Scanner for Kanawha County Sherriff Charleston PD

[c_gutta]

I am from Charleston and living in Ohio. I am helping a friend that still lives in Charleston looking to get into scanning. He is looking for a handheld to pick up Kanawha County and Charleston public service. I have an SDS100 and can help him with programing. I am wondering if the Uniden BearCat Digital BCD325P2 will pick those services up? Thanks in advance for your advice and help.

 

[doctordialtone]

Uniden BearCat Digital BCD325P2 will pick those services up?

If this is the system

WV SIRN: West Virginia Statewide Interoperable Radio Network Trunking System, Statewide, West Virginia

WV SIRN: West Virginia Statewide Interoperable Radio Network Trunking System Profile

www.radioreference.com

then yes, the 325P2 will work with the following caveats;

The 325P2 runs on 2 AA batteries and therefore has a limited run time on battery.

You can run it on AC with the appropriate power adapter.

Depending upon his location, you may experience Simulcast Distortion,

The SDS scanners are designed to mitigate that.

Its a great scanner. I love mine.

Purchase from a seller with a generous return policy.

Good luck!

 

[MotownJG]

I live in Scott Depot, WV and use my Uniden SDS100 to monitor local P25 frequencies. I must admit, I don't have Charleston programmed in and don't know why but I do have Kanawha county metro which includes S. Charleston, St. Albans, Dunbar and Nitro PDs.
Not an expert on this, but the SDS 100 does better than the HP2 I previously had which sounded terrible from what I later learned was what doctordialtone said above: simulcast distortion. So I turned in my HP2 when I moved here and bought the SDS100.

I also bought the ProScan software to confirm what I was listening to. It helped me narrow down what was near me so I could limit what was in my favorites list to LE that was close to me and what I was able to pickup transmission wise.

EDIT: Chapleston PD is encrypted. You can't hear them even with the SDS 100.

 

[Bubba1661]

Charleston PD is not encrypted. The BCD325P2 is a great radio and will pick up what you want to hear. I have the Pro 197, Pro 652 and the BCD396XT, they all work well in the Charleston area. If you need any help just contact me here.

 

[MotownJG]

Noted! Ignore edit in earlier post.....

 

[techlogix]

I will add that there is only one simulcast cell in the state of WV and that is in Ohio County. Otherwise, all other sites on SIRN are not simulcast. Also, the majority of the system is still P25 Phase 1, but there are more and more towers going phase 2. In my area, I've seen 2 towers change to Phase 2 within the past 3 years.