BC246T in Nashville TN... problem?

[Brucedude]

I'm a bit new to scanning, so patience please.

I've got a new Uniden 246T, and have programed several channels for the Nashville Metro PD. All I'm getting from the scanner is garbled noise. It scans and locks in on a channel, but just noise, no voices.

I did a search on this forum tonight, and if what I'm reading is correct, I may not be able to use this scanner because Nashville is on a 3600 baud system? According to what I found on this site, Nashville is Motorola Type II Smartzone, Analog and APCO-25 Common Air Interface... Is the 246 able to work with this? I'm completely confused, as I thought Nashville was a trunked system, and this scanner would work with it. Can someone take a quick moment and explain what's going on?

If indeed it won't work, then I've got a brand new scanner for sale if anyone's interested. Many thanks for your help.

[cnw3859]

Looks like the Nashville trunk system is digital. The BC246T won't work with digital trunking.

I think, right now, the cheapest digital scanner is the Radio Shack Pro-96, on sale for $399.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...entPage=family

[hiegtx]

The Nashville/Davidson County system is mixed mode. Some talk groups are analog (labeled as 'A' in the "Mode" column in the database), but most are digital. Those are labeled with a "D", and include virtually all of the public safety talkgroups. Your 246 could monitor the analog groups, but not the digital ones.

Goodlettsville, in Davidson County, shows to be analog, & could be monitored with the 246.

Someone in the Tennessee regional forum could advise you how much other analog trunked & conventional traffic there is in the Nashville metro area. But if your main interest is Nashville itself, then you will need to look into upgrading to a digital scanner. Handhelds Pro-96 (Radio Shack) or BCD396T (Uniden). The Uniden BCD296 would also work, but is a discontinued model; it's still available at some dealers.

All of these scanners appear from time to time in the for sale forum here, as well as on EBay & on other sites.

[stewart00311]

That is correct if your primary listening will be the Nash PD/Fire then you will need a digital capable scanner. The only TG's (talkgroups) that are analog on the system of interest is the Emergency Management.
Vandy is analog, State bldg Mgmt is analog, and some of the surrounding counties are analog.


The biggest thing to think about also when buying a new digital scanner is to make sure the firmware can also be flashed as there will be changes happening to some systems in the next couple of years on a transition in spacing.

The wiki is a good place to look at the different brands and shows plenty of info on them for you as well.

Good luck and enjoy the hobby.

J. Stewart
Smyrna, Tn