7 digit frequency??

[Nighttripper]

My wife got me a Radio Shack Pro 405 scanner. I live in the sticks of Illinois and want to hear the local Police/Fire/Ambulance calls. The local fire uses a freq of 154.4075 The scanner refuses to accept this.

Media Stronghurst Terra Haute Fire Protection District
Henderson County, Illinois (IL) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

What am I doing wrong??

Night

 

[bezking]

Moved to the RadioShack forum.

 

[N8IAA]

My wife got me a Radio Shack Pro 405 scanner. I live in the sticks of Illinois and want to hear the local Police/Fire/Ambulance calls. The local fire uses a freq of 154.4075 The scanner refuses to accept this.Media Stronghurst Terra Haute Fire Protection DistrictHenderson County, Illinois (IL) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency ReferenceWhat am I doing wrong??Night

Well, the step size shows in the RR Wiki for that radio, but. check your manual for what the step size is in that frequency range. It should be in the back of the manual under specifications. Next best thing is to program the frequency as: 154.410. It won't be 'right-on' frequency, but, you will hear them without a problem
Larry

 

[Nighttripper]

Thank You
Night

 

[N1BHH]

By "refuses to accept" do you mean the scanner does not show that frequency, but an adjacent frequency? Being close enough at VHF and UHF doesn't matter, it is within .0005 and should work fine. I don't believe that radio is amongst the most recent models which will show you the exact frequency. The frequency displayed may only be 6 digits and this will not be a problem. You don't need to worry about adjacent frequency clutter (a nearby user on an adjacent frequency won't interfere) because there just aren't any users that close in frequency.

 

[Nighttripper]

150.8-161.995 MHz (5kHz steps)FM

The scannner shows XXX.XXXx for the freq but the x always = 0

Night

 

[ColonelMike]

This frequency is narrowband. Sounds like your scanner may be older and therefore will not technically accept the narrowband frequency (except as everyone has listed above). In 2012-2013, all public service agencies will be required to transition to narrowband if they are in VHF.

 

[N8IAA]

This frequency is narrowband. Sounds like your scanner may be older and therefore will not technically accept the narrowband frequency (except as everyone has listed above). In 2012-2013, all public service agencies will be required to transition to narrowband if they are in VHF.

No, his Pro-405 is a newer, very basic scanner. It has fixed steps for different portions of the VHF band. The fact that the transition is still 2-3 years down the road won't make his scanner unuseable. The only way it will be bothersome, is if there is a channel set up to operate within 5Khz of the 154.410. Not likely to happen, since that would interfere with the narrow band channel. Then a purchase of a scanner that does the frequency steps will be needed. The Pro-163 base/mobile scanner is one of these. It even gives you alphatags for the frequencies.
HTH.
Larry

 

[Nighttripper]

In three years this scanner will not be able to keep up? Should I switch it for a Pro-163?

Night

 

[N8IAA]

In three years this scanner will not be able to keep up? Should I switch it for a Pro-163?

Night

I sure would. It is ten times the scanner you currently have. I can attest to that
Larry

 

[Nighttripper]

Why does it say with in 1000 ft? Is that all it will get with out an ext antenna? (pro-163)

 

[ibagli]

That only applies to the "signal stalker" feature, which is designed to only bring in nearby signals.

 

[ColonelMike]

No, his Pro-405 is a newer, very basic scanner. It has fixed steps for different portions of the VHF band. The fact that the transition is still 2-3 years down the road won't make his scanner unuseable. The only way it will be bothersome, is if there is a channel set up to operate within 5Khz of the 154.410. Not likely to happen, since that would interfere with the narrow band channel. Then a purchase of a scanner that does the frequency steps will be needed. The Pro-163 base/mobile scanner is one of these. It even gives you alphatags for the frequencies.
HTH.
Larry

I never said it would make it unuseable in my reply. I was,however, incorrect on it being an older scanner. But this scanner is obviously not designed for the new narrowband requirements or you would be able to input the frequencies that are narrowband. As others have told him above and I agreed to, you can put a very close frequency and you will be able to listen. But with narrowband, the signals are more narrow and in radio equipment, signals are sometimes missed if you don't properly identify them as narrowband in the radio programming. I know this from dealing with our radio equipment and our recent switch to narrowband. Some were programmed with the right frequencies but missed certain transmissions and were not transmitting well due to still being listed as wide in the programming. I know a scanner is a different animal and just designed for receiving and with this specific scanner there are no PL's to worry about but I would think the reception would be less than spectacular unless within a good range of the repeater.

Additionally, this may be some help:
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DA-09-2589A1.pdf

 

[KC5EIB]

This frequency is narrowband.

Correct

Sounds like your scanner may be older and therefore will not technically accept the narrowband frequency (except as everyone has listed above).

While the scanner will not accept the frequency, it selects the next closest one. The receiver bandwith is wide enough that the operator will be able to hear the transmissions with no problems.

In 2012-2013, all public service agencies will be required to transition to narrowband if they are in VHF.

Not a problem for the scanner user until they start assigning local frequencies on adjacent channels which will be sometime in the future. The requirement is for transmiting narrow band, not receiving,

 

[Nighttripper]

OK I returned the 405 and picked up the 163. And the programming cable. What is a good scanner software to use in setting up this scanner?

Night

 

[Nighttripper]

Also while I'm at it. I need a good rooftop antenna.

Night

 

[ka3jjz]

OK I returned the 405 and picked up the 163. And the programming cable. What is a good scanner software to use in setting up this scanner?

Night

See this article...

PSR-300/400 Software and USB Support - The RadioReference Wiki

Be sure to subscribe if you plan to download data from the database. Just float your mouse over About in the blue toolbar under the Scanner Master logo and select the topic.

73 Mike

 

[Nighttripper]

So I have to buy the programming software and then I have to buy the data base? Does no one roll this into one package?

Night

 

[CStarr59]

I would suggest Win97 and ARC300 as software for your new Pro-163. Sorry can't help you with the roof top antenna, but im sure someone on RR will help you out.

 

[ka3jjz]

So I have to buy the programming software and then I have to buy the data base? Does no one roll this into one package?

Night

You are not 'buying a database' - just a subscription, not unlike a magazine subscription.

While there are scanners that carry a copy of the database in memory, keep in mind that stuff changes - the more time goes by, the more changes are needed to keep everything in sync (and we haven't even mentioned rebanding yet).

You don't need to buy a whole year, as I recall. 6 months is USD15. Cheap at half the price. 73 Mike