Mahwah NJ Police Scanner

[mahwahcitizen]

Hello all!

I am by no means an expert in any of this kind of stuff.

I wanted to post on here because I do not see a police scanner for Mahwah PD anywhere. I've used Broadcastify and a few different apps but I don't see PD anywhere. All I see is EMS and Fire Dispatch.

Does anyone know why this is?

Thank you!

 

[NParkNJ]

No one has a feed for them is what it means. If you want to listen to them/or host them you’ll need a P25 Phase 1 capable scanner.

 

[mahwahcitizen]

But why does no one have a feed for them? Why can't someone just add it?

Mahwah is listed here: Bergen County, New Jersey (NJ) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference with all of their frequencies. Why can't it just be added?

 

[NC1]

There's probably no feed because a lot of hosts dropped the PD feeds due to many "not so upstanding" people using it for nefarious purposes. Unfortunately, the few have ruined it for the many, but now we just buy scanners to listen in at home.

 

[mahwahcitizen]

Gotcha. You can use scanners anywhere though, right? Not in the sense as like law I just mean by it actually working away from home.

Can someone recommend the cheapest scanner to listen in to Mahwah feeds? I don't need anything fancy, just something that works.

 

[tvengr]

The Bergen County system is Phase 2 capable. If the talkgroups change to Phase 2, you will be out of luck with a Phase 1 scanner. Also, all 3 sites are simulcast. Depending on your location, you may have problems receiving the system unless you use a Uniden SDS100 handheld or SDS200 base/mobile scanner. The SDS100 and SDS200 are the only scanners designed to receive simulcast systems.

 

[GTR8000]

The Bergen County system is Phase 2 capable. If the talkgroups change to Phase 2, you will be out of luck with a Phase 1 scanner. Also, all 3 sites are simulcast. Depending on your location, you may have problems receiving the system unless you use a Uniden SDS100 handheld or SDS200 base/mobile scanner. The SDS100 and SDS200 are the only scanners designed to receive simulcast systems.

Yeah, except that Mahwah PD/FD/EMS is not on the Bergen County system. I know you're always trying to be helpful, but if you're not familiar with a particular area you should probably refrain from posting inaccurate or misleading info.

 

[GTR8000]

But why does no one have a feed for them? Why can't someone just add it?

Mahwah is listed here: Bergen County, New Jersey (NJ) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference with all of their frequencies. Why can't it just be added?

Because audio feeds are hosted by volunteers who spend their own money to buy scanners/receivers and to pay for the electricity and Internet bandwidth to host the audio feeds. If no one wants to do so, then there isn't going to be a feed, simple as that.

 

[wtp]

Ridgewood and Area Police, Fire / EMS

Ridgewood, Paramus, Ho-Ho-Kus, Glen Rock, Franklin Lakes, Wyckoff, Midland Park, Fairlawn, Waldwick, Allendale, Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Ramsey, Mahwah, Washington Twp., Paramus, Rochelle Park, Maywood, (Hawthorne (Passaic County)) PD, EMS and FD
it says offline right now so check in later.

 

[GTR8000]

Gotcha. You can use scanners anywhere though, right? Not in the sense as like law I just mean by it actually working away from home.

Can someone recommend the cheapest scanner to listen in to Mahwah feeds? I don't need anything fancy, just something that works.

You have to be within the coverage area of the repeater in order for a scanner to work. No signal = no listen. You'll be receiving the actual radio waves, not a "feed".

The Whistler WS1040 is probably the cheapest P25 capable scanner you can buy brand new. Of course there are options for used P25 capable scanners as well that would be cheaper.

 

[NParkNJ]

Another option would be the Uniden 396t/xt, or the 996xt. Those are Phase 1. The 396t as I understand does not have NAC decoding. I know the xt’s do. I find since Mahwah moved to P25 their signal gets out quite nice. Especially compared to when the PD was on analog.

 

[markjrenna]

Plenty of advice in prior posts... Unfortunately this is not a cheap hobby or a one size fits all, so to speak. You may want to look at Unication G5 for your P25 and Analog needs but it's not a scanner and you can switch between Analog and P25 but not both at the same time. Or you can get a Unication G4/G5 for just P25 listening and another "cheaper" analog scanner. Just another option for you especially if you only want to listen to Mahwah. If you want to start listening to Oakland, Franklin Lakes, Wyckoff, Wayne... for example... You will do better with a Uninden SDS... Just nothing is cheap that does it all. And elevation is key on your reception... The higher up you are... the better.

 

[GTR8000]

Mahwah PD is non-simulcast conventional P25, so a Unication G series or SDS series would be overkill if that is the OP's only interest. The cheapest option would be a used scanner that is capable of P25 Phase I, of which there are many options in the Uniden and GRE/Radio Shack/Whistler families. Some of those older scanners have sold on eBay recently for $200-$300.

 

[N2NHL]

Before selling it, I was able to hear Mahwah PD on my RadioShack Pro-668 from down here on the Belleville/Newark border. They do put out a nice signal. So, I imagine there are some of the more modern digital scanners from Whistler and Uniden than can do it. I currently hear them fine on my SDS100 and SDS200 using a small discone stuck to my AC unit, but those may be overkill for your purposes.

 

[mahwahcitizen]

Thank you all for your help.

Would this Uniden scanner work : https://www.amazon.com/Uniden-BC125...6046&sprefix=cheap+digital+pol,aps,331&sr=8-6

 

[Danny37]

Thank you all for your help.

Would this Uniden scanner work : https://www.amazon.com/Uniden-BC125AT-Alpha-Tagged-channels-Lightweight/dp/B00772MR0K/ref=sr_1_6?crid=20RJL9M9Q4V6Y&dchild=1&keywords=cheap+digital+police+scanner&qid=1611926046&sprefix=cheap+digital+pol,aps,331&sr=8-6

No it won't work. You need a digital scanner, read the posts above, they've given you some good suggestions

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00IID3OAY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_QH7K9W3ZRVVDAF46R3FS

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

Here are the scanners at minimum in one screenshot that should do the job. Others are included in this wiki but they're more expensive and have "bells and whistles" you may not need for Mahwah alone



With that said...if Mahwah decides to migrate to this system in the future, you'll need a P25 Phase II capable scanner, preferably a Uniden SDS100 or 200 to deal with simulcast distortion, assuming they don't decide to encrypt their ops that is!

 

[mahwahcitizen]

Ok, thank you. As I said, I know little to nothing about this stuff. There is no way to listen via an analog scanner/radio? When did Mahwah switch from analog to digital?

 

[Whiskey3JMC]

There is no way to listen via an analog scanner/radio?

Not to anything designated in the database as mode P25, correct. All you'll get is data noise if you tune to those frequencies. Mode "FMN" frequencies should be able to be monitored without a problem on an analog receiver assuming the database is accurate

 

[mahwahcitizen]

Ok, so what is the advantage from digital over analog, and is there a way to see when Mahwah switched?