Confused about listening in my area (Uvalde County)

[fonewiz]

First post... New to scanning and radios in general so I'll do my best to ask my questions with as much detail as possible.

I had the intention of getting my Ham license a while back and bought a Baofeng as part of that process. I have never tried to transmit on it as I know that not allowed until I have a license. From what I understand, I can listen only and that's legal and OK while not having a license.

I moved to a small town which everyone now knows for very unfortunate reasons Uvalde, TX. I'm trying to learn how I can listen to the local city PD and other interesting frequencies using what I have without dumping more $$ if possible until I learn more.

I have a reasonable understanding of how to enter frequencies into the radio and I have a cable and have a basic understanding of CHIRP software.

Right now I'm listening to things quite well on a scanner app on my iPhone. I would like to listen to the same, fairly busy frequency or channel or?? on my Baofeng if possible. I am familiar with how to go to RadioReference and lookup frequencies and enter them. But... What I'm listening to on my scanner app on my iPhone is "Greater Austin/Travis Regional Radio System (GATRRS)" which doesn't allow me to find any frequencies I can enter into CHIRP or directly into the phone.

I'm guessing this is because this is a trunked system which I don't really understand, and my cheapy Baofeng doesn't support trunked or digital from what I read. Is this correct? Will I be able to listen to my local Uvalde city PD or much of anything interesting in Uvalde on this radio?

If this radio is all but useless for these purposes? What is my next step up (hopefully not $$$) to get a real scanner that will allow me to listen to what I want in my area? I live close to a small airport too so, that would be cool to listen too as well if possible on this radio or on the upgraded radio.

I'm cool listening digitally but, I would prefer to be able to continue to listen if cell service and/or internet service was out.

Thanks in advance for any assistance for a novice.

 

[hiegtx]

First post... New to scanning and radios in general so I'll do my best to ask my questions with as much detail as possible.

I had the intention of getting my Ham license a while back and bought a Baofeng as part of that process. I have never tried to transmit on it as I know that not allowed until I have a license. From what I understand, I can listen only and that's legal and OK while not having a license.

I moved to a small town which everyone now knows for very unfortunate reasons Uvalde, TX. I'm trying to learn how I can listen to the local city PD and other interesting frequencies using what I have without dumping more $$ if possible until I learn more.

I have a reasonable understanding of how to enter frequencies into the radio and I have a cable and have a basic understanding of CHIRP software.

Right now I'm listening to things quite well on a scanner app on my iPhone. I would like to listen to the same, fairly busy frequency or channel or?? on my Baofeng if possible. I am familiar with how to go to RadioReference and lookup frequencies and enter them. But... What I'm listening to on my scanner app on my iPhone is "Greater Austin/Travis Regional Radio System (GATRRS)" which doesn't allow me to find any frequencies I can enter into CHIRP or directly into the phone.

I'm guessing this is because this is a trunked system which I don't really understand, and my cheapy Baofeng doesn't support trunked or digital from what I read. Is this correct? Will I be able to listen to my local Uvalde city PD or much of anything interesting in Uvalde on this radio?

If this radio is all but useless for these purposes? What is my next step up (hopefully not $$$) to get a real scanner that will allow me to listen to what I want in my area? I live close to a small airport too so, that would be cool to listen too as well if possible on this radio or on the upgraded radio.

I'm cool listening digitally but, I would prefer to be able to continue to listen if cell service and/or internet service was out.

Thanks in advance for any assistance for a novice.

Uvalde County S.O. as well as Uvalde (city) use this trunked system:

Greater Austin/Travis Regional Radio System (GATRRS) Trunking System, Austin, Texas

Greater Austin/Travis Regional Radio System (GATRRS) Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

That is a digital trunked system, which your Baofeng cannot monitor.

Looking at Uvalde County's database page, there are some conventional channels, for EMS & the VFDs, that you might be able to monitor. You did not state which model Baofeng you have, so that might make a difference. The federal agencies, Customs & Border Protection, as well as the FBI, use digital conventional channels; the FBI channel is encrypted, and Customs/Border Protection are encrypted part of the time. No scanner, nor any other radio type, can receive encrypted radio traffic.

For the county & city law enforcement, which are on GATRRS, there are a number of scanners that can receive them. The system is listed as P25 Phase II. But, at present, the talkgroups for your area are using P25 Phase I, You can tell that because the talkgroups (TGIDs) are labeled with Mode D. If, at some later date, they move to P25 Phase II, then that mode designation would be a T.

For P25 Phase I, there are a number of scanners that will work. Older scanners (discontinued models) such as the 396XT & 996XT, can receive Phase I, and a good, previously owned, unit might be found either in the classifieds here on the site, or on eBay, at an affordable price, The current Whistler WS1040 (portable) and WS1065 (base/mobile) can do Phase I. Those are the current whistler models, but the predecessors to these units, manufactured by GRE (or Whistler), some labeled for Radio Shack, would work. These include the PSR500, PSR600, Pro106, Pro197, Pro 651, and Pro652. The Uniden Home Patrol 1 would also work. (The current Home Patrol 2 works also, and can handle P25 Phase II, but at the moment, you do not need Phase II capability). The older units, provided that they are in good working condition, would do for now. There is free software available for the Uniden scanners listed. For the Whistler and GRE scanners (as well as the versions labeled for sale at Radio Shack), software is available, but is not free. Any of the Whistler and GRE models can be programmed without software. While that is more tedious than using software, step by step instructions are listed in the corresponding 'Easier to Read' manuals.

 

[fonewiz]

Uvalde County S.O. as well as Uvalde (city) use this trunked system:

Greater Austin/Travis Regional Radio System (GATRRS) Trunking System, Austin, Texas

Greater Austin/Travis Regional Radio System (GATRRS) Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

That is a digital trunked system, which your Baofeng cannot monitor.

Looking at Uvalde County's database page, there are some conventional channels, for EMS & the VFDs, that you might be able to monitor. You did not state which model Baofeng you have, so that might make a difference. The federal agencies, Customs & Border Protection, as well as the FBI, use digital conventional channels; the FBI channel is encrypted, and Customs/Border Protection are encrypted part of the time. No scanner, nor any other radio type, can receive encrypted radio traffic.

For the county & city law enforcement, which are on GATRRS, there are a number of scanners that can receive them. The system is listed as P25 Phase II. But, at present, the talkgroups for your area are using P25 Phase I, You can tell that because the talkgroups (TGIDs) are labeled with Mode D. If, at some later date, they move to P25 Phase II, then that mode designation would be a T.

For P25 Phase I, there are a number of scanners that will work. Older scanners (discontinued models) such as the 396XT & 996XT, can receive Phase I, and a good, previously owned, unit might be found either in the classifieds here on the site, or on eBay, at an affordable price, The current Whistler WS1040 (portable) and WS1065 (base/mobile) can do Phase I. Those are the current whistler models, but the predecessors to these units, manufactured by GRE (or Whistler), some labeled for Radio Shack, would work. These include the PSR500, PSR600, Pro106, Pro197, Pro 651, and Pro652. The Uniden Home Patrol 1 would also work. (The current Home Patrol 2 works also, and can handle P25 Phase II, but at the moment, you do not need Phase II capability). The older units, provided that they are in good working condition, would do for now. There is free software available for the Uniden scanners listed. For the Whistler and GRE scanners (as well as the versions labeled for sale at Radio Shack), software is available, but is not free. Any of the Whistler and GRE models can be programmed without software. While that is more tedious than using software, step by step instructions are listed in the corresponding 'Easier to Read' manuals.

Thank you very much. I am using a Baofeng UV-5R apologies for leaving that out.

I should have also mentioned that I prefer a mobile scanner if possible and something that is programmable via computer. I will look over the models you mentioned and see what I can find. Thanks again for your very detailed post which answered all of my questions.

 

[hiegtx]

Thank you very much. I am using a Baofeng UV-5R apologies for leaving that out.

I should have also mentioned that I prefer a mobile scanner if possible and something that is programmable via computer. I will look over the models you mentioned and see what I can find. Thanks again for your very detailed post which answered all of my questions.

For the Uniden scanners, the 396XT is a portable; the 996XT is the base/mobile sibling.

For the older GRE/Radio Shack scanners, the PSR500, Pro106, and Pro651are portables; the PSR600, Pro197, and Pro652 are base/mobile.

All of the scanners I listed are programmable via software, and as noted, free software is available for the Uniden scanners (FreeSCAN for the 396XT/996XT, Sentinel for the HP-1). No free software for the Whistler/GRE/RadioShack labeled scanners. These can be programmed with Win500, PSREdit 500, and ARC500.

Note that the original 396T portable model would also work, and can be programmed via FreeSCAN. For this model, you would have to duplicate the programming for each of the two Uvalde County sites. The 396XT (and the base/mobile 996XT) can be programmed with more than one site in a system, so duplication is not needed.

 

[fonewiz]

For the Uniden scanners, the 396XT is a portable; the 996XT is the base/mobile sibling.

For the older GRE/Radio Shack scanners, the PSR500, Pro106, and Pro651are portables; the PSR600, Pro197, and Pro652 are base/mobile.

All of the scanners I listed are programmable via software, and as noted, free software is available for the Uniden scanners (FreeSCAN for the 396XT/996XT, Sentinel for the HP-1). No free software for the Whistler/GRE/RadioShack labeled scanners. These can be programmed with Win500, PSREdit 500, and ARC500.

Note that the original 396T portable model would also work, and can be programmed via FreeSCAN. For this model, you would have to duplicate the programming for each of the two Uvalde County sites. The 396XT (and the base/mobile 996XT) can be programmed with more than one site in a system, so duplication is not needed.

Thanks again, I will research all the models you posted and see what I can find.

 

[hiegtx]

Thanks again, I will research all the models you posted and see what I can find.

You can find more details about any of these models in the Wiki.

Category:Radio Models - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

Start at that page, then you can get to pages specific to the manufacturers, as well as individual models.

 

[Project25_MASTR]

You can find more details about any of these models in the Wiki.

Category:Radio Models - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

Start at that page, then you can get to pages specific to the manufacturers, as well as individual models.

The TRX line from Whistler has free software available from Whistler. I've never tried using mine on the VHF side of GATRRS though...always had a SU for that.

 

[hiegtx]

The TRX line from Whistler has free software available from Whistler. I've never tried using mine on the VHF side of GATRRS though...always had a SU for that.

Yep, I'm familiar with the TRX series; I have a TRX-1. I did not mention it because of the OP's concern about having to invest too many dollars before even seeing how well monitoring via a scanner was advantageous vs using a Broadcastify feed.

I moved to a small town which everyone now knows for very unfortunate reasons Uvalde, TX. I'm trying to learn how I can listen to the local city PD and other interesting frequencies using what I have without dumping more $$ if possible until I learn more.

If this radio is all but useless for these purposes? What is my next step up (hopefully not $$$) to get a real scanner that will allow me to listen to what I want in my area? I live close to a small airport too so, that would be cool to listen too as well if possible on this radio or on the upgraded radio.

For that matter, the discontinued, though fairly recent vintage WS-1088 (and it's predecessor the WS-1080) also would cover the OP's area, and might be found on eBay & other sites. These are also programmable with the correct version of EZ-Scan, a free download.

One potential advantage for one of these three units (TRX-1, WS-1080, and WS1088) is the capability to monitor DMR. There are no DMR agencies or businesses listed on the Uvalde County page, but a number of licensees come up when using the Digital Frequency Search site. Granted, that page only shows who is licensed for DMR, not confirming either way (whether in use, or not). I do see some DMR channels in some of the surrounding counties, including a couple of school districts (neighboring counties) and a detention center in Frio County. There could be users in Uvalde County, but not submitted to the database.

fonewiz, any of these various scanners can also monitor aircraft. Besides any airports in your area, aircraft even quite some distance away (in many cases, 100 miles or more) that are are in the air (not on the ground) can be heard. I've heard some even several hundred miles away using a handheld scanner. Obviously, these would be aircraft at, perhaps, 10,000 feet, if not higher.

 

[rattlerbb01]

From personal experience listening to GATRRS in that area’s towers, mainly Uvalde and Crystal City, is that EMS and SO/PD are all on there, but fire is still mostly analog VHF and could be heard on the UV-5R, but I think you’ll get better audio quality from any decent scanner even so. Like heigtx was saying above, an older Phase 1 scanner would do fine for now, but one day in the future Phase 2 will come around.

 

[K5MPH]

Would the Pro-668 not work for his area .......

 

[riverradio68]

Would the Pro-668 not work for his area .......

Since its basically a PSR-800, it should work fine.

 

[n5ypj]

First post... New to scanning and radios in general so I'll do my best to ask my questions with as much detail as possible.

I had the intention of getting my Ham license a while back and bought a Baofeng as part of that process. I have never tried to transmit on it as I know that not allowed until I have a license. From what I understand, I can listen only and that's legal and OK while not having a license.

I moved to a small town which everyone now knows for very unfortunate reasons Uvalde, TX. I'm trying to learn how I can listen to the local city PD and other interesting frequencies using what I have without dumping more $$ if possible until I learn more.

I have a reasonable understanding of how to enter frequencies into the radio and I have a cable and have a basic understanding of CHIRP software.

Right now I'm listening to things quite well on a scanner app on my iPhone. I would like to listen to the same, fairly busy frequency or channel or?? on my Baofeng if possible. I am familiar with how to go to RadioReference and lookup frequencies and enter them. But... What I'm listening to on my scanner app on my iPhone is "Greater Austin/Travis Regional Radio System (GATRRS)" which doesn't allow me to find any frequencies I can enter into CHIRP or directly into the phone.

I'm guessing this is because this is a trunked system which I don't really understand, and my cheapy Baofeng doesn't support trunked or digital from what I read. Is this correct? Will I be able to listen to my local Uvalde city PD or much of anything interesting in Uvalde on this radio?

If this radio is all but useless for these purposes? What is my next step up (hopefully not $$$) to get a real scanner that will allow me to listen to what I want in my area? I live close to a small airport too so, that would be cool to listen too as well if possible on this radio or on the upgraded radio.

I'm cool listening digitally but, I would prefer to be able to continue to listen if cell service and/or internet service was out.

Thanks in advance for any assistance for a novice.

You have gotten very good information in this thread. I use a Uniden Bearcat BCD 536HP and sometimes monitor Uvalde from here when things get slow here in Del rio - not too often LOL

You mentioned that you may be interested in getting a ham radio license. I am Richard N5YPJ, down the road from you here in Del Rio. I want to "hijack the thread" for a minute to let you know that there is an amateur radio club in Uvalde with a club station and repeater located just across from Uvalde Memorial Hospital. With notice they usually can do VE Testing for license - I was a VE. I used to be a member before I had to give up driving. Coyote Amateur Radio Club. If you are interested in testing send an email and you should get a pretty quick reply.

Regards

Richard N5YPJ