Greenville County Sheriff's Office (sc)

[ZacharyDill]

Here lately, I've noticed that they aren't using the 460 frequencies anymore. I was listening to the South and North dispatch, plus the car to car frequency and in the past few weeks, I haven't been hearing any traffic at all. Did the GCSO move to new frequencies or....? If so, could someone please help me and list the new ones so I can listen.

 

[mckinscan]

The Greenville County SO have move to the Palmetto 800 P-25 Digital couple Weeks ago and Greenville County EMS Dispatch also move to the Palmetto 800 P-25 see https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=5042

 

[ZacharyDill]

The Greenville County SO have move to the Palmetto 800 P-25 Digital couple Weeks ago and County EMS Dispatch also move to the Palmetto 800 P-25 see https://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?sid=5042

So you can no longer listen to Greenville County Sheriffs Office and EMS using frequencies? Is this a permanent move?

 

[mckinscan]

You will need get you a new Scanner that can picked up 800 mhz p25 phase 1 to Picked up the new 800 Channels this is a Permanent change where can they communicate with other agencies such as pd, highway patrol, and other Counties without having go through Dispatch.

 

[ZacharyDill]

You will need get you a new Scanner that can picked up 800 mhz p25 phase 1 to Picked up the new 800 Channels this is a Permanent change where can they communicate with other agencies such as pd, highway patrol, and other Counties without having go through Dispatch.

1 - What type of scanners would be best to purchase to scan 800mhz p25 phase 1?

2 - As of now what emergency frequencies in Greenville County aren't on the p25 phase 1 system and the most active as in terms of their radio chatter? I only try to scan the ones that are the most active. Them switching over to the new system is leaving people in the dark as far as scanning is concerned. I've always enjoyed scanning local police, etc and I'm the type of person that likes to know what's going on in my area... Them moving to the new system is a little disappointing to say the least.

 

[mckinscan]

You can get Whistler WS1065 Digital Desktop/Mobile Radio Scanner or Whistler WS1040 Digital Handheld Scanner or Uniden BCD436HP HomePatrol Series Digital Handheld Scanner. support the 800 P-25 Phase 1

you can purchase the Whitler Scanners from Walmart.com or Amazon.com

and those still on old channels is Greenville County Fire VHF and UHF channel



and i think some of the Greenville EMS Tac and Hospital channels still works on old Channels.

 

[ZacharyDill]

Yeah, fire and EMS still work on old channels!

The new system GCSO moved to, is that a trunked radio system? If so, won't any Uniden Handheld Scanner support the new system they moved to? Or just the specific models you mentioned above?

 

[mckinscan]

you will need find a Uniden Brand Digital Scanner such as
Uniden Bearcat Digital BCD396T or Uniden Handheld TrunkTracker IV Digital Police Scanner (BCD396XT) or uniden home patrol

 

[ZacharyDill]

Okay. Thanks!

I can't afford that right now, so ...

1 - if you choose to listen to GCSO on broadcastify.com is it LIVE?
2 - there aren't any cheaper options that would work, besides Uniden?

 

[brian]

Look for a used scanner that supports P25 digital radio systems. There is always risk involved in buying used, but doing so might get you a better price point if you shop around and are patient. Lots of people are selling slightly older models of P25 scanners to help fund the purchase of the latest and greatest $600+ scanners.

Keep in mind that the primary Palmetto 800 site that covers Greenville County uses simulcast technology which many scanners struggle to receive well. How much this affects you is based on the radio you use, the antenna you use, and your specific location. You won't know if it's a significant problem until you try it. So, again, there's some risk involved in buying a new scanner that may not work well with this specific system. It's a very common problem for many hobbyists.

If you're handy with PCs, Windows operating system and radio systems, consider SDR. You can purchase 2 $25 SDR receivers and invest in some inexpensive software and trunk-track the Palmetto 800 system. Total investment would be less than $50, asssuming you have a decent PC, but you'll have to invest time to get it all set up and it's not for the non-technical type. There are many forum posts about this on RR.

Broadcastify, if there is someone streaming the new P25 talkgroups, has a delay which varies. Maybe as much as 30 seconds or more. You also don't have any control over which channels are being streamed and the quality of the signal.

Unfortunately, public safety agencies don't consider radio hobbyists' enjoyment in their decision-making regarding radio systems. This change for Greenville County is consistent with what most agencies nation-wide are doing. And it improves their ability to communicate with other agencies when the need arises. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that's paying attention, since Greenville County passed a tax increase to fund this change a couple of years ago. Don't be surprised if more fire departments move to Palmetto 800 in the near future.

 

[mckinscan]

You can listen to GCSO on Broadcastify.com

you can check on ebay for some used or pre own one here one simmer to on i have Uniden Handheld TrunkTracker IV Digital Police Scanner (BCD396XT) | eBay for $200.00

 

[ZacharyDill]

I was doing some research on scanners, would a digital DMR walkie talkie radio work, seeing how they are on p25th digital system. Some of those are compatible with Motorola radios. Brand im referring to is something such as TYT or Hytera.

FYI - The live feed for GCSO is down or "offline" on broadcastify, oddly enough it's been down since Monday hours after I started this thread. Is that live feed going to be fixed soon so the public can listen?

 

[Hit_Factor]

I was doing some research on scanners, would a digital DMR walkie talkie radio work, seeing how they are on p25th digital system. Some of those are compatible with Motorola radios. Brand im referring to is something such as TYT or Hytera.

DMR is incompatible with P25.

 

[ZacharyDill]

If DMR Hytera is incompatible, then why did you list Hytera PD782G in 8pt font in grey? ... What?

To recap -- If I recall, I said previously that I can't afford the radios that are being suggested to me by the Radio Reference "community". I have 90% confidence that an average number of everyday people that use scanners doesn't have that kind of money to buy a high-priced scanner like the brand/kind that are being recommended on this thread, more than likely they're using a 40 to 60 dollar one. So like me, there probably currently looking on EBay for a new radio scanner, because everyone's turning to trunked systems.

Thank you.

 

[brian]

While DMR and P25 are both digital radio standards, they are different digital radio standards. They are not compatible with each other. A DMR radio can't talk to a P25 radio directly in those digital formats. NXDN, or NEXEDGE, is yet a 3rd different digital radio standard.

A DMR radio like a Hytera supports only the DMR digital format, and does not work with P25 systems. Any radio listed as one that supports the DMR standard can decode DMR signals.

Most older scanners that support "digital" radio only decode P25 digital radio systems. Some newer digital scanners support P25, DMR and/or NXDN digital standards. The Whistler TRX-1 and 2 decode all three (P25, DMR and NXDN). The newer Uniden models (SDS-100 and 200, maybe some others) support P25 out of the box and can have DMR and/or NXDN support added at an additional cost.

Unfortunately, because of the forward "progress" of radio technology, as is true with most any technology, the complexity of the radio systems used by our Public Safety agencies has increased notably. So, too, have the consumer-grade radios we use to listen in. And with that increased complexity comes increased cost. Any hobbyist listening to P25 radio systems has invested in a radio capable of decoding P25 systems, and the "new" cost of those radios has always been $300 upwards to $600+.

Obviously, you can find some lower cost radios on the used market, and with that comes risk of buying a used radio. Whistler sells remanufactured versions of their radios (they call them "Scratch and Dent" radios) that are more reasonably priced. It seems that many people have had success with these and found them to be in like-new condition. The remanfactured WS-1040 can be found for less than $200 and it includes some amount of warranty, I believe.

You are unlikely to find a P25-compatible scanner in good working order for less than $150. And you still have the uncertainty of how well that radio may handle the simulcast issues that are prevalent with scanners monitoring that type of system, which is what is in use in Greenville County.

The Broadcastify feeds are provided by volunteer hobbyists, so only that person providing the GCSO feed knows the status of the feed. That provider may be dealing with this same issue, how to afford to dedicate a P25 capable scanner for the task or providing the feed.

 

[Hit_Factor]

If DMR Hytera is incompatible, then why did you list Hytera PD782G in 8pt font in grey? ... What?

That's my signature line. It's a list of radios I own and use. It's common practice to list applicable equipment in a signature line for most forums.

I think the forum software choose the 8pt font in grey, to make it visually different from my reply to the forum.

 

[ZacharyDill]

While DMR and P25 are both digital radio standards, they are different digital radio standards. They are not compatible with each other. A DMR radio can't talk to a P25 radio directly in those digital formats. NXDN, or NEXEDGE, is yet a 3rd different digital radio standard.

A DMR radio like a Hytera supports only the DMR digital format, and does not work with P25 systems. Any radio listed as one that supports the DMR standard can decode DMR signals.

Most older scanners that support "digital" radio only decode P25 digital radio systems. Some newer digital scanners support P25, DMR and/or NXDN digital standards. The Whistler TRX-1 and 2 decode all three (P25, DMR and NXDN). The newer Uniden models (SDS-100 and 200, maybe some others) support P25 out of the box and can have DMR and/or NXDN support added at an additional cost.

Unfortunately, because of the forward "progress" of radio technology, as is true with most any technology, the complexity of the radio systems used by our Public Safety agencies has increased notably. So, too, have the consumer-grade radios we use to listen in. And with that increased complexity comes increased cost. Any hobbyist listening to P25 radio systems has invested in a radio capable of decoding P25 systems, and the "new" cost of those radios has always been $300 upwards to $600+.

Obviously, you can find some lower cost radios on the used market, and with that comes risk of buying a used radio. Whistler sells remanufactured versions of their radios (they call them "Scratch and Dent" radios) that are more reasonably priced. It seems that many people have had success with these and found them to be in like-new condition. The remanfactured WS-1040 can be found for less than $200 and it includes some amount of warranty, I believe.

You are unlikely to find a P25-compatible scanner in good working order for less than $150. And you still have the uncertainty of how well that radio may handle the simulcast issues that are prevalent with scanners monitoring that type of system, which is what is in use in Greenville County.

The Broadcastify feeds are provided by volunteer hobbyists, so only that person providing the GCSO feed knows the status of the feed. That provider may be dealing with this same issue, how to afford to dedicate a P25 capable scanner for the task or providing the feed.

If you think about it, broadcastify is probably the best & cheapest option! I won't have to worry about signal on my end when listening!! If I report the problem on the broadcastify website, do you think that specific live feed will be fixed?

 

[brian]

Broadcastify is certainly the cheapest route, but I don't think I'd say it's the best option. You have no control over the feed - it can be working one day, gone the next. You have no control over what channels it includes. You have no way to hold on a particular channel or lock a channel out. Reception or audio may be spotty.

Again, because the feed is provided by a volunteer hobbyist, there's no way to know if the feed provider will respond to a report of the problem. Because they are volunteers, there's no requirement for them to respond and no accountability. Broadcastify is a just a "platform" that makes it easy for hobbyists to host their feeds, and they are under no obligation to provide any particular feed.

 

[ZacharyDill]

Doing some more research, I found this Whistler scanner.

Would it work with GCSO? It supports p25 phase 1 and 2.

I watched a video on how to program it and someone programmed it to P25 for Hart County, Georgia from the Radio Reference website.

 

[brian]

Indeed, the TRX-1 will work with Palmetto 800. Don't be disappointed though, when you order from that site and they don't have any in stock or for some reason the order doesn't go through. That price is a bit too good to be true. If it works, you found an incredible bargain.