New to Scanning in OC - Suggestions?

[blakex]

So I'm new to this whole thing, been wanting to scan local police/fire for a while now. I'm currently located pretty much in the middle of the City of Orange and looking mainly to scan Orange PD. This page has all the local OC agencies listed, but I can't quite decipher what these mean:

55200 d7a E GREEN-1 Orange Law Dispatch
55232 d7c E GREEN-2 Orange Law Tac
55264 d7e E GREEN-3 Orange Law Tac

Are these Digital APCO-25? The page says Orange uses "Analog and APCO-25 Common Air Interface." So at this point, if I can avoid spending $500 for a digital scanner, that'd be great, but I also don't want to waste $200 if the Orange PD might upgrade in a year...so just looking for advice.

What would you recommend for my first scanner? I'm pretty tech-oriented (as I'm sure most who take up scanning are), so I'm hoping I can figure out whatever programming needs to be done.

And lastly, for those who might be from Orange, are the feeds pretty easy to pick up? I'm also interested in the Sherriff (as they patrol some surrounding areas) and the FD and CHP if they happen to drive within range.

Thanks!

 

[jrholm]

Almost all law enforcement in Orange County is encrypted so there is no legal way of monitoring it. You can monitor fire.

 

[Mick]

There is a small amount of city police & county sheriff activity which can be heard in Orange County. There are Pink channels that are analog for communicating between police & fire or other agencies. The Tan channels also for interop comms are analog. The Red channel (TG 50720) for countywide crime broadcasts & pursuits is digital and in the clear, and sometimes linked with 39.46 CLEMARS. County Sheriff Search & Rescue has an analog channel, 460.525. The Highway Patrol, State Universities/Colleges Police (except Cal State Fullerton), and State Parks Police/Rangers are all in the clear. Police helicopters using TG 6736 & low band (45.30) are dispatched and in the clear. State DOJ, County Sheriff's, PD's and numerous federal law agencies use VHF high band (ie 156.075, 155.445, 154.68) & 860 MHz channels (866.0125, 866.5125, 867.0125, 867.5125, & 868.0125) for surveillances on a daily basis in Or. Co. The Or. Co. Admin channel is 151.085 136.5.

So there's enough to hear, just the lack of primary dispatch channels making a catastrophic dent in a scanner enthusiasts hobby.

Check this list for TG's showing A & D "Mode" which your scanner can hear. The E mode is for encrypted.

Scanner Frequencies: Orange, County of (CCCS - Public Safety) Trunking System, Orange County, California

 

[blakex]

Thanks Mick for all the great information. Are these channels that you listed all digital? Or can I go with a cheaper analog scanner to pick up most of these? If I can get a cheaper analog, it might be fun to play with, but if I need a $500 digital scanner and won't be able to pick up police channels, it probably isn't worth it for me.

Thanks!

 

[scancho]

FWIW: for my purposes, I invested less than $300 including my Radio Shack 2055 and a decent mobile antenna to monitor OC Fire Authority and CHP. Like others have mentioned essentially all of OC Sheriff & municipal PDs are out of play.

 

[judas12]

Forget OC dude, it sucks. You cant get anything besides CHP'S and Fire Departments. All the PD's are encrypted..

 

[cousinkix1953]

Forget OC dude, it sucks. You cant get anything besides CHP'S and Fire Departments. All the PD's are encrypted..

Most of the Orange County LEAs begin encrypting even routine calls, not long after a public scandal involving the sheriff and some deputies. The crooked sheriff is in prison! They'll never learn. Here is the OC Register story about their latest lobster poaching incident.
Deputies face criminal charges in lobster poaching case | robb, prosecutors, romero, lobsters, county - News - OCRegister.com

How ironic, for these crooked cops to be be caught by a state agency, that has never used any kind of scramblers or digital encryption on it's radios. Make sure to add 151.415 and 151.430 mhz to your roster of state LEAs. Gane Wardens are still speaking plain English...

 

[Markb]

I would recommed investing in a digital scanner. Many of the federal agencies are digital or going that way soon and other municipal agencies are not far behind. At this point, you would be limiting your options for monitoring.
Like what has already been mentioned, there is plenty on the OC system that can still be heard. I'm just as disappointed as most others are to see that the PD's are encrypted, but in reality, who wants to hear car stops and buglar alarm calls all day? Just about any pursuit or officer involved shooting will likely go out on Red channel anyway and that is probably the most interesting thing to hear. I know that everyone has their preferences, but plenty of information can be gathered by listening to other channels that are not encrypted.

 

[cousinkix1953]

I would recommed investing in a digital scanner. Many of the federal agencies are digital or going that way soon and other municipal agencies are not far behind. At this point, you would be limiting your options for monitoring.
Like what has already been mentioned, there is plenty on the OC system that can still be heard. I'm just as disappointed as most others are to see that the PD's are encrypted, but in reality, who wants to hear car stops and buglar alarm calls all day? Just about any pursuit or officer involved shooting will likely go out on Red channel anyway and that is probably the most interesting thing to hear. I know that everyone has their preferences, but plenty of information can be gathered by listening to other channels that are not encrypted.

Then why bother? Those secret police radios are useless unless everybody does it. Sharing your dirty laundry with the CHP, UC Irvine and state parks is little different than just advertising it to the world in plain English. I hear only occasional scrambled traffic from the AG's narks and commercial fishermen operating outside of the marine band with their illegal modified 2 meter ham gear. It's no secret just what the police and sheriff are doing 95% of the time...

 

[Mick]

All of the freqs I listed are analog except for TG 50720 Red Channel, it's digital and in the clear.

Thanks Mick for all the great information. Are these channels that you listed all digital? Or can I go with a cheaper analog scanner to pick up most of these? If I can get a cheaper analog, it might be fun to play with, but if I need a $500 digital scanner and won't be able to pick up police channels, it probably isn't worth it for me.

Thanks!