New PSR-800 & Database Question From Newbie

[konabrian]

Hello everyone!
I just got the scanner yesterday and have sort of a general question for the group. I live outside of Burlington, VT, Addison County. This is a rural area and the lists on RR are pretty sparse & not organized all that well.
If I rely solely on the update and download feature, I miss a lot and it makes programming very confusing.
Is my best bet to search around and load frequencies manually, a little at a time through EZScan, to get myself to the most used ones in my area?
I know there were a couple people in my area on here in the past so I also thought someone may have a list for me.
Unless I can make this expensive purchase work to my advantage, I may return it and revert back to the Pro-97 and be happy with that.
Thank you!
Brian/WB2JIX

 

[Redneck0410]

Hello everyone!
I just got the scanner yesterday and have sort of a general question for the group. I live outside of Burlington, VT, Addison County. This is a rural area and the lists on RR are pretty sparse & not organized all that well.
If I rely solely on the update and download feature, I miss a lot and it makes programming very confusing.
Is my best bet to search around and load frequencies manually, a little at a time through EZScan, to get myself to the most used ones in my area?
I know there were a couple people in my area on here in the past so I also thought someone may have a list for me.
Unless I can make this expensive purchase work to my advantage, I may return it and revert back to the Pro-97 and be happy with that.
Thank you!
Brian/WB2JIX

The lists you see on the database are provided by volunteers just like you and I. It is, in no way shape or form, to be interpreted as an all-inclusive list of what you will hear in Addison County. Something else you could try doing is consult the FCC database at License Search Click "Advanced License Search, select radio group "PW" and status "Active" then select your county by clicking the "GeoSearch" button at the bottom of the page. Select your county and click Search. By doing the steps I just outlined, I found 56 active licenses in the "Public Safety" radio service in your county. You may also try an external antenna (A magnet-mount mobile scanner antenna should do just fine) outside your listening location to improve your reception. Don't take the scanner back, there might be someone here within the forums that would be willing to buy it off you (I know I need a digital scanner).

 

[konabrian]

Thank You

I just had a chance to give it a try. Very detailed. I also found out with a lot of frustration that the FCC site doesn't seem to like Firefox. I finally tried it in I/E and the search you described worked perfectly. Took a while but it worked.

Thanks again!

Brian/WB2JIX

 

[HM1529]

Also, if you find things in your county that are not listed or are listed incorrectly, please help us improve the database by submitting information. I cover Pennsylvania, not Vermont, but the same holds true everywhere. The data are only as good as the submissions we receive over time. Unless a particular admin has intimate knowledge of operations in a given area, user submissions are are the utmost importance. Collaboration is key.