Travis County GATRRS New Scanner Advice Please

[mbattles]

I currently have a Uniden BCD996XT that I have not used for about 3 years. I live in Pflugerville and their PD and FD is all I really care about listening to other than maybe nearby TCSO and APD sectors. I went to use my scanner today and it was dead quiet. I am a serious novice when it comes to scanners and it took me a lot to set this scanner up once things went trunked digital. I realized that GATRRS is now Project 25 Phase II, which as far as I know my scanner does not support. I hear things about simulcast and I am not sure if that applies to what I want to listen to. If I want to buy a new scanner to be able to listen to what I want here, what do I need to look at? Is a BCD996P2 sufficient? Please reply in newbie terminology because I am not a serious scanner knowledgeable in all terms and the new technology. Thanks!

 

[rattlerbb01]

If it worked before, it should still work with the new frequencies for Simulcast 7. Change the frequencies to Simulcast 7 from this LINK

 

[mbattles]

If it worked before, it should still work with the new frequencies for Simulcast 7. Change the frequencies to Simulcast 7 from this LINK

I did try that when I saw the frequencies had changed from what I had, but I will double check things tomorrow. I thought I read somewhere that my scanner didn’t support P25 Phase 2. I surely am not looking to buy a new scanner if I don’t need to so thanks.

 

[hiegtx]

I currently have a Uniden BCD996XT that I have not used for about 3 years. I live in Pflugerville and their PD and FD is all I really care about listening to other than maybe nearby TCSO and APD sectors. I went to use my scanner today and it was dead quiet. I am a serious novice when it comes to scanners and it took me a lot to set this scanner up once things went trunked digital. I realized that GATRRS is now Project 25 Phase II, which as far as I know my scanner does not support. I hear things about simulcast and I am not sure if that applies to what I want to listen to. If I want to buy a new scanner to be able to listen to what I want here, what do I need to look at? Is a BCD996P2 sufficient? Please reply in newbie terminology because I am not a serious scanner knowledgeable in all terms and the new technology. Thanks!

The GATRRS system is listed as P25 Phase II. In simpler terms, it is capable of using P25 Phase II, though at this time, the talkgroups in use in the Austin/Travis County area, including Pflugerville, are still using Phase I, which your current scanner (996XT) can handle. As rattler has suggested, program the frequencies for Simulcast 7 & see if you can receive it. The unknown factor here, is that the site is simulcast, which can play hob with scanners other than Uniden's SDS series. If you can hear that site without problems, great. Eventually, look for those talkgroups to transition to Phase II, but until they do, if your scanner can receive that site, you can use what you have, without buying a new scanner.

This page in the Wiki will give you a description of the issues Simulcast causes.

Simulcast Distortion - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

There are some additional sites, other than Simulcast 7, in Travis County, that you might be able to receive. But these alternate sites are more for fill-in, and would not be carrying all of the system activity in your county.

I would also note that some of the talkgroups on the system are part Broadcastify Calls Those talkgroups are shown in blue, bold, to stand out. Here's a few examples:


You can click on one of those talkgroups & listen to it through Broadcastify.

 

[mbattles]

I really appreciate the responses so far as they are very helpful!

 

[hiegtx]

I did try that when I saw the frequencies had changed from what I had, but I will double check things tomorrow. I thought I read somewhere that my scanner didn’t support P25 Phase 2. I surely am not looking to buy a new scanner if I don’t need to so thanks.

Your scanner does not support P25 Phase II talkgroups. But that does not mean it can't handle the control channel itself. If you flip through various trunked systems in the database, you will find quite a few, not just GATRRS, that are typed as Phase II, even though most, if not all, the talkgroups in use are still Phase I. A TGID with a D in the mode column, is Phase I. If, instead, the mode column shows a T, then that TGID is Phase II.