New user, first post

[pathalogical]

I've been listening to my Pro-46 scanner in Toronto for over ten years and am considering a new purchase, the BC246T or BR330T (out this fall) but most likely non-digital. I downloaded the BC246T owners manual and have been steadily reading through it to familiarize myself with it and the "new way" of programming these TrunkTrackers. But I won't know for sure until I have the actual unit in hand to play with. I've come up with the following items that I'm not sure of:
1. PC requirements for software (not the firmware), I'm still running Win95, is this ok, or do I need at least win98 ?
2. Is the PC connector cable a pin plug (if so, how many pins) or usb ?
3. Do the S.A.M.E. weather alerts work for Canada, we don't have FIPS.
4. Priority scan should work in the background, not interrupting every 2 seconds. When someone keys up that frequency, it should immediately switch to your priority channel, so you're not missing that first seccond.
5. What are the < and > on the 4 and 6 numbers for, don't recall seeing them in the manual (maybe I missed them).
6. Keypad numbers wearing out or rubbing off, yes/no ?

And some other stuff...

7. Remember the old Haruteq scanner book, the last one I have is the 1995 (green cover), were there any other ones after this, anyone know when the last one came out before they stopped making them. Just curious.
8. Air ambulance conventional freqs: I have 129.275, the conversation is extremely poor. On 413.7875, nothing and on 418.6875 was loud and clear a couple of nights ago but only one side of the coversation, which sounded like the pilot. Am I missing some freqs. Any info on hearing the Global News chopper, CFTO/CTV chopper ?
9. Anyone listening to Toronto Police, know what CTAS & SOKO units are (not sure of this word or spelling) ?
10. Does Radio Shack Canada (The Source) still sell scanners, one store told me they don't anymore, might have to check out different locations. Their website only lists two Bearcat units, no Pro series units.

I like hearing all the action, and don't mind spending some money on a new radio, but from what I've been reading, there are mixed reactions about programming these TrunkTrackers. I don't want to get stuck always having to upgrade software and downloading stuff just to keep listening to it. I may not use it to its fullest capabilities (100 % of all it's feature) but I don't want to be getting 30 % out of it either. The other dilema is: Do I buy a non-digital and hope nobody goes to full digital for many years or, buy digital and hope all make the switch sooner rather than later that way I'm ready for it.

 

[SCPD]

Hey path, welcome and I'll try to answer what I can. I'm sure someone else will jump in with anything else.
I've got a 246. Nice radio. Very small and once you get used to and get it set up, you'll really like it.

1) I think most of the software is being set up for a minimum of win98 but there's usually a requirements thing for whichever program you use. I'm using the ARC with winmx though so not entirely sure. Win95 could give you some connection issues.

2) Supplied cable is 9 pin serial.

3) No S.A.M.E. here yet. According to Environment Canada it is supposed to be coming over the next year or so.

4) It doen't. The way that a scanner works it can't from what I understand. Just as easy to set those "special" frequencies up as their own systems and they'll be checked in order.

5) The < and > are used when programming alpha tags. They move the cursor back and forth as required. If you use software to program you'll likely never use them.

6) Not on any radio I've ever owned except one that got attacked with bug spray on my fingers but that was more of a melt than anything.

7) I think there was at least one other after that but the last I had was green also. Way out of date now...RadioRef Database RULES!!!

8.) Try 413.6875 for air ambulance. Not sure of the media ones. Have a look in the database.

9) CTAS is an EMS term Canadian Triage and Acuity Scale CTAS 5 non urgent, CTAS 4 Less urgent, CTAS 3 Urgent, CTAS 2 Emergent, CTAS 1 Resuscitation. I think the other one is actually SOCO and they act like a mini ident unit taking pictures, prints and minor evidence collection and processing. I'll try to get an update on exactly what it stands for.

10.) Only those 2 online if you want the GRE units you have to go south of the border. Your best source for scanners is not the source but Durham Radio www.durhamradio.com Great service and great prices either on line or in person.

If you can afford it, I'd suggest putting out the cash for the new 396. It's digital and the firmware can be flashed quickly. Don't worry, these new breed of scanners are not like a Microsoft product that is updated daily. Unless the firmware update applies to something you need, you don't have to bother with them. It will not normally effect the way your unit is working. As I previously said, once you get used to programming and using it you'll find you never want to go back to an old style scanner. You'll also likely find you use features you never knew you wanted. Besides, there's always lots of help available in the appropriate forum here on RadioRef.

Hope this helps a bit.

UPDATE:
Looked at Environment Canada and perhaps S.A.M.E. is now in service. No local reception where I am but here's the link to read up on the system and codes:
http://www.msc.ec.gc.ca/msb/weatheradio/same_e.cfm

 

[pathalogical]

Thanks Wheelchair !!!

I think you typed out more stuff than I did ! Now that I know the correct spelling, SOCO is Scene Of Crime Officer according to acronymfinder.com. Your link to Environment Canada is very informative. Clicking on Wiki from this website provides detailed info on all trunking/digital stuff. It has made learning this stuff a bit clearer, especially reading about Motorola Fleetmaps. I'm keepin' this one short...my two index fingers are hurting. Thanks again for your reply.

 

[SCPD]

Glad to help.
I guess my typing lessons have paid off.

Another good point with these newer scanners is other users in your area that are on here are quite often willing to share files that will take a ton of work out of setting the little beast up.

 

[jellotor]

SOCO is Scene of Crime Officer, essentially a non-ident officer who has been trained in some or all ways of collecting evidence. (lifting fingerprints, photography, etc)

I shot some SOCO training once and it was pretty interesting to see how they train the officers. The ident officer in charge was fond of saying "Forget about CSI, here's how we really do it."

 

[SCPD]

SOCO is Scene of Crime Officer, essentially a non-ident officer who has been trained in some or all ways of collecting evidence. (lifting fingerprints, photography, etc)

I shot some SOCO training once and it was pretty interesting to see how they train the officers. The ident officer in charge was fond of saying "Forget about CSI, here's how we really do it."

You mean you can't get to the scene, collect evidence, go back to the lab and process same, interview suspects, get a confession and conviction in an hour or so? I was reading on a Las Vegas web site that judges and prosecutors have been complaining about the CSI shows because the jurors can't understand why a trial takes so long to go through the evidence.
And the Las Vegas University now has a course in Crime Scene Investigation. Imagine showing up at a scene with your "degree in CSI".

 

[Al42]

2. Is the PC connector cable a pin plug (if so, how many pins) or usb ?

It's going to be a 9 pin plug for quite a while. You can get a USB->serial adapter, but not a serial->USB adapter.

4. Priority scan should work in the background, not interrupting every 2 seconds. When someone keys up that frequency, it should immediately switch to your priority channel, so you're not missing that first seccond.

You'd need 1 receiver for each priority frequency + 1 for the main receive. One receiver can't simultaneously receive more than 1 frequency.

8. Air ambulance conventional freqs: I have 129.275, the conversation is extremely poor. On 413.7875, nothing and on 418.6875 was loud and clear a couple of nights ago but only one side of the coversation, which sounded like the pilot.

That's normal in non-repeated air-to-ground communications. It's basically line of sight, and you're generally not line of sight to the ground station, even though the aircraft is. Also, most ground station antennas have a high angle of radiation (they spit the signal slightly upwards).

I like hearing all the action, and don't mind spending some money on a new radio, but from what I've been reading, there are mixed reactions about programming these TrunkTrackers. I don't want to get stuck always having to upgrade software and downloading stuff just to keep listening to it.

You have two choices if something (liike the way communications is done) changes:

Buy a new scanner that can handle the new thing
or
Download a "fix" that will enable your existing scanner to handle it.

The second way, being free, is a lot cheaper.

The other dilema is: Do I buy a non-digital and hope nobody goes to full digital for many years or, buy digital and hope all make the switch sooner rather than later that way I'm ready for it.

Digital scanners, usually being the top of the line, have other things the same manufacturer's non-digital scanners don't have. Look at all the feature differences between Scanner A and Scanner B, not just the digital/non-digital difference.

 

[jellotor]

And the Las Vegas University now has a course in Crime Scene Investigation. Imagine showing up at a scene with your "degree in CSI".

guhhh *smacks forehead*
Reminds me of those one year community college 'feature film production' courses. Um, yeah. I'm betting those community colleges aren't renting 24P HD cameras or dollies to train their students on.

Perhaps a nice reflective orange vest comes with the curriculum package for the CSI degree. Maybe the University of Phoenix will offer it as a degree-by-mail soon?

Ok...hijack complete...back to work.

 

[pathalogical]

Scanner rule number 1 says: Do not tell others what you hear. Does that include the Wx freqs - can you tell others about weather alerts ?

Also, the 9 pin connector - not all new computers seem to have this plug available, only on one HP, a Gateway and an e-machine that I saw at Future Shop and Staples. Not on any new laptop either. Is this some kinda new connector recently avilable ? Any of you guys programming strictly by hand, without the software ? Or were you lucky that your PC has one ?

 

[tonsoffun]

Hey pathalogical

I see that your thinking on a 246! but just to let you know that the system for Toronto, digital I.D's are starting to pop up.

So I would be at upgrading to a digital scanner

Take care

 

[fmon]

Scanner rule number 1 says: Do not tell others what you hear. Does that include the Wx freqs - can you tell others about weather alerts ?

Also, the 9 pin connector - not all new computers seem to have this plug available, only on one HP, a Gateway and an e-machine that I saw at Future Shop and Staples. Not on any new laptop either. Is this some kinda new connector recently avilable ? Any of you guys programming strictly by hand, without the software ? Or were you lucky that your PC has one ?

Read Al42 above, he commented regarding USB to 9 pin issue.

 

[motomeso]

You can also hear air ambulance talking with CACC's and ground crews on 150.100mhz, with a decent external antenna you will hear them for 150km's or so when they are in the air.

 

[pathalogical]

Hey pathalogical

I see that your thinking on a 246! but just to let you know that the system for Toronto, digital I.D's are starting to pop up.

So I would be at upgrading to a digital scanner

Take care

If you're refering to OPP, I'm not as interested in them as I am in Toronto, York Region, Peel Region (police, fire and ambulance) and other stuff. I don't speed or drive a rust bucket so I don't have to worry about Sgt. Cam Wooley on my tail !!! Also, I read in the ARC 246 manual and it states "Use USB converter devices AT YOUR OWN RISK". I don't like the sound of such statements. If I get the software, I would have to use someone elses computer and don't want to mess things up. Is that what most are using, USB to serial...no problems doing so ?

So many questions...sure wish there was such a thing as "Scanner Classes", like night school.

 

[tonsoffun]

Hey pathalogical

I'm not a speeder myself but there pretty cool to listen too (OPP).
Sorry, I should of mentioned what system. The system I was talking about is the Toronto Public Safety System, I and others have seen and heard digital comms starting to test.
I heard some surveillance going on last week.

So just to hint that Toronto is starting to lean towards there (digital).

Take care

 

[SCPD]

Hey pathalogical

I'm not a speeder myself but there pretty cool to listen too (OPP).
Sorry, I should of mentioned what system. The system I was talking about is the Toronto Public Safety System, I and others have seen and heard digital comms starting to test.
I heard some surveillance going on last week.

So just to hint that Toronto is starting to lean towards there (digital).

Take care

Are the digital comms able to be decoded or are they tossing in encryption as well?

 

[SCPD]

If you're refering to OPP, I'm not as interested in them as I am in Toronto, York Region, Peel Region (police, fire and ambulance) and other stuff. I don't speed or drive a rust bucket so I don't have to worry about Sgt. Cam Wooley on my tail !!! Also, I read in the ARC 246 manual and it states "Use USB converter devices AT YOUR OWN RISK". I don't like the sound of such statements. If I get the software, I would have to use someone elses computer and don't want to mess things up. Is that what most are using, USB to serial...no problems doing so ?

So many questions...sure wish there was such a thing as "Scanner Classes", like night school.

I think that warning is just so the software folks don't get yelled at by you should a data transfer go wrong or if somebody wired the thing up themselves and toasted their scanner. I've been using one on my 246 for about 4 months with no problems.

 

[Al42]

Scanner rule number 1 says: Do not tell others what you hear. Does that include the Wx freqs - can you tell others about weather alerts ?

Canadian law may be different than US law. In the US you can repeat anything being broadcast to the general public, and weather broadcasts come under that heading.

Also, the 9 pin connector - not all new computers seem to have this plug available, only on one HP, a Gateway and an e-machine that I saw at Future Shop and Staples. Not on any new laptop either. Is this some kinda new connector recently avilable ?

The newer computers have USB ports. There are converter cables available. If you end up needing one, the Radio Shack, Belkin F5U409 and a couple of others have been reported to work with scanners with no problem. (Always make sure you have the latest driver installed - the one supplied with the converter may not work.)

Any of you guys programming strictly by hand

Only when absolutely unavoidable.

Or were you lucky that your PC has one ?

Almost every PC has at least 1 serial port or 1 USB port available.

 

[pathalogical]

Anyone monitoring Toronto Police regularly ?

For the past several evenings I've been hearing (on my conventional scanner) some comms what sounds like surveillance on a person or persons. Basically, sounds like someone is being followed by foot, often giving out clothing descriptions and direction of travel. I think the second officer is in a vehicle. I don't have a trunker, therefore no TGID. Does this activity sound familiar to anyone else listening and know the TGID ? I've never heard anything like "...is now in custody...", so I kinda wonder if these officers are practicing their surveillance skills by picking random civilians and following them as much as possible.

 

[mciupa]

I wonder if these officers are practicing their surveillance skills by picking random civilians and following them as much as possible.

I doubt they would be practicing on people who are law-abiding,(that would almost be harrassment) but I bet there are numerous persons of interest roaming around the mean streets.
Perhaps you are hearing some plainclothes officers that have their eyes on someone or some people and are waiting for the right moment to say "Gotcha"
Do you remember what freq's these were heard on ? I was wondering if it was on the trunk system or the conventional Investigative freq's.