Cecil County EMS ops channel

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Gmuffb

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I've been listening to the broadcastify feed for Cecil County for years. Just recently it's not broadcasting EMS ops(12202). I'll buy a scanner if needed. I was wondering if maybe it's encrypted now and that's why it's not broadcasting? I don't want to make the big purchase if I won't be able to hear my medics! I'm a total newbie so any help is greatly appreciated.
 

chrishoerner

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You’d have to ask the person who puts up the feed, I think the county does it. If you get a scanner you’ll need an sds for the Cecil site, I’ve used the following scanners / pager.
1. Unication G series by far the best for Cecil but not a scanner you’ll only be able to listen to one trunking system at a time or conventional which sounds like will fit the bill for you.
2. Sds100 works better than any other scanner I’ve tried but says no signal sometimes in some areas where the g4 works fine.
3. BCD536 works reasonably well worth a try if you want to save a few bucks.
4. BCD436 don’t bother for cecil unless you’re only going to listen to the Cecilton asr repeater, which won’t always carry traffic for Ems ops. This scanner does work however on other first sites.
 

Gmuffb

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You’d have to ask the person who puts up the feed, I think the county does it. If you get a scanner you’ll need an sds for the Cecil site, I’ve used the following scanners / pager.
1. Unication G series by far the best for Cecil but not a scanner you’ll only be able to listen to one trunking system at a time or conventional which sounds like will fit the bill for you.
2. Sds100 works better than any other scanner I’ve tried but says no signal sometimes in some areas where the g4 works fine.
3. BCD536 works reasonably well worth a try if you want to save a few bucks.
4. BCD436 don’t bother for cecil unless you’re only going to listen to the Cecilton asr repeater, which won’t always carry traffic for Ems ops. This scanner does work however on other first sites.
Thank you so much for such a detailed reply! That was extremely helpful. I'm definitely only interested in listening to the one trunking system so I'll go with your recommendation. I'll just assume the county stopped broadcasting it for a reason and make the investment.
 

chrishoerner

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Thank you so much for such a detailed reply! That was extremely helpful. I'm definitely only interested in listening to the one trunking system so I'll go with your recommendation. I'll just assume the county stopped broadcasting it for a reason and make the investment.

You’re welcome, I might be able to sell you a unication pager in a few weeks. I’ll program it for you if you want. They are a little tricky if you’ve never programmed a radio before
 

Gmuffb

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You’re welcome, I might be able to sell you a unication pager in a few weeks. I’ll program it for you if you want. They are a little tricky if you’ve never programmed a radio before
Thank you, that would be wonderful! I'm typically tech savvy but reading up on scanner programming has me a bit overwhelmed. Just let me know when you're ready, no rush.
 

u2brent

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FYI,
EMS OPS TGID 12202 is not encrypted, Just heard it in the clear using DSD+ FL. A Uniden SDS100/200 would be the best/only recommendation of the traditional type scanners available to monitor this system.
 

Gmuffb

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FYI,
EMS OPS TGID 12202 is not encrypted, Just heard it in the clear using DSD+ FL. A Uniden SDS100/200 would be the best/only recommendation of the traditional type scanners available to monitor this system.
Awesome, thank you so much! Looks like I have a lot to learn about this stuff.
 

maus92

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4. BCD436 don’t bother for cecil unless you’re only going to listen to the Cecilton asr repeater, which won’t always carry traffic for Ems ops. This scanner does work however on other first sites.

The reason why the 436 works ok for the Cecilton ASR site is because it is not a simulcast site. It should also do ok for the Conowingo ASR site. The main site that covers Cecil County is simulcast however, and the 436 typically performs poorly on FIRST simulcast sites.
 

chrishoerner

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The reason why the 436 works ok for the Cecilton ASR site is because it is not a simulcast site. It should also do ok for the Conowingo ASR site. The main site that covers Cecil County is simulcast however, and the 436 typically performs poorly on FIRST simulcast sites.

Ive had good luck with the 436 in Wicomico, and Worcester on both the county systems and on first down there. The county systems are edacs p25 though but still simulcasts.
 

maus92

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Ive had good luck with the 436 in Wicomico, and Worcester on both the county systems and on first down there. The county systems are edacs p25 though but still simulcasts.

I bet you don't realize what you are missing....

Wicomico has a Motorola P25 simulcast system, although they also have one ASR site in Bivalve. Worcester has a Harris P25 simulcast system, which is problematic during the summer due to tropo ducting (the ducting is frequency and site saturation / site density related.) OCMD also has a Harris P25 simulcast system with good site density, and a backup multicast site in Ocean Pines.
 

chrishoerner

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I bet you don't realize what you are missing....

Wicomico has a Motorola P25 simulcast system, although they also have one ASR site in Bivalve. Worcester has a Harris P25 simulcast system, which is problematic during the summer due to tropo ducting (the ducting is frequency and site saturation / site density related.) OCMD also has a Harris P25 simulcast system with good site density, and a backup multicast site in Ocean Pines.
Oh I though Wic was harris as well. I’ve had the 436 next to sds 100 and G4 in wic and wor didn’t really notice much simulcast distortion with different antenna configurations. I have noticed the ducting problem on a hot august day in oc. I spent a lot of time in both counties the last few years, the 436 definitely doesn’t do as well but nothing like I’ve seen in Cecil. Cecil reminds me of South Carolina’s system. You don’t even see the control channel might as well be a paperweight lol.
 

maus92

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I ran my (old) 436 next to my G5, and the 436 could barely receive Worcester at the turn-off to Frontierland, lol. The G5 had Worcester Lima Charlie in Salisbury. I heard people just a few miles east of Cecil have no reception of the FIRST simulcast site. I tested the site with my PSR800 (the 436 was sold by then,) and I could barely get reception inside Cecil, lol. The SDS200 had no trouble at all.
 

chrishoerner

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I can say I’d let it scan all 3 sites while in wor so I might of been getting lucky. My better half lived in Salisbury until we moved to Kent De I can say I had great luck there with the 436 on both Wicomicos county and first sites while in Salisbury. I heard people say the same thing about Cecil I didn’t have those results. I lived there in our family’s vacation house in hacks point for about six months and just about pulled my hair out trying to figure out what worked and didn’t work. The G series pagers are impressive I can hold it up in the air and get a signal all the way in Wilmington then try any scanner with an nmo mounted antenna in the truck and get nothing. The actual radios seem to work well all the way to Christiana hospital, I’m curious if they have an antenna pointed that way just for that reason.

But back to the OP you will have to decide if you want a scanner or pager, scanner can do so much more but in my opinion the pager is basically as good as a radio. G4/5 and uniden SDS are pretty much the same money. Or be like us and get 2-3 of each and NEVER tell your wife what you paid for them 🤦🏻‍♂️😂
 

Gmuffb

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Lol. I am the wife! I've been able to guilt the hubby into agreeing because he has to listen to me grieving about my missing ops channel every day. I'm only interested in listening to dispatch and the ems ops channel in Cecil so my needs are simple. I rarely leave the county. It sounds like the SDS is the safest bet but If the G series picks up what I want I'd be fine with that too. This is clearly a life changing decision!
 

chrishoerner

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Here is a comparison of the two side by side of that helps. I’d prefer the pager if I had a choice. Maybe some more people can weigh in on the pros and cons as it pertains to Cecil and first.
ca3caeec-a364-4911-8dce-847234eb48bc-jpeg.101243
 

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Gmuffb

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Mar 23, 2021
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Here is a comparison of the two side by side of that helps. I’d prefer the pager if I had a choice. Maybe some more people can weigh in on the pros and cons as it pertains to Cecil and first.
ca3caeec-a364-4911-8dce-847234eb48bc-jpeg.101243
I love the idea of purchasing the used G series from you already programmed rather than purchasing somewhere else and programming myself. I'd prefer that honestly. Just so long as I can hear my medics on it lol. I used to feel smart until I started researching scanners :LOL:
 

Gmuffb

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Mar 23, 2021
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You’re welcome, I might be able to sell you a unication pager in a few weeks. I’ll program it for you if you want. They are a little tricky if you’ve never programmed a radio before
Just thought I'd update you. I decided to go ahead and buy the sds200, it's on its way. I've downloaded Sentinel and have been reading about it quite a bit. I think I've got a bit more understanding now, I might be good!

Thank you everyone for your help!
 

chrishoerner

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Just thought I'd update you. I decided to go ahead and buy the sds200, it's on its way. I've downloaded Sentinel and have been reading about it quite a bit. I think I've got a bit more understanding now, I might be good!

Thank you everyone for your help!

Nice, You'll enjoy it!
 

Gmuffb

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Just thought I'd update this post. Mainly because I'm so darn proud of myself! I got the 200, programmed it and it worked immediately. I was shocked at my "skill." Thank you again everyone, I can see why this is so addictive. Also thank you to whoever put the ems feed up on broadcastify while I was waiting for my scanner, you're awesome!
 
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