buying scanner
- Thread starter rcinbama
- Start date
What location are you planning on listening to? I am assuming you are wanting to listen to Public Safety (Police, Fire, etc.) The Radio Reference Database will help you figure out what is out there to listen to and whether you need a trunk tracker scanner or not. Note, anything listed with an "E" in the database is fully encrypted and no scanner can listen to those channels / frequencies.
bearcatrp
Member
Handheld or desktop?
Interesting Google Gemini response (if it is accurate):
I am going to assume he is in Alabama based on the username. According to a note on the database, they went to the state trunk system a few days ago. It appears all law enforcement is encrypted in the county. Fire and EMS is available on the state TRS. St. Clair County, Alabama (AL) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference
That is probably a good guess on their location. It will be interesting to see if you are correct. šš»
So am I.. Riverside where?
Riverside - Wikipedia
Welcome to the RR forums. Specific info goes a long way if you're seeking a scanner recommendation
wtp
Member
and it would help a bit if you added your state to your profile. for future questions.
In lieu of further response from the OP, I'd lean toward agreeing with Kingscup, based on the OP's username:
If your location is indeed St. Clair County, the database page in his response will point you to what is used in your area.
Riverside, AL, has a couple of conventional of Vhf channels listed. However, comments appended to the city indicate that police & fire dispatch is done, by the county, on Alabama's statewide system AIRS. Fire is in the clear, but law enforcement dispatch is flagged as being encrypted. No scanner can decode encrypted transmissions. If, by chance, your city also (at times) uses their conventional channel, you might be able to monitor at least some of the activity in your area.
For the statewide system, the site listed for your county (St. Clair) is flagged as simulcast. Simulcast sites can cause issues with reception, causing distortion that only Uniden's SDS series scanners (SDS100, SDS200, & SDS150) can reliably handle. See this Wiki page for more on simulcast issues. Simulcast is very dependent on location. Your exact location, especially relative to perhaps hills or clusters of taller buildings, can play a large part on whether you do, or do not, have reception problems due to simulcast.
Looking at some of the other towns in St. Clair county, AL, I see see several towns, as well as some county frequencies, that show to be using DMR. If those are of interest, be sure that the scanner you intend to purchase can handle that signal format. For the Uniden SDS series, as well as other Uniden scanners, DMR capability requires a paid upgrade to be able to follow those transmissions.
(I see several posts in the Alabama forum related to St. Clair)
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Regardless of where you live these days, it would, in my opinion, be foolhardy to buy any new scanner that is not capable of following trunked radio systems. Even if this capability is not currently needed to monitor public safety/public services, it very likely will be needed in the foreseeable future. Small cities, counties (and even states) all over the country are joining together to create these area-wide radio systems.
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wtp
Member
yep, law stuff looks to be all encrypted.
unless you want to listen to other stuff.
unless you want to listen to other stuff.
