’ll here this 5782 also responding…..(central) 10-4….it’s definitely in real time. I have also listened to the CTA train broadcast. But I have no idea what scanner to buy.

 

[IndianaJones1234]

Welcome to the RR forums. If you're looking for a scanner recommendation please reply with your city (we already know your state) and agencies you're aiming to monitor so we can have a look at the database & identify potential pitfalls (encryption, simulcast distortion, among others) which may hinder your monitoring efforts. Hard to make a recommendation without knowing this info

Hammond

 

[IndianaJones1234]

Do ya want one you can take with you or a base one for your house? And which agencies do you want to monitor?

I am looking for affordability. Portable would be nice but I’d consider a home unit if it was much cheaper.

 

[JethrowJohnson]

Okay. So it looks like most agencies in your county use the Lake County Public Safety network which is a Project 25 Phase II network. And you have a countywide simulcast site, so the only scanner that is designed for that so far is the Uniden Bearcat SDS100 (portable) or the SDS200 (base/mobile). Those are really expensive, but you could also get a Unication G4 or G5 pager instead, or a Bluetail Technologies receiver, and while those aren't scanners and they work differently than scanners do, they are designed for simulcast and are probably a bit cheaper. An even better option would be an SDR dongle that you could get for somewhere between $20-$50, but you'd need to install the software on your computer to make it work.

 

[trentbob]

Hammond

So that means Lake County Indiana? We are radio Geeks, not dentist. I for one am not good at pulling teeth LOL.

Where do you specifically live in Lake County Indiana and what is it you are looking to listen to, you have the attention already of several people who will help you.😄

 

[Brales60]

^^^What he said. These guys helped me a ton, and they need to know that info to help with a recommendation.

 

[IndianaJones1234]

So that means Lake County Indiana? We are radio Geeks, not dentist. I for one am not good at pulling teeth LOL.

Where do you specifically live in Lake County Indiana and what is it you are looking to listen to, you have the attention already of several people who will help you.😄

I was poking around the site and some people were saying the airline discussions were interesting. But really my interest is to “hear the news”. Just be aware of what is going on in the area. So far the Ap I am using has been great it has covered the entire lake county area but I hear just what that one stream puts out…so far it’s been great…..I listened to two high speed chases, a disorderly former employee refusing to leave, a few burglar alarms of local businesses, a few stolen cars, one event i listened to live made the local news. I am hearing everything pretty much…..Mother threatening daughter with gun….drug over doses, medical emergencies, car accidents…I am hearing everything happening in the area…that’s good information.

 

[N9EXR66]

So that means Lake County Indiana?

Where do you specifically live in Lake County Indiana

What part of HAMMOND are you NOT understanding

 

[trentbob]

I was poking around the site and some people were saying the airline discussions were interesting. But really my interest is to “hear the news”. Just be aware of what is going on in the area. So far the Ap I am using has been great it has covered the entire lake county area but I hear just what that one stream puts out…so far it’s been great…..I listened to two high speed chases, a disorderly former employee refusing to leave, a few burglar alarms of local businesses, a few stolen cars, one event i listened to live made the local news. I am hearing everything pretty much…..Mother threatening daughter with gun….drug over doses, medical emergencies, car accidents…I am hearing everything happening in the area…that’s good information.

That's great, so you live in Hammond Indiana in Lake County. And you want to hear the police for situational awareness..

I'm going to yield the floor, to others who will look up in the in the database, the different systems that are in your area. The frequencies and type of systems you want to hear and even if they are encrypted.

I have not looked at any of this. We start from there and then recommend a radio that will accommodate you the best.

There's a net I'm going to be involved with for a little bit so..

Maybe share the exact stuff you've been listening to on the streaming app with the others.

Plenty of people here that will help you and welcome to radio reference.

 

[trentbob]

Original poster, it looks like @N9EXR66 is stepping in to help. Have at it sir. 😅

 

[mr10pt]

I beleive there is a tower at Hammond PD for the Lake Co system. What part of Hambone are you in? Im born and raised there, long departed. The absolute cheapest you MIGHT get way with is the Uniden BCD436 portable orBCD536 if you're lucky. Your proximity to that site may help considerably with simulcast distortion. If you're listening to the feed I think you are, that's an sds200, no distortion.

 

[JethrowJohnson]

I think an SDS200 would probably be the best choice, but if it's too expensive, then an SDR or something of that sort. I have a BCD436HP in an LSM county, and it works perfectly in most places but it still has a lot of trouble in others.

 

[INDaviation]

The SDS100 works pretty great on the Lake County System. My 436 was nearly deaf to it. Just FYI Schererville and Cedar Lake are dispatched by SouthCom and use the statewide SAFE-T system. All other agencies including Hammond use the Lake County system.

 

[trentbob]

So Indiana Jones I've taken a look at your system here and you are on a tdma phase ll simulcast system that I am very sure is prone to simulcast distortion. All of the towers that you see in the coverage range within the circle are all transmitting simultaneously whatever your radio is calling for and that causes simulcast distortion.

It also looks like you have police and Sheriff and Fire talk groups that are encrypted meaning no radio can pick them up at all. You do however have plenty of stuff in the clear, this is what you're hearing on the live streaming.

The streaming looks like it's being done with a Uniden sds200 which is a radio that has an SDR chip and is specifically made to receive simulcast distortion clearly. The mobile version is the sds100.

You can try going with a cheaper model that is P2 capable but does not handle simulcast well. Chances are you will be disappointed. It's very dependent on location in and around the towers you see.

There is other stuff to listen to also, like you mentioned aircraft.

The SDS radios are marvelous and fun, look them up on Google.

The drawback is they have a pretty high learning curve, which you can get help with here but they are also very expensive, the bottom line is that's what's going to work for you in your county and to try to go cheaper you're just rolling the dice.

So Google the sds100 and the sds200, as I say they are beautiful radios.

 

[IndianaJones1234]

I beleive there is a tower at Hammond PD for the Lake Co system. What part of Hambone are you in? Im born and raised there, long departed. The absolute cheapest you MIGHT get way with is the Uniden BCD436 portable orBCD536 if you're lucky. Your proximity to that site may help considerably with simulcast distortion. If you're listening to the feed I think you are, that's an sds200, no distortion.

That’s correct the ap lists its radios as the sds 200….I did get a flag from the Ap today that there was an active situation going on live in Michigan. I did listen to most of the Active shooter situation that happened in Michigan. It was interesting to hear how the Police dealt with such an insane situation and also hearing the police talk about the community there responding. A number of people in that community were calling in suspicious persons and listening I was hoping with every call they received that it would be the shooter they were looking for. They did get the appropriate call and find the shooter who then shot himself. I heard the entire situation. I also heard the police mentioned most of their calls were from concerned parents calling in. I could hear other units volunteering to help and officers asking to stay overtime also I could hear the appreciation from their central dispatch for the officers assisting with that situation.

 

[IndianaJones1234]

View attachment 136365

So Indiana Jones I've taken a look at your system here and you are on a tdma phase ll simulcast system that I am very sure is prone to simulcast distortion. All of the towers that you see in the coverage range within the circle are all transmitting simultaneously whatever your radio is calling for and that causes simulcast distortion.

It also looks like you have police and Sheriff and Fire talk groups that are encrypted meaning no radio can pick them up at all. You do however have plenty of stuff in the clear, this is what you're hearing on the live streaming.

The streaming looks like it's being done with a Uniden sds200 which is a radio that has an SDR chip and is specifically made to receive simulcast distortion clearly. The mobile version is the sds100.

You can try going with a cheaper model that is P2 capable but does not handle simulcast well. Chances are you will be disappointed. It's very dependent on location in and around the towers you see.

There is other stuff to listen to also, like you mentioned aircraft.

The SDS radios are marvelous and fun, look them up on Google.

The drawback is they have a pretty high learning curve, which you can get help with here but they are also very expensive, the bottom line is that's what's going to work for you in your county and to try to go cheaper you're just rolling the dice.

So Google the sds100 and the sds200, as I say they are beautiful radios.

Thank you I appreciate the feedback here.