I am new to the board and know little about radio systems. I am curious what equipment i would need to listen to a certain police department frequencies. My wife is sponsored in the academy now and would like to listen to her shift once she is commissioned. Any and all info is appreciated.
Police scanner?radio
- Thread starter TexasT4R1
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To echo tyler, without knowing the agency, no one can give you a definitive answer as to whether it's possible, or not possible due to the use of encryption.
If you don't want to name the agency to avoid calling attention to your spouse's prospective employer, then at least mention the county. Mentioning the county, those of us familiar with Texas agencies could then, at least, give you a couple of lists, i.e. "you can monitor cities a, c, d, and f, but not b,e, and g'.
If you don't want to name the agency to avoid calling attention to your spouse's prospective employer, then at least mention the county. Mentioning the county, those of us familiar with Texas agencies could then, at least, give you a couple of lists, i.e. "you can monitor cities a, c, d, and f, but not b,e, and g'.
beaumont pd
tvengr
Well Known Member
Beaumont PD is on the SETRRS trunked system. Jefferson County uses a 4 site simulcast system. The RR database shows that the Beaumont PD Dispatch talkgroup is partially encrypted. Not being from the area, I have no idea how much you will hear. The only scanners designed to receive simulcast systems are the Uniden SDS100 handheld and SDS200 base/mobile. The Unication G4 and G5 pagers are also excellent. We need a local to jump in to inform us of how much radio traffic is encrypted.
doctordialtone
Member
Start here:
Southeast Texas Regional Radio System (SETRRS) (Motorola) Trunking System, Beaumont, Texas
Southeast Texas Regional Radio System (SETRRS) (Motorola) Trunking System Profile
www.radioreference.com
Texas Wide Area Radio Network (TxWARN) Trunking System, Various, Texas
Texas Wide Area Radio Network (TxWARN) Trunking System Profile
www.radioreference.com
As already noted, Beaumont, and most of the agencies in your county (Jefferson) are on SETRRS.
The Jefferson County Simulcast should be the site to use for Beaumont. However, Simulcast can be an issue. Here's a map of the transmit sites:
Simulcast can prevent you from being able to monitor, but those issues are very location specific. If you are very close to one of the towers, the strong signal may override out of sync signals from more distant locations. Or, perhaps signals from multiple sites are blocked or attenuated by terrain (hills), clusters of taller building, or something in your home, such as metal siding on the outside, or foil backed insulation in the walls. In some cases, even repositioning the scanner a few feet in one direction or another makes all the difference between reception, and problems. Your best solution would be one of the SDS scanners (SDS100 or SDS200), which are designed to handle simulcast. Should you want to try a less expensive model, be sure that whoever you purchase from has a favorable return policy, one without large restock fees, preferably no fee at all.
As also already noted, Beaumont PD dispatch is tagged as using part-time encryption. Being much too far away to hear the system, I have no idea how often encryption is used. I will say there have not been a number of posts about encryption in the Beaumont area, so it might not really be a problem. Hopefully, a resident of that area will speak up & provide more input on activity on the system.
For more on Simulcast, it's problems, and some things you can do to minimize it's impact, see this Wiki page.
Simulcast digital distortion - The RadioReference Wiki
The unknown factor here is whether or not Beaumont PD provides their officers with their own city-owned radio have when off duty. Some do, and if so, it might allow you to skip purchasing a scanner for home use, unless you wanted to be able to occasionally monitor when your wife is on duty. Should you purchase a scanner, be sure that it is capable of monitoring P25 Phase II. While, currently, all of the talkgroups used on SETRRS show to be P25 Phase I (that's designated by the D in the mode column), the system is listed as capable of using P25 Phase II, and I suspect, at some future date, a conversion to Phase II talkgroups will occur.
Beaumont takes home their equipment as well as vehicle if in county. I would just be scanning in when she is on duty.
.I appreciate all the information. Time to start digging.
tvengr
Well Known Member
The SETRRS Motorola system is no longer is use. Here is the link for the new P25 system: Southeast Texas Regional Radio System (SETRRS) (P25) Trunking System, Various, Texas - Scanner Frequencies (radioreference.com) Note that the Mode for Beaumont PD Dispatch is De. That means that it is partially encrypted. I don't know how much radio traffic is encrypted. You cannot hear encrypted transmissions with any scanner. A local member would be able to provide that information.
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