New to scanning

Status
Not open for further replies.

mjbjr

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
657
Location
Macon,Ga USA
Hi everyone,Im new to the scanning thing and need a bit of help.I have purchased a bcd396T scanner.I have my local stuff plugged in and works well.But would like a few otehrs such as campus police.I see on the rf site its listed as

"6672 1a1 schools - Campus Police Interop "


Is this somethign i can add,if so how? Im in Macon,Ga USA.
 

gmclam

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 15, 2006
Messages
6,335
Location
Fair Oaks, CA
Hello and welcome to RadioReference.com. There is a TON to learn about this hobby, both in terms of programming a scanner and then listening to it. There are people on here from all over the world, so one thing we won't know is which campus you are talking about unless you are specific. As a matter of fact, I'd go to your profile page and fill things out, most importantly YOUR LOCATION.

We know your scanner, once we know the location and agencies you want to monitor, we can best help you. But in the mean time, check out the Wiki section to read up on your specific scanner, trunking, and anything else you want to know.
 

billybobears

Member
Joined
Sep 25, 2009
Messages
18
Location
wanaque, new jersey
new to scanning

Hi and welcome to the "frey"....

Yeah we're all having a ton of fun out here (Hear).. I'm kind of new too- - about 8 months and still discovering so much, so much about this hobby of ours. I've bought a new scanner, a Uniden BC898T which I have so much to learn about but in the meantime I'm listening to the cops everywhere in my neighborhood and sometimes about 20- 25-miles away - it's a ton of fun, I'll tell ya...Especially on Friday nights when the domestic disputes start up and go absolute wild until 2 - 3 AM. Then all's Quiet. Which is the boring part. Then there is the occasional bear sighting (called into the cops) in my (near) backyard which is always good to know about since I let my dogs outside a lot. And I don't want them to get eaten or beat up up by a bear. So I get a "heads up" and call 'em in quick.

Anyway, stay tuned, watch this site closely...I check out the daily posts in the Forum ...just for fun - (that's how I found out about you) - and don't be shy about asking any question you like - nobody will be critical of you...Everybody's very helpful,.... very helpful. I've asked a lot of questions already. And got a lot of quality answers.

Radio folks are the best on Earth - believe me. You've got a family of friends here.A very wise, experienced family of friends.

I don't have much else to offer but.....

"Stay tuned," turn up that squelch until the static starts, then back off a bit. Turn up the volume and...Welcome, my friend.....

SIncerely,

Bill
 

mjbjr

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
657
Location
Macon,Ga USA
Are you going to program your scanner manually or using software? All of the information you need is on this page: Macon / Bibb County Trunking System, Macon, Georgia - Scanner Frequencies

Im doing it manually.I dont know about the software.Ive added all those frequencies already,well the ones i wanted.They only seem to use about 3 or 4 of those.One of them i have learned is not the police,its some sort of city/county like the water.electric or gas company.so i just took those out since they just chat all day


gmclam,I posted im in Macon,Ga in the USA,and i meant the campus police for the local schools.Ill go in and edit my profile so that it may help in the future.
 

mjbjr

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
657
Location
Macon,Ga USA
Also,i see that in order to register,I have to do the update then do the actual firware update.But i dont know how to back up things first.I dont wanna chance loosing my stuff and reprogramming
 

mjbjr

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
657
Location
Macon,Ga USA
Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8330/4.5.0.138 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/105)

Ok spent most of the day reading and searching. I got the scanner backed up and firmware up to date.
 

mjbjr

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
657
Location
Macon,Ga USA
Are there any other sources of frequencies that are legit as well? I think im missing one for my local police.After 12 hours today,I heard nothing from local except the ambulance service.Ive chekced my frequencies against the ones here,and they are correct and were workign earlier in teh week.Does rain affect it?
 

rvictor

Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2006
Messages
1,045
Location
Milwaukee, WI
According to the database, the Macon, GA police are on the trunked system described here:

Macon / Bibb County Trunking System, Macon, Georgia - Scanner Frequencies

You need to program in that system and the appropriate talkgroups to hear them. If you had that working earlier in the week, it should still be working now. Rain can have some effect, but it seldom will completely eliminate a local trunking system that you were previously hearing.

From your comment that you may be missing one of the police frequencies, it sounds like you may not have that system programmed as a trunked system.

The Mercer University Police appear to be on the conventional frequencies described here:

Bibb County, Georgia (GA) Scanner Frequencies and Radio Frequency Reference

Since these are conventional frequencies, they should be programmed into a system separate from the trunked system described above.

You mention that you got everything backed up. What program did you use to do that? It may be helpful for you to upload that backup so that one of us can take a look at it and perhaps see where your problem lies.

Dick
 

mjbjr

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
657
Location
Macon,Ga USA
wow thats alot lol.

Ok,i backed it up with a program off unidens site,or this site.Not sure which.Its the UASD program.But dont know how to post it here for you to see.And I have them set as conventional.

I have conventional,MOT,EDCS and LT.
Im so lost here
 

mjbjr

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
657
Location
Macon,Ga USA
Im gonna start a new topic in the uniden channel and go from there.Please feel free to respond to this one or the other,I really need the help.

thanks
 

gmclam

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 15, 2006
Messages
6,335
Location
Fair Oaks, CA
How do i tell what city/county is trunked,analog etc etc?
I can't tell from what perspective you are asking this question. Whether you are listening to a frequency, looking at the database, or something else.

Let's take the database, it looks like this is your county of interest. See where it says "Macon / Bibb County - Motorola Type II SmartZone"? The fact that it is Motorola Type II indicates it is trunked. So you can click on that link to see details of the TRS .....

Now scroll down the page a bit to the section under "System Talkgroups". There is a column labeled "Mode" starting with Bibb County Fire/EMS Talkgroups. If the mode is "A", that is analog; if the mode is "D", that is digital; if the mode is "E", that is digital Encrypted.
 

mjbjr

Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2009
Messages
657
Location
Macon,Ga USA
Thanks,that makes alot of sense.That clears alot of confusing stuff up.Whats the DEC and HEx i see? Mean anything specific to teh scanner i may need to know>?
 

gmclam

Member
Premium Subscriber
Joined
Sep 15, 2006
Messages
6,335
Location
Fair Oaks, CA
Whats the DEC and HEx i see?
That's the radix. Dec = decimal. Hex = hexadecimal. It is two different bases for representing the same value. Scanners use them to identify TGs in a trunked radio system (TRS). When programming, pick one radix and use it. I just use decimal.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top