Can I monitor Lakewood, OH with this scanner?

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phhatcat

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Hi all,

Complete newbie here. I apologize in advance if this is not the proper area to post this question in. However, I am looking into buying my first scanner after a month or so of lurking here on Radio Reference and Broadcastify. I have a few questions regarding the Uniden Handheld TrunkTracker IV BCD396XT.

1. I am interested in monitoring police and fire in the Cleveland area, particularly Lakewood, Ohio. I know Lakewood has fairly recently gone digital with their frequencies. Will this scanner be able to monitor Lakewood police and fire?

2. Will I still be able to pick up nearby analog frequencies with this scanner, such as Rocky River?

3. Does anyone have any personal experience with this scanner regarding the difficulty of programming?

Thanks in advance.
 

SCPD

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1. Yes.

2. Yes except they are digital also.

3. Yes. Lots of people. Not me though :)

Checkout the Ohio forum and the MARCS II and GCRCN threads and the RRDB.
 

OHIOSCAN

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You might look at the newer 436 from Uniden, the cost difference is minimal and the 436 has extra features along with access to the database so programming and setup is minimal. Both will work fine on current systems in your area. The 436 will also work with newer modes not yet in use around here. Stay away from the 536 it has some issues.
 

phhatcat

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Thanks again for your replies. Due to budget concerns, I had to go ahead and purchase the Uniden HP1. I am having difficulty monitoring two agencies. They are Lakewood Police/fire and Cleveland Police First District. I have confirmed that:

1. My firmware is up-to-date.
2. I am well within range of the desired signals.
3. The signals are active.

Lakewood Police/Fire does not seem to be in the database for this model, as it does not appear in Sentinel or on the HP1 itself. I have tried entering the frequency (853.31250) manually into the HP1 via the advanced options menu to no avail. CPD 1st District is in the database, but no transmissions ever come through.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks again.
 

pinballwiz86

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Thanks again for your replies. Due to budget concerns, I had to go ahead and purchase the Uniden HP1. I am having difficulty monitoring two agencies. They are Lakewood Police/fire and Cleveland Police First District. I have confirmed that:

1. My firmware is up-to-date.
2. I am well within range of the desired signals.
3. The signals are active.

Lakewood Police/Fire does not seem to be in the database for this model, as it does not appear in Sentinel or on the HP1 itself. I have tried entering the frequency (853.31250) manually into the HP1 via the advanced options menu to no avail. CPD 1st District is in the database, but no transmissions ever come through.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks again.

That sucks..I wish I could help more but I don't own a HP. Can you update the database, not firmware, on a computer? Also, check that you don't have the GPS on. It might be locking out Lakewood/Cleveland.

If all else fails..sell the HP1 and get a BCD396XT. You can program it by hand so you'll know it'll work.
 

phhatcat

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Thanks for your help everyone. After hours of frustration I finally figured out the problem. Apparently, the Ohio MARCS-IP system's repeater that's located nearest to Lakewood is not in Uniden's system or something. In order for Uniden to program it in for me, I have to send it back to them for a fee of $60. I have decided I'm going to send the HP-1 back to Amazon. Does anyone have any suggestions on a replacement that could pick up Lakewood in Lakewood? I don't mind if a bit of programming if needs be. Thanks again.
 

Jay911

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That sounds like it just needs to be submitted to the RadioReference database. Once that's done, it would be downloadable into your HP1 the next Monday. Definitely not requiring returning to anyone nor a $60 charge.

Also, there's no need to trade the HP1 in for a 396 "so you can program it directly". You can do that with the HP1 just as easily.
 
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phhatcat

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Thanks for your response. I'd love to be able to submit it to Radio Reference , I just don't know what the issue is with the repeater. The guy at RadioShack told me that there is currently no Uniden scanner that I can buy off the shelf that will monitor Lakewood, that it will have to go back to the manufacturer for the upgrade. Is this true? I found it odd that I could monitor Lakewood in Brooklyn Heights (12 miles away) and not less than a mile from the transmitter.
 

Jay911

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Thanks for your response. I'd love to be able to submit it to Radio Reference , I just don't know what the issue is with the repeater. The guy at RadioShack told me that there is currently no Uniden scanner that I can buy off the shelf that will monitor Lakewood, that it will have to go back to the manufacturer for the upgrade. Is this true? I found it odd that I could monitor Lakewood in Brooklyn Heights (12 miles away) and not less than a mile from the transmitter.

First of all, throw out any information a RadioShack employee has ever told you. They are less than useless. One once told me I could receive my local police if he sold me a new digital cellphone and hooked it up to my scanner.

Are you absolutely sure it's 853.3125 you need to be listening to? Or is that the frequency you used to hear them on, from another location or before they moved to digital?

Ohio's MARCS-IP system shows a single 700MHz simulcast site for Cuyahoga County. The simulcast part may give you some trouble, but first, what zip code are you putting in to the HP1? If we can figure out where the radio thinks it is, we can figure out if you can hear that city/county/site from there.
 

phhatcat

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I got the 853 MHZ frequency from the Westshore Region database that lists Lakewood's callsign as WNXW517. I looked under the Ohio MARCS IP database here on RR and found that Lakewood's DEC for the new MARCS system is apparently 13570, but I can't find an actual frequency for this.
 

phhatcat

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I'm putting in Lakewood's zip code (44107) as my location in the HP1. Sorry for a double post.
 

Jay911

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That frequency shows in the RR database as the mobile data terminal frequency. You don't really want that.

You have to put in your own zip code, where the radio is. Putting in Lakewood's zip makes the radio try to pick up towers/signals that are in Lakewood. That might seem logical, but the way trunking works, there is a tower closer to you that will receive the signals. Try your zip before giving up.
 

phhatcat

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Tried my actual zip, no avail. Comparing Broadcastify to the HP and nothing from the HP. This is disappointing to say the least. I really should get it back to Amazon before it's no longer returnable. Looks like it may have to go back. I'm thinking of replacing it with a BCD396XT. Would this be any better or likely produce the same results?
 

Jay911

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Without knowing more about where exactly you are, ad where the person streaming to Broadcastify is, I can't say one way or the other. But any scanner is going to work pretty much the same, if the signal and location is identical. The 396 and the HP1 will surely behave the same way.

There are many other variables like what service types do you have enabled, what range setting do you have configured, etc. Returning the radio will not help the situation - exchanging it for a different one will most likely do nothing either.
 

jasonhouk

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Tried my actual zip, no avail. Comparing Broadcastify to the HP and nothing from the HP. This is disappointing to say the least. I really should get it back to Amazon before it's no longer returnable. Looks like it may have to go back. I'm thinking of replacing it with a BCD396XT. Would this be any

I created a HPE file you can load into the HP1.
 

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phhatcat

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Tried my actual zip, no avail. Comparing Broadcastify to the HP and nothing from the HP. This is disappointing to say the least. I really should get it back to Amazon before it's no longer returnable. Looks like it may have to go back. I'm thinking of replacing it with a BCD396XT. Would this be any

I created a HPE file you can load into the HP1.

Thank you very much for taking the time to do this. Unfortunately, it appears that I need the extreme upgrade to install it. Unfortunately, I cannot afford the purchase at this point. Is there any way I can install this without the extreme upgrade? If worse comes to worse, I may have to wait until I get enough cash together and just splurge for the upgrade. Thanks again.
 

jasonhouk

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Thank you very much for taking the time to do this. Unfortunately, it appears that I need the extreme upgrade to install it. Unfortunately, I cannot afford the purchase at this point. Is there any way I can install this without the extreme upgrade? If worse comes to worse, I may have to wait until I get enough cash together and just splurge for the upgrade. Thanks again.


No extreme upgrade required if you'd like I'll send you a link so I can connect to your computer and get this up and running for you?
 
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