Lake County/Mentor Listening Question

[N8qxd]

Hello All.

Thinking of making the jump back into the hobby and am considering the new SDS150. Just wondering if there is anyone in the Lake County Area that can shed some light of the scanning environment here?

Is encryption an issue or soon will be? Really only interested in the standard police and fire frequencies for the area.

The SDS150 is certainly far more scanner than I have ever had previously. Back in the day I would buy a crystal for what I wanted to listen to. Tells you how old I am.

Anyway, would greatly appreciate any insight into the listening environment in the Lake County area of Ohio.

Thank you

George

 

[Cobra_Commander]

Lake county right now is in the clear and i am not sure if they are going encrytped i heard from chatter it could happen in the future but as of right now it is all clear. Let me know if you need any help programming your scanner or not.Law enforcement and fire are in the clear so is osp and public service talkgroups.

 

[N8qxd]

Wry grateful for your reply. Thinking I might just get the SDS100 as I don’t think I need all the new model offers. These are complicated little devices for sure. I see that most retailers offer programming services. Must be a reason for that. Ahhh. The days of just dropping in a crystal or knowing the frequency.

Again thank you. Might take you up on your offer!

George

 

[kc8rak]

The jail is the only encripted as of now. Some ODNR and state pop up random with ENC. I have 2 SDR's on the local trunked and its rare to see encripted show up. ENC shows up bright red so its easy to see.

 

[N8qxd]

Thank you very much. Grateful. I suppose it is only a matter of time before all are encrypted. Heck I mean if I could have encryption on a radio system I would do it. Makes sense. Just don’t want to invest the money it takes anymore to have the gear required only to have that gear obsoleted in short order.

George

 

[Nasby]

Thank you very much. Grateful. I suppose it is only a matter of time before all are encrypted. Heck I mean if I could have encryption on a radio system I would do it. Makes sense. Just don’t want to invest the money it takes anymore to have the gear required only to have that gear obsoleted in short order.

George

Actually, we are quite lucky in NE Ohio (Lake County included) as there’s still plenty of unencrypted radio traffic to monitor. If you have an interest in scanning, I’d say go for it.

Modern digital transmissions are so much clearer and enjoyable to hear than the “good old days” of analog static.

The SDS models hold their value pretty well so if encryption does come, you could easily recoup some money.

 

[Swipesy]

Hello All.

Thinking of making the jump back into the hobby and am considering the new SDS150. Just wondering if there is anyone in the Lake County Area that can shed some light of the scanning environment here?

Is encryption an issue or soon will be? Really only interested in the standard police and fire frequencies for the area.

The SDS150 is certainly far more scanner than I have ever had previously. Back in the day I would buy a crystal for what I wanted to listen to. Tells you how old I am.

Anyway, would greatly appreciate any insight into the listening environment in the Lake County area of Ohio.

Thank you

George

Depemding where you live you and you want to monitor Lake County be sure to program, not only MARCS Lake County Towers, but also Cuyahoga and Geauga Towers as part of your Lake County Talkgroups. Some, but not all of Lake County units affiliate with neighboring community Towers.

 

[N8qxd]

Hello Swipesy

Thank you for the suggestion. This is sort of one reason why I have not pulled the trigger yet on one of the SDS handhelds. The programming just seems like it is a pretty steep learning curve. I’ve been out of the hobby for a while and have considered reentering several times with a HT but the complexity kind of scares me away. I would certainly request programming by the retailer but then I really don’t know what I am going to get. What I would ideally like to do is to find a local “Elmer” if you will and pay them for some of their time to accurately program the scanner I purchase.

Thank you kindly for your reply

George

 

[Swipesy]

George,

Do not pay a retailer to program a radio you buy. If you buy a Uniden SDS 100, 150 or 200 or a Whistler (not recommended) I will help you program it for free.

John

 

[N8qxd]

George,

Do not pay a retailer to program a radio you buy. If you buy a Uniden SDS 100, 150 or 200 or a Whistler (not recommended) I will help you program it for free.

John

Good Morning John

Well how kind of you. Thank you for your offer. That would be great as I would like to actually see how the process is done. Maybe take a video I can refer to going forward. Looks like it is going to have to be the 150 as I really want to have a charging base for the scanner and the 100 does not accommodate that. Bummer. The USB connection for charging on a device like this in my opinion is too delicate. A charging base is better I feel.

Well I would be happy to pay you for your time. Getting close to pulling the trigger. I understand I don’t need any of the “keys” at this time. I would order the unit with the standard SD card as I am really only interested in Lake County, Ohio.

Well I thank you again. I’ll keep you posted.

George

 

[N8qxd]

Hello All

Just want to express my appreciation for all the kind responses and help. Pulled the trigger this AM on the SDS150. The aspect that really clinched it for me was that the 150 had a desktop charger and the 100 did not. I know, probably silly but I really prefer the charging through a desktop charger as opposed to the USB method on the 100. I expect to receive the scanner sometime this coming week. Looking forward.

Again thank you all for your kind messages. I’ll probably need to get in touch with you John to program the new scanner. Don’t worry I am not stupid just a bit uneasy with the programming.

I think in the interim I’ll download the component that goes on my desktop. Ininahinenillnprobanky need that.

Back to you guys soon!

George

 

[N8qxd]

Hi Guys

Anyone know if there is by chance a video or e en a book that explains the simulcast system. I mean I know what simulcast means I think but not how it applies here. Thank you as always

George

 

[Daleb49]

George,

Do not pay a retailer to program a radio you buy. If you buy a Uniden SDS 100, 150 or 200 or a Whistler (not recommended) I will help you program it for free.

John

Well I might look you up for help.
I just ordered one Thursday night.
I have been looking at Sentinal and trying to figure it out.
I have had 4 Whistlers since 2017 and have those down pat.
I have some older Uniden's that you programed by the keypad.
At 77 I'm willing to learn. I was hoping there was a way to import the info from the Whistler file into the SDS.
Thanks for your offering to help.

Dale B

 

[wa8pyr]

Hi Guys

Anyone know if there is by chance a video or e en a book that explains the simulcast system. I mean I know what simulcast means I think but not how it applies here. Thank you as always

George

In a nutshell, a simulcast site is made up of multiple towers, all sending the same thing, at the same time, on the same frequencies.

 

[N8qxd]

In a nutshell, a simulcast site is made up of multiple towers, all sending the same thing, at the same time, on the same frequencies.

Thank you Sir