Paper weights?

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KD5BIQ

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Mar 11, 2014
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Austin, TX
I recently inherited 2 TrunkTracker IV's, I dont have the exact model numbers as I'm not at home at the moment, but one has a silver face and the other has a gray face. I live in the Austin Texas metro area and have been reading about the GATRRS system, by which all 32 of the areas public safety systems operate encrypted.

My question, is what can I do with these scanners now? They wont received the encrypted transmissions (unless I'm missing something), I have a plethora of ham radios so I don't need them for scanning ham bands, and I don't live close enough to any airports to monitor air traffic.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!
 

UPMan

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Other than Williamson County, most of the rest of GATTRS is not encrypted and can be monitored with any digital scanner. This would include the Austin PD.
 

banditt2344

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Oct 7, 2011
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Round Rock, Texas
I recently inherited 2 TrunkTracker IV's, I dont have the exact model numbers as I'm not at home at the moment, but one has a silver face and the other has a gray face. I live in the Austin Texas metro area and have been reading about the GATRRS system, by which all 32 of the areas public safety systems operate encrypted.

My question, is what can I do with these scanners now? They wont received the encrypted transmissions (unless I'm missing something), I have a plethora of ham radios so I don't need them for scanning ham bands, and I don't live close enough to any airports to monitor air traffic.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!

I live in Round Rock and I listen to a bunch my scanner under GATRRS. Pretty much for WIlliamson County you can still hear things like Fire and EMS but all Police is locked out. Austin and Pflugerville is fully open. Lakeway and Lago Vista and Sunset Valley PD are also open. I takes a little experimenting to see just what Dept is locked out and what is not but from my current scanning it's mostly Law Enforcement.
 

garys

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I'm in the middle of setting up a Favorites List for an upcoming trip to Austin. I'll echo what UPMan and others have said. Austin PD might have a few encrypted talk groups, but that's it.
 

banditt2344

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Round Rock, Texas
I'm in the middle of setting up a Favorites List for an upcoming trip to Austin. I'll echo what UPMan and others have said. Austin PD might have a few encrypted talk groups, but that's it.

APD is pretty much fully open. I think one of two are encrypted. One is for a Narcortics unit and the other is a channel they go to if they need it secure. I hardly ever hear them go these channels. Sometimes SWAT can be heard on Crit 1 or Crit 2. All of Austin Fire Dept and the dispatching is open as well as Round Rock Fire and Wilco EMS. It's mainly Law talk groups in Wilco that are secure.
 

KD5BIQ

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Mar 11, 2014
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Location
Austin, TX
Thanks everyone for your replies, I haven't used a scanner since my old Radio Shack Pro-20, long before the days of encryption and trunks, so these new scanners are really complicated to me. I did finally sit down and get one of them programmed and am able to hear several talk groups.

Thanks again for all the replies!!
 
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