A question about digital scanning??

[sweetthing148]

If your area you are scanning doesn't have digital yet, can you still use a digital scanner and pick up the police activity? Stupid question, but still new with this scanner thing. I want to buy a digital scanner but Indy is still on trunking and I don't want to buy a digital if I won't be able to pick up. Pro 2096 is what I am looking to buy, but I can get a good deal on a pro 2052 but it is just trunking. Guy at radio shack told me digital wouldn't work in this area, is he correct?

 

[rdale]

He is incorrect. But it makes sense to buy a digital scanner since Indy is supposed to be upgrading in the next few years...

 

[sweetthing148]

Thank you so much!!

 

[ofd8001]

Can't go wrong with digital, but broke

If your area you are scanning doesn't have digital yet, can you still use a digital scanner and pick up the police activity? Stupid question, but still new with this scanner thing. I want to buy a digital scanner but Indy is still on trunking and I don't want to buy a digital if I won't be able to pick up. Pro 2096 is what I am looking to buy, but I can get a good deal on a pro 2052 but it is just trunking. Guy at radio shack told me digital wouldn't work in this area, is he correct?

A digital scanner will receive everything except encrypted (security scrambled), and no scanner can receive encrypted.

However, a non-digital scanner, called "conventional" picks up only "analog" which is used a lot, but eventually will go the way that VHS video tapes went when DVDs came around.

If you are really in to scanning and plan to travel with it, you could be going into an area that does use digital, so you could hear them if you got the digital version.

The downside is digital scanners are pricey. But so were DVD players when they first came around.

 

[Llwellyn]

Other statements above being true, there is also a tremendous amount of SAFE-T activity you could listen to if you bought the digital vs. analog... especially if you're in the Indy area or you travel with your scanner (ensure compliance with all applicable laws).