Recommend portable $200-$250 looking to monitor Public Service

[giguchan]

Hey Gang,
I have a buddy who asked me(NO, really) if i could recommend a Uniden Portable Unit. We're on LI NY and primarily interested in Public service- SCPD, Fire,EMS.
I've been monitoring for ages now but to tell you the truth i don't know too much about Portable's. The last Portable i had took Xtals and had the name "realistic" on it!. Looking at some of the prices I don't think i will find what we're looking for in my price range. I guess it dosen't have to be a Uniden model. The requirements should include the unit being Digital,havingTrunking capability,and be able to deal with the SCPD system.I think everything else should fall in step.

Any Help would be fine Thanks.

 

[m16clubs]

Hey Giguchan!
I too was in the same boat a while back looking for a cheap portable for digital systems and was able to conclude that the Radioshack Pro-668 is the best bet. I for one didn't go this route and just saved up for the BCD325P2 which was way better for me! I will say you're gonna have to ask your buddy to stretch his budget by about $30-$50 in order to purchase this scanner, be mindful though that the SCPD system is simulcast, though the scanner can pick up the digital signal the simulcast will cause distortion as the only scanner at this time on 5/9/2022 is the Uniden SDS100 & SDS200 that can fix the simulcast situation.
The Pro-668 will almost about always run on eBay for $260-$300 depending on what the seller includes here are some links I found currently to get ya started.
General info about the Pro-668: Pro-668 - The RadioReference Wiki
The best listing I could find on eBay with an antenna perfect for the SCPD system: RadioShack PRO-668 Digital Trunking Scanner With Whistler 1080 DMR Upgrade. | eBay

 

[thunderr10]

If you are talking about Suffolk County, you will need a P25 Phase II compatible scanner. You might try Ebay, as I don't believe you will find a brand new P25 phase 2 scanner in that price range. Note that they use a simulcast system which can be a little tricky with reception on a P25 scanner that wasn't designed particularly for that. Not impossible to listen to, but distance to towers and scanner placement plays a big part with those type of systems.

 

[trentbob]

Long Island is a big place but you did mention Suffolk County Police. I guess you know that Nassau police are encrypted.

I know Suffolk County pretty well and I'm not even going to look up the systems in the database. Even used you are going to have a hard time finding a radio for 200 or $250 that's going to serve your needs.

Because Suffolk County Police will eventually be all p25 Phase ll you want to avoid Whistler radios so you really only have a choice of Uniden.

I am in the Philly area but I went to School on Long Island and lived there about 15 years before moving back to Philly. I lived in Roslyn, Westbury, West Islip, Kings Park and Hauppauge. The Radio Shack realistic Scanner with the crystals was for the old VHF High repeater system for Suffolk County Police and the Vhf low fire.

So if you monitor Long Island you know that it's in transition from the old type ll smartzone system which is simulcasted on the new p25 Phase ll system which will eventually replace the old system. Other services like fire and EMS and Village Police are still a mish-mosh of VHF high and UHF. The East End like the Hamptons and such are VHF HI and I think there's some p25 systems popping up. Last time I listened to the East End they were all on 39.xx Lo band.

I don't know what radio you use now but as you pointed out, you wouldn't even be able to get a used radio for that price range.

Don't know what kind of simulcast problems you encounter with the p25 phase ll system, you know best. You might get by with the BCD436 which is kind of long in the tooth now and may have issues with simulcast on the P2 system.

The radio that you would really want is the sds100. It's way out of your price range but you would future-proof yourself once the County Police goes over to the P2 system. The sds100 is specifically made to handle simulcast distortion secondary to LSM that you will find on a p2 system.

 

[giguchan]

If you are talking about Suffolk County, you will need a P25 Phase II compatible scanner. You might try Ebay, as I don't believe you will find a brand new P25 phase 2 scanner in that price range. Note that they use a simulcast system which can be a little tricky with reception on a P25 scanner that wasn't designed particularly for that. Not impossible to listen to, but distance to towers and scanner placement plays a big part with those type of systems.

Thank you for the reply.
I had an idea that finding something in that price range might be a bit challenging.I really meant that i was looking for a buddy. Thats what he want's to spend.I'll mention to him that he will have to spend a bit more to get what he wants.We have both had Uniden radios in the past- so that brand we both trust.Might you have a model that you think might do the job? and yes.. i was talking about Suffolk County.
Thank you.

 

[thunderr10]

I'll have to go along with what trentbob said. The whole reply. .....Sorry, just replace "you" with "your buddy" in my post. The lowest price for a Uniden Phase 2 scanner will be for the BCD325P2. It's not the best for simulcast, but could work.

 

[trentbob]

Yeah I forgot about that ... I meant your buddy too.

 

[trentbob]

m16clubes... your post just popped up because it's only your fourth post and you are still being moderated.

Unfortunately the Radio Shack Pro 668 is the psr-800 made by GRE who made scanners for RadioShack for a long time. GRE went out of business and Whistler radio bought them Lock Stock & Barrel. Whistler never made a radio of their own but just made cosmetic changes like keyboards and added firmware updates to increase options like P2 capability. They do not work well on P2. As soon as Suffolk County would go over to the new system exclusively that radio would be a doorstop.

Original poster, your buddy definitely wants to stay away from GRE, RadioShack and Whistler radios if dealing with simulcast distortion secondary to LSM on a phase ll system.

As mentioned a Uniden P2 capable scanner will probably be susceptible to simulcast distortion depending on location.

As far as Uniden scanners your only portable that's going to work properly on the P2 system consistently is the sds100. You could check on the state forum to see if people have any luck with non simulcast capable Uniden P2 scanners.

A lot of counties now are going over to phase ll systems, I know in my area of Pennsylvania all the surrounding counties except for the city of Philadelphia who doesn't have the money went to P2. Unfortunately they all went encrypted.

I have no idea what Suffolk County intentions are, maybe some Insiders on the state forum have got a better idea. I do know that Nassau County is encrypted.

 

[ten13]

You better tell your friend that, no matter what radio he gets for the P25 II, he's not going to be able to take it out of the box and turn it on. Availability of someone (preferably a close friend) to program it for him will be necessary, if not mandatory.

And the programming is not like just opening the back of the radio and putting a crystal in. If it's done right for that particular geographical area, he'll need a computer (and the working knowledge of same), a paid subscription to Radio Reference, time on his hands because it may take awhile to do it, then do further programming and dabbling in things like "filters" "volume offsets," and "favorites" as time goes on.

There's been a few used 100s and 200s on eBay for sale by those who gave up on trying to get those radios the way they want them.....but most certainly not at any financial loss on their part. Sometimes making a profit.

 

[thunderr10]

m16clubes... your post just popped up because it's only your fourth post and you are still being moderated.

Unfortunately the Radio Shack Pro 668 is the psr-800 made by GRE who made scanners for RadioShack for a long time. GRE went out of business and Whistler radio bought them Lock Stock & Barrel. Whistler never made a radio of their own but just made cosmetic changes like keyboards and added firmware updates to increase options like P2 capability. They do not work well on P2. As soon as Suffolk County would go over to the new system exclusively that radio would be a doorstop.

Original poster, your buddy definitely wants to stay away from GRE, RadioShack and Whistler radios if dealing with simulcast distortion secondary to LSM on a phase ll system.

As mentioned a Uniden P2 capable scanner will probably be susceptible to simulcast distortion depending on location.

As far as Uniden scanners your only portable that's going to work properly on the P2 system consistently is the sds100. You could check on the state forum to see if people have any luck with non simulcast capable Uniden P2 scanners.

A lot of counties now are going over to phase ll systems, I know in my area of Pennsylvania all the surrounding counties except for the city of Philadelphia who doesn't have the money went to P2. Unfortunately they all went encrypted.

I have no idea what Suffolk County intentions are, maybe some Insiders on the state forum have got a better idea. I do know that Nassau County is encrypted.

Chester County is unencrypted, except for a few DA and Tactical channels, and Lancaster County's fire is unencrypted. Same with Berks, Bucks and Montgomery County. Philadelphia is using Phase I and is partially encrypted.

 

[trentbob]

Chester County is unencrypted, except for a few DA and Tactical channels, and Lancaster County's fire is unencrypted. Same with Berks, Bucks and Montgomery County. Philadelphia is using Phase I and is partially encrypted.

Yep LOL, I monitor the area for 55 plus years. I live in Bucks County and fire is in the clear but EMS now is selectively encrypted on the hospital notification talk groups. My main concern is all the police is encrypted in the counties you mentioned.

Philadelphia was supposed to go P2 a decade ago but they just can't afford it. Also Burlington County in New Jersey right across the river from Bucks the police are now encrypted. Much of Jersey now is encrypted including Trenton where I worked and retired from The Trentonian newspaper as an editor.

This is all my romping ground you're talking about, I lived on Long Island for about 15 years but then came back home. I lived on Long Island from 1971 when I graduated from high school and earned my undergraduate and graduate degree on Long Island and then lived there till about 1986 before moving back to Bucks County.

 

[KMG54]

If he is computer savvy, A realtec dongle and DSD+Fastlane will work fine. Just saying and will be under a hundred bucks.

 

[trentbob]

If he is computer savvy, A realtec dongle and DSD+Fastlane will work fine. Just saying and will be under a hundred bucks.

Financially that works but his buddy is looking for a portable.

 

[KMG54]

I run a 300 buck windows 10 tablet with dsd+ fastlane with no problems portable. Had to spend more on the tablet to get to a I5 that could handle it.

 

[trentbob]

I run a 300 buck windows 10 tablet with dsd+ fastlane with no problems portable. Had to spend more on the tablet to get to a I5 that could handle it.

Yep sounds good... The original poster hasn't been back and he never acknowledged or responded or reacted to me and I was able to provide some valuable information so I'm not sure he is still following the thread.

 

[giguchan]

Sorry for the late reply guys.
Thanks for all of the information and replies. I know for myself when the time comes i know what to purchase.I my self are not really into portable units - for me i would just rather get a Mobile unit wire it in and go from there... Being careful to adhere to all local laws and whatever.
This information will be passed on...i'll even see if i can get him on here!
Thanks!