Analog vs Digital Scanners

[Biohaz]

Hello,
I am considering upgrading from my old analog scanner (UNIDEN BC75XLT) to a newer digital model. With the price difference being so large I need to convince myself. Is it recommended to switch? What model do you recommend? I live in British Columbia Canada and tune into the local fire department and EHS, as well as the air traffic from time to time.

Thanks!
-Kelsey Brown

 

[jwt873]

It all depends whether or not there are digital signals in your area that you might want to listen to.

Radio Reference has a database of stations in BC. RRDB | British Columbia Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Go through the one for your area and see how many digital services there are.. (If it's not FM or FM-N, it's digital.. ie P25, DMR etc).

You can also search the TAFL datbase. Search Canada's TAFL

In the search area select BC and type in your town, municipality, the names of local businesses etc. and see what's around you. In the search results, there is a long number on the right hand column. Click on it and you'll get all the info for that station,. One of the items is the modulation type. It will tell you whether or not it's digital.

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

I live in British Columbia Canada and tune into the local fire department and EHS,

Where specifically in BC? Easier to know specific city so we can get eyes on the database to see who operates where & identify potential pitfalls which may hinder your monitoring efforts: Encryption, simulcast distortion, among other things. Welcome to the RR forums

 

[BC_Scan]

theres a new uniden coming with digital in it , if you live in Lower mainland you would want trunking, if you are living rural , then the only digital might be rental users of radio systems ,
do this do a search of all the channles in a range eg 162-174 and make note of digital or noise coming from given freq
consider a computer dongle first that way you can see if the digital is not encrypted or not
I was surprised last time going thru Kelowna to find an on site DMR that was ENC , Police will be a no listen so thats out of the question
so you can do a few things before you take the plunge,
come back here for more specifics

 

[Biohaz]

Where specifically in BC? Easier to know specific city so we can get eyes on the database to see who operates where & identify potential pitfalls which may hinder your monitoring efforts: Encryption, simulcast distortion, among other things. Welcome to the RR forums

I live in east Chilliwack area, I usually monitor Chilliwack Fire, BCEHS, and local SAR. But I’m pretty sure if I switched to digital I could monitor agencies like Hope and Abbotsford Fire and possibly more.

 

[Biohaz]

theres a new uniden coming with digital in it , if you live in Lower mainland you would want trunking, if you are living rural , then the only digital might be rental users of radio systems ,
do this do a search of all the channles in a range eg 162-174 and make note of digital or noise coming from given freq
consider a computer dongle first that way you can see if the digital is not encrypted or not
I was surprised last time going thru Kelowna to find an on site DMR that was ENC , Police will be a no listen so thats out of the question
so you can do a few things before you take the plunge,
come back here for more specifics

I am on the Fraser Valley, eastern Chilliwack area.

 

[BC_Scan]

Hope right now without digital. Abbotsford, never.

 

[XVCham]

I would stick to analog in Chilliwack area. Maybe learn how to use SDR (costs around $25 CAD) and pick up digital signals if needed.
Not many digital transmissions in Chilliwack except RCMP & Sometimes SAR (RCMP is out of the question, Encrypted so you'll only hear garble). Might be able to pick up E-COMM on digital scanner but both reception will be bad and it'll be mostly encrypted.

With that being said, I've heard some rumors around Chilliwack going on P25 (but probably not E-COMM) and I think there was a post a bit ago about it as well.

SDR would be your cheapest option to invest in and look around for digital stuff