Marion county, Fl. sheriff reception

[khoelldobler]

Greetings friends, I am currently using my Uniden UBC3300XLT hand-held scanner to listen in on the Ocala Police trunking frequencies... I pick them up crystal clear, they are P25 and trunked on 800 Mhz. I wish to monitor Marion County Sheriff's Office, also on a P25 and also trunked on 800 Mhz, but I cannot seem to pick up anything. I checked other forums, and have learned that I am listening to Ocala PD on 3600 baud... I have heard others say that I will not pick up 9600 baud with my scanner. My scanner has the BCi25 card installed, but I think I may need the BCi96D card to listen to 9600 baud... is this true?

Do I need to replace my BCi25 card with a BCi96 card?
Do I need and BCi96D card to monitor 9600 baud to hear the Marion County Sheriff
Will a BCi96D card work in my UBC3300XLT european model of the Uniden 250D

Do I need a new scanner, and if so, which one will monitor MC Sheriffs Office best, as I believe they are listed on Radioreference as being system type: project 25 standard , system voice: APCO-25 Common Air Interface Exclusive... which I am not really sure what interface exclusive means in terms of scanning thier trunked frequencies.

Can anyone help me...


Thanks, Kevin from Ocala, Florida (Marion County resident & scanner buff for 25 years)

 

[Bolt21]

I'm not sure if it makes any difference when it comes to baud, but Ocala is actually a Type 2 analog system, which means it is NOT P25 (digital) like the Marion County system is.

APCO-25 Common Air Interface Exclusive systems are pure P25 digital systems. A Type 2, like Ocala's, can potentially have some P25 digital voice channels along with it's primarily analog voice channels. I have successfully listened to both Ocala and Marion while traveling through the county with these systems set as such on a BCD396T.

Sorry this didn't really answer your question about baud rates, but maybe this info can provide you with some clues in your quest.

 

[khoelldobler]

Marion Cty Sheriff radio reception

Thanks for the reply regarding Ocala, Marion County reception... your reply does help me, in that I do believe that it may be time for me to purchase a new scanner, most likely the BCD396T model. I guess the 396T model will pick up Marion County Sheriff's Department, and that does interest me alot. My UBC3300XLT scanner has the BCi25 card in it, but it does not seem to help me in monitoring the MCSO frequencies... and as I now understand it, my current scanner, the UBC3300XLT is the european model of the Uniden Bearcat 250D. The 250D is the American version, and I have been informed that internally, my radio will not monitor Marion County's digital or should I rephrase that... my scanner will not track properly those transmissions. I guess its off to the internet to locate the best deal on the best scanner... the 396T (I have heard alot of rave reviews on the 396T) and I think thats where I'l start. Thanks again, Kevin in Ocala.

 

[whooey]

I have both the 396T and the GRE PSR-500. I monitor Marion Co everyday, get the PSR-500. Its 2 years newer and has alot better features, like Radio ID's, and a led that can glow 7 different colors. (Red=Fire Green=Sheriff)

The audio on the 396 is terrible!

 

[khoelldobler]

I have both the 396T and the GRE PSR-500. I monitor Marion Co everyday, get the PSR-500. Its 2 years newer and has alot better features, like Radio ID's, and a led that can glow 7 different colors. (Red=Fire Green=Sheriff)

The audio on the 396 is terrible!

Thanks for your input on the scanner... The PSR-500 sounds like a really good radio... I have done some comparisons of features between the 500 and the 396, and even heard that the PRO-96 was good. I was leaning towards a 396, and I cant remember what led me to begin swinging that way, but will compare to the 500 again. A costly receiver, and I need to choose wisely.

I want a scanner that will be upgradeable, rebandable, feature packed, APCO25 Digital, clear audio, and a good size of memory. It needs to pull in weak signals too. I dont care if it is large size or heavy like a brick, as I usually only use it at home, but I do prefer the handheld models. I also prefer a radio with a BNC antenna connection for ease of use.

 

[khoelldobler]

Hey, since you listen in on Marion County often, you may want to join the social group I started a few days ago... as of now, I am the only member. Its right here in Florida radio discussion "social groups" on the radioreference. Just a spot to share information with-in the Marion/Ocala / Alachua / Sumpter / Lake county listening area. I also just posted the North Marion school bus accident information on the radioreference FLORIDA BREAKING NEWS AND INCIDENTS page regarding the young girl who died yesterday. Our prayers go out to her family and the rest of the school students. The accident took place in Citra, Fl. not too far from Gainesville.

 

[whooey]

Yeah, sad news for sure.

If you wanna pull in weak signals, forget about the 396, that thing is deaf deaf deaf! I am 7 miles from Shandscair (461.625) dispatch, the 396 cant pick it up inside my house, barley gets it outside. The 500 rocks it loud and clear inside.

 

[whooey]

BTW, got a link to the social group? Cant find it, would be happy to join.