Mount Airy, MD / Carroll County Fire/rescue

[172pilot]

Hi,

I'm an "inactive" HAM, who has owned many scanners and HTs over the years, but I have never owned any "digital" or trunking radios. Most of what I've listened to in the last 20 years is aviation and 2m HAM band, but am now interested in listening to my local fire/rescue, and maybe police..

From the reading I've been doing on this, and other sites, it LOOKS LIKE much of what I want is included in some shared trunking system called "First" or "Project 25" (First Responders Interoperable Radio System Team (FIRST) Trunking System, Various, Maryland - Scanner Frequencies) but some of that is assumption on my part.. Can someone confirm that the Mount Airy VFD, and maybe my Mount Airy local state police are on this system? (We have "resident troopers" instead of city police, and are patrolled by these state police)

AND, then if that's the case, is there a feature I'm looking for that would help me to select a scanner? There are SO many terms, features, and versions that I want to make sure I buy something that will actually work! Is there a grid somewhere on this site that shows which scanners have which features?

AND, lastly.. Ar these systems pretty standard now, and not in constant upgrade? I used to listen quite regularly on an old analog scanner (not in Mount Airy) but as systems upgraded, it seems that different localities went to different systems, and they were always upgrading, and there was a real risk of spending hundreds of dollars on a scanner, only to find out that the system you wanted to listen to had gone to some new whiz-bang digital system that there was no scanner for yet, and now you get to listen to nothing on your shiny new scanner.. I know there's no way to see the future, but at least in terms of what Mount Airy / Carroll County / Maryland has.. is it due for an upgrade soon, and I'll find myself out of luck in 12 months? Do some of the scanners use upgradable features to avoid being out of date in this way? Has SDR taken off in this world? If so, it might be fun to use a RPi and run some software radio with a USB dongle or something, but I'm not sure if that's realistic with a trunked system??

I know that's a lot of questions for one post, but it's hopefully enough info about where I am mentally and physically, with some idea of what I want to listen to..

Thanks in advance!
Steve Jones
Mount Airy, MD

 

[troymail]

Hi,

I'm an "inactive" HAM, who has owned many scanners and HTs over the years, but I have never owned any "digital" or trunking radios. Most of what I've listened to in the last 20 years is aviation and 2m HAM band, but am now interested in listening to my local fire/rescue, and maybe police..

From the reading I've been doing on this, and other sites, it LOOKS LIKE much of what I want is included in some shared trunking system called "First" or "Project 25" (First Responders Interoperable Radio System Team (FIRST) Trunking System, Various, Maryland - Scanner Frequencies) but some of that is assumption on my part.. Can someone confirm that the Mount Airy VFD, and maybe my Mount Airy local state police are on this system? (We have "resident troopers" instead of city police, and are patrolled by these state police)

FiRST is just coming up in the Carroll and Frederick areas... Eventually, based on other counties, MSP will start using FiRST as their primary system but they'll likely continue to be patched onto their respsective county systems also.

Mount Airy VFD and MSP Westminster are on the Carroll County P25 system (Carroll County Trunking System, Westminster, Maryland - Scanner Frequencies).

MSP Frederick are on the Frederick County P25 system (Frederick County Trunking System, Frederick, Maryland - Scanner Frequencies).

AND, then if that's the case, is there a feature I'm looking for that would help me to select a scanner? There are SO many terms, features, and versions that I want to make sure I buy something that will actually work! Is there a grid somewhere on this site that shows which scanners have which features?

Pretty much any recent digital scanner can handle the county level systems that are operating mostly in Phase 1 mode of P25. However, Carroll County does have some Phase 2 P25 talkgroups and 99% of the time, FiRST is also Phase 2.

The primary feature you'll want to look for is P25 - Phase 1 and/or Phase 2. After that, it's really your preferences.

Here's a good starting list: http://hamstation.com/shopping/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=234

AND, lastly.. Ar these systems pretty standard now, and not in constant upgrade? I used to listen quite regularly on an old analog scanner (not in Mount Airy) but as systems upgraded, it seems that different localities went to different systems, and they were always upgrading, and there was a real risk of spending hundreds of dollars on a scanner, only to find out that the system you wanted to listen to had gone to some new whiz-bang digital system that there was no scanner for yet, and now you get to listen to nothing on your shiny new scanner.. I know there's no way to see the future, but at least in terms of what Mount Airy / Carroll County / Maryland has.. is it due for an upgrade soon, and I'll find myself out of luck in 12 months? Do some of the scanners use upgradable features to avoid being out of date in this way? Has SDR taken off in this world? If so, it might be fun to use a RPi and run some software radio with a USB dongle or something, but I'm not sure if that's realistic with a trunked system??

Carroll just went to P25 earlier this year. Frederick has been P25 for some time now. I don't see these systems changing to anything else for quite some time to come. Most public safety systems are already or an moving to P25 (at least Phase 1 if not Phase 2). Of course, there are always exceptions.

Nearly all current digital scanners are firmware upgradable... it just becomes a question of if the vendor you select (Whistler or Uniden) is planning any specific updates that you might want... and you won't know until they release those updates.

I know that's a lot of questions for one post, but it's hopefully enough info about where I am mentally and physically, with some idea of what I want to listen to..

Thanks in advance!
Steve Jones
Mount Airy, MD

 

[ka3jjz]

err..on that list - the Home Patrol 1 does NOT cover Phase 2 systems - keep that in mind while you do your shopping, particularly if you want to be able to hear FiRST when it gets more active in your area.

Mike

 

[ka3jjz]

This list from our wiki closely matches the one Troy gave you - but it includes RS PRO-668 which isn't on that page...

APCO Project 25 - The RadioReference Wiki

These are scanners that will handle BOTH Phase 1 and 2 systems...Mike

 

[troymail]

err..on that list - the Home Patrol 1 does NOT cover Phase 2 systems - keep that in mind while you do your shopping, particularly if you want to be able to hear FiRST when it gets more active in your area.

Mike

Agree but it is P25...

Bottom line - do your research looking at the age and various features. Not all P25 scanners do Phase 2... and there are many other features to consider.

This list from our wiki closely matches the one Troy gave you - but it includes RS PRO-668 which isn't on that page...

APCO Project 25 - The RadioReference Wiki

These are scanners that will handle BOTH Phase 1 and 2 systems...Mike

Recommend staying with newer scanner models -- Given the state of Radio Shack, I'd avoid those if you want support (and you do want support).

 

[maus92]

I would not waste my money on a non-P25 Phase 2 capable scanner if I lived in Carroll County, noting that the state is rolling out a P25p2 system - FiRST - in your area right now. I believe the intention of Carroll County is to eventually move most users to P25p2 once they acquire a critical mass of compatible subscriber units. BTW, a P25 phase 2 scanner is backwards compatible with P25 phase 1 systems. P25 technology is the current public safety standard, and is in widespread deployment in large metropolitan areas and surrounding counties in Maryland.

My overall favorite P25p2 capable scanner at the moment is the Uniden HP-2, followed by the BCD436HP. Both require a PC to program and update frequency databases. Some people find the PC|scanner marriage intimidating, but I find it makes life much easier. YMMV.

Good luck!

 

[1075]

I just got my BCD436HP today, I programmed my favorites lists in Sentinel before ordering my radio. I am not receiving anything on Carroll County Fire, the monitor for that system is set to "ON". I'm sure that I must be overlooking something since this is my first attempt at programming a scanner, and I am not computer savvy. Howard and Frederick Counties appear to be working fine. Any suggestions?

 

[maus92]

I would carefully compare your programming to make sure you have been consistent between the systems. Do you live in Carroll County? Many of the newer systems shape their signal footprint to closely follow jurisdictional borders - not sure if Carroll did that. Have you tried to program the First system? There are no special settings to receive phase 2 transmissions. I'd also make sure that you have the proper service types enabled in Sentinel.

 

[1075]

I would carefully compare your programming to make sure you have been consistent between the systems. Do you live in Carroll County? Many of the newer systems shape their signal footprint to closely follow jurisdictional borders - not sure if Carroll did that. Have you tried to program the First system? There are no special settings to receive phase 2 transmissions. I'd also make sure that you have the proper service types enabled in Sentinel.

I live in Southwest Carroll County, Mt. Airy area, I'm on a hilltop so terrain shouldn't be an issue. I'm not sure what you mean by being consistent between the systems, but I did use the Carroll County Public Safety database in Sentinel. I do have the proper service types enabled (fire dispatch, fire-tac, fire-talk, EMS-tac etc.) enabled.

I programmed quick keys in for each System, but I am confused about department and other quick keys, so that may be an issue.

One thing I am discovering, the instructions in the manual and elsewhere are vague, technical and confusing for someone with limited computer knowledge like myself. I learn best by observing and some of the YouTube tutorials have been helpful. However at this point I'm frustrated. Radio Reference is great, there is a wealth of knowledge here for sure, but finding answers to specific questions can be time consuming.

 

[maus92]

Yea I don't use quick keys at all, so I cannot help you there. It's very difficult to troubleshoot programming via forums, but what you *could* do is program only the Carroll County system into the scanner, and get that system working, then build from there. You cannot hurt anything by reprogramming.

 

[troymail]

There is a tower site for Carroll County in Mt Airy -- Rt 27 south of Rt 70 - if I'm not mistaken. If you'r close to that, you should have no problem receiving the system. On the other hand, if you're north of there and between towers, that could spell problems due to known simulcast distortion issues.

 

[1075]

There is a tower site for Carroll County in Mt Airy -- Rt 27 south of Rt 70 - if I'm not mistaken. If you'r close to that, you should have no problem receiving the system. On the other hand, if you're north of there and between towers, that could spell problems due to known simulcast distortion issues.

I'm only about 3 miles max. from that area, I must have done something wrong programming Carroll County, or I have a channel quick key set to the off position somewhere. Most of the other local stuff seems to be working. I'm not really sure how to turn channels off and on from the keypad on the 436.