Montgomery Township police, fire, EMS, and DPW currently use analog talkgroups on the county's Motorola Type II trunked system. The Pro-164 is able to receive these channels and would be a fine choice for the present time.
The 164 can not receive digital channels. The county Educational Services Commission school buses contracted to Montgomery use a digital channel so you would not be able to hear them. As far as Montgomery police/ fire/ EMS/ DPW, I am only aware of them using digital channels for mutual aid (to Franklin, say) or in very extraordinary circumstances.
Be aware that in the next couple years or so the system will be upgraded to be all digital. The plans were reported on this forum a while back; they may have slipped a bit but it will happen eventually because of FCC requirements for narrowbanding. Once that upgrade takes place the 164 will not be able to monitor those Montgomery channels. It is possible that some departments will use digital encryption, which means that even digital scanners can not receive them.
You may wish to invest in a digital scanner now, or find a cheaper new/used analog-only scanner for now and plan on buying a digital scanner when the system is upgraded if the stuff you want isn't encrypted. Frankly I suggest holding off on buying digital as long as reasonably possible since new models with nice new features come out every couple years. Or you'll be able to buy today's models discounted for close-out or used in the future.
Jim
