digital scanner in tampa bay area

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ddarin

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Jun 10, 2009
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I have a Pro 97 but haven't done any scanning in the past 4 yrs or so. Just moved to Tampa Bay area and am wondering, with the rebanding and all, if it is worth it to go buy a new scanner? Found a place that has a Pro 106 in stock right now but looks like a lot of things may be going the encrypted (Provoice) route in this area. Is that accurate? Is there much you can listen to now in Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties using something like a Pro 106?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide.
 

Bolt21

Spark Chariot Driver
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Dec 28, 2005
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ProVoice is a digital form of EDACS, which can't be monitored by any scanner on the market. It's not the same as encryption, but might as well be to listeners with a scanner. That being said however, a PRO-97 will enable you to hear about 90-95% of the radio traffic in the Tampa Bay area. Yes, the Hillsborough system uses SOME ProVoice talkgroups, but only a handful compared to the analog ones.

If you want to hear the small (and I mean small) number of digital talkgroups that Pinellas has, you'll need a digital scanner. When scanners say they're "digital" capable, it only applies to Motorola systems, not EDACS systems. If you have the cash to drop $400-500 on a digital scanner, by all means do it. Eventually, more and more things will be going digital. Even if you hardly ever use the digital capability, the dynamic memory structure is well worth it (no wasted, unused space like on a PRO-97).
 
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