Greenville SC City Fire Dept
- Thread starter ShaneGCFD
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Hi,
You will need a Scanner that will Pickup the 800mhz P-25 Digital to listen to the Greenville City Fire,Police,County Sheriff and EMS
such as this scanner on Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3bBOBRb
Whistler WS1065 Desktop Digital Scanner
You will need a Scanner that will Pickup the 800mhz P-25 Digital to listen to the Greenville City Fire,Police,County Sheriff and EMS
such as this scanner on Amazon.com https://amzn.to/3bBOBRb
Whistler WS1065 Desktop Digital Scanner
The Whistler WS-1040 is the same radio as the 1065, but in a hand-held form factor. You can find it even less expensive on Whistler's Scratch and Dent sale, and most folks who have purchased those radios have reported a flawless radio.
You may also want to consider programming software, which is not included in the purchase of the scanner. There are several different applications available for purchase. Win500 and PSREdit are the two most popular ones, but there have been reports from some hobbyists of problems processing orders with Starrsoft (makers of Win500).
To make programming even easier, you can consider a premium subscription to RadioReference. This enables you to download data from the RR database directly into the application, saving you time from typing information in to the application.
Keep in mind that most Greenville public safety agencies (including Greenville FD) operate on a P25 simulcast system. Simulcast systems are notoriously problematic for consumer scanners to receive reliably. So, purchasing the WS-1040 or WS-1065 may result in unreliable and disappointing performance. It's very much dependent on your location. So if you're using the scanner in a mobile environment, you may have places where it works great and other places that it doesn't work well at all. Uniden makes two scanner models that reportedly work very reliably with simulcast systems, the SDS-100 and SDS-200. But they are considerably more expensive than the WS-1040.
Unfortunately, this hobby can get expensive very quickly, even just to simply monitor your local FD. It can also be complicated and frustrating learning the idiosyncrasies of each different scanner model, programming software, radio system, appropriate antenna, etc. It's a result of the modern communication systems used by our public safety agencies and the lack of consistent products and software from the scanner manufacturers. Such is the way of niche hobbies, I guess.
You may also want to consider programming software, which is not included in the purchase of the scanner. There are several different applications available for purchase. Win500 and PSREdit are the two most popular ones, but there have been reports from some hobbyists of problems processing orders with Starrsoft (makers of Win500).
To make programming even easier, you can consider a premium subscription to RadioReference. This enables you to download data from the RR database directly into the application, saving you time from typing information in to the application.
Keep in mind that most Greenville public safety agencies (including Greenville FD) operate on a P25 simulcast system. Simulcast systems are notoriously problematic for consumer scanners to receive reliably. So, purchasing the WS-1040 or WS-1065 may result in unreliable and disappointing performance. It's very much dependent on your location. So if you're using the scanner in a mobile environment, you may have places where it works great and other places that it doesn't work well at all. Uniden makes two scanner models that reportedly work very reliably with simulcast systems, the SDS-100 and SDS-200. But they are considerably more expensive than the WS-1040.
Unfortunately, this hobby can get expensive very quickly, even just to simply monitor your local FD. It can also be complicated and frustrating learning the idiosyncrasies of each different scanner model, programming software, radio system, appropriate antenna, etc. It's a result of the modern communication systems used by our public safety agencies and the lack of consistent products and software from the scanner manufacturers. Such is the way of niche hobbies, I guess.
Brian, I appreciate the info. I just found a WS-1040 on Amazon for $215. That's still more than I's like to pay just to listen to only 1 channel every third day when my son is on shift. Hoping someone may again put GCFD back online. I check about once a week.
Here's the scratch and dent option I was referring to. You can read up on the warranty and risks, etc, but it saves a substantial amount.
whistlergroup.com
Keep in mind that online scanner feeds are (typically) provided by radio hobbyists, and those hobbyists do so at their own expense and effort. Feeds do come and go, so it's possible someone will choose to put up a feed for Greenville FD again. But, for the same reason you're reluctant to spend a lot of money on a scanner, other hobbyists are reluctant to tie one of these radios up to provide a feed. So, make sure your expectations are set appropriately while waiting for a feed to appear and remain.
*Scratch & Dent* - WS1040 - Radio Scanner
All Scratch & Dent items come with a Whistler 90 day warranty and may be in generic packaging. There are no returns or exchanges. Limit 2 per customer. By purchasing this product, you are purchasing an item that is in the "Scratch & Dent" category. It is fully functioning, it just may not look...
whistlergroup.com
Keep in mind that online scanner feeds are (typically) provided by radio hobbyists, and those hobbyists do so at their own expense and effort. Feeds do come and go, so it's possible someone will choose to put up a feed for Greenville FD again. But, for the same reason you're reluctant to spend a lot of money on a scanner, other hobbyists are reluctant to tie one of these radios up to provide a feed. So, make sure your expectations are set appropriately while waiting for a feed to appear and remain.
Here's the scratch and dent option I was referring to. You can read up on the warranty and risks, etc, but it saves a substantial amount.
*Scratch & Dent* - WS1040 - Radio Scanner
All Scratch & Dent items come with a Whistler 90 day warranty and may be in generic packaging. There are no returns or exchanges. Limit 2 per customer. By purchasing this product, you are purchasing an item that is in the "Scratch & Dent" category. It is fully functioning, it just may not look...
Keep in mind that online scanner feeds are (typically) provided by radio hobbyists, and those hobbyists do so at their own expense and effort. Feeds do come and go, so it's possible someone will choose to put up a feed for Greenville FD again. But, for the same reason you're reluctant to spend a lot of money on a scanner, other hobbyists are reluctant to tie one of these radios up to provide a feed. So, make sure your expectations are set appropriately while waiting for a feed to appear and remain.
Again Brian,
Thanks for the information. That seems to be the best deal I can find. I had one of the BaoFeng 2-Way radios but could only pickup their dispatch channel, no fire ground communication.
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