All 3 scanners are they gone nuts

[555BigHorn]

all 3 of my scanners have been working well
i have been recieving dispatch to cars , cars to dispatch
car to car
on both PD and Sherriff i still get texas DOT

but as the first of the month all i hear is Dispatch calling a car then all i get is a aweful chainsaw sounding fax on crack noise
then the dispatch will reply
then the chainsaw buzzing noise

whats going on?

i have a RS handheld that i can program maybe 10 channels
the others are the bc-350a and the beartracker 800 bct7

do i need to upgrade
and if i do if i get the home patrol 1 will i be able to listen again to the cars and everything
or do i need to buy the usb cable and trialsoftware and then buy the full version

was looking at the BCD996xt
or should i just get the HP-1
or maybe the radio shack version

[n4yek]

It's hard to tell what has happened without a sound sample to hear what you describe. By your description, it appears that they decided to encrypt all communications except Dispatch. If that is the case, then getting a new scanner will not help you in any way.

[Paulsan]

It would help to know what systems you are trying to receive. The database should show if encryption is in use.

[n4yek]

Originally Posted by Paulsan

It would help to know what systems you are trying to receive. The database should show if encryption is in use.

He did say it started at the first of the month and being this month is only 7 days old, it might not.

[Russell]

They could have just gone "digital". It would help to know which PD, County or agency is broadcasting.

Russell

[mainetrunk]

Theres a good chance what you hear is in here...I never knew what kind of systems were out there-til I saw / heard stuff like this..Good luck.. W2SJW - Radio Sounds

[555BigHorn]

i have a sample of the sound im getting
if someone would shoot me an email to
warwagon555.ce@gmail.com
and i will reply with it
thanks for the help guys

[555BigHorn]

Heres a link to what im trying to get programmed and what i might need to buy to hear them
Terry County, Texas (TX) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

[Paulsan]

Originally Posted by n4yek

He did say it started at the first of the month and being this month is only 7 days old, it might not.

Very true.

[Russell]

My initial reaction is they probably went to P25 digital (non-trunked) as some of the surrounding counties have done; see Hockley County SO. The license shows wide, narrow and P25. They could still be encrypted though it's not likely.

Russell

[555BigHorn]

I hear hockley cty little buzzn from one or two units
but all the cars are buzzin in terry cty

[JStemann]

^^^Probably p25. A quick check of licenses for terry County shows they are licensed for p25. Might try a local radio shack and see if you can get anything on one of their P25 digital capable scanners.

Jeff.

[AZScanner]

Based on what you describe, it sounds like they are in the process of transitioning to P25 digital. Eventually even dispatch will sound like that "fax on crack" you were describing.

Depending on how handy you are with computers and technical stuff, you might want to head over to the Digital Voice Decoding Software forum here on this site and have a look at what folks like me are doing with RTL SDR dongles (just type that into Amazon.com and you'll see what they are) and a little piece of absolute genius wizardry called DSD for Windows. You might be able to save yourself a few hundred bucks if it'll work for your needs. I just ordered two of these little gizmo's for a whopping $15 a piece. Can't wait to try 'em out.

-AZ

[555BigHorn]

checked out the local Rad Shack
where we got questions they cant answer
only scanners i found were these model numbers
RS 200-0197
RadioShack PRO-197 39,000-Channel Digital Desktop Scanner : Desktop Scanners | RadioShack.com

RS 200-0106
RadioShack PRO-106 39,000-Channel Digital Handheld Scanner : Handheld Scanners | RadioShack.com

so i asked and of course they didnt have a clue asked a manager and him neither
but she could tell me all about the cellphones and covers

from what i read they were the same except that one was for desktop and the other for mobile or handheld use

[AZScanner]

Either one of those should do the trick, but before you spend the $$$ on one of these I would verify with either a RS where they actually know what a scanner is (they still exist, they're just hard to find) or ask a local scanner club/Ham radio shop if the local system is still monitorable. If they are going full time encrypted then there's no need to spend $400+ dollars.

-AZ

[troshs]

Originally Posted by 555BigHorn

checked out the local Rad Shack
where we got questions they cant answer

so i asked and of course they didnt have a clue asked a manager and him neither
but she could tell me all about the cellphones and covers

from what i read they were the same except that one was for desktop and the other for mobile or handheld use

A lot of the times with RS its hit and miss...you have to have the right person at the right time. Personally there was one guy at my local RS who knew everything...I had an old Radioshack PRO-79 (still have it somewhere, my dad just doesn't know where it is) and I had a question about something really complex at the time, he answered it no problem. I think he was an avid listener himself...but he quit his job due to some BS with management...anyways, there has never been another like him there since he left, now its all younger-than-me kids, and its just a job to them. Good thing that I've learned all the basics and even some of the advanced. Anyways, I know I trailed off topic pretty hard, but you're not alone when it comes to RS or any other company.

On another note, and this might seem newbish, but can agencies selectively encrypt certain transmissions at their wish? Like with a simple push of a button?

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

Yes, by flipping a switch on the radio, they can go from clear to encrypted and back. And if a radio has encryption capability, the receive is always on, the transmit is enabled/disabled. This is why you may hear some units clear and some encrypted...

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

talking to each other without any apparant difficulty. Also, depending on how a system is configured, the talkgroup itself may be encrypted, rather than the users deciding to use encryption or not. And, IIRC, some talkgroups may not be configured to...

[KB7MIB]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux i686; U; en-US) Gecko/20081217 Vision-Browser/8.1 301x200 LG VN530)

pass encryption, meaning the users can't enable encryption while on that talkgroup.

[hiegtx]

Originally Posted by 555BigHorn

checked out the local Rad Shack
where we got questions they cant answer
only scanners i found were these model numbers
RS 200-0197
RadioShack PRO-197 39,000-Channel Digital Desktop Scanner : Desktop Scanners | RadioShack.com

RS 200-0106
RadioShack PRO-106 39,000-Channel Digital Handheld Scanner : Handheld Scanners | RadioShack.com

so i asked and of course they didnt have a clue asked a manager and him neither
but she could tell me all about the cellphones and covers

from what i read they were the same except that one was for desktop and the other for mobile or handheld use

Radio Shack also has the Uniden BCD396XT (handheld) on sale (ends today, 02/09, but there is free ground shipping on the website) for $399.99, slightly less than the Pro-106 or Pro-197. Plus, it comes with everything you need, and you can use FreeSCAN for programming.

If your pc does not have a serial port (that's the type of cable that comes with the 396XT), then see this Wiki page.

For the Pro-106 or Pro-197, if you want to use software for programming (they can be programmed without it, but there are advantages to software), you would need to also purchase the cable, about $30 or so. Software for these two scanners is discussed here.