Best scanner for Rockland?

[Winterlily]

Hi - I'm brand new to the forum and to scanning. I've become addicted to listening to the PD and EMS on "Broadcastify" but the PD/EMS has been offline for some days now. I understand from searching here that it's because they've moved to a new system. So, time for me to buy a scanner! My question is this: Do you have any suggestions as to what scanner would be the best for a newbie like me who doesn't want - or need - to spend huge amounts of money? Don't need a billion features, just want to be able to hear the Rockland PDs and EMS etc again. Any guidance is much appreciated. Thanks ahead of time!

 

[nyscan]

Hi - I'm brand new to the forum and to scanning. I've become addicted to listening to the PD and EMS on "Broadcastify" but the PD/EMS has been offline for some days now. I understand from searching here that it's because they've moved to a new system. So, time for me to buy a scanner! My question is this: Do you have any suggestions as to what scanner would be the best for a newbie like me who doesn't want - or need - to spend huge amounts of money? Don't need a billion features, just want to be able to hear the Rockland PDs and EMS etc again. Any guidance is much appreciated. Thanks ahead of time!

Unfortunately monitoring the new system doesn't come cheap. The only available scanners that will do the job are the new Unidens- the BCD536HP and the BCD436HP. They will run you in the $500 to $600- range. Sorry to break the bad news.

 

[Winterlily]

That's what I was afraid of. I have looked (online) at the BCD436HP but was hoping there were some that I did not know about that were simpler (read: cheaper).
Will the BCD436HP allow me to hear both sides of the conversations (as in, dispatcher *and* officer/paramedic?) When I was listening to Broadcastify, I seemed to only be able to hear the dispatcher and maybe the officer acknowledging the call. That's it. Seemed like there was a bunch missing.

Thanks so much again.

 

[svfd17]

Yeah, those would be your only options. Welcome and greetings from Spring Valley!

Sent from a rotary phone

 

[Winterlily]

Thanks guys. I guess the new Unidens are too new to hope to find a lower cost used one at this point, yes?
(And thanks for the greetings from Spring Valley! Was just there today!)

 

[Thunderknight]

If you do purchase one, please consider starting an online feed of your own.

 

[svfd17]

If you do purchase one, please consider starting an online feed of your own.

+1

Sent from a rotary phone

 

[K2KOH]

Just so you know, I drove through Rockland with both a 436 and a 536. The 436 is worth the money...it works quite well on the Rockland Phase II system.

 

[Winterlily]

Good to know - thanks!

 

[KC2zZe]

Just so you know, I drove through Rockland with both a 436 and a 536. The 436 is worth the money...it works quite well on the Rockland Phase II system.

N2MWE, I noticed you didn't complement the 536. Are they that bad? I've been hearing all kinds of reports and rumors, but none direct from an owner. I've been postponing the purchase based on all the complaints, but I don't know how long I can keep jonesing... Give me the scoop... Should I wait or should I plunge in a hope for firmware upgrades to fix what's wrong?

 

[APX8000]

My GRECOM PSR-800 performs quite well on Rockland's system as well. I knocked the DSP Level Adapt down to 16 from the factory 64 and I've shown marked improvement on multiple Phase I and II systems.

They can be found on eBay and the like....

KC2zZe...I can't take the plunge to the new Uniden scanners either even though they are using the new AMBE+2 vocoder vs the older IMBE in the PSR. I don't think a firmware update is going to fix how they recover digital signals and the problems it causes with LSM. I'm told the new Whistler 1095 (soon to be released/PSR-900 never released clone) will "most likely" have the new AMBE+2 as well. Considering how well my PSR-800 performs, add the new vocoder and a detachable face...I'll wait and see what Whistler comes out with before I drop 6 bills.

 

[MFR230]

I've been using the 436 for about 3 months and love it..but I'm still trying to figure out all the bells and whistles


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[svfd17]

I'm hoping by the end of the summer I will have something to monitor the new system with and hopefully be able to host a live feed.

Sent from a rotary phone

 

[K2KOH]

N2MWE, I noticed you didn't complement the 536. Are they that bad? I've been hearing all kinds of reports and rumors, but none direct from an owner. I've been postponing the purchase based on all the complaints, but I don't know how long I can keep jonesing... Give me the scoop... Should I wait or should I plunge in a hope for firmware upgrades to fix what's wrong?

My bad. I have a YouTube video up of my 536 monitoring Rockland. Does a great job. Handles the simulcasting just fine.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk