TLMontgomery
Newbie
I need to know what scanner to purchase. I want to listen to our local county, state, game and fish, fire. I been told I have to get one with phase 2. Awin?
I live in Arkansas
I live in Arkansas
Advice on buying
- Thread starter TLMontgomery
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Hi & welcome to the RR forums:
AWIN contains many simulcast cells so I would recommend the Uniden SDS100 or SDS200 to best mitigate the effects of simulcast distortion
AWIN contains many simulcast cells so I would recommend the Uniden SDS100 or SDS200 to best mitigate the effects of simulcast distortion
Magnetsteve
Member
Welcome! I see you have listed Hot Springs as your location. Echoing what John said, you will need something capable of P25 Phase 2 trunking, and simulcast. The SDS100 and 200 are great scanners. I would also highly suggest (even though it is not a "scanner" per se) the Unication G4 if you're just interested in listening to AWIN. I have a G5, its the best piece of radio equipment I have ever owned. I love it. I am local to Hot Springs also, if you decide to go the Unication route, I'd be more than happy to help you get it set up.
ASP, AGF, Garland SO, and all Garland VFD's are all on AWIN. City of Hot Springs is also, with the exception of HSPD who is transitioning to AWIN soon.
ASP, AGF, Garland SO, and all Garland VFD's are all on AWIN. City of Hot Springs is also, with the exception of HSPD who is transitioning to AWIN soon.
TLMontgomery
Newbie
What is the difference in a scanner and the g5 unit. I know awin. Sorry new to this. We did own a very old scanner several years ago. I look up the g5.
If the SDS series is out of your price range (about $650 - $700), you might consider a Uniden BCD325P2 instead. It costs $368 on Amazon as I write this, and you can program it with FreeScan I believe (although I recommend springing the extra $40 for ProScan, much better!). I've used my 325P2 in Hot Springs and I thought that I had pretty good reception, especially off of the Magnet site. Keep in mind that you will probably want to get the DMR upgrade, regardless of which scanner you buy. That's an extra $60 upgrade for any of Uniden's scanners.
Do NOT get a Whistler scanner for use in Hot Springs! I had a TRX-1 and it performed horribly in the Hot Springs area. I sold it.
Do NOT get a Whistler scanner for use in Hot Springs! I had a TRX-1 and it performed horribly in the Hot Springs area. I sold it.
The Unication G5 is a pager, it is not a scanner. You can use it as a quasi scanner but you are limited to scanning a single system at a time which may or may not be a deal breaker for you. That said, the G5 works great within its limitations. With creative programming it can be quite good for monitoring and I have been using one for several years.
Magnetsteve
Member
Like Firemun said, the Unication products are designed to be fire pagers. They are a commercial radio product and are a passive monitor only device. They work like a radio as they will pick the tower with the strongest signal and "lock on" to it, so to speak. With the simulcast sites here in Hot Springs, you really are going to have to go with something capable of it. I have had folks try the BCD996P2 and the simulcast just overloads it and renders it unusable. IF you are just interested in monitoring AWIN traffic, the Unication is a really great way to go. Its small and easy to carry around, rechargeable (VERY good battery capacity even when its busy). The G4, the cheaper option is 7/800mhz only so you'd be limited to listening to only AWIN around here, but like I said, almost every agency is on AWIN now in Garland county. You are more than welcome to PM me also and I'd be glad to explain how I have my G5 set up for monitoring. I am VFD also, so it's dual purpose for me. A few of our guys at the FD have G4's and they absolutely love them. The small size, ruggedness and just overall quality of the G4 and G5 are great. It receives very clearly and is very customizable to your liking. You can scan up to 64 talkgroups in one zone and you can have multiple zones set up on each knob position. The latest firmware does allow you to block (lockout) or hold on a talkgroup if you wish. The software is a little weird to get used to, but once you figure it out, its a breeze.
With the SDS100 or 200 you can receive all bands you might be interested in listening to and you could also listen to the current HSPD old analog system they are still on. Like I said, they are switching to AWIN at some point soon in the future.
tvengr
Well Known Member
I see that there are 2 sites in Garland County. One for Garland Co Simulcast and the other for Hot Springs Simulcast. Unfortunately, the G4 and G5 pagers can scan only 1 site at a time. The SDS100 scanner would give you the ability to scan both sites and is also excellent on simulcast systems.
Magnetsteve
Member
I hear pretty much everything no matter which site I am locked on to, rarely do I miss any traffic. Someone is usually affiliated on both to the stuff I listen to.
tvengr
Well Known Member
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