analog or digital

[tlaw496]

what type of scanner do I need to listen to an analog talkgroup. this is on edacs. I am upgrading my 20 year old scanner and trying to learn about the new systems. Thank You.

 

[bob550]

Welcome aboard! Help us help you by providing your location and the system you want to monitor.

 

[tlaw496]

Orange county ny, EDACS networked standard

 

[bob550]

Well, it would appear that most agencies on the NYCOMCO system are using analog at this time. https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=841 Although, some digital DE (with full-time encryption) is also used. Unless there's a possibility of this system migrating to all-digital in the near future, any analog trunking scanner will work. Since there appears to be some DMR in use elsewhere in the county, you may want to consider a scanner that can be upgraded to include DMR, or one that already has this mode onboard. That said, you may want to check out the New York Forum here: https://forums.radioreference.com/forums/new-york-radio-discussion-forum.53/ and search for Orange County for more information particular to your needs.

 

[tlaw496]

ok, thanks for your help. I just pulled the trigger on a BCT15X. it should work for the agencies that interest me. I do see the digitals but I can live without them. if things change in the future then ill go to plan B.

 

[n5ims]

One thing to think about is that EDACS has been reported to have support ended by the current owner, Harris, during 2017. Now the lack of support from the supplier doesn't mean that the systems will all shut down immediately, but the owners of a system that is no longer supported should be actively looking to migrate to one that currently has support. Support of older systems is important when things start failing (and older equipment has a larger chance of failing) since spare parts is more difficult to get. As more owners migrate from their old EDACS systems, their old equipment may be available for owners of systems that are still in operation so spare parts are out there. One serious issue is that your system may have certain features, firmware, accessories, or software that may not match that used equipment and it's up to the owner to figure it out since the manufacturer is no longer there to support you.

Harris has indicated that their P-25 system is what their unsupported system owners should be thinking about. Since this would be a total rip out the old and replace with the new (except for a few things like feed line, antennas, etc.), it's a good time to think about other brands, if that option is available to the user (e.g. the system's owner isn't locked into a sole source agreement or other such issue).

 

[bob550]

Municipalities are usually adverse to sole source contracts. They don't like that level of commitment. That, and a complete change to a communication system takes years of planning and political haggling. Unless the change is already in progress, the EDACS system should not be going anywhere anytime soon. The good news is that the BCT15X is not so much of an investment that the OP couldn't consider upgrading to a digital-capable scanner in a few more years.

 

[tlaw496]

I'm thinking this scanner wiil give me what I want for now and like you said I didn't have to break the bank
on the BCT15X. In the meantime I can learn more and technology can evolve more so when they do change I can perhaps get the latest and greatest! let me share my story - our old radio shack pro-2044 has been chugging away on the shelf for probably 20 years. we used to have beer parties on Friday night and where most people would listen to music, we listened to the scanner! if you walk down my street in the summer when the windows are open you'll hear the scanner blasting so my wife can hear it in the front room. Apparently last july our local pd moved to edacs and we (sorry to say) didn't even realize it for a couple of months! so now im back on the scanner craze, should be a good thing.

 

[bob550]

just pulled the trigger on a BCT15X.

That's a good choice, and it's generally well thought-of on this forum. Download and install FreeSCAN (FreeSCAN - Sixspot Software) download your choice of frequencies from RR, upload to scanner, and enjoy.