new to this whole digital crapola!

[wildbill0013]

i have a radio shack pro 164 radio and want to know if this radio can be programed for harford county md? it says that it will program for p25 phase 1 and phase 2 but before i spend the next 5 years learning all this digital crapola i want to make sure that it will work in harford. please help thanks in advance

 

[maus92]

Not sure if a Pro-164 is compatible with P25 digital, AFAIK, it is not.

 

[Enjoi19]

Nope. That scanner model does not support P25 phase 1 or 2. It is ONLY analog. Looks like basically everything in your area is on that Phase 1 system too.

Digital is not hard to figure out or set up, if you end up purchasing a new scanner to upgrade.

 

[hiegtx]

i have a radio shack pro 164 radio and want to know if this radio can be programed for harford county md? it says that it will program for p25 phase 1 and phase 2 but before i spend the next 5 years learning all this digital crapola i want to make sure that it will work in harford. please help thanks in advance

The short answer is no. The Pro-164 is an analog only scanner. It cannot handle digital systems. No idea where you think you saw it could handle P25 Phase I or Phase II, but that is incorrect. Perhaps someone mistakenly thought Motorola Type I & Type 2 were the same as P25, but that is not the case.

Your county is on this system:

Central Maryland Area Regional Communications Committee (CMARC) Trunking System, Various, Maryland

Central Maryland Area Regional Communications Committee (CMARC) Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

While the site in your county is not labeled as simulcast, a look at the tower map for the Harford site in your county indicates that it may be:

Central Maryland Area Regional Communications Committee (CMARC) Site: Harford Simulcast

Central Maryland Area Regional Communications Committee (CMARC) Site: Harford Simulcast Details

www.radioreference.com

Simulcast can be a challenge for many scanners. It can be extremely location related. Some people may have no problems, while others in the area can barely receive the system at all. see Simulcast digital distortion - The RadioReference Wiki

Hopefully, someone actually in your county can advise whether they are experiencing problems with the system.

 

[maus92]

The Harford County site of CMARC is definitely simulcast.

 

[hill]

The Harford Zone of the CMARC most likely has better coverage have been upgraded for Harford to use as their primary radio communications system.

Me living in Middle River a hop skip and jump from Harford have many issues getting any site on it.

 

[ka3jjz]

As Steve mentioned, simulcast issues are very location dependent. One location might render other scanners useless, another works fine.

If you are scanning in Maryland, and buying a new scanner, keep in mind that you should get a Phase II compatible scanner as the FiRST statewide system (which is slowly being built out) is entirely Phase II

If you have the money, Uniden's SDS100 or SDS200 have been shown to work well with many simulcast systems. However if Santa isn't feeling that generous, you aren't out of options - Unication's G5 pager receiver and the Blue Tail P25RX are both Phase II compatible.

You can find the relevant links to all of these here...

APCO Project 25 - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

To see the info for the Unication and Blue Tail radios, just scroll down a bit to 'Porject 25 Receivers' There you will find links to their websites and relevant RR forum discussions.

Mike

 

[Bjc123]

If your looking for a P25 capable scanner I personally have a Homepatrol 2 it definitely is a lot of money. But I love it a lot. I don’t have any other Digital scanner, I have a few analog. So I can’t really make a comparison to any other scanner but I love the HP2

- Bradley

 

[ka3jjz]

Unfortunately that scanner hasn't been updated in a very long time. Adding newer modes like DMR and NXDN isn't possible....Mike

 

[jonwienke]

For simulcast systems, you definitely want an SDS. A Unication pager is also an option, but isn't designed to monitor more than one system. You cam program more than one, but practically speaking you can't monitor more than one at a time.

 

[maus92]

While the HP2 is technically capable of receiving P25P2, it was not designed to receive simulcast P25P2 transmissions like what are used on the Harford CMARC cell - thus its performance in Harford County will likely be unsatisfactory.

 

[ka3jjz]

CMARC is entirely phase 1, not 2 but yes, the simulcast might be a problem. Yeah I know it doesn't make sense, but that's the state for you....Mike

 

[maus92]

CMARC is entirely phase 1, not 2 but yes, the simulcast might be a problem. Yeah I know it doesn't make sense, but that's the state for you....Mike

Sorry, Phase one, but still simulcast, thus my recommendation still stands. Weird though, I thought it was P2 in Harford. Maybe it was the mix of 700 and 800 freqs that made it notorious / unusual for Md.

 

[tvengr]

The Harford County site of CMARC is definitely simulcast.

I monitor Harford County on a regular basis. The only radios that work reliably are the Uniden SDS100/SDS200 scanners and the Unication G4/G5 pagers. If you need a Harford County programming file, I will be happy to share one with you.

 

[jonwienke]

While the HP2 is technically capable of receiving P25P2, it was not designed to receive simulcast P25P2 transmissions like what are used on the Harford CMARC cell - thus its performance in Harford County will likely be unsatisfactory.

The HomePatrol is the worst Uniden model I've tested for simulcast. In a location where a x36 got about 80% of traffic compared to the SDS100, the HomePatrol got less than 50%.

 

[jtwalker]

BTW, digital doesn't really add any complexity. Trunking adds complexity, and simulcast adds challenges for many scanners. Digital, trunking and simulcast often go hand-in-hand.

 

[TailGator911]

I always recommend SDS scanners to anyone asking which scanner should I buy. Unless you are specifically monitoring analog systems, get the SDS scanner - either the 100 or 200, and have the technology you need wherever you are. So many changes in systems all over the country, upgrading, encrypting, broadcasting simulcast, etc, you might as well spend the extra cabbage and not have to ever say - ohno, I need a scanner that will cover this and that. Be prepared. Have a scanner that will monitor it all (except encryption obviously) especially if you travel often. The SDS scanners are top dawg right now. Get 'em while they're hot!