Scanner for Galveston and Harris Counties

[jeklyng]

Hey all,
I use to scan alot in college in Worcester, MA and had alot of fun with it. The PD in Worcester used EDCAS Triple Trunking and I knew the system very well. I manually programmed my Radioshack Pro-163, still have the scanner too

Well, I am wanting to get back into scanning but I do not understand the TxWARN P25 II system and what scanner to get. I currently live in Galveston County and I was looking at the Uniden SDS200, is this a good scanner for the TxWARN P25 II? How do I program the scanner? Is it based off area codes? Do I need a fancy computer software to program it?

I am just use to the old days of programming an EDACS system. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[mrlindstrom]

The SDS100/200 will be your best bet for now unless you'd like to try to get into computer based SDR scanning. With much of the TxWARN system being simulcast, other scanners tend to not cope too well.

With the 100/200 you load the Uniden Sentinel software on your PC and it will load fresh copies of the RR database onto the device. From there you enter your zip code and select the service types you would like to hear. You can then lock out anything you don't wish to hear (all of this is on the scanner itself).

You can also go a step further and build you own favorites lists with only the desired TxWARN sites and talkgroups of what you'd like to hear using the Uniden Sentinel app.

Regardless of the route, checking out some YouTube tutorials would probably help get the workflow down.

 

[hiegtx]

Hey all,
I use to scan alot in college in Worcester, MA and had alot of fun with it. The PD in Worcester used EDCAS Triple Trunking and I knew the system very well. I manually programmed my Radioshack Pro-163, still have the scanner too

Well, I am wanting to get back into scanning but I do not understand the TxWARN P25 II system and what scanner to get. I currently live in Galveston County and I was looking at the Uniden SDS200, is this a good scanner for the TxWARN P25 II? How do I program the scanner? Is it based off area codes? Do I need a fancy computer software to program it?

I am just use to the old days of programming an EDACS system. Any help would be much appreciated.

Galveston (both city and county) as well as almost all of the various cities and agencies in Harris County as well as the surrounding counties in the Houston metro area, are indeed on TxWARN P25. While some, at present, are still using P25 Phase I on TxWARN, eventually all users (based on comments from the Houston area) will have to switch to using Phase II.

Galveston, as well as many of the other sites in that area, use Simulcast sites. As discussed in numerous threads on the forums, Simulcast can be a problem for a scanner to receive properly. However, the SDS200, which you are considering, handles simulcast much better than any other scanner models. (The SDS100 is the SDS200's sibling in a handheld format).
More on simulcast in the Wiki:
Simulcast digital distortion - The RadioReference Wiki

You can simply scan by using the database in the sds200, as well as a location and a range. It uses the actual latitude & longitude of the systems, sites, & departments. You can specify your location using your zip code.
More on location based scanning:
How it Works: Location, Location, Location

Location Based Scanning - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

While programming the newer database scanners, such as the SDS200, is very different than your Pro-163, there are dozens of "how to" videos on YouTube to help you understand how to do it. Plus many Wiki pages, as well as previous threads here on the forums regarding specific issues.
There are a number of links in this Wiki page:

SDS100 and SDS200 FAQ Page - The RadioReference Wiki

wiki.radioreference.com

The Sentinel software from Uniden, for the SDS series & also the x36HP scanners, is free to download & install. You can download & install it before you even order your scanner, to get a head start on setting the scanner to your preferences.

Also see the Easier to Read manuals site.

SDS Sentinel Software Manual

Easier to Read SDS100/200 Digital Scanner Manual

Sentinel does not require an extremely fast PC with a lot of memory. As long as you are running Windows 7, or higher, and the PC can connect to the internet for software and, at times, firmware updates, you don't need anything fance. If you shop around carefully, you can usually find a pre-owned PC or laptop for $200 or less (much less if you don;t get in a hurry) that can handle your programming needs.

 

[jeklyng]

Ok thank you for the help. How do I know if the frequencies are encrypted or not?

 

[hiegtx]

Ok thank you for the help. How do I know if the frequencies are encrypted or not?

Look in the Mode column for any talkgroup. If you see a capital E in that column, the talkgroup is encrypted full time.

On the other hand, a lower case e indicates encryption is used only part of the time.

If you'll hover you mouse on the mode column head, you'll see what the various entries in that field represent.

 

[wtp]

i see simulcast on the county system there.
i bought a 325P2 hoeping that it would work on our 700 simulcast system, it works fine everywhere but at our house.
so we will be getting an SDS series one. but no loss, it still works !
i use it at home on the trunking inputs for really local stuff.