Digital Radio Envy

[markbart]

As I sit here reading the forums I see all of the people who have digital scanners and I think back to my first scanner and how much I enjoyed listning to all of the local traffic.If truth be told I was just plain nosey.Now everything is digital so I can no longer afford to listen to all of the digital traffic.So I envy all of you folks out there who have digital radios. Enjoy everyone.



Mark

 

[mancow]

Check out digicircle.com. You can find them as low as $200 sometimes.

 

[W9NES]

Analog scanning is gone and in order to hear everything you will now need a Digital scanner.

 

[markbart]

I know.No extea $ for a digital radio ever.

Mark

 

[AK9R]

What did Mark Twain say about the rumors of his death being an exaggeration? Likewise, blanket statements about the death of analog scanning are, in my opinion, a bit premature.

• Not every public safety agency in Indiana has switched to a digital, trunked radio system. Some of these agencies simply do not have the funding to spend $2,500+ each for radios for all of their people and/or apparatus.
• The mutual aid talkgroups on SAFE-T along with some of the talkgroups for DOT and other agenices are still analog. They can be scanned with a first-generation, analog, trunktraking scanner. Granted, this situation will change, but right now, they are still analog.
• Railroads are still using analog radios. Though they are in the process of switching to narrowband, switching to digital is a long way off.
• Air traffic control is still analog and probably will remain so until the FAA devotes the billions it will take to upgrade the ATC system. Also, miltary air comms are still analog.
• Amateur radio is still mostly analog.
• NASCAR has pretty much mandated that pit-to-car comms remain scannable by the fans. That means no encryption and very little, if any, digital.

Is the scanning hobby changing? Sure. Is scanning getting more difficult? Yes, in some situations. Are analog scanners completely obsolete? No, not today.

 

[scannerfreak]

• NASCAR has pretty much mandated that pit-to-car comms remain scannable by the fans. That means no encryption and very little, if any, digital.

Not to take this off topic but there is encryption being used in NASCAR. Just not on the main channel.

 

[markbart]

I'm not saying there is nothing to hear on analog systems,I am saying that becouse most of the traffic that i'm interested in is digital I can no longer hear my favorites.

Mark

 

[gewecke]

Mark is there an online feed in your area that carries your local system? If so then a android based cell phone or a computer with the internet would also allow you to listen.
There are other options.


73,
n9zas

 

[W9NES]

There is No Live Feed for Owen County, Indiana provided on the Live feeds under Indiana Counties.Infomation that I have received from a fellow Ham who goes to Green County/Owen County.Law Enforcement, Fire, and EMS are alive and well on VHF. I programmed a Radio Shack Pro-2096 for him for that area and he hears them just fine.

 

[usswood]

Actually its a mix of both analog and digital in both Owen and Greene...because of the coverage of Safe-T in certain areas they are still using VHF on Plan A for the most part 155.130...but LOEs in Jasonville (Tower), Linton (Tower) , Solsberry (Tower), Spencer (Tower) do use Safe-T in these areas cause the coverage is good....out in the counties, hills and hollows they switch to VHF...and there is a lot of hills and valleys in that area

 

[W9NES]

Analog is still very active across the State. Program up a scanner and see what you can hear!!!!