Cass and Barnes County New User Questions

[NDKoze]

I have been out of the radio game for 20 years, but back then I had a couple of scanners and found it to be an interesting hobby.

Now days with all of the new frequency types and radio technology changes, can users still monitor Police/Fire radio traffic?

I would primarily be in the Fargo (Cass County) and Valley City (Barnes County) areas.

Do you have any suggestions for scanners that will work in these two counties (ND Cass and ND Barnes)?

 

[KirumiTojo]

You will need to get a Phase 2 capable scanner very soon as all of North Dakota is slowly transitioning to SIRN 20/20 (Cass County is on Phase 1 Minnesota ARMER System with all law comms encrypted but Fire and EMS along with public works are clear)
All law enforcement comms in ND on SIRN 20/20 (sheriff police and Highway Patrol) will be fully encrypted but Fire and EMS along with public works should be clear (might be up to the county not sure)

 

[NDKoze]

You will need to get a Phase 2 capable scanner very soon as all of North Dakota is slowly transitioning to SIRN 20/20 (Cass County is on Phase 1 Minnesota ARMER System with all law comms encrypted but Fire and EMS along with public works are clear)
All law enforcement comms in ND (sheriff police and Highway Patrol) will be fully encrypted but Fire and EMS along with public works should be clear (might be up to the county not sure)

Thanks for the reply.

Does fully encrypted mean that you cannot monitor them? Or are you saying that they can be monitored if you get a Phase 2 scanner?

If I can only get Fire and EMS, I am not sure if I will bother getting one.

 

[KirumiTojo]

Thanks for the reply.

Does fully encrypted mean that you cannot monitor them? Or are you saying that they can be monitored if you get a Phase 2 scanner?

If I can only get Fire and EMS, I am not sure if I will bother getting one.

They cannot be monitored at all

 

[sonm10]

Currently, Barnes County and Valley City are using VHF conventional. I suspect that might change, early next year with the transition to SIRN.

 

[NDKoze]

Currently, Barnes County and Valley City are using VHF conventional. I suspect that might change, early next year with the transition to SIRN.

So, SIRN "can" be monitored with a Phase 2 Scanner though right?

But, it sounds like a lot of the LE traffic is encrypted and cannot be scanned though right?

If I can't get LE activity, I am not sure that I want to bother spending $500 plus on a scanner as that would be the primary purpose.

I live at Lake Ashtabula 12 miles North of Valley City, ND from May through September and in Fargo, ND for the rest of the year. So, these would be the two general areas that I would want to listen from.

I'm just trying to see if it is worth spending the $500+ on a scanner and what type of activity I would be able to listen to.

I was looking at a Uniden BCD436HP. Or would there be a better model that I should be looking at?

 

[sonm10]

BCD436HP should work for a majority of the state. There are currently 5 simulcast sites in the state, closest being Bismarck. The 436 would not work very well on any simulcast sites. The sites in Valley City (or Hannaford, whichever is closer to your location) would work with the 436. At this time, there is very little activity on SIRN.

If you frequent Bismarck, Williston, Minot, Grand Forks, or Dickinson, then you would have to upgrade to the SDS 100/200 ( 100 being the portable, 200 being the base/desktop).

As mentioned already in above post, Fargo and Cass County uses Minnesota's ARMER system. LE is encrypted. Fire and EMS are in the clear.

BTW, I love the area by the Baldhill dam. I've spent some time chasing trains through that area.

 

[peq387ab]

I have been out of the radio game for 20 years, but back then I had a couple of scanners and found it to be an interesting hobby.

Now days with all of the new frequency types and radio technology changes, can users still monitor Police/Fire radio traffic?

I would primarily be in the Fargo (Cass County) and Valley City (Barnes County) areas.

Do you have any suggestions for scanners that will work in these two counties (ND Cass and ND Barnes)?

Right now, Barnes County is using VHF. It is a mix between analog and digital. With the build out of SIRN I would expect Barnes County to make a migration over that within the next couple years.

My suggestion to you is to purchase a Scanner that is capable of Phase 2 trunking. With the known of that with SIRN I would invest into that for years to come.

And Cass is on ARMER Phase 1 with a Phase 2 scanner would be good for covering this too.

 

[NDKoze]

Right now, Barnes County is using VHF. It is a mix between analog and digital. With the build out of SIRN I would expect Barnes County to make a migration over that within the next couple years.

My suggestion to you is to purchase a Scanner that is capable of Phase 2 trunking. With the known of that with SIRN I would invest into that for years to come.

And Cass is on ARMER Phase 1 with a Phase 2 scanner would be good for covering this too.

Based on some other posts earlier in this thread Law Enforcement (LE) in Fargo is all encrypted, so Phase 2 Trunking would not help with that though right?

If I can't get Fargo LE, I'm not sure if I will want to invest the money in a Phase 2 Scanner or not.

Do you have any suggestions on a Phase 2 Scanner to get?

 

[peq387ab]

Based on some other posts earlier in this thread Law Enforcement (LE) in Fargo is all encrypted, so Phase 2 Trunking would not help with that though right?

If I can't get Fargo LE, I'm not sure if I will want to invest the money in a Phase 2 Scanner or not.

Do you have any suggestions on a Phase 2 Scanner to get?

That is correct, Phase 2 Trunking would not help get you through encryption. No scanner would get you through encryption on either Phase 1 or Phase 2. Encryption is basic terms is where a talkgroup has an encryption key that is specific for that talkgroup that lives in the subscribers radios.

There is still plenty of stuff to scan though that is in the clear. Example is locally fire and EMS and local and regional interop talkgroups. Often times law enforcement that is working on a specific detail or event will move to a clear interop talkgroup. So you could hear them on there.

For scanners one of my personal favorites that doesn't break the bank is the Uniden BCD996P2 that is a Phase 2 scanner. Its a great unit and would do great in your area that your trying to scan. If your looking to spend more money the Uniden SDS 200 is a great choice, but more expensive. The BCD996P2 runs around $475-$500 new but you may be able to find one on eBay that is gently used for a lower price. And often scanners go on sale for 10%-20% off in the Black Friday era.

 

[sonm10]

I would recommend the SDS 100/200. There are 2 sites in Fargo - one for SIRN, and one for ARMER. The site for ARMER in Fargo is simulcast (forgot to mention this detail earlier). The SDS 100 or 200 are the only scanners designed to handle simulcast.

The other option is to invest in SDRs, little USB dongles that plug in a computer. There is software you can run that achieves the same as a scanner. Requires some computer skills, though.