help me choose a scanner for my friend plz

[kaitlyn4589]

ok so i have a friend who lives in somerset county NJ manville area to be exact hes not sure what scanner he needs so i figured id ask here for him he wants to monitor state police manville PD and local fire and rescue heres a link to his system he would prefer a handheld unit if possible

Somerset County Trunking System, Somerset County, New Jersey

Somerset County Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

 

[danesgs]

Somerset and NJ as a whole are really a mixed bag. Somerset county is still pretty much on FM analog for dispatch along with low and high band and UHF-T dispatch. County PD is P25 phase 2 digital but unencrypted (so far). State police are on Motorola Omnilink II with both P25 phase 1 and analog. Somerset has a lot of simulcast going on so an SDS100 or 200 would be the way to go if your friend has the money. IF not a good new or used Uniden 325P2 would fill most of the needs for causal listening.

Greg-KJ4DGE

 

[kaitlyn4589]

@danesgs i think my friend just wants to monitor his local PD which would be manville PD

 

[danesgs]

Then you will need a new or used P2 capable scanner and if price is an issue the Uniden 325P2. Its the cheapest yet most reliable Handheld for the money. What does he want to spend or is that not a problem?

 

[kaitlyn4589]

@danesgs i have no idea what he wants to spend but you gave me some decent info i shall pass it on to him and let him decide i own an sds100 myself as my area has lots of simulcast issues

 

[markjrenna]

IMHO - Get the SDS. Protects for the future since it's the high end model and no additional 3rd party programming software or fee.

Programming 325P2...

Programming my new BCD325P2 scanner

Hello to everyone.....I just purchased the BCD325P2 scanner and had it programmed for 2 counties when I bought it. I just received it and it seems to be working fine. My question is there are many other frequencies I would like to put in and I read I read in the manual how "To Program an ID into...

forums.radioreference.com

It's not a scanner but if he only wants Manville, a Unication G4 would be an outstanding choice. With RR database subscription it's very easy to program.

 

[magic_lantern]

"IMHO - Get the SDS. Protects for the future since it's the high end model and no additional 3rd party programming software or fee.

Programming 325P2..."

Nothing is really going to protect us from the future. I was just handed several KVL5000's from my agency.

 

[AvidHiker]

I don't think there's a choice here - if your friend wants a scanner that covers Manville PD, the SDS100 is the only handheld that will give reliable reception. My office is very close to Manville and both of my 436HPs (similar simulcast performance to the 325P2) have proven very unreliable on Somerset County's P25 system, particularly when mobile. At first it might seem like they're receiving pretty well, but when you attempt to follow a single TG, you will often find a lot of dropped transmissions. Sometimes I would get nothing for hours on end. With persistence (a lot of trial-and-error), you might be able to find a specific location and antenna combo that is somewhat reliable, but then you've sorta defeated the purpose of a handheld and it will still struggle at times (IME). The one upside to the Manville area is that you have the Martinsville NJICS tower that seems to reliably carry NJSP Troop B (this is based on my occasional checks, so, FWIW). My 436s seem to do pretty well when I hold on that site.

 

[doctordialtone]

I mis-read the OP's post.

[Deleted]

 

[AvidHiker]

I don't follow. For one, the choice is not the OP's to make, they're simply attempting to keep a friend from wasting their time and money on something that can't do what they need it to. IMO, while it can sometimes be an annoyance, the volume issue is overblown. Put some noise-cancelling headphones on it if you're having that much trouble. Or, as already suggested, don't buy a scanner, and settle for a pager (I'd assume the Unications do much better in this regard).

 

[kaitlyn4589]

I don't think there's a choice here - if your friend wants a scanner that covers Manville PD, the SDS100 is the only handheld that will give reliable reception. My office is very close to Manville and both of my 436HPs (similar simulcast performance to the 325P2) have proven very unreliable on Somerset County's P25 system, particularly when mobile. At first it might seem like they're receiving pretty well, but when you attempt to follow a single TG, you will often find a lot of dropped transmissions. Sometimes I would get nothing for hours on end. With persistence (a lot of trial-and-error), you might be able to find a specific location and antenna combo that is somewhat reliable, but then you've sorta defeated the purpose of a handheld and it will still struggle at times (IME). The one upside to the Manville area is that you have the Martinsville NJICS tower that seems to reliably carry NJSP Troop B (this is based on my occasional checks, so, FWIW). My 436s seem to do pretty well when I hold on that site.

@AvidHiker you gave me just the right info i needed i will pass it on ot my friend ty