New to forum, trunking and receiver suggestions pls

[contaucreek]

Hi from Ontario Canada. I have listened to scanners in the past and have owned a RS 4 channel crystal handheld and eventually graduated to a Bearcat programable handheld with a couple others in between.

Now, flash forward 25 years and I'm looking at getting a new handheld as i am a long distance commuter and would find it interesting to listen to along the way.

What the heck is trunking/trunk tracking ?? (please, phrase your answer at a 10 year olds level )

What would a good receiver be ? I need something that can have an external output for speaker, the car can get noisy and want a handheld for the portability aspect.

Thanks in advance for any help and my handles Paul.

 

[ka3jjz]

Read the 2 links found in the overview section of: (anything in blue is a link)

Trunked Radio Systems - The RadioReference Wiki

The 2nd link is a PDF file, so you will need Adobe, Foxit, 3D or one of the other compatible viewers to read it.

best regards..Mike

 

[W8RMH]

Here is my recommendation PSR-800 - The RadioReference Wiki

 

[Rt169Radio]

I would suggest the Uniden BCD396XT handheld scanner since it can do analog and digital trunktracking.I would suggest also getting a better antenna if your going to be traveling and listening to it.

 

[DickH]

What the heck is trunking/trunk tracking ?? (please, phrase your answer at a 10 year olds level ) ...

Here is a simple explanation

Motorola Trunking:
The object of trunking is to allow many users to share a relatively few frequencies.
A trunking system is controlled by a computer. Information (data) is exchanged between the system radios and the computer on a control channel, sometimes called a data channel. It sounds like a strong buzz.
A large system can have up to 28 freqs., 4 of which may be used as control channels. The control channel may be changed once a day or as often as the programmer decides. Some scanners need only the control channels to track an entire system. Just put in the 4 Control Channels.

Each group of users (Fire, Police, etc.) is assigned TALK GROUPS. In a Motorola Type II system, the most common type, TGs are usually in 32 number steps starting with 16 and going up to 65536; 16, 48, 80 --- 4656, 4688, 4720 --- 28944, 28976, etc. System radios can have more than 100 TGs programmed into them.

After all the freqs. have been entered and it is "trunking", the Banks become SCAN LISTS where you enter the Talk Groups you want to hear.
Use the Talk Group numbers in the DEC column, not in the HEX column.

When a user pushes the talk button on his radio, data is sent to the computer. The computer chooses an unused freq. and sends that data to all the radios using the TG of the originating unit. This all happens in a fraction of a second and it happens EVERY TIME a radio is used.

EXAMPLE:
Fire Dispatch calling Engine 4 (TG 4528 on 856.7125)
Engine 4 answering Dispatch (TG 4528 on 852.2625)
Respond to 73 Elm Street (TG 4528 on 855.9625)
Engine 4 responding (TG 4528 on 851.6375)

If you have entered TG 4528 into your scanner, it will decode the control channel data and change your scanner freqs. to follow the conversation on TG 4528.

This should get you started, but you should read the manual carefully. You may need to read it several times.

EDACS and LTR systems use the same principles, but they can not do Control Channel Only trunking, the TG numbering is different and the frequencies must be entered into specified channels in the scanner.

 

[W6KRU]

I have GRE and Unidenn digital scanners. The GRE has superior digital decoding. The Uniden 396XT is the worst at decoding the system I listen to. The poor digital decoding results in unintelligible audio than sounds like digital TV looks when you have a poor signal.

 

[KE4ZNR]

I have GRE and Unidenn digital scanners. The GRE has superior digital decoding. The Uniden 396XT is the worst at decoding the system I listen to. The poor digital decoding results in unintelligible audio than sounds like digital TV looks when you have a poor signal.

With all due respect Dan's results are from his location in CA.
Other folks have had different results elsewhere. I own both GRE & Uniden scanners
and they both perform well here in Central NC. I use my Uniden BCD396XT and my HomePatrol HP-1 daily. My advice: Instead of taking the advice
of folks hundreds/thousands of miles from you look for someone more local to your
area that can help you decide which radio has the features you will use plus performs
great on the local systems for your area.
Welcome to the hobby and Happy Monitoring!
Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[Highpockets]

I agree with DDan, the digital decoding on the XT model isn't as good as the GRE in my area, NJ (East Coast), that scanner needs an upgrade to fix a few decoding issues with that model.

 

[ka3jjz]

I agree with Marshall - and since the OT said he wants to hear the OPP, then this is the place to go to get opinions from local scannists

Ontario - The RadioReference.com Forums

There is also at least 1 Yahoo group for scanning in this area. Between the 2 you should get lots of opinions - welcome to scanning (hi)

best regards..Mike

 

[contaucreek]

Great links and explanations, thank you very much. Heading over to the Ontario forum, Thx for the heads up !

 

[krokus]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8530/5.0.0.973 Profile/MIDP-2.1 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

I would say that the Uniden HomePatrol is a good choice, for sheer simplicity. You can use GPS to enable location-based scanning, so the radio will select appropriate settings for where you are.

The GRE PSR-800 would be another good choice, as it is simple to operate, and is portable. This radio has the most advanced decoding available in a scanner, as of right now.