Can you use an analog radio/scanner to listen to digital?

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QHaba

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So, my bus driver wants a new police scanner, but wants to do it a different way.. He wants to use a walkie talkie, and just program it to listen to police scanners. Everything in my county is digital, and the radio he's looking at is analog.. Will this effect the ability to just listen?
 

mmckenna

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Mk, what's a cheap, working way to do this?

Honestly?
Get a scanner capable of the digital modes in use by your county.

There are two way radios that will do analog + P25 and VHF/UHF/700/800, but if you have to ask what the price is, you cannot afford it.
Kenwood makes single band portables that will do analog + 2 of the following: P25, NXDN, DMR. Figure $1700 for each band.

Really, there's a reason why scanners are on the market. They are the cheapest way to get all you want in one package.
 

hiegtx

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Mk, what's a cheap, working way to do this?
The best way, as mmckenna noted, is a scanner capable of hearing the systems in use. The only other option is looking at the audio feeds for the area & see if one covers the agencies of interest. If so, then you could listen using a smart phone with a data plan. But listening to a feed, as opposed to a scanner, you cannot pick what you want to hear, nor can you hold on something of interest. Your choices are limited to however the feed provider has set up his/her feed.
 

Ubbe

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Maybe he could listen to some of the feeds that are broadcasted on the internet. It just takes a mobile phone with an internet account. But maybe it was an economical issue, if he wanted to use a walkie talkie to listen to the police frequencies.

/Ubbe
 

Chronic

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You could use a analog scanner with a discriminator tap and run that into a computer and with software you can listen to digital systems , but that is very difficult to do portable. although not impossible.
 

MisterLongwire

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If your scanner allows, let alone the scanner software, to let you listen to digital on a analog scanner, then so be it. Otherwise no. There are only a few outh there that do that, not too many. As for listening online to a program, consider the source.
 

Giddyuptd

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There is also the unication G5 vhf/700, or uhf/700.

Pager but many use it like a scanner. Depending where you go you may find one for near or close to give or take 250 to 150 dollars above a consumer scanner.
 

zsrh

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The Uniden SDS100 is on the expensive side however it does pick up both analog and digital. It is better to go for a digital scanner as more and more systems will be converted to digital.
 
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