Newb with a question

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NaptownScan

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I live smack in the middle of AA County off a major road. I hear sirens go by all the time.

A couple of years ago I was looking at a scanner for my area to follow police and fire dispatches, etc. The local radio shack said to wait as they went digital to a trunked system.

Is it possible to hear AA County fire and police now? Or are the transmissions encrypted?

Also it's possible, does anyone have any suggestions for a basic entry model system for me to buy to start out with?

Thanks for the help.

Steve
 

baybum

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maus92

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It is possible to listen to AACo/Annapolis now with a $200 trunk tracking analog scanner, but it will go digital, probably sometime this summer after acceptance testing. If it were me, I'd bite the bullet and buy the more expensive digital scanner. Judging by your alias, you live in or near Annapolis. The APD is very active with shootings, shots fired, robberies and fights - and seem to respond to almost any call "Code 2." Very entertaining. They operate off the AA County radio system, BTW.
 

NaptownScan

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Thanks for the replies. I fleshed out my bio as I saw it was lean.

I live in Annapolis, just south of the "Safest City in the US" Baltimore. Well that was the campaign mantra anyways...

I'm retired from the USN with 23 years. Flew F-14s most of my career.

Now work for the government in the DC area.

Thanks for the links.
 

ka3jjz

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Naptown, if you want to hear the milair action - and there's a TON of it in this area, just look at the 'Sticky Thread for Milair III' in this forum - the PRO-96 and 2096 won't do it. They are not designed to work in the 225-390 mhz range, although they would work just fine in the 138-144 mhz range where a lot of ANG stuff is found. You will read that this range can be opened up with software, and it's true - to a point. The radio isn't designed to work in that range, so while one may work acceptably, another might be deaf as a stone - and it's not really the radio's fault.

Too the 96 and 2096 cannot be controlled by a PC. This means they won't log and record, using the right software. The other scanners can do this.

Hearing this stuff requires a good antenna mounted up and in the clear. I hesitate about saying in the air, even though that is the best option, simply because not everyone can do that. Putting it up in the attic will work, although not nearly as well (I live in Glen Burnie and used to have lots of antennas in the attic - and had to take them down, darn it...).

Something to consider 73 Mike
 

NaptownScan

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Got one

I bought a BCD-396T.

So far I've downloaded the AA Co Public Safety numbers from the RRDB and imported into my radio.

Now to set it up to just listen to that system and ignore all the others. This is a steep learning curve.

Anyone recommend the best all around software? I'm using the demo version of the BUTEL s/w now, but there are many out there.
 

maus92

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I use the standard Uniden software - works well for me, and the price is right.
 

lebrunmn

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Re: 396 software

Naptown-

The Butel ARC396 is very good. Having a full-up version--either the PRO or the Basic--will greatly add to your enjoyment of the scanner. It also helped me understand the capabilities of the scanner, many of which I would have certainly never found by reading the manual. I'm attaching an overview of the systems that I have programmed into my 396--I use this as my default profile.

I use ARC396 Basic, and will be happy to share any system files that you may find interesting.

Welcome to the site and I hope you enjoy your new scanner.

Regards,
 

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